Does Slovenia Need Regions?

Every time a new Slovenian government takes office, the question of whether the country needs regions returns to the political agenda. The coalition agreement of the new government again highlights decentralization and presents regionalization as one of the key ways to achieve it.

But these are two different questions, argues Bojan Bugarič, a law professor at the University of Sheffield. Slovenia clearly needs more decentralization. That does not automatically mean that creating regions is the right answer.

The article points to data showing that too much economic and political power is concentrated in Ljubljana. One figure is particularly stark: 77.4 percent of Slovenian municipalities' revenue comes from state transfers, compared with 39.7 percent in the OECD.

Regions could form part of the solution, Bugarič argues, but only if they have clearly defined responsibilities, sufficient financial resources, democratic accountability and, above all, a genuine development function.