BRIEFING National Parliaments

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Authors: Klemen Žumer and Yann-Sven Rittelmeyer

Linking the Levels Unit PE 690.704 – July 2021 EN

The Slovenian Parliament and EU affairs

Introduction to Slovenia's parliamentary system Since 1991 the Republic of Slovenia has had a parliamentary system composed of the Državni zbor (National Assembly) and the Državni svet (National Council). The Slovenian Parliament has the features of an 'incomplete bicameral system', based on 'asymmetric duality' – the National Council has less authority and fewer competences than the National Assembly, in accordance with Chapter IV of the Constitution.

The National Assembly is described as the 'supreme representative and legislative institution, exercising legislative and electoral powers as well as control over the Executive'. Its members are elected every four years from nine constituencies by a universal, equal, direct, and secret vote. Different, specific, rules apply to the election of one member each of the Italian and Hungarian national communities. The Government of Slovenia is accountable to the National Assembly, and the Prime Minister is elected by the National Assembly by a majority vote of all of its members.

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This briefing is part of an EPRS series on national parliaments (NPs) and EU affairs. It aims to provide an overview of the way the NPs of EU Member States are structured and how they process, scrutinise and

engage with EU legislation. It also provides information on relevant NP publications.

Državni zbor

President: Igor Zorčič (NeP, NI)

Chair of the Committee on EU Affairs: Marko Pogačnik (SDS, EPP)

Secretary General: Uršula Zore Tavčar (organigram)

EU liaison officer: Zvonko Bergant Address: Šubičeva ulica 4, 1102 Ljubljana

http://www.dz-rs.si | @DrzavniZbor 90 seats

Državni svet

President: Alojz Kovšca (Craft sector representative)

Chair of the Commission for International Relations and European Affairs: Bojan Kekec

(Local interests representative) Secretary General: Dušan Štrus (organigram)

EU affairs secretariat: Lilijana Žurman Address: Šubičeva ulica 4, 1102 Ljubljana

http://www.ds-rs.si | @DrzavniSvet 40 seats

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The National Council is the representative body for social, economic, professional, and local interests and has mainly a consultative role. According to Article 96 of the Constitution, it is composed of a fixed number of representatives of labour and social interests (employers, employees, farmers, crafts and trades, independent professions and non-commercial fields) and representatives of local interests (territorial interests). The members do not hold office professionally and are elected for a five-year term from the relevant interest organisations or local communities. Political parties are not specifically represented in the National Council but it is not entirely free of political influence, especially when it comes to members representing local interests.

The National Assembly is the sole body that can adopt laws, under a legislative procedure governed by the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly. Legislative proposals may be initiated by the Government, any Assembly member, a minimum of 5 000 voters (Article 88 of the Constitution), or by the National Council (Article 97). Whereas the National Assembly is in charge of adopting the laws, the primary role of the National Council is to convey its opinion and it has a 'suspensive veto' that allows to ask the National Assembly to examine a law once more, within seven days of its adoption and before its promulgation. Like the National Assembly, the National Council can also demand inquiries on matters of public importance, when this is requested by a third of its members (Article 93).

The Slovenian Parliament's role and organisation in EU affairs Slovenia's Constitution refers specifically to the role of its National Assembly on EU affairs. Its Article 3a states that in cases relating to Slovenia's EU membership, the Government must inform the National Assembly promptly of proposals for EU acts and decisions, as well as of its own EU-related activities. The National Assembly may adopt positions on EU affairs, which the Government must 'take into consideration'.

Several actors are involved in coordinating Slovenia's EU affairs: the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia's Permanent Representation in Brussels, working groups, and the National Assembly.1 The main responsibility for EU affairs, procedures and decision-making lies at executive level, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and its Directorate for EU Affairs in particular.

The procedures are defined by the Act on Cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government in European Union Affairs (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No 34/04, 43/10, 107/10 and 30/15). This act determines the National Assembly's participation in the formulation of Slovenia's positions on EU affairs. First adopted in April 2004, on the eve of Slovenia's EU's accession, this act has been amended several times in order to reflect Slovenia's developing relationship with the EU and the National Assembly's role in these matters. In December 2010, for example, it incorporated provisions following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty to ensure 'more effective involvement of the National Assembly in decision-making processes at the EU level' and 'greater activity of its working bodies responsible in the discussion of EU affairs'.

The Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly give further guidance on EU-related proceedings. The latest update was made in April 2020, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, to create the possibility of holding remote sessions of the National Assembly and of its working bodies (with the possibility of remote debate and voting).

Neither the Constitution, the Cooperation Act nor the Act on the National Council give the National Council a specific role regarding EU affairs. Its only competences on these matters are set out in the Rules of Procedure of both chambers.

The National Assembly and its Committee on EU Affairs The National Assembly's competent bodies on matters relating to Slovenia's EU membership are the Committee on EU Affairs (CEU), where all EU affairs are debated and Slovenia's positions on them are decided, with the exception of the EU's foreign and security policy, which is discussed by the Committee on Foreign Policy (CFP) (Article 154b, Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly).

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The National Assembly has two different types of working bodies: committees and commissions. The committees generally correspond to the ministerial areas of responsibility or cover several inter-related areas. The CEU and CFP are among the current 13 committees and 2 sub-committees, but are the only ones formally mentioned in the Rules of Procedure. Six standing commissions are mentioned in the Rules of Procedure (Article 35); others can be set up ad hoc or for special inquiries.

The CEU is currently composed of 17 members. Compared with other EU Member State national parliaments, this is quite a high number in proportion to the total number of members. This can be explained by the fact that most members of the Slovenian National Assembly belong to three committees and several commissions. The committee has a chair, currently Marko Pogačnik (SDS, EPP), and two vice-chairs. The composition of committees is proportional to the number of members of the political groups, while each political group is ensured at least one seat on each competent body. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from Slovenia can attend and participate in the debates of the CEU and CFP – when dealing with EU matters – but do not have voting rights. Several other people are also invited to attend these meetings: representatives of the Government, representatives of the working bodies responsible, a representative of the National Council, representatives of the European Parliament Liaison Office for Slovenia and the European Commission Representation to Slovenia, a representative of the Legislative and Legal Service, and representatives of the expert public, civil society, business, and associations may also be invited.

The CEU usually meets every week, if possible on Friday mornings. Since the start of this legislative term in June 2018, it has had 109 regular sessions, normally relating to upcoming Council meetings, and 25 emergency sessions (data until the beginning of June 2021). Among these, 48 were joint meetings, 38 of them with the CFP.

The CEU's work is supported by one civil servant acting as Secretary of the Committee, four advisers for individual areas and an administrative assistant. Due to the preparations for Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) meetings in the second half of this year, the current work of the Secretary of the Committee is supported by two additional civil servants: one is in charge of the ongoing operation of the CEU and the other is in charge of preparing COSAC meetings and chairing a special working group set up for this purpose. The CEU's secretariat is responsible for organising the committee meetings, for supporting the President of the CEU (e.g. preparing briefings and opinions), preparing documents and briefings for members of the CEU delegation attending COSAC meetings, tracking attendance and ensuring follow-up of its members, as well as organising meetings with representatives of the EU institutions and other national parliaments, etc.

The CEU's main task is to discuss, debate and adopt positions on EU affairs once the Government submits the affairs to the National Assembly for discussion and the President of the National Assembly refers them to the competent committee (Articles 154b, 154č, Rules of Procedure). The CEU and CFP cooperate closely with the working bodies responsible and adopt decisions on the basis of the opinions issued by them. Other competencies of the CEU, as set out in both the Rules of Procedure and the Cooperation Act, include: discussing draft declarations on orientations with regard to the activities of the Republic of Slovenia within the EU institutions; discussing issues on the agenda of EU institutions and bodies, and reports by representatives of the Republic of Slovenia on EU-related activities; dealing with EU issues relating to structural and cohesion policy programmes; discussing draft amendments to the EU Treaties and the conclusion of treaties; cooperating with the activities of the National Assembly in accordance with Article 12 TEU, more specifically by ensuring compliance with the principle of subsidiarity; and cooperating with the EU institutions and bodies and the EU affairs committees of other national parliaments.

The National Council and its Commission for International Relations and European Affairs First established in 1998, the Commission for International Relations and European Affairs (CIREA) is the body within the National Council that discusses EU matters. It is one of eight National Council

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working bodies that send opinions for approval to the National Council, or directly to the National Assembly and its working bodies.

The National Council holds regular monthly meetings and convenes extraordinary sessions if a suspensive veto is proposed or if matters cannot be postponed and have to be dealt with urgently. In practice, the National Council sits about twice a month due to the extraordinary sessions (there were respectively 11 and 7 such sessions in 2020 and 2019). The CIREA also meets about twice a month (18 meetings in 2020, 22 in 2019), but with a higher proportion of regular meetings (14 in 2020, 18 in 2019).

CIREA currently consists of 12 members and is chaired by Bojan Kekec, who was elected as a representative of local interests. The chair of another relevant commission may be invited to attend, as well as representatives of the Government, the National Assembly or other institutions whose work is directly linked to the substance of the matters under consideration. Experts and representatives of the public may also present and explain their views on the topics discussed (Article 23 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Council).

CIREA's work is supported by a secretary who assists the chair in preparing and organising the meetings and related material, takes care of the minutes, and coordinates work with other commissions (Article 22, Rules of Procedure of the National Council).

CIREA's role is to examine the initiatives and questions raised by its members in relation to foreign and EU affairs, and to prepare proposals for requests and opinions. It discusses the Government's proposals, issues opinions and may pass them on to the CEU at least two days before the meeting at which the CEU is to adopt a relevant position (Article 154h, Rules of the National Assembly).

Engagement with the EU Debates on EU affairs The National Assembly occasionally discusses EU affairs in plenary sessions. Article 11 of the Cooperation Act allows the plenary to discuss and adopt positions on draft EU legislative acts providing certain conditions are met. This can be requested by a minimum of one quarter of the National Assembly's members, the working body responsible, or by the Council of the President of the National Assembly.2 The highest level of involvement of the Slovenian National Assembly's plenary concerns in particular positions on Treaty changes and the annual debate on the state of affairs in the EU (Article 5 of the Cooperation Act). According to the 'Report on the work of the National Assembly 2018-2022', no such plenary debate took place in 2020, whereas there was a plenary debate on the 'Declaration on guidelines for the operation of the Republic of Slovenia in the institutions of the European Union in the period 2021-2024', adopted by the plenary on 23 March 2021.

In theory, at least once a year, the Slovenian Prime Minister presents Slovenia's positions on EU affairs and the assembly subsequently adopts political guidelines. In practice, this debate takes place once every 18 months and the declaration includes policy-related positions regarding announcements of legislative initiatives from the European Commission's work programme. This annual Commission's work programme is always discussed and debated by the CEU. Furthermore, the CEU sometimes organises public hearings like on the White Paper on the Future of Europe (June 2017) and on the European Commission's Circular Economy Package (February 2016).

Debates of this kind do not take place in the Slovenian National Council. When it comes to EU affairs, the National Council only discusses the following items at the plenary level: presentation of the priorities of the rotating presidencies of the EU Council (last such session was on the presentation of the Portuguese presidency priorities - 20 January 2021), the annual reports on the implementation of the EU budget by the European Court of Auditors (last such session – 12 May 2021), and proposals for a declaration on the guidelines for the operation of the Republic of Slovenia in the institutions of the EU (last session to deal with this – 17 March 2021).

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Contributions to EU policy José Manuel Barroso first invited national parliaments to react to EU legislative proposals in 2006, during his time as President of the European Commission. Slovenia's National Assembly and National Council have almost never used this possibility however. The rare contributions received by the European Parliament have been: a letter from late 2015 containing decisions adopted by the CEU following a debate about improving the functioning of the EU, building on the potential of the Lisbon Treaty; a letter from 2014 with positions of the CEU and CFP on the EU communication on enlargement strategy and main challenges 2013-2014; and a 2009 CEU decision and report on the right to interpretation and to translation in criminal proceedings. On the European Commission side, one contribution was received from the Slovenian Parliament in 2017, five in 2013 (of which one was a reasoned opinion), two in 2009 and one in 2006. In the past, some information about Slovenia's position on a few EU documents has been provided on the platform for EU Inter-parliamentary Exchange (IPEX), but there have been no such submissions since 2016.

There are various possible explanations for this limited use. One of them is the lack of interest on the part of the National Assembly and National Council in either influencing Commission proposals, branding themselves as an active parliament, or controlling the Government.3 Another potential explanation is the lack of resources. Furthermore, the Slovenian National Assembly has not tended to be one of the national parliaments pushing most for an expansion of powers in EU affairs. A COSAC report in 2015 asked about national parliaments' positions on creating a 'green card' (which would give them the possibility to suggest a legislative initiative to the European Commission) and what its scope should be. Like all other responding national parliaments, the National Assembly agreed that they should be allowed to make suggestions for new legislation or suggestions to amend existing legislation, but it was among the very few to be against also having the competence to make suggestions to repeal existing legislation or to suggest amending or repealing delegated or implementing acts.

Interactions with the EU Brussels liaison office of the Slovenian Parliament Since 2004, the National Assembly has had a Permanent Representative in Brussels. They are in charge of monitoring and reporting regularly and directly to the National Assembly on the plenary sessions of the European Parliament and the work of its committees.

The National Council used this possibility to have a representative hosted in the European Parliament to coordinate COSAC activities during the 2008 Slovenian Council Presidency. Since then, it has not had a representative in Brussels.

Members' visits to and meetings with EU actors Although Slovenian MEPs can take part in National Assembly debates without voting rights, this possibility is rarely used. In January 2019 however, all Slovenian MEPs participated in a hearing about EU elections and active citizenship. In the early years of Slovenia's EU membership, the CEU meetings were usually scheduled to take place on Friday afternoons to facilitate MEP participation.4 The National Assembly and its leaders sometimes welcome leaders of EU institutions such as the Presidents of respectively the European Parliament and the European Commission, Antonio Tajani and Jean-Claude Juncker, in March 2017, European Parliament President Martin Schulz, in March 2014, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, in May 2012 and February 2014, or more recently, the EU's Chief Brexit Negotiator, Michel Barnier, in September 2018.

Protocol 1 contributions: informal political dialogue

2021: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2020: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2019: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2018: Zbor 0, Svet 0

Protocol 2 contributions

2021: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2020: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2019: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2018: Zbor 0, Svet 0

Source: CONNECT.

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Similarly, Members of the National Assembly rarely make official visits to the European Parliament. The last such visit was in December 2018, by a delegation of 18 members and 7 officials. By way of comparison, the European Commission has also registered few meetings between members of the Commission and of the Slovenian Parliament (three so far in 2021, one in 2020, one in 2019, five in 2018, seven in 2017).

Another possibility for exchange between national and European parliamentarians is provided by the inter-parliamentary meetings organised by European Parliament committees and by the Presidency Parliament, by Multilateral Parliamentary Assemblies and Fora, and by COSAC meetings. COSAC is an inter-parliamentary forum, enshrined in Protocol 1 to the Treaties. It brings together representatives of national parliaments' European affairs committees and MEPs, twice a year. These meetings provide opportunities to exchange information and good practices, and to strengthen cooperation between EU affairs committees, national parliaments and the European Parliament. COSAC's presidency is linked to the order of rotating Council presidencies and will therefore be in the hands of the Slovenian Parliament as of 1 July 2021 for six months. COSAC meetings are scheduled to take place in July and November 2021.

A declaration on the preparation and exercise of the parliamentary dimension of the rotating Council presidencies was signed by the presidents of the parliaments of the presidency trio (Germany, Portugal and Slovenia) on 29 June 2020, and the parliamentary dimension of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency is supported by a dedicated website.

Scrutinising EU affairs The National Assembly The Slovenian National Parliament scrutinises the work of the Slovenian Government in the field of EU affairs, in particular through the CEU and the CFP. These two committees are the main competent bodies and as such address all proposed EU legislation. It should however be noted that the assembly's focus is on the Government's proposed position, not on the original proposal or document. The sectoral working bodies participate in the scrutiny process according to the policy areas they are concerned with. They submit an opinion on their position to the competent committee for consideration and members may table amendments to the draft position no later than two days before the meeting of the competent committee (Article 154h(2-3) Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly).

The Government keeps both committees up to date on its activities and decisions within the Council of the EU regarding each legislative proposal and on the positions of the Republic of Slovenia in this regard. According to Article 9 of the Act on Cooperation, within maximum five weeks of receiving a draft EU legislative act, the government must submit its draft position to the National Assembly with an assessment of the impacts and implications of the draft EU proposal. This impact assessment should include certain elements, such as the need for regulatory change, and the impact on the budget, economy, public administration and environment. The Secretary General of the Government submits the government's positions on EU legislative proposals for the National Assembly's scrutiny through the 'EU Portal'5 (a governmental information system for preparing and endorsing national positions).6 The minister responsible is obliged to appear before the relevant committee. If no debate is held and no position adopted by the National Assembly, the government's position becomes the position on the draft EU legislative act for Slovenia.

The CEU examines all Government positions for meetings of the Council of the EU and votes on these positions. Only a quarter of EU Member State national parliament chambers are required to seek such a mandate before being able to take a position in the Council.

Should the plenary decide to discuss a draft EU legislative act, the competent committee should nevertheless, prior to this discussion, take a position on the government's draft position and the various amendments tabled and prepare a report to be presented at the session (Article 154i(3)).

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The government must also report back to the National Assembly on the positions taken in Council. When the government partially or completely fails to defend the positions of the Republic of Slovenia adopted by the CEU, whether it considered that it was not feasible or not in the interests of the Republic of Slovenia, the government is obliged to inform the National Assembly immediately and explain the reasons for the decision at the next meeting of the CEU (Article 10 (2) of the Cooperation Act). The government may submit a written report to the committee meeting itself. This implies that even if the mandate is non-binding, it can have a strong politically binding effect. Regarding European Council meetings, ex-ante and ex-post debates also take place at committee level, never in plenary, whereas ex-post debates are much less frequent.

Despite this detailed scrutiny process, 'in the vast majority of cases' the CEU confirms the positions proposed by the Government.7 Moreover, the amendments it sometimes proposes have often a very limited effect, focusing on clarifications, reasoning, context, timing or financial consequences.

Like all other EU Member State national parliaments, the role of the Slovenian National Assembly has been strengthened by the control mechanism laid down in Protocol 2 to the EU Treaties. National parliaments have eight weeks to raise an objection in the form of a reasoned opinion, if they think that an EU proposal does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity. The Cooperation Act and the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly were both amended in 2010 to introduce this change (Article 11a and Article 154m).

Table 1 – The Slovenian procedure for parliamentary scrutiny of the subsidiarity principle:

Dates Body responsible Procedure

Day 1 Request from at least ¼ of members, decision of the competent committee (CEU or CFP) or sectoral committee (proposer).

The request or decision is sent to the President of the National Assembly (President).

Time limit:

7 days

The President sends the request or the decision to the Legislative and Legal Service.

The President informs the proposer and the competent committee or sectoral committee.

The Legislative and Legal Service must issue an opinion and inform the President.

The President If the conditions are met, the President refers the request or decision to the competent committee or sectoral committee.

If the conditions are not met, the President decides to continue the procedure and informs the proposer and the competent committee or sectoral committee.

The sectoral committee The sectoral committee discusses the draft legislative proposal, adopts an opinion regarding the compliance of the proposal and sends it to the competent committee.

The competent committee

If the competent committee or at least ¼ of the members decide, the draft legislative act is decided upon at the plenary meeting.

The competent committee adopts a decision regarding the compliance of the draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity

If an infringement of the principle of subsidiarity is established, the committee chair sends the decision and reasoned opinion to the President of the Assembly (the procedure is concluded).

The competent committee adopts the proposal for a reasoned opinion on compliance of the draft legislative act and forwards it to the National Assembly for adoption.

The proposal for a reasoned opinion shall be placed on the agenda of the next National Assembly session.

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The National Assembly meeting in plenary

The plenary session of the National Assembly debates and votes on the proposal and any amendments.

The President of the National Assembly

If an infringement of the principle of subsidiarity is established (at the competent committee or plenary meeting), the President of the National Assembly sends the reasoned opinion describing the infringements to the President of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

Source: IPEX.

The Slovenian National Assembly has produced only one reasoned opinion since this mechanism was introduced. That was in 2013 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. Although there is often a 'strong relationship between institutional strength and parliamentary activity within the national arena', the Slovenian National Assembly does not make much use of the early warning system or political dialogue. The CEU sometimes decides to carry out subsidiarity checks regarding selected announced draft EU legislative acts and also discusses some documents from the European Commission's annual work programme in the framework of political dialogue, but this almost never leads to the adoption of specific documents.

Another point to make relates to public scrutiny. Since an amendment to the Cooperation Act was adopted in May 2010, deleting the previous Article 7, meetings of the National Assembly's CEU are public. This created the conditions for wider and strengthened scrutiny.

The National Council The National Council, whose function is mainly consultative, has an extremely limited scrutiny role on EU affairs. The CIREA is the only committee responsible for the scrutiny of EU proposals. Through opinions, it can convey the interests of the socio-economic, professional and local groups represented within it to the National Assembly. Should it deliver an opinion, the competent body of the National Assembly has only to take note of it (Article 154h(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly). A representative of the National Council may be invited to the National Assembly's committee meeting discussing the relevant dossier to present and explain the opinion adopted.

The National Council is largely excluded from the EU subsidiarity early warning system. This led to a legal dispute which ended with the Slovenian Constitutional Court decision of 18 October 2012, stating that 'The Act on Cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government in the Matters of the European Union is not in conflict with the Constitution'. As a result, the National Assembly has only to inform the National Council about meetings and deadlines related to this subsidiarity process, and consider its opinions when delivered.

In line with its composition and function, the work of the National Council and its working bodies is public and therefore directly monitored by citizens.

Implementing EU legislation The implementation of EU law is coordinated by the Government Office for Legislation. This office is in charge of ensuring 'that regulations are constitutional and lawful, internally consistent, prepared in accordance with the rules on legislative drafting, comprehensible to its addressees and effective in practice'. It helps legislative drafters 'to incorporate and align proposed laws and regulations with other Slovenian laws and regulations and the EU law'. Legislative proposals are available on the Parliament's webpage, as well as Government documents in progress, while the

Early warning system – Reasoned opinions by the Slovenian Parliament 2021: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2020: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2019: Zbor 0, Svet 0 2018: Zbor 0, Svet 0 Source: IPEX.

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dedicated Legal Information System portal provides access to all domestic and EU-related legislative measures. New EU directives are therefore available by their key milestones for implementation (preparatory work by competent ministry, submission to the Cabinet and the Parliament). The ministries are thus informed about their attributed tasks and the Government Office for Legislation can monitor the progress of the file.8

The implementation of EU legislation follows the regular legislative procedure which consists of three readings (see Figure 1). At the first reading the draft law is presented to members of the National Assembly, the Government and the President of the National Council and only results in a general debate in the National Assembly if this is requested by at least 10 members. The National Assembly decides if the law is appropriate for further reading and for the process to continue.

The second reading focuses on debating and voting on individual articles within the responsible working body and at a session of the National Assembly. Members may raise a debate in the relevant committees and in the plenary in order to monitor or scrutinise the government on the implementation of EU legislation. Amendments are tabled and voted on at this stage.

The third reading is only held in plenary session of the National Assembly, where the draft law is debated and voted in its entirety.

The National Council plays a minimal role in this legislative process with no specific role given to it in relation to implementation of EU legislation. It can nevertheless use its capacity to express an opinion or ask the National Assembly to reconsider the adopted law prior to its promulgation.

The Department for General and Institutional Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of preparing legal analyses and opinions regarding the use and implementation of EU law and the coordination of EU affairs in Slovenia. The National Assembly does not conduct further impact assessments but members can request studies that are available on the COBISS online system and on the National Council web page, one month after the study was received by the requesting member.

The proper and timely implementation of EU legislation that has been adopted is also supervised by the Government. It regularly prepares information on the state of transposition of directives and

Figure 1 – Regular legislative procedure

Source: Državni zbor.

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on ongoing procedures to establish any infringement of EU legislation. This information shall also be considered by the CEU at least twice a year. According to its reply to a 2017 COSAC report, the Slovenian National Assembly is not looking for a greater role for national parliaments in monitoring the implementation and transposition of EU law.

The European Commission's latest annual monitoring report on the application of EU law showed that at the end of 2019, Slovenia ranked 12th out of 28 Member States in terms of the number of open infringement cases. For half of the cases, the reason was late transposition. In recent years, Slovenia has however gradually managed to reduce its annual number of new late transposition infringement cases.

Slovenian Parliament publications on EU policy Research capabilities on EU affairs The National Assembly's Research and Documentation Division is one of five divisions under the parliamentary administration and part of the secretariat of the National Assembly. It has existed in its current form since March 2004, just before Slovenia joined the EU. The division comprises two sections: the Research Section and the Documentation and Library Section. The Research Section cooperates with the Documentation and Library Section in order to acquire information for its publications and papers.

The Research Section provides politically neutral information and data, expert analyses relating to the work of the National Assembly, its working bodies and services, and comparative reviews of legal solutions, the provisions of the Rules of Procedure, the status of members, the functioning of parliaments, etc. It also replies to international questionnaires such as those coming from the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD) network. The Research Section drafts and publishes research papers on various issues at the request of members, political groups, working bodies, or the plenary, but also on its own initiative. During the 2014-2018 parliamentary term, 108 requests were received from individual members, 15 from working bodies, 15 from the President of the National Assembly and 12 from political groups; 23 were own initiative research papers (following approval from the Secretary General). The process of receiving requests for research papers was revised in 2012 with the introduction of Rules on Requesting and Preparing Research Papers, also putting greater emphasis on electronic types of request.

Research papers may be produced as studies with abstracts, data, general information briefs, comparative overviews and analytical studies. Comparative overviews are by far the most common type of publication, consisting of 10-20 pages of topic-specific, comparative research focusing on the state of play in at least three other jurisdictions, besides Slovenia. There have not been many research studies on EU topics, but those that have been produced are substantial documents between 10 and 60 pages long, taking three weeks to prepare. The potential to include assessments of the impact of legislation and of scientific-technological development in the section's scope of work has been reflected on, but the idea has not developed further owing to staff and budgetary constraints.9 The section is staffed by eight employees with diverse academic backgrounds (law, economy, political science, sociology, psychology, etc.).

The Documentation and Library Section provides members and other internal and external users with specialised information as well as language-editing services for technical texts and linguistic advice. It processes, stores and provides books and other material. It also collects and forwards information relating to Slovenian, European and other national legal orders, as well as other socio-political information. In addition it processes, stores and provides books and other material, and is responsible for the language editing of the verbatim records of National Assembly sessions. It consists of 11 people, half of them proof-readers.

There is a small number of staff working in the secretariat of the National Council (around 20) and there is no dedicated research department in the National Council of Slovenia. Research work for the members of the National Council is carried out by 5 staff employed in the legal service of the Council and the commission secretariats (Legal and Analytical Affairs Service).

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Documents produced by the Slovenian Parliament on EU affairs Državni zbor documents on EU affairs The National Assembly publishes electronic records of National Assembly's plenary sessions, sessions of its working bodies – including sessions of the CEU – and official correspondence. Research papers are produced in Slovenian (and rarely in English) and are made publicly available on the National Assembly's website.

Table 2 – Selected publicly available National Assembly documents relating to EU affairs

Document Description Published since June

2018 Example

Minutes Minutes of Committee on EU Affairs (CEU) meetings

2021: 10 2020: 21 2019: 34

In 2018: 19

Minutes of the 103rd ordinary CEU session, April 2021

Minutes Minutes of the CEU joint sessions with

the Committee on Foreign Policy (CFP)

2021: 6 2020: 15 2019: 18 2018: 9

Minutes of the 25th extraordinary CEU session, joint with the CFP, April 2021

Research projects

These 'attributed research projects' (Dodeljene raziskovalne naloge) also

relate to ECPRD questionnaires.

2021: 31 2020: 53 2019: 39 2018: 86

Analysis of measures taken to help the economy in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic in Austria, March 2021

Research studies, including comparative studies

Research studies cover the following thematic areas: (1) Parliament,

members and elections, (2) social systems, (3) political and legal

systems, (4) economy and finance, (5) environmental protection, (6)

international relations, and other policy areas.

2021: 17 2020: 40 2019: 48 2018: 23

Organisation of students in Europe, May 2021.

Activity reports

Information and data about discussion of EU affairs in plenary and working

bodies

Every year (in SL) End of each term

(in SL and EN)

Report on the National Assembly's work in the 2014-2018 parliamentary term, September 2018.

Report on National Assembly's work in 2020, March 2021.

Državni svet documents on EU affairs The National Council publishes an official record of its plenary sessions and decisions taken.

Table 3 – Selected publicly available National Council documents relating to EU affairs

Document Description

Published since

December 2017

Example

Minutes Minutes of the Commission for

International Relations and European Affairs (CIREA) meetings

2020: 18 2019: 22 2018: 26

62nd joint session of CIREA and the Commission for local governance and regional development and Interest group of local interests, 7 April 2021

Activity reports

Information and data about the discussion of EU affairs in plenary and

working bodies.

Every year and end of term

Report on the work of the National Council in 2020, February 2021

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service

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Newsletter Informative publication regarding the National Council's activities and main

debates Usually 2 per year

Newsletter Number 1-2, Volume XVI, February 2021

Consultations Public events regarding current topics

that derive from interest areas represented in the National Council

2020: 1 2019: 6 2018: 2

Landscapes in Slovenia, 2020

MAIN REFERENCES Anglmayer I., 'Better Regulation practices in national parliaments', Study, EPRS, European Parliament, 2020. Kajnč Lange S., 'Slovenian Parliament and EU Affairs: Strong Formal Powers Awaiting Interest and Capacity to Be Used' in Hefftler C., Neuhold C.; Rozenberg O. and Smith J. (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of National Parliaments and the European Union, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp. 649-667. Peršolja B., 'Parlamentarni vidik vstopanja in delovanja v Evropski uniji', Information paper, National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, 2021. Remáč M., 'Working with national parliaments on EU affairs', European Implementation Assessment, EPRS, European Parliament, 2017.

ENDNOTES 1 D. Lajh, 'Accountability in EU decision-making at the national level: Lost in the multi-level setting?', Teorija in Praksa,

Vol. 5, 2017, pp. 80-96, p. 87. 2 It consists of the President and Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, the leaders of the political groups, and the

members of the national communities. 3 M. B. Rasmussen, M. K. Dionigi, 'National parliaments' use of the political dialogue: Institutional lobbyists, traditionalists

or communicators?', Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 56(5), 2018, pp.1108-1126. 4 S. Kajnč Lange, 'Slovenian Parliament and EU Affairs: Strong Formal Powers Awaiting Interest and Capacity to Be Used'

in C. Hefftler, C. Neuhold, O. Rozenberg and J. Smith (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of National Parliaments and the European Union, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, p. 654.

5 The EU-Portal is an information system used by the government of Slovenia to coordinate and monitor EU documents. Managed by the Secretariat-General and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it allows them to monitor, record, classify, publish and distribute EU documents. It is used until the legislative act is adopted and published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

6 D. Lajh, 'Accountability in EU decision-making at the national level...', op. cit., pp. 86-87. 7 S. Kajnč Lange, 'Slovenian Parliament and EU Affairs...’, op. cit., p. 656. 8 R. Zubek and K. Staroňová, 'Organizing for EU implementation: the Europeanization of government ministries in Estonia,

Poland, and Slovenia', Public Administration, Vol. 90(4), 2012, p. 947. 9 National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, The Development of Parliamentary Research and Information

Services (PRIS) in Central Europe and the Western Balkans, 2013, p. 38.

DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT This document is prepared for, and addressed to, the Members and staff of the European Parliament as background material to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent an official position of the Parliament.

Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy.

© European Union, 2021.

Photo credits: © Državni zbor Republike Slovenije.

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