Send Print Tweet

Slovenia's accession to the OECD

• On 10 May 2010, the OECD decided to invite Slovenia to become a member of the OECD, along with Estonia and Israel. The OECD will welcome the three future members at an event on 27 May 2010 during the OECD meeting of the Council at ministerial level.
• An Accession Agreement on the terms of Slovenia accession is scheduled to be signed in Slovenia on 1 June 2010. Slovenia will become a member once it formally accedes to the OECD Convention.
• The OECD decided to open accession discussions with Slovenia in May 2007. A Roadmap adopted at the end of November 2007 set out the terms, conditions and process for accession, including in-depth reviews by 18 OECD Committees. Slovenia has completed all 18 accession reviews in less than three years.

The context 

• The OECD was founded nearly 50 years ago with a mission to improve economic policy making in the interests of citizens of its member countries and of other countries around the world. Today, it groups 31 countries – soon to become 34 with Estonia, Israel and Slovenia – committed to providing the best possible education, health and employment opportunities for their citizens.
• Together, OECD countries set standards and design policies to improve the functioning of national economies. Instruments like the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention help to create the bedrock for a fair and open global economy. The OECD has also developed policy strategies to boost employment; strengthen innovation and growth, and improve education and health outcomes.  It also contributes with sound analytical inputs to the global discussions to address major challenges such as climate change or the economic and financial crisis.
• In today’s global economy, new countries and regions have emerged as major players and new challenges have become apparent. In response, the OECD is actively strengthening links with other regions of the world. 
• Further ahead, the OECD looks forward to the accession of the Russian Federation which is currently in membership talks with the OECD. In parallel, the OECD is forging closer links with other major emerging economies: Brazil, the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. 

The implications for Slovenia

• The accession process has proved to be a catalyst for reforms in Slovenia. Slovenia has reacted rapidly to OECD recommendations and has acted quickly and resolutely in responding to them.
• As part of the accession process, Slovenia has responded to OECD reviews positively:
  • Slovenia has, as a result of the accession process, adopted key legislation to improve its corporate governance framework for state-owned enterprises, minority shareholder protection and securities regulation.  The Slovenian parliament adopted legislation on 20 April 2010 establishing a central ownership agency to manage all of the State’s direct interests in SOEs. The Slovenian authorities are also preparing legislation to define the relationship between the new central ownership agency and two key state institutions overseeing the pension fund (KAD) and restitution fund (SOD).
  • Slovenia has signed the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding concerning consultation, co-operation and exchange of information between securities regulators.
  • Slovenia has also agreed to extend measures of liberalisation to all OECD members in such areas as mining, road transport and financial services and has adopted certain legislative amendments to achieve this. Slovenia has accepted the standstill clause of the OECD Codes of Liberalisation, thereby locking in its already very liberal investment regime and absence of foreign exchange controls. The restrictiveness of Slovenia’s regulations on inward direct investment is well below the OECD average as measured by the OECD’s FDI Restrictiveness Index.
  • The recommendations made by the OECD Trade Committee in its review of the degree of market openness in Slovenia were accepted and integrated by the country as useful contributions to reform processes that are, in many cases, already under way.
  • Significant efforts have been made by Slovenia to integrate biodiversity and nature conservation concerns into its legislative framework for forestry, hunting, fisheries and agriculture, spatial planning, water management, regional development and tourism.  These initiatives could serve as an example for many countries.
    
• Slovenia has a well-developed public governance framework. Slovenia’s legislative and policy framework for open and accountable government is advanced and firmly established with well-functioning access to information structures and mechanisms. The structure behind Slovenia’s budget practices and procedures provides predictability and a medium-term orientation to the budget process, as well as facilitating fiscal discipline.
  
• Slovenia is also one of the leading countries in its strategy for making public sector information available in line with OECD recommendations.
  

The process for becoming a member of the OECD

• Slovenia was one of five countries invited by the OECD in May 2007 to open accession negotiations. The others were Chile, Estonia, Israel and the Russian Federation.
• Accession discussions begin following an invitation from OECD member countries to open membership talks. An Accession Roadmap sets out the terms, conditions and process for accession.
• Candidate countries are first invited to set out their position on all OECD legal instruments.
• Each country is then reviewed by a number of OECD committees in a variety of policy areas (between 18 and 22 for the current candidates). These reviews assess the country’s position on OECD legal instruments and the degree of coherence of policies with those of OECD member countries, in what amounts to a sort of 360 degree in-depth review of the candidate country.
• On the basis of the results of these reviews and other relevant considerations, OECD member countries decide whether to invite the candidate country to become a member.

The benefits of membership 

• Being a member of the OECD means participating in the construction of a new architecture for international economic governance. Along with other groupings such as the G20, the OECD provides a forum for the design and implementation of the rules that will shape tomorrow’s global economy. 
• The OECD provides member countries with a forum to boost policy performance through:
  • direct comparisons of policy experience
  • identification and exchange of best practices
  • seeking solutions to common challenges
  • better co-ordination of national and international policies.
• Practical benefits of OECD membership include:
  • Participation in OECD policy discussions and standard setting on cutting edge issues.
  • Policy reviews helping member countries to monitor progress in specific areas and identify scope for possible improvement.
  • Regular surveillance of macroeconomic and structural policy through Economic Surveys.
  • Integration into OECD statistical databases and publications, allowing policymakers, researchers and businesses to benchmark their country’s performance.
  • Access to OECD expertise including research and analysis on a wide range of issues.