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The Slovenian Parliament and EU Affairs BRIEFING National Parliaments The Slovenian Parliament and EU affairs Državni zbor Državni svet President: Igor Zorčič (NeP, NI) President: Alojz Kovšca (Craft sector representative) Chair of the Committee on EU Affairs: Marko Chair of the Commission for International Pogačnik (SDS, EPP) Relations and European Affairs: Bojan Kekec Secretary General: Uršula Zore Tavčar (Local interests representative) (organigram) Secretary General: Dušan Štrus (organigram) EU liaison officer: Zvonko Bergant EU affairs secretariat: Lilijana Žurman Address: Šubičeva ulica 4, 1102 Ljubljana Address: Šubičeva ulica 4, 1102 Ljubljana http://www.dz-rs.si | @DrzavniZbor http://www.ds-rs.si | @DrzavniSvet 90 seats 40 seats 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. __________________________________________________________________________________ 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. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Authors: Klemen Žumer and Yann-Sven Rittelmeyer Linking the Levels Unit PE 690.704 – July 2021 EN EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service 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). 2 The Slovenian Parliament and EU affairs 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
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