LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), June 5 (SeeNews) – The European Commission said on Wednesday that Slovenia needs to take action to support the development of equity markets as well as improve the business environment by reducing regulatory restrictions and administrative burden.
The country needs also to improve competition, professionalisation and independent oversight in public procurement and carry out privatisations in line with the existing plans, the Commission said in country-specific recommendations to the Council, part of the European Semester 2019 Spring Package.
The Commission also said Slovenia should take action to achieve the medium-term budgetary objective in 2020 as well as adopt and implement reforms in healthcare and long-term care that ensure quality, accessibility and long-term fiscal sustainability.
It should also make advances towards ensuring the long-term sustainability and adequacy of the pension system, including by adjusting the statutory retirement age and restricting early retirement.
Additionally, the EU's executive body said that Slovenia should increase the employability of low-skilled and older workers by improving labour market relevance of education and training, lifelong learning and activation measures, including through better digital literacy.
The Commission also recommended Slovenia to focus investment-related economic policy on research and innovation, low carbon and energy transition, sustainable transport, in particular rail, and environmental infrastructure, taking into account regional disparities.