Pension reform may face a referendum
Overview:
While Slovenia remains by far the richest of the transition countries and is now showing signs of economic recovery many economic issues remain to be resolved. The economy is recording positive GDP growth once more, inflation is low and the current account deficit contained. The fiscal deficit is large but will likely fall before the public debt to GDP ratio deteriorates significantly. Despite having a good track record of macroeconomic stability, however, productivity growth is low and reforms must be implemented to improve economic competitiveness. The coalition government has won passage of an important pension reform in parliament but this may be subject to referendum. Key banks are in need of re-capitalization and private external debt is large and liquidity low which has led to high-profile bankruptcies.