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Slovenia decides through regular procedure on the extension of the closed labor market for Croats

The law under which the labor market in Slovenia would remain closed for job seekers from Croatia for another two years will be decided by the Slovenian parliament through a regular, rather than an expedited procedure, as proposed by the government of Miro Cerar, it was decided on Thursday at the meeting of the parliamentary president’s college.

Opposition representatives in the parliamentary president’s college, which decided on the agenda for the remaining work of the parliament until the end of the mandate, expressed their disagreement with the conclusion that the “Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Extension of the Transitional Period in the Area of Free Movement of Citizens of the Republic of Croatia and Their Family Members” should be decided in a somewhat expedited procedure.

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They warned that there had not been a broader political discussion on this topic and that the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia had expressed criticism regarding the rationale for Slovenia being among the few EU members that would keep its labor market closed to job seekers from a neighboring member state for an additional two years, and that this move could have economically negative consequences.

Simona Kustec Lipicer, the head of the parliamentary group of the Modern Centre Party (SMC), led by outgoing Prime Minister Miro Cerar, stated that she agrees that the law should be considered in parliament through the regular procedure and that the expedited adoption process “is not the most optimal” as this topic deserves a broader parliamentary discussion.

– We received a letter from the Chamber of Commerce and took their criticisms very seriously, and I believe that in light of this, it is necessary to discuss the content of the law more broadly, said the representative from the Prime Minister’s party.

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Regarding the possible legal decision that the Slovenian labor market for Croats remains closed until 2020, the government must inform the European Commission no later than the end of June, when five years will have passed since Croatia’s accession to the European Union.

Otherwise, it would be considered that as of the beginning of July, the labor market in Slovenia for Croatian citizens is open, according to interpretations from some media, which assess that the government retains some maneuvering space on this issue as the parliament retains its full legislative powers until the election of a new assembly.