Monday

11th Dec 2023

Interview

Economic recovery 'in spite of' European Commission, says economist

  • There was much speculation in 2013 about whether Slovenia would be next in line for a bailout (Photo: ec.europa.eu)

Last year Slovenia was tipped as the next bailout candidate after Cyprus and faced one of the highest borrowing costs in the eurozone. Now, on the eve of EU elections, the experience has sparked a pre-election debate among MEP candidates.

On the left, it is an economist who has the sharpest views. Joze Mencinger, well known domestically, was one of the minds behind the country's privatisation model in the 1990s and was vice-president in the first government after Slovenia's independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Last month he decided to stand in the EU elections, running for Positive Slovenia, a member of the pan-European Liberal group.

Among those most likely to end up with a seat in the European Parliament, he stands out for his critical approach which makes him a "eurosceptic" among his peers.

"Yes, I am eurosceptic if this means I am not thinking with the head of [European Commission chief] Barroso, but with my own. And if I don't enthusiastically accept everything that the European Commission does," says Mencinger.

"Why should the European Commission be more untouchable than the Yugoslavian government was or any other government?" he adds.

His opponents, such as Milan Zver from the main centre-right opposition party, defend the commission's policies. According to Zver, a bailout for Slovenia "would have been a better solution for the country".

Another of his critics, Lojze Peterle from the centre-right NSI+SLS party, believes that the European Commission was successful in Greece.

Mencinger disagrees. "If this is a success, I don't know what failure is." The country's public debt has risen from 113 to 177 percent of GDP, unemployment from 7 to 27 percent and youth unemployment to 60 percent.

"I agree that there is a slow revival of EU economies. However, this has not happened because of the European Commission, but in spite of it."

According to the economist, the commission's approach to the crisis was fundamentally wrong, particularly the focus on austerity measures and "blaming the public sector for the mistakes of the private sector".

It was "completely incomprehensible" why the commission ignored the "demand" side of the economy since "extreme savings just prolong and deepen the crisis".

During Communist times Mencinger fought against the ruling ideology.

Now he sees prevailing patterns of beliefs governing the EU. "Take privatisation for example. The current calls for privatisation in Slovenia or Greece are without economic grounds and are ideological in the same way nationalisation was in my own country during communism in 1948."

The euro too has changed, moving from something that was above doubt to becoming a burden.

Mencinger has doubts about the steps being taken to protect the eurozone from future crises.

"This not a union, but a regime where the strongest set the rules and reject any kind of redistribution."

He predicts that the banking union, as often happened in communism, "will end up as a huge administrative institution, which does not improve the banking system".

Mencinger says that one of the consequences of the wrong EU policies is the rise in extreme parties.

"For extreme right parties, crisis is an opportunity. They can get followers with simple solutions among people who have lost their jobs," he says.

"People in distress search for scapegoats and extreme right parties offer them foreigners, immigrants and different minorities. The European commission is, because of the mistakes it made, at least partially responsible for this."

In Slovenia itself opinion polls suggest a possible comeback for the national SNS party, led by Zmago Jelinic.

For Mencinger, Europe is at a crossroads and "more rules will not transform a bad system into a good one. Imposing the same rules on a diverse system is as wrong as if we apply different rules to a uniform system."

He believes the main dilemma lying ahead of the bloc is a decision on whether to move ahead to federalise Europe or to return to a customs union.

Slovenia in political crisis

Both the ruling coalition party and main opposition party in Slovenia were plunged into disarray over the weekend.

Polish truck protest at Ukraine border disrupts war supplies

Disruption at the Polish-Ukrainian border by disaffected Polish truckers is escalating, potentially affecting delivery of military aid to Ukraine. A Polish request to reintroduce permits for Ukrainian drivers has been described as "a shot to the head" during war.

Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law

The Spanish government remains secretive about its negotiations with pro-independence Catalans, but claims the EU Commission has "zero concerns" about their proposed amnesty law for Catalan separatists. The EU executive denies that.

Opinion

Tusk's difficult in-tray on Poland's judicial independence

What is obvious is that PiS put in place a set of interlocking safeguards for itself which, even after their political defeat in Poland, will render it very difficult for the new government to restore the rule of law.

Opinion

Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?

Six months ahead of the EU elections, knocking an 'elitist' climate agenda is looking like a vote-winner to some. Saving the Green Deal and the EU's climate ambitions starts with listening to Europeans who are struggling to make ends meet.

Latest News

  1. Final EU summit of 2023 plus rule of law in Spain This WEEK
  2. Why this week's EU summit must agree a new budget deal
  3. How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis
  4. Many problems to solve in Dubai — honesty about them is good
  5. Sudanese fleeing violence find no haven in Egypt or EU
  6. How should EU reform the humanitarian aid system?
  7. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  8. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us