ABSTRACT
Slovenia became an independent state in 1991. Previously, it was a part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) for almost five decades. Its declaration of independence was followed by a limited conflict with the Yugoslav People’s Army that is known as the Ten-Day War, after which it was internationally recognized in 1992. Slovenia became a member of the European Union and NATO in 2004, implemented the Schengen regime, and entered the Eurozone in 2007 (Milosavljević & Kerševan Smokvina, 2012). It is geographically situated between Italy and the Adriatic Sea on its western border, Austria in the north, Hungary in the northeast, and Croatia in the southeast. Slovenia has a population of just over 2 million, of which more than 80 per cent declare themselves Slovenian, so the country is relatively homogeneous in terms of ethnic and linguistic composition ([0] Milosavljević & Kerševan Smokvina, 2012). Its per capita GDP in 2012 was €17,244, and the economic growth figures were positive for the first time after eight consecutive quarters in the last quarter of 2013 (2.1 per cent) (Statistical Office of Republic of Slovenia, 2014), with positive predictions for 2015, when the annual growth is forecast at 0.5 per cent (Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, 2014).
