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Hay & Menon: European Politics

Slovenia

Once it had gained independence from Yugoslavia, Slovenia began to look to membership of the EC/EU as a means to strengthen its economy and new polity. In June 1996, Slovenia applied for EU membership. This was the latest of all the 2004-entry CEECs, yet Slovenia was amongst the first wave of applicant states invited to begin accession negotiations by the Luxembourg European Council in 1997. Slovenia is (and was throughout the negotiation process) the richest of the applicant CEECs. Indeed, by the time of its accession to the EU in 2004, Slovenia had a higher per capita GDP than existing member state, Portugal. This relatively high level of economic development caused considerable difficulties for the Slovenian negotiators, who felt the EU failed to adequately distinguish between the more economically-developed Slovenia and the other applicant states. On 23 March 2003, Slovenia held a referendum on accession to the EU, in which 89.6% supported membership (with a turnout of 60.3%), and on 1 May 2004 it became a member of the EU. In 2006 Slovenia was the first of the 2004 member states to be considered to have met the necessary criteria to adopt the Euro, and on 1 January 2007 Slovenia adopted the Euro.