In his opening address, Dr Franc Trček, representative of the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, underlined the importance of an open debate on whether problem areas are really limited to national borders. He believes problems also exist in other areas, encouraging debate and presenting proposals. Under existing legislation, 86 municipalities are currently listed as border problem areas (BPAs).

Metka Šošterič, representative of the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, presented the current legislation on border problem areas and the incentives for such areas. Dr Janez Nared from the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) presented the study on border problem areas, highlighting three key criteria: jobs, accessibility of connections and services, which are crucial for settlement and avoiding migration.

The mayor of the municipality of Podlehnik, mag. Sebastian Toplak, further highlighted the trends that are characteristic of the border area in Haloze: population decline, ageing population, the presence of hilly areas and the state of the road infrastructure. He also drew attention to the adjustments made to the call for proposals conditions over the last year, which enabled successful applications for development projects and presented proposals and initiatives for the development of border problem areas.

In the future, we will hold further public debates (on 12 October 2023 in Pivka and on 25 October 2023 in Maribor) focused on specific topics, with the aim of gathering proposals on how to amend the Act from different target groups and hearing the views of stakeholders from different regions. The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development wishes for the widest possible public discussion involving all relevant stakeholders. The amendment of the Act is then expected to go to the legislative procedure early next year. The objective of the amendments to the Promotion of Balanced Regional Development Act is to comprehensively address the challenges individual areas face, including the source of funding and enhanced stakeholder involvement.