The regional development policy promotes sustainable development in the broadest sense, realizes development potentials, and overcomes development barriers in all Slovenian development regions, which are the fundamental functional territorial units for planning regional policy and implementing regional development tasks. Slovenia has 12 development regions, which are also statistical regions with the same name. In October 2018, the mayors of our region proposed renaming the Coastal-Karst Development Region to the Development Region Istria-Brkini-Kras.
Objectives of Regional Policy
The vision of regional development is an efficiently managed, dynamic, and creative region with its own identity, capable of recognizing and exploiting global development opportunities. The development of regions is based on economic efficiency, social justice, and environmental responsibility.
By promoting balanced regional development, we aim to increase the economic, environmental, and social capital in the development regions and improve its efficiency in terms of economic competitiveness, quality of life, and sustainable use of natural resources. We seek to address structural problems in problematic areas and reduce their development lag, as well as realize and strengthen the development potential of the region through international cooperation.
Development decisions at the regional development level are made by the regional development council and the regional council. General development tasks in the region are carried out by the regional development agency, which prepares, coordinates, monitors, and evaluates the regional development program and performs some other development tasks of the state in the public interest at the regional level.
The Regional Development Agreement (RRA) is an instrument of regional policy that implements the regional development program by defining key regional and sectoral projects to overcome development barriers in the region and securing sources of financing. The RRA allows for co-financing of regional development programs in 12 development regions.
Each programming period, a regional development program (RDP) is prepared in the region, which is the fundamental strategic and programmatic document at the regional level. It aligns the development goals in the region, determines the instruments, and evaluates the resources for their implementation. The implementing document of the RDP is the regional development agreement, which is concluded for a period of four years.
Spatial planning at the regional level is crucial for a harmonious regional and balanced spatial development of the country. The instrument of spatial planning at the regional level is the regional spatial plan (RSP), a spatial strategic act through which the state and municipalities, based on the Spatial Development Strategy of Slovenia, its action program, other development acts of the state, and EU development goals, agree on and harmonize the spatial development of each development region and determine the key development opportunities and guidelines for municipal spatial acts.
In 2023, the preparation of the first generation of regional spatial plans in Slovenia began, with regional development agencies playing the role of preparers. The Regional Development Center Koper, as the preparer, primarily performs organizational and coordination tasks.