National Reform Programme of the Slovak Republic 2023.

The National Reform Programme of the Slovak Republic 2024 describes the reform efforts of the Government of the Slovak Republic in key structural areas. It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the measures implemented and planned by the Slovak Republic in response to the country-specific recommendations for Slovakia, whether these measures are implemented through EU cohesion policy, the Slovak Recovery and Resilience Plan or from the state budget. At EU level, the programme is a key part of the European Semester cycle, in which it is presented to the EU Council and the European Commission and plays a central role in the collective monitoring and multilateral debate on policy challenges and how to address them. The programme also serves as a tool to communicate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Research, development and innovation are of undeniable importance for long-term sustainable economic growth, quality of life and tackling global challenges. However, the impact of the reforms launched will only be seen over time. The importance of the research, development and innovation agenda is underlined by the consolidation of cross-ministerial coordination under the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as part of the ongoing reform of competences and cross-ministerial coordination of policy-making in this area. The implementation of the measures from the adopted National Research, Development and Innovation Strategy 2030 significantly advances reform efforts towards more efficient governance, processes and allocation of increased resources to support the ecosystem. Digital transformation is part of successfully managing reforms in this area. A key element of Slovakia's digital transformation will be the successful implementation of the extensive National Digital Decade Plan. Concrete steps to support digitisation will be directed towards increasing the use of e-services by the state, developing cyber security and increasing the number of projects to develop and apply cutting-edge digital technologies.
The quality of the institutional environment greatly influences the efficiency of resource allocation in the economy. In Slovakia, barriers to development in this area are manifested mainly in the form of limited enforceability of property rights, lack of trust in public institutions or regulatory and administrative barriers for entrepreneurs. In this context, it is important that a new reorganised court network has been launched, which aims to streamline court proceedings and improve the quality of court decisions. In turn, the electronicisation and speeding up of insolvency proceedings and commercial register processes will contribute to reducing administrative barriers to business. By the end of 2024, 300 specific measures will enter into force, leading to administrative savings for businesses. The planned legislative changes should bring improvements to the current mechanism for the management of seized and confiscated assets. The modernisation of information systems for international police cooperation will make the exchange of information needed to fight international crime more efficient. The aim of building shared service centres is to strengthen and improve the performance of local authorities in providing public services to citizens.