The members of the Fiscal Council were confirmed by the National Assembly on 21 March 2017, when the Fiscal Council started its work. To mark the first anniversary of its establishment, the Fiscal Council organised a consultation with experts in public finance and economic policy. The participants at the consultation of internal character were Mitja Čok, PhD, Mitja Gaspari, MSc, Timotej Jagrič, PhD, Dušan Mramor, PhD, Jorg Kristijan Petrovič, MSc, and Marjan Senjur, PhD.
Following the invitation of the Fiscal Council, the participants expressed their opinions about its past work and the tasks and challenges faced by the newly established institution in the future. Their uniform opinion was that the Fiscal Council is an autonomous institution that should continue to closely oversee the situation in public finance in the future. Since public presence is important especially in the initial phase of the existence of institutions, continuous relations with media should be pursued; to acquire credibility, a high professional quality of recommendations published by the Fiscal Council is necessary.
In the participants’ opinion, the Fiscal Council, besides performing the regular tasks set by the legislation, should devote more attention to mid-term challenges, especially to the consequences of population ageing for public finance, the analysis of fiscal risks, an active role in the adoption of relevant legislation, and the establishment of efficient relations with fiscal councils in the EU. The participants also touched upon the current issues of the assessment of the cyclical situation of the economy, the caution in budget planning and the necessity of gaining budgetary surpluses when the trends in public finance are favourable. They also addressed current developments of legislative requirements that could threaten the short- and mid-term public finance stability of Slovenia.