On the 16th of January 2024, the first national meeting under the newly created EU network against corruption in Slovenia took place at the premises of the House of the EU in Ljubljana. The topic of this national meeting was the prevention and prosecution of corruption in Slovenian Healthcare.

As part of the EU network against corruption the Commission hosts national meetings to provide an opportunity for EU Member States’ anti-corruption stakeholders to engage in dialogue and raise awareness on anti-corruption issues. The EU network against corruption, set up as part of the EU anti-corruption package adopted on 3 May 2023, brings together national authorities, practitioners, civil society, international organisations, EU agencies and relevant services of the European Commission.

The goal of this meeting was to facilitate reflection and dialogue on challenges in the fields of prevention and detection and/or prosecution of corruption in the healthcare sector in Slovenia and potential solutions, as well as to create synergies and foster cooperation between stakeholders.

These stakeholders included participants from the government, academia, and civil society. Together, through a dialogue on the current state of corruption in healthcare, they identified key challenges and suggestions for solutions.

Multiple challenges to corruption prevention, detection, and prosecution were identified, covering several fields, such as awareness, procurement, organisational culture, and protection of reporting persons. Proposed concrete steps to overcome these challenges in preventing corruption included topics such as education, awareness raising, and higher penalties. Solutions for detection included encouraging reports of corrupt acts and strengthening the capacity of inspectors. Suggested steps to overcome challenges in prosecution were – among others – to set up special investigative commissions to speed up procedures and improve cooperation between authorities.