Abstract
The Republic of Slovenia lies at the heart of Europe, where the Alps face the Pannonian plains and the Mediterranean meets the mysterious Karst Slovenia is a South Eastern mountainous country which has borders with Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. It entered the World Trade Organization on the 30 of July, 1995 and the European Union on the 1st of May, 2004. It is a former part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and also of the USSR. It became independent in 1991 and was at this time one of the six Republics of Yugoslavia. Slovenia is a relatively small country compared to others in Europe, with a population of two million inhabitants and a total area of 20,273 km². Its capital city is Ljubljana. Slovenia is now a candidate for entering the OECD. Slovenia, which on the 1st of January 2007 became the first 2004 European Union entrant to adopt the Euro, is a model of economic success and stability for the region. In December 2007, Slovenia was invited to begin the accession process for joining the OECD. Despite its economic success, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia has lagged behind the region average, and taxes remain relatively high. Furthermore, the labor market is often seen as inflexible, and legacy industries are losing sales to more competitive firms in China, India, and elsewhere.
