The Slovenian government plans to conduct a pilot census of the Roma population and commission an analysis of potential misuse of social benefits, for which the Agency for Science, Research and Innovation (ARIS) has issued a call for researchers. The plan was proposed by the Office for Nationalities, with three ministries acting as clients for the project. The budget is set at up to 90,000 euros.
The plan envisages the development and testing of a methodology for a pilot census of the Roma population to obtain estimates of the number of members of the Roma community by age, gender and settlement. The call details the age structure for which data is to be collected, ranging from preschool children to adults. The census is to be conducted in 20 municipalities that have a Roma council member and in five additional municipalities with registered Roma settlements, with the possibility of conducting the census in Ljubljana and Maribor also mentioned. The aim is to establish a database, determine differences compared to existing estimates and prepare the legal and methodological basis for future censuses.
The Office for Nationalities clarified in writing that it proposed the research due to a lack of modern and reliable data on the number and situation of Roma. "The lack of appropriate data makes it difficult to plan measures to improve their situation and monitor their effectiveness," it stated. It added that better data would serve to shape public policies, particularly in education, employment, health and housing, and to monitor the National Programme of Measures for Roma until 2030. The pilot project aims to investigate and test how to collect data in a methodologically reliable, legally permissible and Roma-acceptable manner. Gregor Perič, a member of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), is acting head of the Office for Nationalities.
Tilen Štajnpihler Božič, an associate professor at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, explained to N1 Slovenia that the collection of data on ethnic affiliation is not in itself discriminatory if certain protective measures are respected. "Participation in such data collection must be voluntary, based on self-identification, and data may only be collected in aggregate form, so that a specific individual cannot be identified from it. The key is the purpose, which must be linked to efforts to prevent discrimination and improve the situation of vulnerable groups," he said. He believes that from the call itself, which is "broadly and sometimes clumsily formulated," it cannot be concluded whether these measures will be respected.
Public Ombudsman Simona Bavdek Drenik warned that there is a lack of appropriate legal basis for the collection of data on ethnic affiliation on this scale. "The legitimacy of the research objectives cannot replace an appropriate legal basis and other prescribed guarantees," she said. Information Commissioner Jelena Virant Burnik warned that it cannot be assessed from the call whether the processing of data will be lawful, as the legal bases and method of collection are not clear.
Representatives of the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana, the Pedagogical Institute, the Jozef Stefan Institute (ZRC SAZU), the Institute of Criminology, the Faculty of Social Work and Jožek Horvat Muc, president of the Union of Roma in Slovenia, have publicly opposed the call. The signatories stated that the call is questionable in its very premise because "Roma are again explicitly and in scientific jargon becoming a population, the others, not-us". They warn that quantitative data can sometimes hide and obscure the real problem and remind that due to historical experiences, such as the Nazi census of Roma, extreme caution is required with such censuses.
The signatories of the letter also warned about another controversial research topic in the call, "Analysis of risks and misuse of social benefits and the effectiveness of sanctions". The client for this topic is the Ministry of Demography, Family and Social Affairs, headed by Mateja Ribič. The purpose of the research is to identify groups at the highest risk of misusing social benefits, to shape a "model of a responsible user" and to study the effects of reducing or abolishing benefits as a sanction. The signatories believe that such objectives direct the research towards labelling certain groups as problematic and encourage moralising about their legal rights. "Instead of ethical and sensitive research into living conditions, needs and ways of removing structural inequalities and poverty, such framing of the problem leads to exclusion and stigmatisation," the letter states, which concludes with a warning: "When bureaucratic census-taking becomes the answer to many complex social problems, when it is wrapped in scientific pretence".
ARIS published a public call for research projects, the so-called CRP 2026, a week ago. Immediately after the referendum on conditioning social assistance with socially useful work, a research topic is being called. According to data from the Statistical Office, during the last population census in 2002, census takers did not receive an answer on national or ethnic affiliation from nine per cent of respondents. Representatives of the SDS and NSi parties have always advocated a "stricter" policy towards Roma. Gregor Perič was a member of the Party of Modern Centre ten years ago and is now a member of the SDS. Members of the Roma community in Slovenia do not have the same constitutional rights as the Hungarian and Italian minorities, but the Constitution guarantees them protection and rights regulated by a special law. The collection of such data is very sensitive and must not be mandatory.
Jelka Godec, president of the SDS parliamentary club, told the Domovina portal that Slovenia should "reintroduce the census of nationality, religion and so on". Her words were supported by Prime Minister Janša. "Slovenia is one of the few countries in the world that does not ask about religion and nationality during the population census. From that aspect, we also have difficulties, given that the Slovenian Constitution grants special rights to members of certain nationalities, and we are not even allowed to count them," Janša said. Most of the projects from the call follow the work programme of Janez Janša's government.
