Four new Flash Reports prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) are now available and provide information on recent social policy developments in Croatia, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Turkey.

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• After long preparations, the introduction of a “national pension” in Croatia is finally underway. This benefit will be targeted at people who do not have the required social insurance record to retire but are over the legal pensionable age of 65 and have no other source of income. Women living in extreme poverty in rural areas are given particular priority. The process to implement the new scheme will be quite challenging in view of the normative and institutional arrangements needed.
• In November 2019, the government of North Macedonia announced that it will roll back the implementation of the progressive income taxation, introduced in January 2019. The Minister of Finance indicated that it concerns a temporary measure until the policy is redefined. The arguments provided are based on indicative rather than representative harmonised data.
• In November 2019, the Slovenian Parliament approved amendments to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act: pension benefits will be increased and the status of employed pensioners improved. Although these amendments make pensions more adequate, they risk weakening the long-term financial sustainability of the pension system. In addition, they may also hinder the development of voluntary (“second pillar”) pensions.
• On 7 December 2019, Turkey legislated a tax reform, with a higher tax bracket for high-income individuals and new taxes on high-value house ownership, vacation stays and certain digital services. Reforms are limited in scope and not likely to solve the structural problems of informal work and income inequality.