President Dr Danilo Tuerk received on Tuesday the annual report of the human rights ombudsman Dr Zdenka Cebasek -Travnik who had highlighted the question of whether Slovenia was still a welfare state. President believes the answer to this needs to be sought in the effectiveness and quality of the welfare system, which have to increase.

President shares the concern of the ombudsman about the unequal access to vital social, health care, education and legal services.

He said it was worrying that ever more people are struggling with access to health care services and highlighted that some children do not have health care insurance.

As regard access to legal services, poresident said that while the rule of law is uniform in Slovenia "it is not equally accessible to everyone". He called on the bar to strengthen mechanisms for free legal aid.

The problem of legal protection for workers, also highlighted by ombudsman, is also a very serious issue, president said, calling for stricter and more effective inspections and timely measures. He called the failure to secure this so far "a mistake".