The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, today convened the fourth meeting of presidents of parliamentary parties that joined the Partnership for Development. On this occasion, the participants reviewed work accomplished to date and agreed on the future operation of the Partnership.
PHOTO: Office of the PM
At the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Janez Janša summed up the joint assessment of all participants by saying that the Partnership for Development was a useful project. »With its assistance, we have been able to carry out over 60 % of adopted measures in the area of economic and social reforms, while succeeding in getting a high degree of consensus even on the toughest measures,« said the Prime Minister. The Partnership thus discussed 36 draft laws from the aforementioned package, in addition to some other pieces of legislation, including the Resolution on National Development Projects. Statistically speaking, most of these pieces of legislation or projects were harmonised.
»Even when full harmonisation was not achieved, and the parliamentary groups within the Partnership voted very differently, this did not mean that everything was not harmonised. Even with legislation that did not receive full agreement, many important solutions were harmonised. It can be said that in 2006, the Partnership has contributed to better coordinated and, in some cases, also better solutions. The Partnership for Development thus contributed to a certain degree to the good economic situation in Slovenia today, which is the best so far and which is expected to remain so in the future,« said the Prime Minister.
Mr Janša continued by saying that at the next meeting of the Partnership Council, at the beginning of 2007, an updated list of proposed laws will be addressed and harmonised. During the past year's harmonisation, key emphasis was placed on the package of fiscal legislation, while labour legislation or the reform of the labour market will be focused on next year, said the Prime Minister and added that at the very beginning of 2007, the Government will proceed with the next round of harmonisation with social partners. This will be followed by the same process within the Partnership for Development, and only then will the legislative procedure be initiated.
“If all goes according to plan, the majority of the workload that the Partnership accepted in this phase will be completed by September next year and, at that time, we will be able to make a final assessment and statement on it,” said the Prime Minister and proceeded to say that this did not mean the end of the Partnership, since Slovenia will also have to face further developmental challenges after September 2007. According to the Prime Minister, the Partnership has proven to be a good way for finding answers to these questions.
“Insofar as there is agreement, the Partnership in its present form and structure could continue its work on new issues. It could also expand. We wish all parliamentary parties to cooperate on those points on which there is actually common benefit, when the national interest is concerned, which is certainly faster development,” Prime Minister Janez Janša said in conclusion.
