Today, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, convened the fifth meeting of the Partnership Council (a body consisting of the presidents of parliamentary parties which joined the Partnership for Development) and the representative of the Hungarian minority to consider several acts that the Partnership will discuss this year. The Council was also briefed on activities conducted within the framework of the Resolution on National Development Projects for the Period 2007-2013.

 

(Photo: Office of the Pirme Minister)

The Council approved the list of laws and other measures that will be coordinated within the Partnership this year. Among them are the law on health care and pharmaceutical activities concessions, and the Free Specialist Doctor Act. With regard to the latter, the Council agreed to keep the discussion open for an additional month. The PM said that during this time the Minister of Health, Andrej Bručan, would meet the negotiating teams of those Partnership members interested in coordinating the act, adding that this was an entirely normal process of coordination within the Partnership for Development.

In conclusion, Mr Janša said that the President of the Social Democrats, Borut Pahor, had given assurances that their side would contribute a number of concrete propositions to the draft law, and that discussions would not revolve around manipulative claims, such as the act being an instance of privatization or, in other words, uncontrolled privatization of the health care system, which the PM described as an absurd accusation.