Prime Minister Janez Janša concluded the Government visit to the Goriška region with an evening football match for charitable purposes in Ajdovščina. After officially visiting this region for the first time in April 2006, the Government was paying a return visit to the region yesterday and today. This time the Prime Minister and ministers participated in over 64 different events and meetings; the central part of the visit was the Government’s morning consultation meeting in Vipava. At this meeting, the Government analysed the situation and the development potential of the region, verifying which of the matters agreed on in April 2006 had been implemented. The Government agreed that most of the promises made and commitments undertaken two years ago had either been implemented already or their implementation was well under way. Members of the Government also discussed the new development opportunities which had emerged in the Goriška region during that time.
(Foto: Bor Slana/Bobo)
At the press conference held in the afternoon in Spodnja Idrija, the Prime Minister said that, in terms of development, the Goriška region ranked among the top six of the twelve Slovene regions, occupying the fifth place on the list. GDP per capita comes to more than 95% of the Slovene average and more than 83% of the European average. The region is above average in terms of the economic power of its inhabitants and real wages of employees. “Compared to April 2006, the unemployment rate in the region has fallen by a quarter and is the lowest ever recorded since Slovenia gained its independence,” stressed the Prime Minister, estimating that, according to the indicators mentioned above, the Goriška region had been developing at a rate faster than general in either Slovenia or Europe. The region is one of the Slovenian regions most attractive to tourists and, as the Prime Minister said, it is specifically in tourism that there is considerable development potential for the future. “Since the Government’s last visit to the region, a number of documents of considerable importance for development have been adopted; these have had or are still having a considerable impact on the development of the region,” said Mr Janša, identifying as one of these documents the Resolution on National Development Projects, which also comprises five projects that are located entirely or partly in this region.
(Foto: Bor Slana/Bobo)
In the Prime Minister’s opinion, the Goriška region had also been successful in drawing on European funds as, despite the relatively small amount earmarked in the previous financial perspective, 459 projects had been co-financed from these funds, representing a total value of EUR 17 million. Furthermore, the region has also obtained an additional EUR 3.2 million under various cross-border programmes. “Under the current financial perspective 2007-2013, EUR 40 million have been made available to the region; this is above the Slovene average. In per capita terms, this comes to over EUR 330,” stressed the Prime Minister.
Since its first visit, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia has drafted the amendments to the Financing of the Municipalities Act, given that difficulties in the financing of local communities represented one of the most burning issues. “With the new law on the financing of municipalities coming into force in 2007, an additional EUR 70 million in funding has been made available to municipalities, which is a 13% increase compared to the previous year. This year, these funding will increase by a further 4%,” said the Prime Minister. In 2006 the municipalities of the Goriška region also received for the first time additional funds for investment in local public infrastructure totalling EUR 2.5 million; the amount was even higher in 2007.
(Foto: Bor Slana/Bobo)
On this occasion, the Prime Minister also spoke about the issue of dividing Slovenia into regions and certain dilemmas associated with this when it comes to the establishment of the Goriška Region. In Mr Janša’s words, this region, as it is proposed at present, has a sufficient number of inhabitants, sufficient size of territory and sufficient development potential – economic as well as general social potential. As regards deliberations about Primorska constituting one or two regions, the Prime Minister emphasised that certain difficulties would be encountered in the event of establishing a single region. “Therefore it is most likely – and this is also the will of the legislators, as it has already been verified – that there will be two regions in the area of Primorska,” said the Prime Minister, going on to add that: “Given its respective potential, they will be among the stronger regions, as they are already classed as such within the current statistical regions.” As for the name of the region, the regions themselves should, to a large extent, have a say in this matter, according to the Prime Minister. “It is most likely that Parliament will adopt some kind of framework to enable each region to choose its own name by means of its regional statute. The law will also provide instruments enabling future regions subsequently to agree or at least co-decide on merging, splitting – subject, of course, to certain logical conditions.” The law on financing of regions, as proposed by the Government, provides for a transfer of over EUR 50 million in order to secure the performance of day-to-day tasks of the region, and for an additional EUR 20 million to cover developmental tasks, which, according to the Prime Minister, represents considerable potential for development.
(Foto: Bor Slana/Bobo)
The Prime Minister also visited the Janko Premrl-Vojko Centre for educating children with disabilities, in Vipava. For over 42 years, children and adolescents with special needs – 106 in this school-year alone – have been educated and trained in this centre. The Prime Minister was given a tour of the centre by the management and childcare workers, and praised the responsible and successful work they had performed throughout these years. He talked to the children and encouraged them to continue their activities in a variety of programmes provided by the centre.
(Foto: Bor Slana/Bobo)
The Prime Minister then met the managers of Instrumentation Technologies, a leading manufacturer of equipment for electronic accelerators operating on the global level. Mr Janša was given a tour of the company by the representatives of the management who acquainted him with the company’s history, business operations and plans for the future. The company has no competition and all its business operations are in foreign markets. The Prime Minister congratulated Instrumentation Technologies on their work, work that contributes to Slovenia’s high profile in the world. Also under discussion was the FAIR Project – the construction of an international scientific centre devoted to the studies of elements of matter and space development – in which Slovenia participates as one of the partners.
(Foto: Bor Slana/Bobo)
Late in the afternoon, the Prime Minister and State Secretaries had a meeting in Nova Gorica with mayors, businessmen, elected representatives, state councillors and other stakeholders in the development of Goriška, at which they discussed the prospects and opportunities for development in this part of Slovenia. Discussed at the meeting were also numerous possibilities brought about by both the new system of municipality financing and planned regionalisation; in addition, mention was made of possibilities of development incentives provided from European funds. Representatives of wider political, economic and social circles in Goriška assessed the Government’s visit as successful and productive. They agreed that the Government had fulfilled virtually all the promises given on the occasion of its first meeting less than two years ago.
(Foto: Bor Slana/Bobo)
By way of concluding the meeting in Goriška, a football match was played in Ajdovščina for charitable purposes between the Government team and a team of businessmen and politicians from the area. The match ended in a 3-3 draw.
