NEWS

Prime Minister’s press conference

At today’s 67th regular session, the Slovenian Government, alongside other resolutions, adopted the Slovenian Exit Strategy 2010-2013, the draft School Meals Act and the Act amending the Kindergarten Act.  The Slovenian Prime Minister, Borut Pahor, and the responsible ministers first outlined the major resolutions, and Mr Pahor then answered a number of topical questions.

   

 

(Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA)

   

At today's sessions, the Slovenian Government adopted the Slovenian Exit Strategy 2010-2013 conceived as a combination of economic policy measures, structural changes and institutional adjustments. Through the adopted strategy, the Government intends to stimulate economic activities, provide for a gradual elimination of macroeconomic imbalances and, by taking into account the social and environmental development aspects, facilitate gradual economic growth. One of the key tasks is to ensure consistency of short-term anti-crisis measures by means of long-term structural changes. In this way, the promotion of creativity and innovation will pave the way to a competitive, socially and environmentally responsible knowledge-based economy and will consequently also lead to an increase in the quality of living.

 

The ministerial corps today also adopted the draft School Meals Act regulating the organisation (subsidisation) of school meals for pupils and students, the amount of subsidy, the conditions and the procedure for granting the subsidy, as well as the supervision over the implementation of this Act. Moreover, the Government adopted the Act amending the Kindergarten Act that introduces new provisions to facilitate a more effective provision of premises for the needs of kindergartens. One of the new provisions imposes on the municipalities the obligation of spatial planning of kindergartens in designing the placement of this activity in the environment. In this way, a timely spatial planning of kindergartens will be ensured, a practice that has so far been neglected.

  

At the press conference, Prime Minister Pahor said that "Slovenia is among the first countries to adopt the exit strategy at the government level". In the current and in the following years there will be a war between national economies. The Slovenian Government, however, reckons that thanks to the adopted exit strategy, Slovenia will be among victors. In these circumstances, Slovenia can only achieve a development breakthrough "by way of an offensive at all fronts and by defining priorities, where our forces need reinforcement". Prime Minister Pahor commended the work of Minister Gaspari who was in charge of the team of "anti-crisis ministers" that has been preparing the exit strategy for the past two months. 

   

When asked about the attack of bullmastiffs on their owner, Mr Pahor said that he had spoken to the Minister of Agriculture, Milan Pogačnik, and added: "I expect the minister to submit at the next Government's session comprehensive information on the event and an opinion on the treatment of dangerous animals." Prime Minister Pahor stressed that comprehensive information on dangerous animals is prerequisite for the adoption of short-term and long-term measures, as this issue must be addressed in a complex manner in order to avoid any further tragedy.

  

In response to the question about the Government's decision on the Falcon 2000 EX aircraft, Mr Pahor said that the Government is making a choice between two bad options. Therefore, it will be necessary to choose the one which is less bad. In making the decision, its cost-effectiveness will nevertheless be imperative. "If I had been told today by Krek's Commission that it was more cost-effective to fly, I would have made my next travel by this aircraft," emphasised Prime Minister Pahor and went on to say that "the commission has unfortunately not been that explicit, as according to its assessment, the use of the aircraft would only pay off if it were flown more than 300 hours". Therefore, the Government will take some more time for additional calculations in order to convince both, itself and the public, that the decision taken will be the most rational one.