NEWS
Prime Minister: "With mayors, we have come up with a solution for 11 environmental projects"
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Alenka Bratušek, called a meeting today about the start of the implementation of major environmental projects, co-financed from the European Cohesion Policy funds. The meeting was attended by mayors as well as by the Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, Dejan Židan, the Head of the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, State Secretary Andreja Kert, and State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Mateja Vraničar. In her statement to the press after the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed that, together with mayors, they have come up with a solution for 11 major environmental projects, primarily dealing with drinking water supply, which will start to be implemented promptly.
The drawing of cohesion funds is a government priority, as evidenced by the absorption in the past year, the Prime Minister pointed out. The Government will today, by means of a correspondence session, adopt a decision giving the green light for municipalities to start with the implementation of 11 environmental projects which are outside the quota of current cohesion funds but have all necessary building permits and guarantees of contractors. The decisions will, if there are sufficient funds, be issued within the 2007-2013 financial perspective or within the new 2014-2020 financial perspective. The projects, for which a solution has been slow in coming, relate to the drinking water supply and waste water treatment. On behalf of mayors, the mayor of the Školjica municipality, Ivan Jordan, thanked the Prime Minister and the Government team for a solution, given that the municipalities have already invested EUR 6.9 million into these projects. He added that this has been a big step forward since the length of water distribution systems is 523 km, which affects around 600,000 inhabitants. "For us, today is the D-Day," Mayor Jordan highlighted.
