NEWS
Press conference of the Prime Minister
At today’s 83rd regular session, the Slovenian Government, alongside other resolutions, adopted the Draft Radiotelevizija Slovenija Act and the Draft Public Procurement Agency Act and the Action plan for the prevention of family violence 2010-2011. The Prime Minister Borut Pahor and the responsible ministers outlined the major resolutions, and Mr Pahor then answered some topical questions.
(Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA)
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia supported the Draft Radiotelevizija Slovenija Act, but prior to submitting the said Draft to the National Assembly for discussion and its adoption and harmonisation of certain points will be carried out. Three most important objectives of the new Draft Act are to increase autonomy of public service in relation to centres of political and capital powers in the area of providing information and creating programme content, to achieve greater effectiveness of operation aimed at a higher quality of programmes, accelerated introduction of new technologies and services and wider availability of content for individual target groups, to amend legal solutions which were not harmonised with the EU legislation and transposition of requirements into the national legislation focusing on transparency of public radio and television operation and prevention of granting unjustified state aid.
At today’s session the Government adopted the Draft Act on the Public Procurement Agency providing for the establishment of a public agency. The purpose of setting up the public procurement agency is to achieve a more efficient, cost-effective and transparent public procurement and centralisation of public procurement procedures exceeding limit values for the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Today, the ministerial corps adopted the Action plan for the prevention of family violence 2010-2011. The Family Violence Prevention Act defines the adoption of two-year action plans representing implementing acts of the Resolution on the National Programme of Family Violence Protection for a certain period. The action plan, as the operationalisation of the national programme, defines responsible bodies, specific tasks, deadlines for their implementation, indicators and financial funds earmarked for the realisation. The work regarding these activities will be carried out until the end of 2011, in all ministries where projects and individual activities are under way. The responsible bodies will report on them two months before the expiry of the action plan. The adoption of this plan as the continuation of a national programme was also proposed in the recommendations of the European Union and has already been adopted in certain countries (Finland, Spain, Norway, Belgium, and Great Britain).
At a press conference following the session of the Government, the Prime Minister, Borut Pahor, commented on the fact that Slovenia had slipped down the world competitiveness rankings and adding that »Last year we made every effort to strengthen social cohesion, also at the expense of competitiveness. And this also happened – Slovenia has slipped down a table of global competitiveness.« According to the Prime Minister, this was "the only way to socially integrate Slovenia, in particular, not because we wanted to have political peace, but because we thought it worth enhancing the confidence and trust that we will not leave behind no one of those less better-off. In 2010, we will do our best to enhance the elements of competitiveness, « emphasised the Prime Minister. In relation to this issue, he mentioned the amendment to the Employment Relationships Act. »Trade unions must recall the readiness to be constructive in these changes since the government came forward regarding the minimum pay. We kept our word and we expect from the trade unions to do the same”, added Prime Minister Pahor.
Prime Minister Pahor commented on the request by the group of deputies for an extraordinary session of the National Assembly where an explanation should be given of the new situation about which the public was informed after a referendum on the Arbitration Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Croatia was called. Prime Minister Pahor stressed that the proposers have every right to convene an extraordinary session. In this case, the Government that had negotiated the Arbitration Agreement got another opportunity to present its arguments to support the Agreement. Moreover, the Prime Minister added that “to and fro he has a feeling that interests and wishes on both sides of the border associate those who wish that the referendum on the Arbitration Agreement is not successful. I do understand some circles in Croatia who saw threats to their territorial interests in certain provisions of this agreement,” pointed out the Prime Minister and added that there's no need for such fears in Slovenia. The Arbitration Agreement obliges the arbitral tribunal to define the Slovenia's contact with the high sea.