NEWS

Press conference of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia

At today's 91st regular session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, alongside other resolutions, agreed on expenditure breakdowns for the preparation of proposals for the supplementary 2011 budget and for national budget for 2012 by policies. Speaking at the press conference following the Government's session, Prime Minister Pahor said he was pleased with the prepared materials, since the rule setting the upper limit of expenditure, i.e. the fiscal rule, was finally adopted. “We have adopted a rule about not spending more than is generated, but if we do spend more, we have to invest it in our future development and not in current consumption,” Prime Minister Pahor explained the new proposed changes to the expenditure breakdown and added that the Government counted on modest but positive economic growth and on a 1.5 percent reduction of budget deficit.

   

At today's session, Prime Minister Pahor and the ministers have agreed to meet shortly with a view to coordinating budget expenditure for individual policies and respective programmes. He has also announced that throughout the next week the Government will intensively deal with the budget, with special emphasis on structural reforms and, within this framework, on the pension reform. The Government also took note of the Report on regulatory activities of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in the period from 1 January to 30 June 2010, information on the inflation rate in the first half of 2010, adopted the Ordinance designating the Karst cultural landscape in Lipica as a cultural monument of national importance and the programme of education for the unemployed for 2010/2011.

   

Prime Minister Pahor then presented plans regarding the meeting with his Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor, which will be held on 31 July, the first anniversary of their first and decisive meeting within the framework of preparations for arbitration agreement, which is the most difficult succession issue arising from the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia: “All other issues, except for the NLB, are being effectively and timely addressed within a joint diplomatic commission. In our last meeting in Dubrovnik, my Croatian colleague and I agreed to a meeting at the end of the month, in which we would attempt to finally resolve the issue of the NLB former savers.

  

Then, Mr Pahor announced a meeting with representatives of the working groups of journalists in connection with their proposals relating to the media legislation and the next day’s charity football match in which he would participate as its honorary patron and as a player. He continued by answering other press questions; enclosed are respective sound recordings.