NEWS
Prime Minister's press conference following the Government’s 107th regular session
At today’s session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, alongside several other resolutions, adopted a decision on the termination of the term of office of the District State Prosecutor and took note of partial assessment of damage to state roads and railways caused by floods in September 2010. The two competent ministers highlighted basic emphasis of the decisions, and Prime Minister Pahor then answered some topical questions.
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted a decision terminating the term of office of District State Prosecutor Robert Stojko at the District State Prosecutor's Office in Murska Sobota, as of 9 November 2010. In his written statement submitted to the Government, prosecutor Stojko has renounced the term of office of the State Prosecutor. In compliance with the State Prosecutor Act, the Government established that the conditions for the termination of the term of office of the District State Prosecutor at the District State Prosecutor’s Office in Murska Sobota have been met.
The ministers also took note of the partial assessment of damage to state roads and railways, caused by floods in September 2010. The damage to state roads amounts to EUR 16,438,053.72 and EUR 2,939,385.68 to railways, totalling EUR 19,377,439.40 VAT excluded. The assessed immediate damage exceeds 0.03 per cent of national budget revenues planned for 2010 (EUR 2,431,991.25), thus the limit for using the state budget funds is reached in accordance with the Removal of Consequences of Natural Disasters Act. The Government issued a decision imposing on the Ministry of Transport to prepare, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, a programme for remedying direct damage to state roads and railways in accordance with the Removal of Consequences of Natural Disasters Act.
Prime Minister Pahor expressed the opinion that, if a referendum was conducted, the pension reform would gain voters’ support. “I believe that most people are aware that in a given demographic structure public finance sustainability is not possible," stressed the Prime Minister, adding that, in his opinion, people understand that the Government would not attempt to reform the pension system, which is not a popular measure, if this was not indispensable. In this context, he drew attention to pensioners who are becoming progressively worse off, as well as to young people, who are about to enter the labour market and need to be given greater security, which justifies the necessity of the pension reform.
Prime Minister Pahor continued by pointing out that today he instructed the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning to draw up, by the end of the month at the latest, an audit report concerning last year's decision of the Government giving consent to Lafarge Cement for the waste incineration. When the report has been drawn up, Prime Minister Pahor will set up a meeting where the report and potential decisions adopted by the Government, "probably in the beginning of December", will be presented. A delegation of representatives of the Zagorje Municipality, Eko krog Society and the Trbovlje Civil Initiative were informed about the decision yesterday. “If I want to find out whether the last year’s Government decision has been wrong because it endangers people’s health, I have to be positive that I have all information and data underlying this decision at my disposal,” stressed Prime Minister Pahor.
This decision might be altered should it be established that the Government's decision put the people's health in jeopardy and that the Government failed to consider some elements on hand last year or should have kept them in mind when taking a decision.
When asked whether it is reasonable for the state to enter NLB Bank, in particular in view of the most recently published quarterly bank loss, Prime Minister Pahor said that the bank would benefit from the entry of the third partner. “It would be beneficial because it would obviously clean out some of the bank’s closets, which at present are not as tidy as required in a healthy and competitive bank," he said. Prime Minister Pahor has already stated that he "personally favours the entry of the third partner that would bring in some new bank products and would accept the conditions imposed by the Slovenian Government, namely that the Government retains a controlling share in the NLB and that the partner is a long-term owner with no speculations.” He also recalled that the Government adopted a decision to do so, as the second step, after the NLB recapitalisation. With this in mind, the Government and the Belgian KBC would contribute towards the bank gaining regional importance.