NEWS

Prime Minister's press conference following the Government’s 115th regular session

At today's regular session, the Slovenian Government, among other resolutions, adopted the report and the decisions of the interministerial working group for the establishment of the Office for Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime and took note of the report of the working group for the preparation of rehabilitation measures in the Slovenian construction industry. The responsible ministers presented the adopted resolutions, and Prime Minister Pahor then answered a number of topical questions.

   

At today's regular session, the Slovenian Government took note of the report and decisions of the interministerial working group for the establishment of the Office for Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime and the position adopted on this topic by the Ministry of Justice. This ministry is preparing a draft of the State Prosecutor Act – 1, which envisages the establishment of a Technical Information Centre (TIC) as an internal organisational unit of the Office of the State Prosecutor General to be responsible for record keeping, coordination and professional cooperation in criminal matters for the purpose of temporary protection, seizure and confiscation of items, proceeds of crime and property of illegal origin. It has been envisaged that TIC would keep a central register of all cases and provide state prosecutors with professional assistance in any cases entailing a proposal or an order for temporary protection, seizure and confiscation of items, proceeds of crime and property of illegal origin according to the information submitted ex officio by all state prosecutor's offices immediately after the issue of an initiative, guideline, the state prosecutor's procedural act or a court decision. State prosecutors assigned to TIC would also be exclusively responsible for international cooperation in criminal matters for the purpose of seizing and confiscating items, proceeds of crime and property of illegal origin, thus constituting a point of contact in terms of the decision.

   

Moreover, the ministerial corps took note of the report produced by the working group for the preparation of rehabilitation measures in the Slovenian construction industry. The Government instructed the line ministries to prepare, within fifteen days, specific measures, including an impact assessment, and to report on the current state of implementation of the envisaged activities. In addition, it instructed the Ministry of the Economy to submit, within sixty days, a report on the activities completed by line ministries regarding the implementation of measures of the working group, including the impact assessment. A separate working group prepared a review of conditions in the construction industry, defined the reasons for and the implications of the crisis in this sector, drafted a list of measures being implemented, and submitted eight proposals for new measures to be taken to rehabilitate the Slovenian construction industry. The proposals relate to the provision of additional liquidity, the increase in demand, the promotion of exports, regulation of the areas of labour, building activities and financial discipline, as well as intensified inspection.

   

Prime Minister Pahor informed the public that at today's session, the Government also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and decided that in November, it would evaluate the progress of the training mission earmarked for Afghan forces. If the mission does not show progress as planned "we will, along with our allies, initiate a discussion on withdrawal", said Mr Pahor. He went on to explain that "since the middle of the previous year, the Government has during every session continued to discuss, under Miscellaneous, the situation in Afghanistan, particularly in terms of both, the security of Slovenian soldiers and the efficiency or inefficiency of coalition forces in transferring state competences to Afghan authorities." In this context, Prime Minister Pahor pointed out that this is "the main criterion according to which Slovenia will assess the efficiency of the mission in this transition period." According to Mr Pahor, this assessment will take place in November 2011; however, "before discussing the final strategy, we will hold consultations with the National Assembly's Committee for Foreign Policy and Defence." If the assessment proves the efforts of the coalition forces under the UN mandate to be effective, Slovenia will launch activities ending with the withdrawal of Slovenian forces from Afghanistan, added Prime Minister Pahor.

   

At the press conference, Mr Pahor said that he received a list of priorities from all ministries enabling him to prepare a proposal for the Government's working policies in this year before Monday's working meeting of the crisis group of ministers and the leaders of coalition parties. "It is not possible to deal with everything that appears to be a problem. We must resolve, define and focus on the main problems and coordinate the work of line ministries," emphasised My Pahor. He went on to say that the aim of these measures will certainly be the enhancement of competitiveness of the Slovenian corporate sector, since, on the long run, this will facilitate the maintenance of social cohesion. "In our view, it would be right to find, in one way or another, a procedural option to also inform the National Assembly of the Government's priorities in 2011 and to meet with the coalition and opposition deputies in order to establish whether the Government's priorities are also seen as priorities by deputies," said Mr Pahor and continued by inviting both, the coalition and opposition deputies to try to cooperate in specific projects "in a practical and pragmatic manner and to help find solutions, because big things are at issue. January will bet the time of defining the main topics and concentrating on key strategies for 2011 and 2012."