NEWS

Prime Minister Borut Pahor on the coordination of economic policies in the eurozone

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia is in favour of the enhanced coordination of economic policies in the eurozone. In this respect, it considers the proposals made during the recent meeting between the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, to be a welcome contribution to the fulfilment of the commitments of the Eurogroup Summit of 21 July 2011. The Government agrees that it is necessary for the eurozone member states to address, in particular, the excessive level of public debt and structural reforms for the realisation of enhanced competitiveness and believe that the proposals serve as a good starting point for discussion in the Eurogroup as well as the wider international environment.

   

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, supports the proposal on the inclusion of provisions on the upper limit to public debt and a balanced budget, and emphasises that, throughout the debate on the legislative package for enhanced economic governance in the eurozone and the EU, Slovenia consistently advocated focusing on the volume of public debt.

   

In this connection, it should be highlighted that the draft Public Finance Act, which is currently being prepared, provides for the fixing of the upper limit of the national debt at 45 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and state guarantees at 13 per cent of GDP.

   

As regards the proposal for the establishment of 'a real economic government for the eurozone', comprising the heads of governments and states of the eurozone, the Government welcomes the initiative and expects that regular sessions of the heads of governments and states of the eurozone will contribute to the enhanced coordination of economic policies, thereby additionally strengthening confidence in the Eurogroup. Slovenia also believes that all the eurozone member states should make every effort to fully implement the conclusions of the Eurogroup Summit of 21 July 2011.

  

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia supports further efforts regarding the financial transactions tax and, in this respect, believes that a wider international consent should be reached for its introduction.