NEWS

Prime Minister Janez Janša: Budget revision is necessary and there is no easier way

At today's 13th extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Janez Janša talked about the budget amendment for 2012. In his address he said that there was no easy way to balance the public finances and that Slovenia had spent the last three years convinced that the financial situation would be regulated by increased borrowing. He stressed that the dilemma between the budget amendment and economic growth was artificial and that Europe was aware that the revival of economic growth required measures for the creation of new jobs. He further stated that Slovenia was conscious of this and that the adoption of the budget amendment was the precondition for – or the first step towards – Slovenia's exit from crisis, sustainable growth and increased well-being.

In his address, the Prime Minister underlined that Slovenia had surpassed the average development rate in the European Union for 1991–2008, but that we now face another recession. He pointed out that we must therefore rid ourselves of the belief that further borrowing is possible. He also spoke about the fiscal rule, which primarily protects taxpayers and prevents reckless borrowing by the executive branch of government.
He confirmed that the amount saved by the budget amendment would be spent on interest payments and our debts from the past, and noted that the Slovenian economy lost 120,000 jobs during this period, while almost 10,000 new employees were hired by the public administration. In contrast to wages in the private sector, wages in the public sector have remained at the same pre-crisis level or even increased. The Prime Minister stressed that the deputies will deal with the key aspects of this discussion in the next few months, when they will need to address the draft budgets for the next two years. He added that he welcomed the signing of the social contract's basic positions, which indicates possible agreement.

The Prime Minister added that Slovenia is the last EU member state to have taken this step – and that the promise to do so was made to our European partners in 2010. "We are taking this step mainly because of us and because of our own future. We can no longer afford to spend the resources of future generations," he emphasised.
In concluding his address on the budget revision, the Prime Minister thanked his ministerial team for its efforts in preparing the draft, the social partners for the in-depth negotiations and discussions held on the situation in Slovenia, and the deputies for the extraordinary procedure taken for the adoption of the budgetary documentation.