NEWS

Prime Minister Janez Janša: Slovenia is a country of social dialogue

On "Odmevi" last night, the Slovenian Prime Minister, Janez Janša, spoke about the intervention measures proposed by the Government, about negotiations with the social partners, and other topical issues.

 

According to the Prime Minister, the atmosphere at the Economic and Social Council meeting, where cost-saving measures were discussed, was sombre and the social partners were aware that time had now run out and that the decisions were called for. He underlined that, for the first time in Slovenia, the social partners were the first to learn about the package of measures proposed by the Government – further proof that Slovenia is indeed a country of social dialogue.

 

"The Government is willing to seek compromises where they are feasible and we are ready to listen to potential alternative proposals from both sides, who are our partners in this social dialogue," the Prime Minister said, adding that intensive coordination with the social partners is to take place in the future. The Prime Minister’s view is that Slovenia has never had so little time on its hands. "What we are working on now should have been adopted in September or October last year, when we were dealing with the vote of no confidence and the early elections," the Prime Minister explained. "Today the Government and the social partners should be dealing with the contents of long-term structural adjustments, which will be the subject of the social contract. Now we have to work on both issues at the same time."

 

The Prime Minister also spoke about certain financial impacts related to the measures proposed and pointed out that "if we are very disciplined, we will roughly balance the budget by 2015, and in this way also save the welfare state".

 

During the discussions, the Prime Minister also highlighted the issue of state credibility. "For the last three years, we have been telling international financial institutions and the European Commission what we are going to accomplish next year. The next year then duly arrived, but nothing was accomplished, so now nobody takes our word for anything anymore – nobody believes what the Government says. For this reason, Slovenia's credit rating is not going to be upgraded. We therefore need the consent of the social partners and we need the measures which will be adopted by the National Assembly and which will also be brought into force. Only then can our situation improve," he added.