NEWS
Prime Minister Janez Janša and Prime Minister Mario Monti discuss situation in Europe and international relations
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša and the Minister of Finance, Janez Šušteršič, today paid a working visit to Italy, where they met with the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Mario Monti. At a joint press conference, the two prime ministers agreed that bilateral relations between the two countries are good and that Slovenia and Italy have entered into fruitful dialogue at several levels. Economic cooperation between the two countries has been developing well, causing bilateral trade to rise by approximately 10% during the last year. According to the two prime ministers, infrastructure projects represented a number of significant opportunities. With regard to the good levels of economic cooperation in place, Prime Minister Janša emphasised that there was still room for improvement. He added that Italy is an important economic partner and that it has invested its capital in over 400 enterprises in Slovenia.
Prime Minister Janša acquainted Prime Minister Monti with the efforts undertaken by the Slovenian government to make Slovenia a more investment-friendly country. Among other things, he mentioned the 100% tax relief for research and development and the package of economic measures aimed at further improving the business environment, which will be discussed by the National Assembly in July.
Prime Minister Janša also highlighted the important role played by the two minorities in relations between the two countries. He said that although the Slovenian government has reduced the budgetary funds available, the financial resources earmarked for financing the activities of the Italian minority have been left untouched. He stressed that both minorities are important elements in cooperation between Slovenia and Italy, and that the safe protection of the minorities also has a mitigating impact. In this context, Prime Minister Janša welcomed the announcement of a working group to be set up to resolve any open minority issues the Slovenian minority faces in Italy and confirmed that "we are very pleased with developments in this area".
The two prime ministers largely focused their discussions on European topics. They exchanged their experiences on the adoption and enforcement of the measures required to achieve fiscal balance and to create the conditions necessary for economic growth. "The efforts made to achieve economic growth and fiscal balance are two sides of the same coin," Prime Minister Janša explained at the press conference, adding that, by adopting cost-saving measures, Slovenia has compensated for the delay and is now focused in particular on measures facilitating growth. In his words, Slovenia also supports the EU's plans for a shift towards the creation of a growth and investment agenda, since this strategy is based on economic growth and the creation of new jobs.
The Slovenian Prime Minister congratulated his Italian colleague and his team for the daring measures Italy has successfully adopted in recent months in order to stabilise the public finances. These measures have had a positive impact on the economic environment in the neighbouring countries, as well as on the situation in other EU Member States. "The measures were prepared so as to benefit us all," Prime Minister Janša said, before adding that he had also discussed Italy's experiences in its fight against tax fraud and the grey economy with the Italian Prime Minister.
The Slovenian Prime Minister went on to say that unfortunately not all the topics on the agenda could be dealt with in the short period of time available for the discussion. He emphasised, however, that a joint intergovernmental commission meeting is planned for September, where any eventual wider and technical issues will be discussed.
In a joint statement to the press, the Italian Prime Minister pointed out that further efforts should be made to enhance economic cooperation between Slovenia and Italy. He outlined that the European Union should now pay more attention to measures aimed at achieving economic growth, but not at the expense of cost-saving measures. Prime Minister Monti also highlighted the importance of the further enlargement of the European Union to the countries of the Western Balkans, and commended the efforts made by the Slovenian Prime Minister in this regard.