NEWS
President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, following his meeting with Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek: "I am confident that the Slovenian Government will be able to rise to the challenge"
During her first official visit abroad, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Alenka Bratušek, assured the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, that Slovenia would continue with the adoption of measures for its stability. Among the measures she highlighted the stabilisation of its banking system and expressed her conviction that the problems would be successfully resolved through the bad bank as early as in June. Slovenia will continue with the austerity measures and fiscal consolidation, but in a manner that will not adversely affect its economic growth. The Slovenian Prime Minister added that the Government would start with privatisation before summer because this is the only way for Slovenia to provide fresh capital for new investments, boost economic growth and create new jobs. According to the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, Slovenia is facing a very demanding task but in his opinion, Slovenia will be able to rise to the challenge through its ambitious measures.
"Slovenia has one of the lowest debts among the EU Member States, its unemployment rate is lower that the EU average, it has a positive balance of payments and a new Government determined to do its utmost to solve the problems on its own. I call upon those who have recently speculated about Slovenia to base their estimates on facts and figures, and not on mere speculations. In light of this I would like to reiterate that Slovenia is a stable and strong country," the Prime Minister stressed in her press release after the meeting with the President of the European Commission.
As part of her first working visit to Brussels, Prime Minister Bratušek in the morning visited the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovenia to the European Union, where she met with Ambassador Rado Genorio and addressed the staff of the Permanent Representation. After her meeting with Mr Barroso, she will also hold talks with the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and the Slovenian MEPs.