Dear citizens of Slovenia, fellow Slovenian women and men!

Slovenia is on the right track. This success is our collective success.  We are among the most successful countries in the world and in terms of the results of fighting the coronavirus epidemic we are the best in Europe. For the time being. But caution and responsible behaviour, both to oneself and others, are still needed. Until effective medicine and/or a vaccine is available FOR ALL, our way of life will continue to be changed, at least in part.  

However, if we are able to maintain a clean epidemiological picture in Slovenia in the future and to quickly and effectively limit individual outbreaks of infection that will, inevitably, occur, this will be a great advantage for us. The reputation of a safe and orderly country, which is able to take care of the health of its population even in the situation of a pandemic, is by far the best recommendation for both tourism and investments, where we are already seeing a significant part of manufacturing move from Asia back to Europe.  We enjoy this advantage thanks in large part to our health system, so in the coming months we expect additional public support for our measures intended to provide funds for emergency investments in Slovenian hospitals and to upgrade the pay system in the health and nursing care sector.

We are trying to eradicate the consequences of the epidemic as quickly as possible so as to be able to exploit these current and potential advantages as much as possible. By the end of the month, some of the measures set out in the first two coronavirus stimulus packages will cease to apply, and some will be partly replaced by others. The Government is now submitting to the National Assembly the third coronavirus package, which allocates significant resources to finance shorter working hours in all those activities where the volume of work, demand and orders is smaller than before the crisis. This measure will be applied until the end of the year and will be extended if necessary. Substantial funds for this measure will be provided both from European funds and from the budget.

The epidemic has further accelerated the need for green restructuring in some sectors, such as the automotive industry. With this third package, we will provide them with additional opportunities to fund research and development, along with other aid.

Instead of paying for lay-offs in tourism, we will encourage the revival of this industry through vouchers for all; beneficiaries will be able to use them to pay for certain services in Slovenia until the end of the year.

In its latest forecast for Slovenia, the European Commission assessed the measures taken so far very positively. As a result, the Commission envisages a possible rapid recovery, with which, after this year’s significant fall in growth, we could grow to almost a pre-crisis level next year. We will do everything possible to achieve this goal. The prosperity of Slovenia will therefore not fall victim to a long-standing recession, as was the case after the last economic crisis. As a government that adopts or proposes the right measures, we can make a major contribution. We will do our maximum by preserving the current hard-earned reputation of Slovenia as a safe and well-ordered country with a clean epidemiological picture. We will be able to achieve the same results in the future only if we stick together.

Thank you.