The Government adopts the amendments to the Decree on the salaries and other earnings of public employees working abroad

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia issued the Decree amending the Decree on the salaries and other earnings of public employees working abroad and published it in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

The proposed Decree amending the Decree on the salaries and other earnings of public employees working abroad includes a changed methodology for determining the cost of living index at a certain location, i.e. so that the indexes reflect the actual situation of the cost of living to the greatest extent possible. The applicable method of wage indexation does not realistically reflect the current situation or fluctuations in the cost of living abroad, which is changing, especially due to the war in Ukraine, fall in the value of the EURO, inflation in individual countries, the economic crisis, energy prices, etc.

The Decree is also being amended for the realisation of the Agreement regulating measures relating to salaries and other labour costs in the public sector for 2022 and 2023, as the values of nominal bases for work abroad, which represent the basis for calculating salaries for working abroad, will increase.

Source: Ministry of Public Administration

The Government adopts the Decree amending the Decree on salaries and other remuneration of service members of the Slovenian Armed Forces deployed abroad

At today’s meeting, the Government adopted the Decree amending the Decree on salaries and other remuneration of service members of the Slovenian Armed Forces fulfilling obligations assumed in international organisations or through international agreements.

Paragraph three of Article 6 of the relevant Decree stipulates that nominal bases are harmonised with the salary scale determined for salaries in the Republic of Slovenia as per the act governing the public sector salary system. Similarly, the salaries of public employees working abroad are also harmonised with this salary scale.

The Decree includes an amendment to values of nominal bases by 4.5 per cent between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023 and by 4 per cent as of 1 April 2023 and the harmonisation of allowances determined at the nominal basis by 4.5 per cent as of 1 October 2023.

An increase in the value of nominal bases was adopted on the basis of the harmonisation of the values ​​of the salary scale’s grades from Appendix 1 of the Public Sector Salary System Act (ZSPJS) and the Agreement and amounts to 4.5 per cent. The harmonisation of the values ​​of salary grades applies as of 1 October 2022. As of 1 April 2023, the values of nominal bases for work abroad will increase by 4 per cent.

In accordance with paragraph three of Article 7 of the Decree, the allowances determined at the nominal rate will be harmonised as per the same percentage as that with which the values of nominal bases for work abroad are harmonised. Based on the foregoing, the nominal allowances will be observed in the calculation of salaries as of 1 October 2022.

Source: Ministry of Defence

The Government adopts a position on the European energy directives

The Government adopted the proposed position of the Republic of Slovenia regarding the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency.

The Republic of Slovenia believes that the proposal of amendments to Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency presents a good foundation for further discussion that will enable accelerated introduction of renewable energy sources (RES), improve efficient energy use (EEU) and thus contribute to a rapid energy transition and the abandonment of the use of fossil fuels of Russian origin.

The Republic of Slovenia commends the new designation of the "renewables go-to areas", as the text reflects suitable flexibility when determining priority locations and also supports the defining of Member States’ obligations to determine specific locations, whether on land or sea, which are necessary for the installation of plants for the production of energy from renewable sources to fulfil their national contributions regarding the objective of energy from RES by 2030.

The Republic of Slovenia can support the proposal to increase the proportion of RES to 45 per cent in the Union’s gross final consumption of energy in 2030 but adds that all relevant circumstances affecting the introduction of energy from RES must be observed, such as the RES potential and, in the case of Slovenia, a relatively high proportion of protected areas within Natura 2000 and the proportion of transport in final energy consumption. Furthermore, the objective must be compliant with other sub-objectives and environmental requirements. The Republic of Slovenia also advocates for a detailed environmental impact assessment and the calculation of the impact on sectoral sub-objectives.

The Republic of Slovenia is aware of the importance of promoting new RES technologies. In this regard, it particularly commends the proposed amendments that address the acceleration of issuing permits for RES projects. The simplification and acceleration of administrative procedures is crucial for the attainment of ambitious climate and energy objectives by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. On that note, Slovenia also commends the option that plants for energy generation from RES, their connection to the grid, the grid itself or the means of storage are taken into account as being of an overriding public interest for special purposes.

The Republic of Slovenia supports the ambition to promote the generation of solar energy on buildings, while observing the particularities of an individual national building stock, such as anti-seismic and construction requirements and cultural heritage restrictions.

The Republic of Slovenia supports the increase of the EU’s objective regarding energy efficiency by 2030 from 9 per cent (from the 'Fit for 55' package) to 13 per cent as per 2020.

Source: Ministry of Infrastructure

Suspension of the application of the entire Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Proposal for a Council Decision on the partial suspension of the application of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

As of 25 May 2015, Vanuatu has been managing investor citizenship schemes that pose a risk to the public order and security of EU Member States. These schemes enable third-country nationals who require a visa to easily obtain citizenship in a country in which citizens are exempt from the visa requirement, which enables them to circumvent the regular Schengen visa procedure.

The temporary suspension of the application is limited to ordinary passports issued after 25 May 2015 when the number of successful applicants within Vanuatu’s investor citizenship schemes started to increase significantly. After the entry into force of the decision on temporary suspension of the exemption from the visa requirement for Vanuatu’s citizens as of 4 May 2022, the Commission commenced an extensive dialogue with Vanuatu. Since Vanuatu failed to adopt the measures to eliminate the circumstances that resulted in the temporary suspension of the exemption from the visa requirement, the increased risk to internal security and public order in Member States still exists. The Commission thus believes that the decision on the temporary suspension of the application of the entire Agreement must be adopted.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Government opposes the consultative referendum on amending the Personal Income Tax Act

The Government adopted its opinion on the proposal to call a consultative referendum on amending the Personal Income Tax Act, which was submitted for discussion to the National Assembly by a group of deputies. The Government opposes the proposal to call a consultative referendum.

In its opinion, the Government also replied to the proposers’ indications on the purposes and objectives of the proposed Act, to which the proposal to call a consultative referendum refers.

In general, the system of tax relief for dependent family members is founded on the legal obligation of maintenance that arises from the Family Code. The purpose of such relief is to acknowledge a certain part of maintenance costs as a deductible item when determining a tax base for income of the person supporting the family member.

According to the income tax assessment data for 2020, more than 21 per cent of taxpayers claimed relief for dependent children from a total of 1,539,685 taxpayers who received the income tax assessment notice and 3.1 per cent of all taxpayers claimed relief for other dependent family members. In doing so, the largest number of taxpayers claiming relief for dependent family members were in the first tax bracket.

A change in the amount of relief for dependent family members, as proposed in the relevant Act, would have the largest impact or it would particularly relieve families in higher income or tax brackets. An additional increase in relief would have no impact on the higher disposable income of taxpayers receiving the minimum wage and claiming relief for two children.

The Government further highlights that it drafted a package of measures to mitigate the consequences of the general price increases and worsened situation of the most vulnerable section of the population, whereby it particularly focused on the population with the lowest income and dependent children. A dearness allowance was also introduced for all the recipients of child benefits and an energy allowance for disabled persons and the recipients of cash social assistance and income support. The VAT rate and excise duties on certain energy products were also reduced.

Source: Ministry of Finance

The Slovenian pavilion at Expo City Dubai will be a green oasis in the middle of the desert at the time of COP28

Following the decision to keep the Slovenian pavilion at the location of Expo 2020 Dubai, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia decided to add to it specific business content. The pavilion, originally constructed and equipped for the needs of the six-month exhibition, will be modified for a more long-term use. A start-up accelerator for Slovenian start-up companies is being planned at its premises among other content. As a green oasis in the middle of the desert, the Slovenian pavilion will also stand out at the COP28 Climate Summit, taking place at Expo City Dubai next year.

At the location where World Expo 2020 took place between October 2021 and April 2022, the so-called District 2020 Dubai or Expo City Dubai will emerge. To this end, 80 per cent of the constructed area that was built for the needs of Expo 2020 will be preserved and used within Expo City, which will stretch across more than 100,000 square metres. In the long term, Expo City will develop into a type of a smart community focusing on high quality of living and an innovation ecosystem. It will connect people and places in a smart and sustainable urban environment designed to promote creativity, cooperation and innovation. The Slovenian pavilion will be comprehensively integrated into the newly emerging environment. The appearance of the pavilion, which was presented as a green oasis in the middle of the desert at the time of World Expo 2020, will accentuate the foregoing features of Expo City.

It will be utilised as a workspace for start-up companies that want to establish themselves and spread to the international market while seeking potential investors. The Slovene Enterprise Fund is forging a programme for the Dubai start-up accelerator, which would be used to connect with the representatives of the start-up environment in Dubai, for example Expo City, In5 Tech Innovation Centre and others. Through their networks, the Slovenian companies could reach suitable experts, mentors, potential investors and companies for networking and cooperation.

The Slovenian companies will be able to use business premises at the Slovenian pavilion, utilise the support of its employees when operating within Expo City and receive assistance when making contacts with other companies and institutions working within Expo City and in the region. A symbolic user fee will be paid by the companies for the use of the premises, as the objective will be to attract as many companies as possible and offer them an opportunity to learn about the markets of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the entire Middle East. A regional hub of advanced digital technologies for the Middle and Far East and Africa will also be established at the Slovenian pavilion.

The Expo City organiser anticipates that the relevant venue will become one of the main event venues in the UAE in the long term and a location where the largest and most important conferences and other events will be organised. This July, the UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, announced that the COP28 Climate Summit would be hosted at Expo City Dubai in 2023.

Source: Ministry of Economic Development and Technology