The government took note of information on the escalation of Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure and on an incident on the Polish-Ukrainian border. The government strongly condemns Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which has resulted, among other things, in systematic attacks on civilians and the destruction of critical infrastructure. The government calls on the Russian Federation to cease such actions immediately. It will also offer additional assistance to Ukraine in the reconstruction of critical infrastructure. In recent weeks, Russia has been systematically destroying Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure facilities. On 15 November 2022, during a heavy Russian bombardment of several Ukrainian towns, an incident occurred in which a Ukrainian defence missile fell on the Polish village of Przewodow, 6 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. Two people were killed. In the largest missile attack to date, Russian forces fired over 100 missiles and drones and caused power outages for over 10 million people. According to the Ukrainian side, more than 40% of the energy infrastructure has been damaged since the beginning of the war. More than 800 Ukrainian hospitals and over 2500 educational institutions have been damaged, 300 of them completely destroyed. The ongoing war has consequences on a global scale, and more efforts must be made to avoid a scenario of a protracted crisis. While continuing to support Ukraine in every way, we must make every effort to leave the door open to a possible peaceful solution. Slovenia actively supports all peace interventions to date and will continue to work for a ceasefire and an end to the war based on respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The government also adopted a decision instructing the relevant ministries to prepare measures to compensate electricity and natural gas suppliers. In view of the high prices and volatility of the energy markets, the government is guiding the planning of new measures to mitigate energy price volatility for 2023. It has instructed the Ministry of Infrastructure, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, to prepare, by 30 November 2022 at the latest, a measure to adequately compensate suppliers supplying electricity and natural gas to final customers for potential damages resulting from the regulation of retail prices of electricity and natural gas for 2023.

The government also instructed the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology to prepare, by 30 November 2022 at the latest, a measure to co-finance the costs of electricity, natural gas and heating directly from natural gas, for small, medium-sized and large enterprises, in accordance with the Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid measures to support the economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia for the year 2023.

The government also instructed the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities to prepare measures for short-time work and furloughs for 2023 by 30 November 2022 at the latest.

The proposed decisions are necessary to help electricity and natural gas suppliers and small, medium-sized and large enterprises to plan their operations in 2023. Measures should be put in place to adequately compensate electricity and natural gas suppliers for possible damages resulting from the regulation of retail electricity and natural gas prices, a measure to co-finance the cost of electricity and natural gas for SMEs in line with the European Commission Communication Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid measures to support the economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia, and measures for short-time work and furloughs to mitigate volatility related to energy price volatility in the economy.

At Thursday’s session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia also discussed the proposed opinion of the Republic of Slovenia on the draft Council decision on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in the Republic of Croatia. Croatia’s admission into the Schengen Area is supported in principle by the Republic of Slovenia and is in our common European interest. For Slovenia, the arbitration award is final and has been legally and formally recognised in Slovenia with the Recording the National Border with the Republic of Croatia Act of December 2017. The Government’s opinion will be presented before the competent working bodies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia that will reach the final decision.