Increase in the earmarked assets and capital of the Slovenian Regional Development Fund for soft lending to SMEs

At today's meeting of the Committee on the Economy, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia increased the earmarked assets and capital of the Slovenian Regional Development Fund by contributing additional earmarked assets of EUR 10 million to the Fund's capital, with the aim of providing liquidity for financial facilities to be used by companies as a measure to mitigate and remedy the effects of the energy crisis.

The earmarked funds will be transferred by the Government from the budget of the Republic of Slovenia for 2024. The Fund will use the funds it receives into earmarked assets to provide financial facilities to improve the liquidity of economic operators through a public call for soft lending.

The beneficiaries of the aid are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing the negative consequences of the energy crisis and high costs, with priority being given to those enterprises that focus their activities on the management of energy consumption or losses, whether in the form of an energy audit, a study or a feasibility study, or investments in energy efficiency.

Source: Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development

Government reallocates state budget resources

At today's meeting of the Committee on the Economy, the Government decided on the reallocation of spending rights in this year's state budget in relation, among other things, to measures to tackle high costs and to address and mitigate the effects of the floods in August.

Among other things, the Ministry of Finance will reallocate funds from the general budget reserve to the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Post-Flood and Landslide Reconstruction in the amount of EUR 143,000. In this way, funds will be provided before launching the public procurement procedure for the design and carrying out of construction works for replacement and relocation construction following the floods.

The Ministry of Finance will also allocate general budget reserve funds to the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy in the amount of EUR 573,294 to finance compensation to electricity suppliers for the period November to December 2023. The Act Regulating Emergency Intervention to Address High Energy Prices provides that if the Government sets a maximum price for electricity, natural gas or district heating, the Government may provide an appropriate financial compensation or other measure with the effect of providing adequate compensation for damages to suppliers or distributors of district heating that are significantly harmed as a result.

The Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport has reallocated spending rights amounting to EUR 24 million to the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy. In the implementation of high-cost mitigation measures, the actual needs of the economy show changes in the resources needed within individual measures to support the economy due to high increases in energy prices. The funds are intended to compensate electricity and natural gas suppliers for the period November to December 2023.

Source: Ministry of Finance

Opinion on the proposal amending the Pension and Disability Insurance Act

At the meeting of the Committee on State Organisation and Public Affairs, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted an Opinion on the Draft Act Amending the Pension and Disability Insurance Act (ZPIZ), submitted to the National Assembly by a group of Members of Parliament (first signatory Jože Tanko), which shall be sent to the National Assembly. The Government does not support the amendments to the Act.

In the proposed amendment, the authors propose allowing insured persons who meet the conditions for retirement to remain insured and receive a full pension.

The Government is opposed to partial solutions and therefore does not support the proposed Act and considers it unsuitable for further consideration. Compulsory pension and disability insurance provides compensation for loss or reduction of income due to the social risk of old age. This risk only arises when the individual is no longer active and therefore does not receive any income. If the individual continues to work and receives remuneration, this risk does not materialise and the social case of loss or reduction of income due to old age does not arise. The Government considers that further changes to the pension and disability insurance system should be designed with systemic solutions in mind, not only for the sake of transparency, but also in order to re-establish the system in a way that takes into account both the equality and the differences between the various categories of insured persons and to establish solutions that are as fair as possible to all.

The Government wants the pension system to be transparent, sustainable and trustworthy, both for older and younger generations and for generations yet to enter the system. Therefore changes to pension legislation must be made in a considered manner, with broad social consensus and consultation with the social partners, and based on principles that are firmly anchored in our pension system.

Source: Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

New building of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Primorska included in the current Development Programme Plan 2024–2027

At the committee meeting, the Government decided to include a new project for the new building of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Primorska in the current Development Programme Plan 2024–2027.

The construction of the new building will enable the faculty to admit more students, to offer new courses of study and to improve conditions for research. A multi-storey building is planned in the immediate vicinity of Izola General Hospital. It will house lecture rooms, laboratories, special classrooms for nursing and physiotherapy, tutorial rooms, a kitchen for nutritional planning, a gym with partition walls and more.

The estimated value of the project is just over EUR 18.1 million, which will be financed by a budget of just over EUR 12.9 million from the Ministry of Health, just over EUR 3 million from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and just over EUR 2 million from the University of Primorska's own resources.

Source: Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

Expansion and renovation of the building of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Maribor included in the Development Programme Plan 2024–2027

The government has also decided to include a new project in the current Development Programme Plan 2024–2027, i.e. the Expansion and Renovation of the Building of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Maribor, with the purchase of furnishings and equipment in two phases.

The project consists of additional spaces to meet the needs of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Maribor for the implementation of study programmes. The project comprises an extension including furnishings, the reconstruction of the central wing of the faculty with the necessary furnishings and the purchase of specialised equipment. The estimated value of the project is just over EUR 12 million. It will be financed from the budget between 2024 and 2027, with the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Maribor providing just over EUR 15,000 of its own resources, which will be taken into account in the further preparation of the investment documentation.

Source: Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation