Slovenia will provide assistance to the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe affected by catastrophic floods following their request

At the meeting of the Committee on State Organisation and Public Affairs, the Government adopted a decision to provide assistance to the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe affected by floods in September this year, following their request for assistance through the EU civil protection mechanism, by dispatching up to five different post-flood emergency aid units or by providing material aid totalling up to EUR 600,000.

The situation in Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Romania, Hungary and Austria has worsened considerably after Storm Boris and heavy rainfall with flooding swept through Central Europe at the end of last week. There were also some fatalities. Basic living conditions must be ensured as soon as possible for the population in the affected areas.

Assistance will be provided by up to five teams for rescue, search and recovery operations and water pumping that can be deployed abroad simultaneously.

It will be provided or coordinated by the Ministry of Defence, in particular its Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, at the specific request of each country. The Slovenian Armed Forces will provide support for the implementation of this decision within the framework of its available human resources and technical capacities.

Assistance totalling up to EUR 600,000 will be financed by the Ministry of Defence from the financial plan of budget users, i.e. the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief and the Slovenian Armed Forces. Up to 75% of the transport and operational costs incurred by the units may be reimbursed by the European Commission upon the submission of receipts.

Source: Ministry of Defence

Government adopts negotiating positions on additional strike demands of the FIDES Main Strike Committee 

At the committee meeting, the Government took note of the additional strike demands of the Main Strike Committee of FIDES, the trade union of Slovenian doctors and dentists, and adopted the negotiating positions. It again invited FIDES to engage in a dialogue and called for the strike to end, as this would be in the best interest of patients.

Source: Ministry of Health

The Government adopts its position on the National Council’s Decision on the Conclusions of the Consultation on Long-Term Care – Between Policy and Providers, and Users and Relatives, and sends it to the National Council

The Government today adopted its position on 27 conclusions of the Consultation, which relate to the call for the launch of activities to draft amendments to the Long-Term Care Act, the specific solutions provided for in this Act, the financing of long-term care, implementing regulations, the establishment of a National Coordination Group for long-term care, health insurance entitlements and other topical issues.

In order to improve the quality of long-term care and reduce risks, amendments to the Long-Term Care Act (ZDOsk–1) are needed, as the current arrangements are not sufficient to meet the needs of users with severe limitations. The Act will include the right to a caregiver for a family member and substitute care, and provide for a temporary cash benefit when the service is not accessible. Long-term care will encompass all the existing healthcare rights, separate from the long-term care system. The system will be harmonised with different services and professional profiles and adapted to the needs of individual users.

Source: Ministry of a Solidarity-Based Future

AI and embrAlsme to make SMEs more successful

At the meeting of the Economy Committee, the Government added a new project entitled "Supporting the adoption of AI by enterprises" to the current Development Programme Plan 2024–2027. 

The Ministry of Digital Transformation presented the new project "embrAIsme", which is included in the current Development Programme Plan 2024–2027. The project focuses on improving policies and programmes to encourage the uptake of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enhancing their performance and competitiveness. The overall objective of the project is to improve policies and programmes to promote the use of AI, while the specific objectives are to: raise awareness of AI and increase data readiness, invest in human capital and skills, facilitate access to finance, foster networking and cooperation, strengthen the governance of AI/SME policies, and improve compliance with legal and ethical issues.

 The embrAIsme project will allow for the upgrading of policy instruments and capacity building measures for SMEs. It is important to note that businesses in countries such as Ireland, Finland and Portugal have a higher level of AI adoption than Slovenia. Through cooperation and partnerships with enterprises from these countries, we will gain valuable experience and knowledge for the successful implementation of AI in our economic environment.

The project is worth EUR 2,521,482.00. The European Commission (EC) will contribute EUR 1,967,024.20 of Interreg funds and the remaining funds will be provided by the consortium partners. The value of the participation of the Ministry of Digital Transformation in the project amounts to EUR 176,396.00, of which the EC will provide EUR 141,116.80 (Interreg funds) and the Slovenian Ministry EUR 35,279.20. The project will run from 1 April 2024 until 30 June 2028.

Source: Ministry of Digital Transformation