The draft Act Determining Additional Intervention Measures to Ensure Accessibility in Healthcare extends some of the existing measures and adds new ones, bringing comprehensive solutions to key challenges in healthcare, such as staff shortages, improving the accessibility of healthcare services and strengthening the stability and resilience of the healthcare system. The draft Act Amending the Pharmacy Practice Act, among other things, complies with the Constitutional Court's decision that found an unconstitutional legal vacuum in the case of changes of the status of private health professionals into legal entities, provides for a systemic regulation of the provision of stocks of medicinal products at the primary level after the expiry of the Act Determining Emergency Measures to Ensure the Supply of Medicinal Products for 2023 and 2024, and provides for the provision of medicinal products for the units of protection and rescue forces.

The Government will do everything necessary to put in place a functioning system of care for the chronically ill and elderly. There is no point in passing a law establishing rights if there is not enough resources to implement them and if the procedures are so complex that they confuse users. That is why the long-term care sector is closely monitored and continuous improvements are made to solutions that prove to be less effective. All this with the aim of making services more accessible and tailored to the people who need them. The proposed amendments to the Long-Term Care Act will be explained in more detail at a press conference at the Ministry of a Solidarity-based Future in the coming days.

A basic condition for solidarity and a welfare state is economic prosperity. Today, considerable attention has been devoted to various measures to help the economy and businesses. For example, the strategic programme of the Slovene Enterprise Fund has been adopted, which provides incentives to support businesses. An action plan for young farmers has been approved with the aim of encouraging more young people to take up farming and to make growing healthy, homegrown Slovenian food their career. The Government also decided to grant two direct incentives for innovation under the GREMO project to restructure the Slovenian automotive industry. This is to support two consortia of more than 20 innovative Slovenian companies. The Government is spending just over EUR 18 million on a project to develop more powerful batteries and almost EUR 20 million on the development of modern light electric vehicles.

Today, the story of the ill-considered purchase of 8x8 wheeled vehicles has finally been brought to a close. The previous Minister of Defence signed the contract when he was leaving office, after the elections. This was despite the current Prime Minister's calls not to do so and the warnings of the experts that the purchase was irrational and harmful. One of the first decisions of the current Government was to withdraw from this damaging deal. At the time, public predictions were made that withdrawing from the contract would be extremely expensive, even costing us EUR 70 million. However, today's decision by the Government ends our obligations under this deal. The total cost of the withdrawal is EUR 4 million, which has already been paid in full. Far from catastrophic predictions. By making a clear decision and negotiating skilfully, we saved the country from a damaging deal that would have cost us more than EUR 350 million in the purchase phase and then millions more in maintenance costs. Two conclusions can be drawn from this – firstly, future purchases of military equipment should take into account experts' opinions and consider not only the price but also the cost of maintaining the equipment. And secondly – the right choices must be insisted on. That is why we will also insist on decisions on reforms. Just as with the case of Boxers, time will show that these decisions are both right and beneficial for the country and its citizens.