At the beginning of the session, the Prime Minister thanked the members of the Council for their willingness to contribute to the development of economic policies. He stressed that the Government wished to draw on the experience and expertise of the business community in its work.

“Improving the business environment is one of this Government’s key priorities. Everything else depends on how much we create,” the Prime Minister emphasised. He said that the Government wanted to listen to the business community rather than lecture it. He expected the members of the Strategic Council to put forward concrete, ambitious and realistic proposals that could be implemented in practice.

He noted that many challenges resulting from accumulated imbalances could not be resolved overnight, but addressing them remained one of the Government’s priorities. He particularly highlighted the need to reduce red tape, while also drawing attention to the increasingly unpredictable international economic environment.

“Increasing the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy is in everyone’s interest. It determines how much funding we will have available for everything we need as a society. I am pleased that the Strategic Council includes many representatives of the business community. We expect them to propose feasible measures and provide advice that can be put into practice,” the Prime Minister said.

He added that it was essential for the Government and representatives of the business community to focus jointly on preparing systemic solutions that would enable Slovenia to create more, increase productivity and ensure a higher standard of living. This was a Government priority, in the interest of all, and was also set out in the coalition agreement.

The President of the Strategic Council for the Economy, Marko Lotrič, presented the organisation of the Council’s work. He stressed that its aim was to help shape an economic policy based on practical and feasible solutions for businesses and employees.

“Our goal is to shape economic policy in such a way that our proposals provide practical solutions for employees and businesses. We have decided to organise our work into five working groups: competitiveness, taxation, labour legislation, debureaucratisation and digitalisation. This will allow us to work more efficiently and with a clearer focus,” Lotrič said.

He also announced the first concrete policy proposals.

“We have prepared 17 proposals for changes in the areas of taxation and labour legislation, which will be sent to all members. We will do everything we can to ensure that work pays, that people receive fair remuneration for their work, that they are satisfied with their wages and that we preserve a strong welfare state,” he emphasised.

The members of the Strategic Council welcomed the establishment of the advisory body and expressed satisfaction at being given the opportunity to participate directly in the preparation of measures to improve the business environment. They also noted that the coalition agreement provided a sound basis for optimism and for the implementation of the necessary reforms.

In addition to the Prime Minister, the inaugural session of the Strategic Council for the Economy was attended by Minister of Finance Andrej Šircelj, Minister of Local Self-Government, Cohesion and Regional Development Monika Kirbiš Rojs, State Secretaries at the Office of the Prime Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and Matej Kumerdej, State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy Marko Dvornik, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning Iztok Slatinšek, and State Secretary at the Ministry of the Economy, Labour and Sport Štefan Kušar.

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