19th Summit of the Slovenian Economy
“Let’s not wait for spring, let’s not wait for May – let’s act now”
The economy calls for action in the areas of energy, food and cyber security
The high participation of businessmen, representatives of the government and other members of the public confirms that the Summit of the Slovenian Economy is and remains the largest and most important meeting of its kind.
Brdo pri Kranju, November 27, 2024 – Defence, energy, food, cyber and raw material security are the key foundations of the sovereignty of the country – also of Slovenia, and thus the foundations of economic security and economic sovereignty. Sovereignty cannot be guaranteed without independence and control of one’s own resources, agreed over 450 participants of the 19th Summit of the Slovenian Economy. Among the urgent measures that could increase Slovenia’s competitiveness and economic security, they pointed out, among other things, the adoption of decisions about the energy system that gradually reduce import dependence, the renewal of the Comprehensive National Energy and Climate Plan for the period up to 2030, the creation of an optimal strategy for Slovenian energy up to in 2050 and the strategy for ensuring Slovenia’s food security, the introduction of a compulsory subject with fundamental knowledge of computer science and informatics in primary and secondary schools, and the establishment of the National competence center for cyber security.
“In Slovenia, we need a stable, predictable, development-oriented and competitive business environment, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tibor Šimonka made it clear at the beginning of this year’s summit, which was held under the slogan ‘Let’s not wait for spring, let’s not wait for May – let’s act now’ . In this context, he also pointed out that ” now is the time for concrete and quick measures to increase competitiveness “, especially in a period of wars, restrictions on trade in raw materials, energy and food, and trade measures, which are becoming a tool for achieving the strategic goals of the superpowers. Šimonka added that ” in Europe we literally denied the reality around us.” With his report on the uncompetitiveness and backwardness of the European economy, Mario Draghi poured us pure wine: ‘If we don’t act immediately, the very existence of Europe is called into question.’ He characterized the Antwerp Declaration on the preservation of industry and the new European agreement of the heads of state and government in Budapest on the competitiveness of the European economy as encouraging. At the same time, he described concrete measures for the greater economic security of Slovenia as necessary.
“The European Commission is aware of the excessive fragmentation of the single market, so they want to deepen the single market and encourage the further elimination of remaining cross-border obstacles, including those that inhibit the flow of capital and thus also investments”, said Mary Veronica Tovšak Pleterski , director for enforcement of the internal market at the Directorate General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Small Economy of the European Commission. Among the goals of the new commission are the reduction of regulatory obstacles and administrative burdens. It is known that energy-intensive industries urgently need affordable and widely available decarbonized energy”, added Tovšak Pleterski.
The recently reached agreement on the Critical Raw Materials Act aims to support the extraction, refining, and recycling of critical raw materials in the European Union. » Europe should remain the main producer of net zero technologies. We must decarbonize our industry in a way that will lead to a competitive advantage in the field of clean technologies.” In the first 100 days of the new mandate, the commission will propose an Agreement on Clean Industry. The key drivers of competitiveness are a leading position in the field of technology and digital transformation. In her speech, Tovšak Pleterski touched on food security related to the bioeconomy and biotechnologies, and announced a comprehensive EU strategy for creating stocks that could include essential raw materials, including food. The new commission plans to establish a European Competitiveness Fund with an emphasis on strategic technologies – to support European companies along the entire investment path – from the laboratory to the factory. “Economic security, sustainable prosperity and competitiveness of Europe are essential for our common well-being […] Slovenia has a strong industrial base and innovation potential, which is why it can make good use of EU policies and initiatives. Now is the time for Slovenia to attract investments in key strategic technologies and sectors of the future,” she concluded.
The participants were also addressed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, dr. Robert Golob , who said that ” this year’s Summit of the Slovenian economy is at the most right time possible.
In the future, Europe will have to bet even more on its own knowledge. Only then will it be globally competitive. If so far we have faced crises that came from outside, today we are facing a crisis that comes from within the EU. » Due to the policies of other countries, which are in a worse position than Slovenia, Slovenia is also exposed to a reduction in orders. It is the government’s task to recognize and address this. Among the measures, he pointed out the preparation of a permanent reduced working time scheme, which should enter into force as soon as possible next year, and the measure of recording working hours, where a compromise between the social partners should be reached in early December. He touched on the field of energy security, which the government is intensively dealing with. He emphasized that by signing agreements with Algeria and Azerbaijan, Slovenia became energy independent from a single gas supplier. The new system of network fees brings a lot of uncertainty. ” The introduction was introduced too naively,” the prime minister was clear. It is not possible to introduce price regulation for the economy as for households. However, he announced the creation of a working group, ” consisting of GZS and MOPE, which will establish a control system, whether the tariff system enforces the principle of justice and is proportional .” Based on the analysis, it will be possible to examine the possibility of intervening through a special law in the next year weights’ of the new network fee calculation methodology.
At the round table, Martin Novšak, an expert in energy and long-time director of GEN energy, Toni Balažič, president of Panvita, Beno Ceglar, general manager of NIL, and Minister of Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han, discussed their views. Ali Žerdin, editor and journalist of Dela, also commented on the discussion.
At the end, General Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vesna Nahtigal summarized ten concrete sets of measures, formed on the basis of the discussion and through the implementation of which we want to contribute to greater competitiveness and economic security of Slovenia.
The measures written in the form of the ‘Declaration of the 19th Summit of the Slovenian Economy’ are ” in the spirit of cooperation and in the sincere desire to do something good together for Slovenia, our economy, our employees and our families and future generations with the appeal: ‘Let’s not wait for spring, not let’s wait for May. Let’s act TOGETHER now!’ ” handed over to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon. The declaration will be sent in writing to the Cabinet of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia with a request that the government ” respond within a month with concrete activities, a timeline of preparations and responsible institutions.” In January, we want to hold the first working meetings with the competent ministers, where we would outline the implementation of the proposed measures.”