Dear journalists and other media representatives,
welcome to our press conference in the wake
of the 26th regular meeting of the government.
At today's meeting, the government began to evaluate a proposed law
to help businesses weather the energy crisis,
and approved a bill on an urgent response to rising energy prices.
The Minister of Economic Development and Technology Matjaž Han
will tell you more about both bills.
We'll later be joined by Infrastructure Minister Bojan Kumer.
I would like to apologize for the absence of Minister Mesec,
who had other commitments at Brdo. Go ahead, Minister.
Thank you.
I would like to start by
saying that we are nearing the end of a difficult period
based on our discussion of legislation to alleviate
the effect of the energy crisis on businesses. I'd like to thank
everyone who worked on this bill, including representatives
of business, who helped us out, and I hope we now have a bill
that will help businesses overcome the energy crisis.
We had an agreement with business and the government
will conduct talks with social partners today.
Tomorrow, we'll take this matter to the Economic-Social Council,
and we'll introduce the bill to Parliament.
We'll approve it on Monday at our correspondence session
and then head to the National Assembly for the regular
December session, and the law will go into effect on 1/1/23.
What would we like to do with this bill?
First, we would like to set competitive energy prices
similar to those paid by companies throughout Europe.
Second, and this is significant, we would like to ensure
a predictable, favorable environment for our businesses.
It's difficult to draw a precise estimate of how much
this measure will cost.
But the estimate of our ministry is for a price tag
of circa €1.2 billion. This will come from our budget reserves
for next year. We're talking about circa €850 million for business,
while the law also includes measures for the preservation
of jobs, which will cost €100 million,
and we have measures to improve the liquidity
of Slovenian companies, which we will work on
together with the Enterprise Fund. They will cost
€200 million. They will naturally help businesses with liquidity.
We based this on the measures from the emergency package
introduced by the European Commission,
which took various Slovenian proposals into consideration.
The ministers had coordinated them with the commissioners.
The measures are similar to those introduced this year,
but with important improvements for the benefit of the economy,
and they have been coordinated with the business sector.
We realize that the state won't be able to do everything,
given our budget limitations, but this bill
is a good starting point to ensure business competitiveness.
I would like to focus on what we've changed
compared to this year's package.
We increased the maximum allowable amount of aid,
thereby ensuring far more resources, from €80 million to €1.2 billion.
We also added two new types of aid for businesses.
We loosened the entry requirements from a price
increase of 200% to 150% compared to the 2021 average.
We also changed the criteria for energy-intensive companies.
We'll make the execution easier for companies
and eliminate needless administrative barriers.
The time frame for aid will extend from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023.
When it's passed, the law must be reintroduced
to the European Commission, which must approve the strategy,
but based on our talks, I don't foresee any problems.
The beneficiaries are the same as this year:
companies, co-ops, associations, institutions, interest groups,
chambers of commerce, and labor unions,
mostly entities that conduct business activities.
That's the key. Those not entitled to the aid
include small business users because we've regulated
their prices. This covers about 100,000 companies
whose prices are regulated.
Also not covered are financial and insurance companies.
In short, we will cover 40% to 80%
of all the eligible expenses above a 150% energy price hike.
The maximum allowed aid is €2 million
for simple aid and up to €150 million
for special aid for companies meeting certain criteria.
This includes Talom and some paper mills.
But I don't believe any company in Slovenia will reach €150 million
in subsidies, but that's a part of the program.
We also set the maximum allowed price of energy sources
that can be claimed by beneficiaries in 2023.
We now have five types of aid: simple aid,
which will be subsidized in the amount of 50%
up to €2 million, and this includes agriculture with €250,000
and fisheries with up to €300,000.
Then we have packages of special aid.
These include special aid for reduced business performance,
up to €100 million.
We also have special aid for energy-intensive companies
with a recognized status. The third type of special aid
is intended for certain sectors, such as paper, aluminum, glass,
mining, etc., also with a recognized status. This is what
I was referring to when I mentioned €150 million.
The claimant may make use of only one type of aid.
We'll carry this out the same way as this year.
Our executive agency, Spirit, will carry out this task.
I'd like to thank them because this isn't their
primary task, but they did a great job this year.
I believe that when the bill is taken up by the National Assembly,
the first funds will be on the way to companies
for this year. The claimants will be able
to fill out their digital applications
by the end of the day on February 28
for the following year.
Companies will then receive a regular monthly payout
in the amount of 80% of the estimated value.
This will make things easier. The remaining 20% will then
be paid out to companies at the end,
based on their actual energy use.
The payout for the first quarter will take place on March 31.
This is important because things won't be able to get
off the ground otherwise.
Everything from March on will be paid on a monthly basis.
We expect some companies to have liquidity issues
in the meantime. That's why we have
favorable liquidity loans
from the Enterprise Fund and the Regional Development Fund
in the amount of €30 million for '23 and €20 million for '24.
We'll have about €100,000 set aside for favorable loans
per company. I believe that hundreds of these companies
will receive this support. And we have another financial
instrument in cooperation with the SID Bank,
our Ministry and the Ministry of Finance.
We're getting this together and holding talks today
and tomorrow. We'll use an additional €25 million
from the budget for measures
that cost around €200 million,
which will the be paid out to bank accounts.
Businesses will then be able to make use of these funds
for normal business operations.
The Labor Minister should be here for this, but the second thing
I mentioned the measure affecting reduced working hours
and furloughs. Earlier today, we were still making
some fixes at the government meeting. We'll simplify things.
The period of eligibility will be from January 1
to March 31, 2023.
Reduced working hours will be compensated in the amount
of 80% paid out to employers.
This will be carried out by the Employment Office.
This is our plan of action regarding reduced working hours.
The criteria will be announced. Then we'll just have the furloughs.
These measures were approved by the government today.
They weren't formally passed because we feel
that the Economic-Social Council needs to debate the matter.
I believe we'll be successful. It was quite exhausting
and we still need to complete some things.
Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who took part
in preparing this bill. I trust that the economy
will function normally under these circumstances.
Thank you, Minister. First, some questions from the press here.
TV Slovenia. You have to step up to the microphone.
Gašper Petovar, RTV Slovenia.
I would like to know if you've received any feedback
from the Chamber of Commerce, or the Chamber of Craft and Small
Business, who supported the proposals but were worried
about something that may be hiding in the fine print.
Frankly, all these chambers... Yesterday, I worked with Mr. Kumer,
all the state secretaries, and our teams of experts
at the Infrastructure Ministry until 11:30 p.m.
and we coordinated all this legislation with representatives
of business. Mr. Kumer and I realize that
this country doesn't have the money that businesses would need,
but we still managed to coordinate enough funds to ensure
normal, competitive conditions.
We're trying to convince them not to fear
any fine print in the legislation.
Just as we spent five or six weeks coordinating this law,
we'll now finalize it in such a way
than on Monday, when the law in passed, business leaders
will know exactly what it looks like
and what the conditions for aid will be. Fine print
is not this government's intention.
Another question.
Hello. Klemen Balanč, Bloomberg Adria.
The Ministry of Finance expects Slovenia
to go €4 million in debt next year. This is a 10-percent nominal
increase in debt. How much room to maneuver
can the public finances absorb. A billion here, a billion there...
Where will it end? -I can't give you an expert opinion.
The Finance Ministry will probably tell you.
But I know that the money pumped into the economy
and used transparently for investments, for added value,
and for economic growth will come back to us times three.
I don't have this fear, but as far as debt is concerned,
you'll have to ask the Minister of Finance.
Thank you. For those online, please raise your hands.
If anyone has a question...
Yes. Kaja Kobetič, Kanal A.
Hello. My question is a bit off-topic for today.
The current government has been in office
for six months. You're not a political novice,
but you are a ministerial novice. How would you assess
these six months? Is it as you expected, since you mentioned
how exhausting it all is?
I'll be honest. It's more difficult than I expected it to be.
However, I'm lucky that I have excellent coworkers
at the ministry: state secretaries, directorate heads,
and all the teams in the office and beyond. I can't praise
them enough. They deserve more.
When we took power, we didn't expect such a serious energy crisis.
Even though I'm a Social Democrat and a coalition partner,
I can say we're lucky that we have a Prime Minister
who knows this topic well. But it's hard to keep up with him.
But with the cooperation of the Infrastructure Ministry
and Mr. Kumer and so on, we're up to the challenge.
I'd like to thank business leaders, who gave me
their confidence. I hope I won't disappoint them too badly.
Of course, things will now get shuffled around,
since I'm about to take over the Ministry for Business, Tourism,
and Sports, which was my original idea when I came here.
I'm not afraid of challenges.
It's a difficult job, but I'll manage.
Thank you. You probably wanted to say that it's
difficult to keep up with the Prime Minister's
knowledge of the energy sector. -I don't intend to keep up
that way, but it's difficult to keep up because he knows
how to respond when things change. It's like the stock market.
The European Commission's opinions also keep changing.
I have to say that the Commission is not of much help right now
because it hasn't adopted the solidarity principle
for electricity and natural gas subsidies.
However, Slovenia found its own path,
which I believe is in the benefit of our people.
Andreja Lončar from N1 has a question online.
Hello. Can you hear me?
Do we hear each other? -We do.
My question is about the energy sector.
In case of this year's aid package, there were some
indications that there were fewer applications than expected.
What do you expect for next year? Is this package
more business friendly?
I would also like to know... Currently, companies that have
furloughed their workers and already have problems
are still very rare, at least those known to the public.
When do you expect this critical moment? Will the prices
rise before the New Year and cause liquidity problems?
I'll respond to your first question this way:
Two things are different now compared to next year.
First, 70% of businesses had their electricity pre-purchased
based on the old prices, and thankfully didn't have
these problems.
Thirty percent had half of their electricity pre-purchased
and the other half on a pay-as-you-go basis,
so some didn't see the need, thankfully.
Another factor was the tax code.
They could issue dividends, so some didn't apply,
but these were very few.
For next year, we're introducing a complete overhaul
in how companies purchase electricity.
Mr. Kumer will tell you more, but based on our data,
the percentages have been reversed. Thirty percent of businesses
have their electricity and natural gas pre-purchased at good prices,
while 70 percent depend on new contracts,
which can be five, six, or seven times more expensive
than a few years ago. That's why the government must intervene.
We shouldn't forget that beside businesses, this government
also bailed out the people of Slovenia.
If you compare a power bill from this year
to one from last year, you see that electricity and gas
haven't gotten substantially more expensive,
so we can be satisfied in this regard.
Of course, we expect many more applicants next year.
We'll see how many, but I hope that
we'll be able to complete the process and pay out
the gas and electricity aid to companies without any issues.
It's also important that we'll have enough electricity
and natural gas for next year.
Thank you. Any questions or follow-ups?
Thank you, minister Han. -Thank you.
Now, I invite the minister of infrastructure Bojan Kumer
to join us. He will present the law
about the urgent intervention because of high energy prices.
Please. -Thank you. I would like to present you
the law that was passed by the government today
about the urgent intervention because of high energy prices.
It is an additional measure
where we tackle the energy crisis.
We have already passed a lot of measures
and the results prove that they were the right ones.
We are going in the right direction. As you know,
we passed a decree two days ago
where we limited the prices
for energy companies that sell electricity in Slovenia.
We regulated the cost of offers when the providers make business.
With that, we brought stability to the electricity market
and introduced a mechanism
that is dynamic and the economy welcomed it.
The law that we passed today brings some novelties.
We implemented the regulation that ministers in charge of energy
passed in the EU on September 30
and added some national specifics, so that we will better tackle
the crisis that could come during winter and next year.
I will limit myself to five topics. With this law,
we will reduce the peak load.
The regulation demands from all member states
to reduce the electricity consumption by 5%
during the busiest part of the day. We passed a law
where the operator will make it possible through tenders
that we will reduce the consumption.
We will support renewable sources.
The EU Commission made it possible
to loosen the rules about state help
for investments in renewable sources.
We will boost investments
in renewable energy sources and the storage of energy.
It is a strategic project
that will additionally boost the green transition.
We also allow the financing of the following projects.
The production and storage of electricity
and heat with the power between 50kW and 1MW.
We will boost the production of heat and gas,
renewable hydrogen and gas and methane from waste.
With this law, we also defined
how all these measures
can be implemented faster and we introduced
a solidarity contribution. In the third part,
we tackle the high costs.
When the energy prices are disproportionately high,
the government can regulate the prices of district heating
and tariffs in a way
that they won't exceed a certain level.
Now, we have a legal basis
that we will be able to react quickly if necessary
and protect the consumers and the economy.
We also defined the reference price of wood biomass
to determine the prices that the Energy Agency will have to abide by.
We tackle the contributions from surplus earnings
and a solidarity contribution. We talk about the revenues
from selling electricity, especially on the wholesale market
in Slovenia. The electricity must be consumed here.
This way, we will limit the costs from production to delivery.
The price will be €180/MWh, but there will be exceptions.
The exception are production devices
that produce electricity from lignite and gas,
especially small devices.
Then, there are some other measures.
These measures are nationally specific.
We offer guaranteed buyback to manufacturers of small devices.
We received many initiatives at the ministry.
With this law, we provide the appropriate legal basis
so that they can avoid market volatility,
and thereby provide them with additional protection.
We also set a reference price for operational support,
180 euros per megawatt hour.
We are introducing a basis for possible compensation
to suppliers of electricity, gas and heat,
to whom the price regulation measure would cause significant damage.
As you know, quite a few regulations for the regulation of LNG,
electricity and remote heating prices have already been determined.
With this law, we are introducing a legal basis.
Last week we had a public hearing on two regulations
which will enable compensation to suppliers,
to whom damage was caused
due to the difference between the purchase price
and the price at which they sell electricity to end customers.
In accordance with the regulation that determines the regulated price.
At the same time, we are limiting supply activities
on the electricity and gas retail market.
The Government can intervene in the market,
if the suppliers start to abuse the situation
and withdraw from the market as a precaution.
We experienced this at the beginning of this year due to high prices.
We impose certain sanctions on suppliers who will do this,
so that they will not be allowed to return to the same market,
if the situation calms down in the next five years
and they will take advantage of the market position
they have acquired over the years.
I would like to point out that this law,
which will be sent to the National Assembly,
will be followed by two regulations
to cover the difference between the supplier's purchase price
and the regulated selling price to end customers.
Thank you very much. First here.
Gašper, TV Slovenia.
A question that does not concern your ministry.
The vignettes for next year are already on sale.
Rumour has it that the Government is considering raising the price.
Not now, but in the new year.
Are you thinking about increasing the price of vignettes or not?
Will their price stay the same in January or February?
These rumours reached me too.
There was even a proposal in the annual management plan.
We took immediate action.
Any price increases are out of the question.
We will absolutely prevent any increase in the price of vignettes.
The answer is that price increases are not anticipated.
Good. Anything else? Bloomberg? No?
Then we can go online. Špela Bezjak, 24ur, go ahead.
Minister, I have two questions, I will start with the energy one.
What is currently happening with energy prices,
say electricity and LNG prices, on the energy exchanges?
How high will they get
and where might problems begin to appear for the law
which was approved by the Government today?
Thank you. This is the first one, but I will continue later.
The story of the energy exchanges is very complex.
I really like questions
which I can elaborate on for up to 5, 10 minutes.
This was also the purpose of the regulation we adopted two days ago.
On the energy exchanges which Slovenian sellers are focused on,
the situation is extremely illiquid. We pointed them
to the reference energy exchange of the continental part of Europe.
I am talking about the German EEX.
This ensured the liquidity and comparability of the offer
and at the same time referred the wholesale price to our economy
for those customers who have not yet leased electricity.
Energy companies are now bound by the price at which they must sell.
What are the current prices?
Given that at the last session of the ministers responsible for energy
we did not reach a consensus on the dynamic price corridor for LNG,
and given that we are in the colder part of the year
and the consumption of LNG is higher,
the prices are rising.
As for electricity, we are currently at 350 euros.
The price changes daily.
I hope that at the next special meeting on December 13
we will reach an agreement with Germany and the other member states
which oppose the dynamic corridor,
and thus send a clear signal
to the energy exchanges on the European market.
As we have done from June till end of October.
We need to complete this final detail.
We've already implemented two regulations, Slovenia was active.
I hope that all three will be confirmed on December 13.
One more question, right, Špela?
The second question is more political.
Does Mr Hajdinjak as head of DARS mean
that the coalition is building ties with the NSi party?
Will Mr Andrej Ribič really join the board?
That's a difficult question.
I rather talk about prices and stock market news.
This is a question for the DARS supervisory board.
I know you're trying to catch us unguarded.
There were many rumours as to where mr. Ribič might end up in.
This proved to be untrue.
I can't comment on hearsay.
This is a question for the supervisory board.
They are holding a meeting today.
I don't even know that. -We've read about that.
Kaja Kobetič, Kanal A.
You've mentioned a meeting of competent authorities on energy.
You have another session in two weeks.
Are you in talks with foreign ministers?
What price points are we talking about?
If Slovenia insists on € 150 to 180,
is this something that is feasible?
Another question, similar to what mr. Han was asked.
You're first time minister. The new government is 6 months old.
How would you assess your time? Is it what you've expected? Thank you.
I'll start with answering the last question.
My first impression is that it was very demanding and busy.
I believe we were very successful. Our starting point
was very poor.
We've held several meetings
and we've managed to undertake necessary measures,
but there's more work to do, on European level as well.
I'm positively surprised how much we've achieved.
Regarding your first question ...
December 13 will see
our 6th or 7th meeting.
I said we'll hold meetings until we find common ground.
We're active in trying to develop price regulation mechanism
for natural gas on stock markets as well.
We've demanded that the price isn't regulated just for a month,
but for a year for all products.
This has been approved on OTC platforms as well.
We're happy about that. The mechanism was met with approval.
A key regulation that became a standalone regulation,
before it was mentioned in Articles 23 and 24 of Price Regulation Act.
This is what we're solving together with other member states.
We're finding both professional and political solutions.
I'm in close contact with mr. Sikela.
We have a great relationship and I appreciate his availability.
Equally, I have a great relationship with my Croatian Spanish,
and Portuguese colleagues.
Even the Austrian colleague, although she often sides
with the German minister, is trying to find solutions.
I hope that this active dialogue
will help to bridge the gaps that we have done in the past.
I hope we'll do that on December 13 as well.
Thank you. Any more questions?
If not, thank you very much to those who attended in person
and those online. Good day.