Thank you, Mr Chairman, Commissioner, distinguished guests.
Before coming to the speech itself, I understand that you are
going to have a very busy day and a busy schedule.
So I'll try to be as brief as possible.
To start on a lighter tone,
this is going to be my first speech ever that I'm going to read,
because I don't feel confident enough to address you without it.
No, but it's an important topic.
There is one word that I would like to stress in advance.
It's a word that we are really using a lot when we meet in the Council,
that is flexibility. We are aware of the need of reestablishing
the fiscal rules again, they have their role,
but we are also aware that the times are really changing.
We are falling from one crisis to another,
the frequency of crises is increasing.
Meaning that flexibility is something that we need to be not just aware of,
but we need to be able to cope with.
When we speak about flexibility, each of us understands it
in a different manner at the moment.
So we have to come up with a definition of what flexibility is.
This definition could really be of paramount significance
for the development of the European Union as a whole, of our economies.
Because when we are speaking about flexibility,
we are not adopting it only on the fiscal rules,
but on everything, on state aids,
on energy market restructuring and everything else.
Flexibility in itself is a word we're going to hear a lot,
perhaps not so much today, but I think we will,
but we have to come up with a common understanding of it.
Coming back to the rules themselves.
Slovenia has always not only recognised,
but also emphasised the importance of fiscal rules.
Our commitment is so deep that we have demonstrated it
by an amendment in our constitution.
We are also aware that fiscal rules assure the direction of economic policy
towards stability and sustainability of public finances
in the medium- and long-term.
By implementing fiscal policies, we try to control the influence of
conditions in the economy.
Especially those like unemployment, economic growth and inflation.
This is why, as I said, I welcome the debate
on the EU economic governance reform,
as we must adapt to the new reality and new challenges.
The crises that we've been rocked by
had a major economic and social impact
and unfortunately, they are not going to end.
We must be aware that the crises are going to stay,
and we will need to live with them.
I'm not speaking about the pandemic,
I'm speaking about all the other changing conditions.
During the crisis, fiscal rules were temporarily frozen.
Which helped a lot. I need to be honest with you,
our government used that opportunity
in the fiscal year 2023.
On purpose, we really stretched the envelope.
We wanted to help the economy, to help the population
cope with the rising prices of energy.
That's why the suspension of the rules was utilised in full.
There is nothing to hide regarding that.
It is also important to state very clearly
that we will prioritise the pressing areas,
such as healthcare and long-term care,
while maintaining sustainable public finances.
Starting next year. We understand and we planned in advance
that in 2024 we need to stick to the fiscal rules as much as possible.
At the moment, we are quite optimistic that we will be able to do that.
As we wrote in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan,
we will adopt changes to the pension system
with the goal of a decent pension and a long-term system stability.
We will also adopt measures in the field of education
with the aim of training young people
in the new paradigm of green and digital transition.
The comprehensive tax reform is under way.
The direction of it is a balanced reduction of tax burden on labour
and an increase in the taxation of capital or property.
Hand in hand, our goal is to take care of sustainable public finances,
as well as of growth and investments.
I certainly believe that we need a strong and resilient Europe
that can respond to the challenges of time.
For that we need rules that support sustainability,
but we also need an economic governance framework
that will enable, and this is the magic word, flexibility
while also providing space to invest boldly.
We should not give away our investment opportunities.
To boost our global competitiveness,
and meet the challenges of an aging population
and make Europe a better place, there is only one way forward.
Finding the right balance between investments,
but also being frugal when necessary.
Therefore, I wish you all a very productive,
but also bold and innovative conference today.
Let's not be afraid of challenging the existing forms and standards
and think outside the box.
I think that the times that we are facing
need a lot of thinking outside the box.
So I'll be counting on you today
that you will not be confined to this room,
but will also take some inspiration from the very nice surroundings.
Thank you very much.