WEBVTT

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Hello.

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We had an interesting debate

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about conditions in the European
banking sector today.

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Both the President of the ECB
and the President of the Eurozone

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showed us an analysis
of recent events,

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as well as an analysis
of the European banking system

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and how it differs from the cases
of the U.S. and Switzerland.

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On the basis of what has been
presented, we came to a unanimous

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conclusion, namely that
the European banking system

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is resilient to the disruptions
we've seen

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and that all the parameters,
from liquidity to capital adequacy

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and so on, are firmly within
the designated limits.

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It's the rules that regulate
the European banking system

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and are much stricter
than in those two countries

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that can put our minds
at ease.

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Given the turbulence
affecting European banks

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such as Deutsche Bank,
have you discussed

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additional measures to stabilize
these financial markets?

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No, we have a clear answer
to this question.

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Regardless of any daily
volatility,

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nothing has really changed
over the past days or week

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regarding the stability
of the European banking system.

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It's as stable as it was before.
Daily volatility had no effect

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and is not a consequence
of the condition of the system,

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which remains normal,
stable, and robust.

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The reaction to what is happening
is just daily market volatility.

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Was there any discussion,
perhaps on the sidelines,

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regarding an increase
to deposit insurance?

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No. Again, we were informed quite
clearly why the collapse happened,

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both in the case of Silicon Valley
Bank and Credit Suisse,

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and the findings indicate that rules
in effect within the Eurozone

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prevent this from happening
in the European banking sector.

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So there are no possible
improvements to make

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the system even more resilient?
-The debate was primarily about

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creating a banking union,
but with an emphasis

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not on relaxing the rules,
as some have suggested,

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but on preserving current rules,
not tightening them but preserving

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them, to prevent this turbulence
from affecting stability.

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Regarding European bank deposit
insurance,

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that didn't come up?
-No. We didn't discuss that.

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That's an integral part
of the banking union,

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which we didn't discuss.
That was prepared in advance.

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We're currently discussing
the implementation

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of these agreements, but we're
at the beginning of the process.

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How is the Slovenian banking system
prepared for potential trouble?

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Our banks are in the Eurozone,
and Slovenia is in the Eurozone,

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so we share the destiny
of the Eurozone.

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The rules are the same;
our banking system

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is very liquid and our capital
adequacy is very high.

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You also spoke about reforming
economic governance.

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Yesterday, the government prepared
amendments to the budget,

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resulting in a far lower deficit.
How will this help Slovenia

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return to its budgetary
framework?

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When we approved the budgets
for 2023 and 2024,

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we forecast an appropriate deficit
of under three percent

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for the 2024 budget, when fiscal
rules once again go into effect.

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The budget amendments
we've prepared for 2023

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are a confirmation of what we said
last September,

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namely that we have substantial
budgetary reserves for aid

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due to the energy crisis.
We've seen that this aid

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will likely be far more limited,
so we've reduced our reserves,

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which also reduced our deficit
this year. Perhaps we'll have more

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amendments in September, but they're
unlikely to affect the deficit much.

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We preferred to go into 2023
with the expected deficit,

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which was larger, so we can now
decrease as we go along

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and send a signal to the financial
markets

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that Slovenia is managing
the deficit risks appropriately,

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and that we're approaching
the target deficit

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defined by the new fiscal rules.

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We're just a year away
from the European elections.

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Your party in a new player
in the EU political arena,

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so how will you build
alliances and with which groups?

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The Freedom Movement
has decided to become a member

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of the broader Renew
movement.

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We intentionally haven't moved
beyond this.

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Give us another year.
I believe we'll tackle this debate

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after the summer. In the meantime,
we'll see certain initiatives

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on the European level, and I trust
this will help us decide.

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We haven't discussed candidates
or potential commissioners

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within the party.
We have plenty of time.

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Why aren't you interested
in working with ALDE,

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which is a far older group
than Renew, and many people

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are convinced that Renew will vanish
once Macron departs?

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I'm not saying that we aren't
interested,

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but we haven't had an in-depth
discussion. We'll do that

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over the summer. After all,
ALDE will hold its congress

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in Stockholm this summer, which will
give us a chance to think this over.

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A question about domestic affairs:

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On Monday, you said that you'll
present bills on the digitalization

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of healthcare and health insurance
reform by the end of the month

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and put them up for public debate,
but the Economic and Social Council

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didn't take up the proposals today,
so where is the sticking point?

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I can't comment on the reasons.
I have information that both bills

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were passed on to
the Economic and Social Council.

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I can't comment on why they
weren't put up for debate

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because I wasn't there.
I trust this will become clear

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in a week or two.
The important thing

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is that the bills are already
undergoing public debate.

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We don't want to approve them
without the public's involvement

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or as part of an expedited
procedure,

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so we have enough time to collect
all useful, relevant comments

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and amend them.

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I believe we'll see them amended
this month,

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and that there's plenty
of time.