Prime Minister Golob to members of the Civil Protection: "Thank you for being!"

In his address, Prime Minister Golob pointed out that in Slovenia we have a Civil Protection system that not only works, but is the envy of the world. Therefore, he especially thanked all those who selflessly risk their lives and help people in the worst situations and circumstances. "The state's task is to listen to you," said the Prime Minister, citing the fire in the Karst region as an example where the state listened to volunteer firefighters and upgraded the system of rewards and reimbursement of costs after interventions.

“Thank you for everything you have done, thank you for being. For this reason alone, we can all sleep more peacefully," the Prime Minister concluded his address to the gathered service members.

A reminder: Following the major fire in the Karst region in 2022, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia implemented a comprehensive package of reforms and investments to improve fire protection in the natural environment and to strengthen the protection, rescue and assistance system. The key objective of the measures was to ensure a faster and more effective response to increasingly frequent climate and weather disasters.

The government updated the national threat assessment and introduced a series of systemic solutions, including reimbursement of intervention costs and tax breaks for long-serving volunteer firefighters who have been performing operational protection, rescue and assistance tasks for at least ten years.

In recent years, we have ensured a significant increase in the Fire Fund's assets, which directly enables greater investment in the fire service and thus strengthening fire safety. The additionally strengthened Fire Fund enables greater investments in equipment, training and research, while at the same time, 50 percent of the fire tax funds allocated to municipalities remain exclusively for investments in local fire safety.

Within the framework of the Fire Fund, special funds were provided in 2024 and 2025 to improve equipment and fire protection in the Karst region – this is the highest amount of funds to date, namely 5 million euros, which will be used to co-finance standardised fire engines and equipment in ​​Karst municipalities, as well as an additional 5 million euros of dedicated funds to improve the situation and equipment in the field of protection against wildfires for the entire country and for assistance abroad.

The total value of investments in the field of civil protection during this government's term amounts to approximately 160 million euros, of which more than 100 million came from European funds. Special earmarked funds were allocated primarily to the Karst region, where the state provided 10 million euros for standardised fire engines and equipment.

Key projects include the establishment of a warehouse for protective equipment, the purchase of special vehicles and equipment, the construction of infrastructure, and the establishment of specialised firefighting and rescue units.

Among the key achievements is the construction of the National Large Wildfire Centre in Sežana, built as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which represents a strategic investment in the training of firefighters and other rescue service members. By 2026, it will receive an influx of 1,000 additionally trained service members.

Operational capabilities were strengthened with new special vehicles, equipment, the establishment of specialised units, and the upgrading of preventive activities, including video surveillance and the use of unmanned systems.

Within the framework of the European Cohesion Policy 2021-2027, we also strengthened our capabilities by purchasing four Air Tractor aircraft for extinguishing fires in the natural environment, each with a capacity of 3,000 litres of water. The aerial firefighting unit has been successfully carrying out preventive and operational tasks for two fire seasons.

Significant progress has also been achieved in the field of international cooperation. As part of the National Rapid Intervention Unit, organised by the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, we have designed a module for extinguishing fires in the natural environment with vehicles, which can also operate abroad upon request. The module was successfully certified this year at an international exercise in Sardinia and was included in the European Civil Protection Pool.

We remain committed to strengthening the system of protection, rescue and assistance in the field of fire protection in the natural environment and will continue to pursue the set goals in cooperation with firefighting and other rescue units, local communities and international partners.