Together with the rest of Europe, we are in the middle of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and together with the rest of Europe, we have been forced to adopt measures to control the spread of the virus, and to protect human health and life. First comes life, then health and then the economy, in particular vitally important activities, emphasised Primer Minister Janez Janša in his speech to Slovenian citizens.

Slovenia is adopting proportionate measures, is in daily contact with the governments of other EU countries, is involved in consultations, and is studying various measures and monitoring their effects. Slovenia significantly mitigated the financial and social consequences of the first wave of the pandemic in the previous four packages of measures. A sixth package will soon be prepared to eliminate the consequences of the cold-weather wave of the pandemic.

On account of its effective measures, Slovenia is one of the rare countries that has improved its sovereign rating during the coronavirus pandemic and thus its position on the financial markets. It has secured a significant amount of funding from the EU budget and the Recovery and Resilience Facility for a rapid recovery and growth in the coming years. To date, Slovenia has never had such investment opportunities as it will have in the next three years. What lies before us is thus not an abyss into which we will inevitably fall, but rather a challenge that we will overcome together, according to the Slovenian Prime Minister.