Slovenia Enacts Legal Set of Measures for Helping Economy and Population

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Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on March 24 that the state was dealing “extremely seriously” with the consequences caused by the novel coronavirus, underscoring that the majority of Slovenian citizens were abiding by the prescribed social distancing measures and that he expected the epidemic to slow down, news agency Hina reports. 

“If citizens continue to adhere to the restrictions and measures for reining in the epidemic, then Slovenia will not need many of the stricter measures enacted by other states,” Jansa told reporters after presenting a legal set of aid to the economy and population, the so-called “megalaw.” In his words, Slovenia has faced the health and economic consequences of the crisis caused by the coronavirus “extremely seriously” and so it hopes it will slow down the epidemic. 

Jansa presented a number of measures from the first legal “megapackage,” saying that there are sufficient funds for them and that, in the event that the crisis is prolonged by the coronavirus pandemic, the government also has guidelines for launching a second legal package of that kind. 

All the measures are necessary to “freeze” the state of the Slovenian economy and society at the current level while the pandemic and its consequences are in progress, so that activities may afterwards resume and the country can move on, he said. 

Jansa did not say what amount is envisaged for the aforementioned legal package, but sources close to the government say that the sum in question exceeds EUR3bn. The measures proposed by the government focus on preserving existing jobs, continuing the operations of companies and strengthening the possibility of their survival, enable tax benefits and delayed payments, preserve the state’s social stability, and enable flexibility for a supplement to salaries in key services during the epidemic, in amounts of between 10% and as much as 200% relative to the base. 

Among other things, the government, in the next two months, will give subsidies to employers for salaries to workers “on hold” due to the production standstill and will instead of employers pay health and pension insurance contributions for those workers, as well as sick leave compensation. 

Workers who cannot go to work during the epidemic will have the same status and rights as those who have lost their jobs and are receiving compensation, while pensioners with the lowest pensions will get a special supplement, and the “self-employed” will be entitled to a monthly salary from the government equaling 70% of the minimum monthly salary. 

Slovenia will reroute unused funds from the European Social Fund into research and development, especially in the development of medicines, vaccines and production of health care equipment, Jansa told the press conference. The measure that will divide opinions is the proposal to cut the salaries of all officials, including MPs and government members, by 30% during the crisis.