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Mit - UVK_Sinfo_2008_08_št.12 - Index

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by now that 80% of the difference between inflation in 2006 and
2007 is attributed to oil and food prices.
Yet Bajuk pointed to another factor that pushed up inflation in
Slovenia - wholesale and retail. Whereas in the eurozone the
distribution system, including retailers, absorbed nearly 18% of the
producer-price increase, in Slovenia retail and wholesale did not
absorb anything, instead they added 50% to the producer-price
increase.
FM StrESSES rOLE OF DIPLOMACy AS
FOrEIGN MINIStry ACHIEvEMENt
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel presented
the achievements of the Foreign Ministry
in the 2004-2008 term, emphasising
the work of diplomacy as a service for
Slovenian citizens abroad. According to
Rupel, a great number of international
events left the ministry with no time to
prepare an analysis of it achievements.
Rupel did not emphasise any special
achievement of the term, numbering
instead a series of projects which he believes have had an impact
on the fate of Slovenia as a modern country and its reputation in
the international community. The minister pointed to Slovenia's EU
presidency in the first half of 2008, comprising a great number of
international events and achievements, which according to Rupel
literally kept coming one after another.
The main question is what benefits Slovenian citizens can have
from the Foreign Ministry, he said, pointing to the importance of
the work of diplomacy for ordinary citizens who find themselves in
trouble in foreign countries. The minister mentioned the rescuing
of climber Tomaž Humar, who got stuck in his attempt to climb
Mt. Nanga Parbat in Himalayas, the release of Tomo Križnar, former
special envoy to Sudan's region of Darfur, from imprisonment
in Sudan and the rescuing of Slovenian climber Dejan MiškoviË
from the face of Mustagh Tower in northern Pakistan. Rupel also
emphasised the introduction of the euro and entry to the Schengen
zone. ≈Elimination of borders however requires knowing clearly
where borders are,« said Rupel, pointing to the issue of the border
with Croatia, which remained unsolved also in this term.
He reiterated that Slovenia and Croatia had good economic and
human relations, while there were problems with certain ≈tensions
and distrusts«. As the ministry's achievement, Rupel highlighted the
bilateral agreement on the avoidance of border incidents signed at
Brijuni in 2005, and last year's agreement from Bled, when Slovenia
and Croatia decided to try and resolve their border dispute through
arbitration or at an international court. On the other hand, Rupel
mentioned the issue of Croatia's declaration of the ecological and
fisheries zone in the Adriatic, which ≈surprised« the Foreign Ministry
at the beginning of the EU presidency, but has been resolved
successfully. Regarding the relations with Italy, Rupel believes that
the countries have established a ≈favourable level of relations«. He
emphasised the progress regarding the law on the protection of
the Slovenian minority, and the creation of an inter-governmental
commission of foreign, economy, transport, energy, environment
and culture ministers. According to Rupel, the relations with Austria
have also improved, ≈regardless of the issue of bilingual signs«. He
added that the interest for the Slovenian minority in Austria was
greater than ever, emphasising that the minority representative
Rudi Vouk had good chance of being elected to the Austrian
parliament.
The minister also emphasised the role of the Slovenian diplomacy
in solving the issue of the status of Kosovo and in the signing of a
sinfo 12 14
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and
Serbia, which solidified a pro-European government in Belgrade and
led to the arrest of war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic.
LOwEr NOtAry FEES A KEy ACHIEvEMENt
IN 2004-2008 tErM, SAyS MINIStEr ©tUrM
Justice Minister Lovro ©turm
underscored the reduction of notary
fees by 50% as one of the biggest
achievements of his four-year term
as minister, saying the people an
estimated EUR 65m. The parliament
passed 62 acts prepared by the Justice
Ministry and as many as 97.4% of
denationalisation claims have been
solved, ©turm said as he enumerated
the ministry's achievements. All higher courts and 30 of Slovenia's
66 courts introduced the Lukenda programme, which aims at
eliminating backlogs until 2010. The efficiency of a commission for
redressing of injustices and national reconciliation has also increased
considerably. Between 2005 and 2008, it solved some 4,170 claims
annually, while it only managed to close some 860 claims a year
between 1997 and 2004.
Sturm is also proud of the amendments to the penal code which
criminalised a number of activities regarding white collar crime
that had previously only been viewed upon as ≈big disgrace«.
The minister added that the implementation of the right to trial in
reasonable time saved some EUR 600m.
Investment in judiciary amounted to EUR 57m over the four years,
with various justice authorities getting some 45,450 square meters
of new premises. Sturm also named several points in which more
could have been done, including a bill on war damage compensation
which had been drafted by the ministry but failed to get adopted,
and the failed digitalisation of the Supreme Court's criminal records.
The minister also expressed regret over continued tensions with
judges, who started a work-to-rule strike over wages, bonuses and
the very fact that they are a part of the public sector wage system.
Sturm expressed the hope that the Constitutional Court, which is
currently considering the matter at the request of the judges, will
pass a ≈clear, definite and executable decision«.
vIzJAK: SLOvENIA MOrE DEvELOPMENt-
OrIENtED AFtEr 2004-2008 tErM
Minister Andrej Vizjak looked back
at the achievements of the Economy
Ministry in the 2004-2008 term,
concluding that while an important
step had been made towards making
Slovenia's economy developmentoriented,
a lot of work remains to be
done in terms of adapting economic
policies and increasing productivity.
≈We are pleased with what we have
achieved, but at the same time we are aware that a lot of work lies
ahead. The changing situation on global markets requires a constant
adaptation of economic policies,« Vizjak told the press in Ljubljana.
According to him, the key goal four years ago was creating new
jobs and increasing employment. In the future, the chief goal will
be securing a breakthrough in the productivity of companies and
thereby creating conditions for dividing up the value added fairly