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Mit - UVK_Sinfo_2008_10_št.14 - Index

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The Sustainable Development Council, a government consultative
body, discussed on 17 September the sustainability package of
the European Commission and the council's future role. Its head,
Development Minister Žiga Turk, said that the council wanted to
gain importance and be influential both in the government and
in the public. The council adopted a resolution proposing to the
next government to open discussion on reforming the body, its
future role and its position in decision-making procedures so that
the principles of sustainable development are taken into account
in key strategic decisions. ≈Sustainable development is a topic
which can expect strong support from NGOs and commercial,
craft and other chambers. This is also a topic which requires a
change of certain policies,« Turk said before the session. Regarding
the sustainability package of the European Commission, Turk
said that it represented a strategy of the European Commission
for a comprehensive approach to promoting and implementing
the principles of sustainable consumption and production in
practice. The council members also discussed a study of the
long-term energy balance until 2030 and the project Energija.si,
whose main purpose is the promotion of efficient energy use and
which includes an upgraded Web application that calculates CO2
emissions. The study, which was made by the Energy Efficiency
Centre of the Jožef Stefan research institute, indicates possible
development of the use of energy and the energy sector through
2030 at higher and lower economic growth rates. The main
conclusions of the study show that Slovenia is very unlikely to
reach the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol, nor those envisaged
in the energy and climate change package. The council called
on the government to create a comprehensive strategy of
response to climate change and Slovenia’s transition to a lowcarbon
society. The session was attended by representatives of
the environment, agriculture, labour and economy ministries,
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chamber of Agriculture
and Forestry, Chamber of Craft, trade unions, the Slovenian
Employers’ Association and NGOs.
PROSPeRIty ReMaINS ObjeCtIVe OF
lISbON StRategy, MINISteR SayS
Development Minister Žiga Turk presented on 18 September the
government's draft reform programme for the implementation
of the Lisbon Strategy in Slovenia until 2010, saying ≈prosperity
remains the goal of the strategy. … The condition for it is
economic growth, which needs to be propelled by a competitive
economy,« he added. The draft, adopted on 17 September and
now to be discussed by the National Assembly and the Economic
and Social Council, will be forwarded to the European Commission
by 15 October. ≈We have written a good paper, comparable to
other documents of this sort in the EU, which is a good basis for
taking on forthcoming challenges. We do, however, allow for
the possibility that the new government would supplement or
correct it,« Turk said in Ljubljana. According to the minister, the
modernised programme gives more weight to knowledge and
creativity. At the same time, it preserves the goal of increasing
the share of renewables from 16% to 25%. ≈The government
needs to draw up a comprehensive strategic project to gear up
for climate change,« Turk said. Meanwhile, he sees the economic
slowdown as an opportunity to strengthen the key elements of
the economy and thereby await the next growth spurt with a
better economic structure, one that will draw more strongly on
knowledge and creativity and use the opportunities brought by
climate change, the information revolution and globalisation. In
the first cycle of the revised Lisbon Strategy (2005−2008), Slovenia
has done a lot in terms of economic and social reform, whereas
in the coming years it will be necessary to focus on continuing
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and speeding up the implementation of the reforms, Turk said.
≈The development level reached 89% of the EU average in
2007; economic growth, at 6.8% in 2007 according to the latest
data, was the highest in recent years,« he stressed. The new
programme for 2008−2010 tries to connect three key factors
necessary for meeting the Lisbon objectives. ≈If we manage to
connect the use of information and communication technologies,
the facilitation of creative technologies and an effective economy
... we will be able to meet the goals of sustainable development,«
the development minister added.
SlOVeNIaN-ROMaNIaN COMMISSION
DISCuSSeS eCONOMIC COOPeRatION
A joint Slovenian-Romanian commission for economic
cooperation, meeting in Romania's capital Bucharest on 18
September, assessed cooperation in trade, investment, industry,
energy, tourism and transport, establishing that there are still many
opportunities for trade between the countries. The commission
agreed that cooperation in the services sector was strong, as
there was an over 70% rise in that area between 2006 and 2007.
The sides also agreed they would work together in establishing
a regional energy market. The commission also discussed the air
route between the countries' capitals which opened at the end of
April, and further cooperation between port operator Luka Koper
and the Romanian port Constanta, which signed a cooperation
agreement in May. Romania expressed its wish to exchange
experience in the car industry, industrial policy and the phasing
of EU funds. The Slovenian Public Agency for Entrepreneurship
and Foreign Investment (JAPTI) meanwhile presented Slovenia's
experience in internationalisation and foreign investment and
suggested that JAPTI hold regular monthly meetings with the
Romanian Trade Promotion Centre. Slovenia also presented the
initiative of the NGO Slovenian Convention Bureau, which will
organise the first South Eastern European bourse for congress
tourism in January.
MINIStRy PublISheS teNDeR FOR R&D
FuNDS FOR SMall COMPaNIeS
The Economy Ministry published on 19 September in the Official
Gazette a public tender for direct initiatives for research and
development in micro, small and medium-size enterprises. The
tender is worth around EUR 8m, which should be spent in 2009
and 2010. Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak said that the purpose
of the tender was to encourage companies to invest more of their
own funds in research towards technological development and
innovation so they would boost their competitive position on the
home and foreign markets. The European Regional Development
Fund will secure EUR 6.8m for the tender, while the remaining
amount will be provided from the national budget. The tender,
carried out by the Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign
Investment (JAPTI), will be open for applications between 22
October and 22 December. According to Vizjak, the tender is
an important incentive for companies on their way to achieving
higher added value and strengthening their innovation and
competitive potential. He added that emphasis would be put on
projects from the areas of industrial research and experimental
development. The head of the Directorate for Entrepreneurship
and Competitiveness, Miran Pleterski, said that the ministry
had paid particular attention to the needs of micro, small and
medium-size enterprises in the area of R&D. “These measures are
a part of industrial policy,” he said.