The Slovenian cabinet adopted Thursday a development strategy for the country which focuses on a socially-based market economy and whose aim is to see Slovenia exceed the average development of the EU by 2015. According to Prime Minister Janez Jansa, this will require ambitious but attainable economic growth of 5% per year.
The strategy, which is based on ensuring the prosperity of all citizens, sets four fundamental goals. Apart from the economic goal, another aim is to improve the quality of life and the welfare of Slovenian citizens.
Moreover, the document sets sustainable development and increasing Slovenia's global standing as primary goals.
In order for Slovenia to surpass the average GDP in the EU 15 in ten years, its economy will have to grow 3 percentage points faster than that of the EU. With forecasts predicting 2% growth in the EU 15, this means the Slovenian economy will have to expand at over 5%, Jansa said.
Jansa is convinced that this goal is ambitious but attainable provided that development-oriented measures are made.
Moreover, Jansa said that the document puts great emphasis on sustainable development and is based on the estimate that Slovenia is at a crossroads where it will have to find a new development impetus.
"The document is balanced and sets down the goals and measures needed to achieve these goals," he said.
The strategy lists a competitive economy, the promotion of a knowledge-based society, a more effective public administration, a modern welfare state and greater employment opportunities as priorities needed to be implemented in order to realise the set goals.
The document will serve as the basis for all other documents and national programmes in this field, Jansa stressed. The government is now expected to propose the creation of a task force to prepare the basis for long-term reforms.
According to Jansa, the government is set to draft its standpoints for negotiations on the social agreement on the strategy. "The government will maintain that the social agreement incorporates the goals of the development strategy," he said.
A detailed programme of measures and financial estimates that will accompany the strategy is scheduled to be adopted by the cabinet by September.
The strategy will also serve as the basis for Slovenia's action plan for the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy, Jansa said.
The work on the blueprint for the strategy was launched by the previous government. The final copy of the document was drafted by the Institute for Macroeconomic Development and Analysis (IMAD) and underwent an extensive debate in the government.
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