121st regular session of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia

Minister Arčon na novinarski konferenci | Author Bor Slana/STA

Act Regulating the Supplement to Pensions for Outstanding Achievements in Arts

Today, the Government approved a proposal for the Act Regulating the Supplement to Pensions for Outstanding Achievements in Arts.

After several decades, the Ministry of Culture is regulating pensions for outstanding achievements in the arts. It is a legal settlement of a long-standing unregulated situation. The current law dates back to 1974 and provided for the possibility of exceptionally granting and awarding a higher old-age pension to people who have made a special contribution in the field of the arts. However, this law, although still in force, is outdated and, above all, deficient, since it does not define the precise criteria for granting and awarding exceptional pensions, which risks leading to unequal treatment.

The new proposal for the Act adopted today by the Government sets out in a very precise and transparent manner the criteria for granting the right to a supplement and its amount.

The Act will grant the right to the supplement to a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia who, through outstanding achievements in the arts, has shown special merit for the quality, importance and recognition of the arts in the Republic of Slovenia or abroad and is a recipient of an old-age or disability pension.

Beneficiaries of the supplement:

• recipients of the Prešeren Award for Lifetime Achievement;
• recipients of the Prešeren Fund Award who, in addition to the Prešeren Fund Award, have received at least one other national award or at least one of the high international awards;
• recipients of an award under the State Decorations of the Republic of Slovenia Act whose justification shows that it was awarded for achievements in the arts, and who have also received at least one national award listed in Annex I or at least one of the high international awards.

In calculating the basis for the supplement, the difference between the amount of the old-age or disability pension received by the beneficiary and the amount of the old-age pension for 40 years of pensionable service, calculated on the basis of the maximum pension base in accordance with the rules on pension and disability insurance, shall be taken into account.

The supplement may be granted in full (100%) or in half (50%), depending on the candidate's special merits for the quality, significance and visibility of the arts in the Republic of Slovenia or internationally. Only the recipients of the highest national award in the arts, the Prešeren Award for Lifetime Achievement, are eligible for the 100% supplement. However, the right to a 50% supplement shall be granted to those applicants who prove their outstanding achievements in the arts by the awards they have received from the list specified in Annex I of the proposed Act, and who are also recipients of the Prešeren Fund Award or of an award under the State Decorations of the Republic of Slovenia Act for their achievements in the arts.

The proposal for the Act Regulating the Supplement to Pensions for Outstanding Achievements in Arts also lays down the general conditions for granting the right to the supplement as well as the procedure for granting or withdrawing the right. In this respect, the proposal for the Act mainly follows the principle of legality, the principle of equal treatment and the principle of publicity.

Source: Ministry of Culture

The Government includes two new projects in Development Programme Plan 2024-2027

The Government has included two new projects in the Development Programme Plan 2024-2027 for the budget user Slovenian Armed Forces, namely the Cybersecurity Situational Centre and the Healthcare Centre for National Emergencies.

Cybersecurity Situational Centre

The project's aim is to improve cybersecurity at the national level by establishing a nationwide Joint Cybersecurity Situational Centre providing permanent monitoring, detection and measures to mitigate cyber threats.

The project will establish a cyber threat detection system, essential for protecting entities from malicious cyber activities and to strengthen resilience in cyber security. The investment consists of the purchase of equipment to establish a Joint Cybersecurity Situational Centre capacity to capture, process, analyse, store and disseminate cyber threat information. The requirements for the above capacity are based on legislative commitments providing that the Slovenian authorities competent for cyber defence at various levels shall implement coordinated organisational, logical and technical, technical and administrative measures and perform activities to ensure comprehensive information security in accordance with their competencies. The project also includes related education and training for the staff who will use the solutions. A cyber situational awareness system will be established with the capability to produce an assessment of situational awareness in the field of cyber and national security in the Republic of Slovenia.

The Cybersecurity Situational Centre will provide:

• increased security of defence planners' networks thanks to the Joint Cybersecurity Situational Centre;
• increased effectiveness of operational authorities in the cybersecurity system and improved resilience to cyber threats of the organisations involved;
• reduced impact of potential security incidents and increased cyber security by providing timely information on cyber threats;
• general raise of cybersecurity at the national level;
• protection of end devices;
• increased resilience to cyber risks by using advanced risk assessment mechanisms to detect and respond to new threats in real time.

The starting value of the Cybersecurity Situational Centre project is EUR 33,530,091 including VAT.

Healthcare Centre for National Emergencies

The recent COVID-19 pandemic revealed some of the gaps in the resilience of the central hospital infrastructure of national importance and showed, among other things, that the country does not have the hospital capacity for treating a large number of patients with the same or similar emergency medical conditions at the same time.

The purpose of the project is to build and equip a new Healthcare Centre for National Emergencies as a military hospital, which will be integrated into the public health system and will ensure, through the combined efforts of the SAF Military Medical Unit and the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, an increased resilience of the Republic of Slovenia in situations where large numbers of people may be sick, injured or traumatised. It is a dual-use medical facility, both for the provision of medical care for military purposes and for public health use.

As part of the establishment of the Healthcare Centre for National Emergencies, the northern extension of the Peter Držaj Hospital in Ljubljana will be built. This will actually increase the existing hospital healthcare facilities, not just replace part of the existing dilapidated facilities.

The new military hospital covers a gross area of 18,700 m2, of which 12,900 m2 will be dedicated to its main and ancillary areas, with a minimum of 160 hospital beds, comprehensive functional diagnostics, four operating rooms in a functionally arranged operating theatre, with intensive care and isolation bed units, and standard care wards. The difference to the full gross floor area is due to a two-storey underground garage with parking areas.

The starting value of the National Emergency Health Centre project is EUR 86,916,198 including VAT.

Source: Ministry of Defence

Government adopts decision to nominate Marta Kos as Member of the European Commission

Based on paragraph one of Article 11b of the Cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government in EU Affairs Act, the Government, at its ordinary session on 9 September 2024, nominated Marta Kos for appointment as Member of the EU Commission and forwarded the proposal to the National Assembly. The proposed candidate presented herself to the working body of the National Assembly competent for EU affairs on 18 September 2024. The body voted on the candidate and endorsed her.

Pursuant to paragraph three of Article 11b of the Cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government in EU Affairs Act, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia has taken note of the positive opinion of the National Assembly Committee on EU Affairs and has adopted a decision to nominate Marta Kos as a Member of the European Commission from the Republic of Slovenia. Marta Kos has previously served as Slovenia's Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany and the Swiss Confederation. With extensive experience in senior management, project management within the EU and as an expert in communication, she meets all the criteria set out in Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union.

Source: Office of the Prime Minister

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