Press Release

The Government adopts the Regulation on Energy Savings Ensured to Final Customers and Period Plan for Ensuring Road Transport Safety in 2010 and 2011

At today's regular session the Government adopted the Regulation on Energy Savings Ensured to Final Customers on the proposal of the Ministry of the Economy, which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. This is one of several measures in the package prepared by the Ministry of Economy, intended to promote the use of renewable sources of energy and energy saving.

The Regulation was approved in accordance with the Directive of the European Parliamnet and of the Council 2006/32/EC of 5 April 2006 on energy end-use efficiency and energy services, and repeals Council Directive 93/76/EEC, which stresses the need for greater end-use efficiency contributing to decreased use of primary energy and, consequently, more reliable energy provision and decreased greenhouse gas emissions. The Directive stipulates that energy savings should include measures or investments in devices producing energy from renewable sources on site, which means smaller consumption of net-bound energy or smaller purchase of fossil fuels.

Directive 2006/32/EC covers energy consumption in all sectors: households, tertiary sector, industry and transport. Only a part of end-use energy (about 15 per cent) is excluded, which refers to devices in companies involved in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading, and aviation, international shipping and the armed forces.

EU member states must set an indicative target so that they will save 9% overall in nine years (2008-2016). In this respect, the Government adopted the National Efficiency Energy Action Plan for the Period 2008-2016 on 31 January 2008 (AN-URE).

To this end, the Government adopted the regulation on energy savings, which obliges consumers (system operators and providers of electrical energy, heat from distribution networks, gas and liquid fuels to end consumers) to make energy savings with end consumers amounting to at least 1 per cent annually. The savings goal is the same for providers of all types of energy and energy products, and has been harmonised with the national goal defined in the AN-URE. Similarly to the Directive, the AN-URE allows the realisation of measures or investments in devices producing energy from renewable sources of energy at the site of consumption, which mostly means solar applications and wood biomass boilers.

The regulation stipulates that funds for financing programmes are collected from fees and supplements paid by end consumers to providers. The fee and supplements are defined in the annex to the regulation in euro cents per unit, which is common for individual types of energy or fuel. Calculated per unit, the price is between 0.20 and 1.03 €/MWh in the first year, 2010. The lowest fee is for electrical energy, while the highest is for diesel fuel and fuel oil.

The Government also adopted the Period Plan for Ensuring Road Transport Safety in 2010 and 2011.

The Period Plan for Ensuring Road Transport Safety in 2010 and 2011 seeks to achieve the greatest possible efficiency of available sources by networking competent bodiens at the national level, and independent local communities and civil society, thereby improving road safety.

By 27 December 2009, 173 had died on Slovenian roads this year, while there were 213 fatalities in the same period last year, which means 40 lives were spared this year (19 per cent fewer dead, 11 per cent fewer seriously injured and 10 per cent fewer people with minor injuries). According to the national road safety programme, our goal is to keep the number of dead on Slovenian roads under 139 by the end of 2010, and under 124 in 2011. The Ministry of Transport is aware that this is a very ambiitious and optimistic goal, which will be difficult to realise; however, it needs to be pursued with efficient governance and supervision.

In view of existing financial possibilities, the measures envisaged in the programme must be realised and prevention activities carried out, in addition to regular duties, to reach this goal. Timely and efffective coordination between the participants will contribute to improving road safety and fulfilling the goals of the national programme.

The period plan also includes planned prevention activities related to pedestrians, alcohol, speed, use of safety belts, the safety of riders of single-track vehicles, safety during the tourist season, safety at road and railway crossings below and above ground, and activities at the beginning of the school year. All prevention activities have been assigned to responsible persons and given deadlines.

At today's session the Government discussed the situation in the labour market in Slovenia and the proposal of necessary measures in the area of employing third-country nationals.

In accordance with the decisions of the of the interministerial working group for the drafting of possible measures to implement Slovenian migration policy, the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs together with the Employment Service of Slovenia studied the conditions needed to issue work permits and reasons for refusal of permits, including proposals to amend the legislation to prevent procedural abuses in the establishment of companies, and submitted proposals for further measures in accordance with the Decree on Restrictions and Prohibition of Employment and Work of Aliens. The measures will be adopted after the current decree expires on 31 December  2009.

At the end of October 2009, 81,105 foreign workers had a valid work permit in Slovenia, which is 10 per cent fewer than in October 2008 (90,305). As many as 76,517 foreigners came from the area of former Yugoslavia, which means 94 per cent of all valid permits.

The number of work permits issued shows that in 2009 the employment of the foreign workforce stopped and the numbers began to fall. The trend is further seen in the use of the work permit quota, which was only 43.8 per cent at the end of this October. The reason is mainly the decline in economing activity in the past year due to the economic crisis, concurrent increase of unemployed persons, and measures adopted to protect the labour market.

As the calming of the situation in the labour market becomes evident with a time lag, and as a further detirioration of the situation or only modest improvement is foreseeable in the next few months, the Ministry will propose a lower quota of  work permits for 2010 in comparison with 2009.