Slovenian President's Office presents package of money-saving measures

Ljubljana, 7.1.2009  |  press release

Due to the expected financial and economic crisis in 2009, the Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia has adopted a series of necessary measures intended to restrict the use of public funds. The President's Office supports the symbolic measures through which public authorities provide a good example to other budget users, and is ready to cut expenditure in all areas. The Office also points out that in order to restrict government expenditure, wider and systemic measures are required. Through its own anticipated money-saving measures, the office joins these efforts.

In the area of investment and maintenance, only indispensable investments will be implemented in 2009, while all other investments will be deferred until later. The only exception will be the planned investment in a lift for disabled people, which the President's Office still does not have at its disposal. The decision on this investment follows the guidelines of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the National guidelines to improve built environment, information and communications accessibility for disabled persons. It is also an important element to facilitate the accessibility of public institutions for the disabled.

Fewer presidential visits abroad will also help reduce material costs in 2009. In the first year of the President's term of office 2008 there were more visits, due to the tradition that in this period presidents usually visit the neighbouring countries for the first time. The scope was additionally increased due to backlogs in this area originating from the past and due to Slovenia's EU Council Presidency. All presidential visits abroad will be coordinated at the level of an interministerial working group charged with the technical coordination of the foreign policy activities of the Republic of Slovenia. The President has announced that his 2009 international activities will be specifically oriented towards those countries where Slovenian companies have an interest in strengthening economic cooperation. It is expected that during such visits the President would be accompanied by interested representatives of larger Slovenian companies (in this event, the travel costs incurred by their representatives will be covered by the companies concerned). Further reductions in expenditure will be ensured by the integration of the Office into the joint public contract on supplying services of air transportation to be implemented by the Ministry of Public Administration.

There will also be cutbacks in expenditure in the area of entertainment and representation, as the result of more modest refreshments served at receptions and other events hosted by the President of the Republic. Where several receptions by different state bodies are envisaged upon a certain occasion, the President's Office will suggest that only one reception be carried out by a common host. The President's Office will also restrict its expenditure in 2009 by reducing other material costs.

The salary of the President of the Republic and those of the officials in the President's Office are laid down by the Public Sector Wage System Act. In contrast to the wage regulation covering ministers and state secretaries, the wages of the President and the officials in the President's Office are determined in terms of a fixed amount and can, therefore, be changed by amending the relevant law. In view of the inclusion of the amendments to the Public Sector Wage System Act in the normative working programme of the Slovenian Government for the current year, the President will propose that the Government adopt temporary legal provisions enabling the wages of the President and the officials in the President's Office to be classified, for the duration of the financial crisis, on the wage scale at one grade below the current one. Pending the appropriate legal solution, the Slovenian President will earmark part of his wage in the amount of one wage grade for the Pomurje Safe Haven Association – Safe House for Women and Children Victims of Violence in Ljutomer. Through this symbolic act, the Slovenian President wishes to emphasise the need to help the most vulnerable in our society for the duration of this crisis.

The President's Office will join the campaign to reduce public expenditure announced by the Slovenian Government. The office estimates that the effect of the mentioned money-saving measures will contribute to a 10–15% reduction of the office's expenditure from the amount currently laid down by the 2009 budget. The President's Office will inform the public of the use of public funds through regular monthly financial reports published on the office's website. By doing so, the President's Office wishes to contribute to the increasingly open and transparent functioning of state bodies, as well as to better public insight into the use of budgetary funds.