The National Assembly will begin Tuesday a four-day emergency session dedicated to a number of key pieces of legislation, including the government proposal for a state-run holding to manage all state assets, the bill on a state guarantee for the TEŠ6 power generator and constitutional changes introducing the golden fiscal rule.
While the schedule of the emergency session is yet to be made available, lawmakers will debate the majority of bills in a fast-track procedure. The decision has drawn criticism from the opposition, whereas the coalition maintains Slovenia's current situation requires decisive action. One of the most contentious bills on the parliamentary roster is the proposal for a state-run holding to manage all state assets including non-performing loans from Slovenia's state-owned banks. Facing stiff resistance from opposition, unions and pensioners, who fear political meddling with the pension purse, the new holding would take custody of all state assets, whereas KAD and its Modra zavarovalnica insurance, the manager of public sector employees' pension funds, would be managed separately, according to the most recent proposal. The MPs will also have the last word on the state guarantee for a new generator at TEŠ coal-fired power plant. The parliamentary Finance and Monetary Policy Committee gave its stamp of approval on Friday after months of back-and-forth in parliament. The lawmakers are expected to pass the bill giving a state guarantee for a EUR 440m loan from the European Investment Bank. Another major item on the agenda is the introduction of the golden fiscal rule in the Constitution. The fate of the bill remains uncertain pending any last-minute developments as the document lacks a two-thirds support in parliament. The biggest opposition party, Positive Slovenia (PS), oppose the changes and so do most of the opposition SocDems. The session, the last before summer recess, has 28 items on its agenda. It will start on Tuesday at noon and run until Friday.
Source: TheSloveniaTimes
