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Virsek, Damjan
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Slovenia's deficit too large
The rating agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded Slovenia's creditworthiness. Up to now its prospects were seen as stable. The lack of structural measures aimed at reducing the country's public debt has been given as the reason for this negative assessment. The daily Delo calls on the government to take action: "In other words, Slovenia must urgently submit to the axiom of the 'economy of simple logic', according to which in the long term we can only use as much as we can produce. ... There is no alternative to immediate action. The current debt crisis in Greece and Ireland has shown that countries with small and open economies (including Slovenia) are more vulnerable to loss of confidence on the international financial markets. If a country can no longer borrow money to plug the gaps in its budget the crisis becomes very apparent and painful for everyone."
» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Financial Markets, » Economy, » Slovenia
Gas poker
The gas dispute has once again shown how much power Russia wields thanks to its gas reserves, the daily Delo writes: "On the one hand Russia is making it difficult for Ukraine to free itself from its former mother country (for instance by joining Nato or working closer with the EU). On the other hand Russia has made it clear to Europe that it can only count on reliable gas supplies if it leaves Russia in peace. ... The EU knows this but has not been particularly skilled in its attempts to break this vicious circle." The paper adds that the different EU states are using different cards in the gas supply game: "In such a situation it is impossible to execute a concerted energy policy within the Union. This is also why it's clear who holds all the trumps and will use them to his own advantage if necessary - for example when temperatures plunge to minus 10 degrees Celsius outside."
» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Energy, » Ukraine, » Russia, » Europe
Doubts about the euro
In about three weeks, Slovenia will adopt the euro. Damjan Virsek believes the Slovenian finance minister is too optimistic about this step. "From now on, the Slovenian economy will have to accept the same rate of interest as, say, the Germans, despite the fact that Slovenia expects greater economic growth and endures higher inflation. We haven't yet heard from the Slovenian government how they will deal with the interest policy of the European Central Bank."
» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Tax Policy, » Slovenia
Slovenian-Russian oil joint venture
The Russian oil company Lukoil and Slovenian oil company Petrol have signed an agreement for a joint venture in south-eastern Europe. Petrol will hold 51 percent of the shares, while Lukoil gets 49 percent. Lukoil hopes the move will strengthen its market position in the Balkans. Damijan Virsek is critical that Petrol has not yet been entirely privatised: "Less pleasant is the fact that the Slovenian state is taking on the role of godfather in the deal because it's the majority shareholder of Petrol, which is a listed company. Over the past few months Lukoil representatives have met with the Slovenian head of government to discuss their strategy. Petrol chairman Marko Kryzanovski's role was often limited to carrying out the instructions of the board of directors because that's where the government has most influence."
» to the homepage (external link, Delo)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Slovenia, » Russia
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