May 22 (SeeNews) - The Slovenian government adopted a third coronavirus incentives package aimed at financing shorter work hours at crisis-hit businesses and targeting the revival of the domestic tourism industry, prime minister Janez Jansa said.
"By the end of the month, some of the measures set out in the first two coronavirus stimulus packages will cease to apply, and some will be partly replaced by others. The Government is now submitting to the National Assembly the third coronavirus package, which allocates significant resources to finance shorter working hours in all those activities where the volume of work, demand and orders is smaller than before the crisis," Jansa said in a statement on Wednesday.
He added that the new measures will be applied until the end of 2020, with an option to be extended. They will be financed by European Union funds and the state budget.
State news agency STA reported on Thursday that the value of the new state aid package is seen at some 1 billion euro.
"The epidemic has further accelerated the need for green restructuring in some sectors, such as the automotive industry. With this third package, we will provide them with additional opportunities to fund research and development, along with other aid," Jansa also said.
He announced that in a bid to revive the tourism sector, vouchers worth between 50 and 200 euro will be made available to all Slovenian citizens, covering various tourism services until the end of the year.
The government's total expenditures for the tourism vouchers is estimated at 345 million euro ($378 million), it said in a separate statement on Wednesday.
As of May 21, Slovenia has reported a total of 1,468 coronavirus infections and 106 coronavirus deaths.
($=0.912991 euro)