It's not about the settlement, it's about the almost nine million euro deficit.

The Ministry of Culture in Slovenia has confirmed that its current financial situation is facing a significant shortfall of nearly nine million euros due to increased spending under previous leadership. According to Minister of Culture Ignacija Fridl Jarc, this does not involve political reckoning with cultural institutions but rather a necessary assessment of the ministry's financial status. The discrepancy between data recorded during the handover of business operations and the current review indicates that the ministry lacks eight point nine million euros for ongoing funding of all legal and contractual obligations until the end of the year. This deficit is primarily attributed to increased expenses related to self-employed individuals in culture, amounting to three point nine million euros alone by the end of the year. The Ministry of Finance will not cover this gap as no funds have been allocated in the state budget for such compensation. In her statement to the media, Minister Fridl Jarc emphasized that the financial service of the Ministry of Culture had previously raised concerns about the management of tenders, allocation of funds, and assumption of obligations back in February. She clarified that these issues were highlighted during the tenure of the former minister and reiterated that there is no political score-settling with any cultural entities. Instead, she stressed responsible handling of public finances contributed by citizens to the Republic of Slovenia’s budget. In response to the financial challenges, the Ministry of Culture has implemented several measures within its services. These include halting student work, introducing more efficient work organization, and implementing a new systemization process. Additionally, the ministry has opted for cost-saving on all material expenses and initiated the sale of official vehicles. According to the minister, the number of employees has increased from 151 during the tenure of Vasko Simoniti to 173 currently. Each of the 20 positions at the Ministry of Culture represents approximately one million one hundred thousand euros annually for cultural content, which amounts to four point four million euros over four years. Unfortunately, due to the need to ensure financing, the ministry must resort to some very unpleasant and unexpected measures resulting from excessive spending by the previous administration. These include halting open tender processes and calls for co-financing of cultural projects, reducing investment funds for public institutions, and delaying cohesion projects due to the inability to provide their own share from integrated funds into future years. In September 2024, the Ministry of Culture announced that with the adoption of changes to the budgets for the years 2025 and 2026, funds for culture would increase by almost thirty-seven million euros. At that time, Minister Asta Vrečko emphasized that they would nearly double the funds for Slovenian cinema, investing in amateur culture, books, public institutions, and tenders. For 2025, the Ministry of Culture was expected to have access to 271.7 million euros, which was 36.88 million euros more than the originally adopted budget. However, Minister Fridl Jarc explained today that the increase in the budget for cultural content does not bring even a single euro, as it refers to an increase in the overall budget.