"Next year it will be a little better. The crisis still won't end, but in 2014 we can certainly expect the beginning of its end," Pahor said.
"It must never happen again that such a or a similar crisis brings us to our knees and that, because of short term political gain, timidity or comfort, we wait too long with adopting the necessary decisions," he said, adding that decisions called for a leadership that Slovenia did not have during the crisis, because of which many Slovenians had to pay a "reprehensibly high price."
"Slovenia now needs challenging structural changes, notably in health care and tertiary education. If we all do our best, as a people and as a state we will be able to achieve the unthinkable and set the milestones of a better and more just world for our children and grandchildren," the president said.