(KOPER) - EU newcomer Slovenia could reach the European Union's average salary and pensions level by 2015 if it maintains its current pace of development, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said late Sunday.

"At this pace of development, by 2012 we could reach Italy's (average GDP in terms of purchasing power standard per inhabitant) and three years later, the EU's average on all criteria, including salaries and pensions," Jansa said at a ceremony in coastal town Koper.

His comments come a week before parliamentary elections, in which polls give only a small lead to his centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), meaning he will probably have to form a coalition with the opposition.

"Nobody abroad can prevent us from achieving this (development), we can harm only ourselves if we fail to collaborate on the crucial issues of the future," Jansa said.

In 2006, Slovenia's GDP per inhabitant in purchasing power (PPS) was 88 percent of the EU's average, compared to Italy's 103 percent, according to the European statistics office Eurostat.

Slovenia registered record 6.8-percent growth in 2007 but it could fall to 4.4 percent this year, according to government forecasts.

Slovenia was the first former Yugoslav republic to join the EU in 2004 and the first newcomer to hold the rotating bloc's presidency earlier this year.

Text and Picture Copyright 2008 AFP. All other Copyright 2008 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.