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A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here
This summary is provided by the STA
Šarec fears foul play by UK if Brexit is postponed until after EU vote
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia continues to support as short a delay of Brexit as possible, PM Marjan Šarec said as he arrived for the EU's Brexit summit. We fear that Britain, should it hold the EU election and stay a member, would not be constructive, he said. "There are no guarantees in politics. All these safeguards to be adopted potentially can only be political. Should for instance a change of power occur in Britain, we have no way of knowing who comes after Theresa May and how they would behave," Šarec said, noting a potential blockade of institutions would spell serious trouble.
Šarec regrets Brussels's lukewarm response to intel scandal
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec expressed regret about the European Commission's lukewarm response to the media reports that Croatia had been behind the border arbitration scandal and that it had even tried to prevent the revelations from being published. Arriving for an EU summit dedicated to Brexit, Šarec said he had expected the Commission call for respect for the rule of law and declare pressure on the media unacceptable, in particular when they came from a neighbour country.
Parliament to debate foreign meddling in media
LJUBLJANA - The Modern Centre Party (SMC), backed by three fellow coalition parties, filed for a joint session of the parliamentary committees on foreign policy and culture to debate foreign countries' interference in the Slovenian media in a bid to get unanimous condemnation from politics. The initiative comes after Hungary protested over the cover of the Mladina magazine portraying PM Viktor Orban giving a Nazi salute, and after Croatia allegedly pressured POP TV not to run a story revealing that Croatia was behind the border arbitration wiretapping scandal.
Intelligence Oversight Commission to investigate Slovenian arbitration agent
LJUBLJANA - The chair of the parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Commission, Matej Tonin, announced the commission would look closer into why the Slovenian border arbitration agent, Simona Drenik, had gotten caught in the wiretaps of the Croatian intelligence agency in 2015. Tonin, who said the Slovenian side had information pointing to Croatianintelligence agency SOA's involvement already in December 2016, expressed his belief SOVA had drawn up an adequate counter-intelligence strategy before the wiretaps but that the instructions seemed to have been ignored by the Slovenian Foreign Ministry. He also said Croatian intelligence was very active in Slovenia.
FM Cerar discusses topical issues with MPs
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar presented the content of his talks at this week's EU ministerial and other meetings to the Foreign Policy Committee, with the MPs inquiring about Slovenia's positions regarding Brexit, Libya, Venezuela, Catalonia and China. He said Slovenia supported another Brexit delay so that a deal could be endorsed in the British parliament. "We believe this is possible, but the ball is now in the British court." He also expressed concern regarding the situation getting complicated in Libya, also because instability in Algeria is increasing, which could affect the entire Mediterranean region.
Slovenia turning to Africa in effort to diversify exports
BRDO PRI KRANJU - As Slovenia's exports are slowing down after a record rise in 2018, the country has started looking to Africa for new business opportunities, government officials told a business internationalisation conference at Brdo pri Kranju. Slovenia needs to diversify its exports to markets outside the EU and find niche markets for high-tech products and services, said Economic Development and Technology Minister Zdravko Počivalšek. The ministry will provide EUR 9.7m in cohesion funds for this purpose in 2019.
Govt endorses bill on recourse for wiped out bank creditors
LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed on Tuesday a bill designed to provide recourse for holders of subordinated bank liabilities who were wiped out in the 2013 bank bailout. The Finance Ministry said the bill was in line with Constitutional Court recommendations and enabled sufficient access to recourse to subordinated creditors. Courts will have to weigh whether central bank Banka Slovenije, which opposes the bill, correctly applied the law in ordering the bailout and estimated bank losses. A bill addressing the situation was also adopted today by the National Council, which however wants the central bank sued by the state and not the creditors - these could be discoureged by the high procedural costs, it argues.
Govt targets public finance surplus of 1% of GDP next year
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted on Tuesday a blueprint to draft the general government sector budgets for 2020-2022 which sets a goal of revenue exceeding expenditure by 1% of GDP in 2020. The surplus is planned to increase further in 2021. While the general government revenue and expenditure were practically balanced in 2017, a surplus of 0.7% of GDP was recorded in 2018. The government also adopted the 2019-2020 National Reform Programme.
Commissioner says police in control of migration situation
LOGATEC - Police Commissioner Tatjana Bobnar asserted that police were in control of the migration situation despite the recent hike in illegal migrants. In the first three months of the year, the number of illegal crossings jumped by 146% compared to the same period in 2018. "The Schengen border is protected as it should be and the human rights of all foreigners are respected," she said at the opening of new offices of the Logatec police station.
IMAD sees favourable economic trends in Slovenia this year
LJUBLJANA - The government macroeconomic think tank says in its latest publication Economic Mirror that Slovenia recorded favourable economic trends and a growth in household revenue and spending at the beginning of 2019, while growth in the international environment is slowing down. Considering the expected trends in Slovenia's main eurozone trade partners, IMAD expects the growth of exports to slow down in the remainder of the year.
Lipica Stud Farm experiencing fast-rising visitor figures
LIPICA - The management of the Lipica Stud Farm reported a 6% rise in the number of visitors for last year and a 7% increase in total revenue. The farm, known for its white Lipizzaner horses, was visited by Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, who expressed support to the current management in the face of pressure from a civil initiative. The total number of visitors exceeded 113,000 last year, the highest number in the last two decades. The positive trend is continuing this year, with a year-on-year increase of no less than 38% recorded in the first quarter. Revenue is up even more, by 44%.
AI in focus of annual Slovenian-German business conference
BLED - The Slovenian-German Chamber of Commerce organised the annual Day of Slovenian and German Business, which focussed on artificial intelligence. PM Marjan Šarec, noting that AI had become all-pervasive, said "those who fail to follow trends and do not have a pro-active approach will not be successful". Cooperation within the EU is key, as Europe has become slower in development compared to China, Russia, the US and India, he said. German Ambassador Klaus Riedel said AI was one of the most promising new technologies but also one that caused great concern.
Writers For Peace concerned over attack on Serbian journalist
LJUBLJANA - The PEN International Writers For Peace Committee (WfPC) adopted a resolution at the International Writers' Meeting in Slovenia last Friday, expressing concern over the attack on Serbian journalist Milan Jovanović in December 2018. Jovanović was shot at, while his house was set on fire and burnt down, following the publication of his articles in independent Serbian media which were critical of the government. The Slovenian-based committee, led by new president Emmanuel Pierrat, has already sent the resolution to the Serbian government.
Ministry allocates EUR 800,000 to ITF demining fund
LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry will allocate EUR 775,000 to the ITF Enhancing Human Security demining fund to help fund eight development and humanitarian projects in areas affected by war or other disasters during the next two years. The ministry signed the agreement with the Slovenian-based ITF on Tuesday. Slovenia has been supporting the ITF since its inception in 1998, having allocated more than EUR 12m so far, including some EUR 5m through the Foreign Ministry.
Luka Koper group's net revenue up in first quarter
KOPER - Port operator Luka Koper generated almost EUR 60m in net revenue in the first quarter of the year, up 8% compared to the same period in 2018. Its transshipment decreased by 3% to around 6 million tonnes, Luka Koper said in a press release. "The group's transshipment was reduced mostly due to strong fluctuations in individual cargo categories. On the other hand, the sale revenue indicates a positive growth trend and stable business management."
Industrial output down in February
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's industrial output in February was down 1.1% over January and 4.3% higher year-on-year, the Statistics Office said. Industrial sales revenue was up by 0.5% in monthly and by 6.9% in annual comparisons.
Fewer overweight children, alcohol still cause for concern
LJUBLJANA - The latest data from the Health in Municipalities project, launched by the National Institute of Public Health's (NIJZ) in 2016, shows improvements in several fields. The number of overweight children fell in 60% of Slovenia's municipalities and there were fewer cases of tick-borne encephalitis. However, alcohol consumption remains a cause for concern, as the share of accidents caused by drunk drivers has increased over the past year.
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