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This summary is provided by the STA
Career diplomat Šuc slated for top diplomatic job in Croatia
LJUBLJANA - The government has appointed career diplomat Vojislav Šuc Slovenia's new ambassador to Croatia, the newspaper Dnevnik reported. Before leaving for Zagreb, Šuc will need to present himself to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and get approval from Croatia, Dnevnik noted, adding that no complications are expected. Earlier this week, Dnevnik reported that Marko Makovec was considered the favourite for the job. He was reportedly eliminated from contention after threatening a journalist who reported about him receiving congratulations for the appointment on Facebook before the process had been concluded.
Social partners endorse guidelines for new social pact
LJUBLJANA - The Economic and Social Council endorsed starting points for debate on the social pact proposal put forward by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) without taking positions on details yet. The GZS's proposal, presented in early March, seeks a reform of the pay system in the corporate sector for 2019-2025 centred around tying wage growth to productivity gains.
Refugee registration centre case to be taken to Supreme Court
ILIRSKA BISTRICA - The Ilirska Bistrica city council decided on Thursday to appeal to the Supreme Court against the Administrative Court decision banning the municipality from carrying out a referendum on a planned registration centre for migrants. The councillors, belonging to various political parties, believe that by banning the referendum the Administrative Court has infringed on the constitutional rights of the municipality's citizens.
Constitutional Court to treat 2019 budget review as priority
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court has announced it will treat as an absolute priority the request from the centre-right opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) to review the state budget documents passed in parliament last month. The review will apply to three documents: the law on the implementation of the budgets for 2018 and 2019, the supplementary budget for 2019 and the decree on the 2018-2020 framework for public finances. The SDS and NSi believe the 2019 budget is not in line with the Constitution because it does not take into account the fiscal rule.
Šoltes endorsed as DeSUS Euro vote frontrunner
LJUBLJANA - The Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) endorsed MEP Igor Šoltes as its frontrunner for the 26 May EU election. Apart from Šoltes, DeSUS's ticket also includes assistant to the party's outgoing MEP Ivo Vajgl, Damjan Stanonik, and the head of the Slovenian Philanthropy, Tereza Novak. Other are less known names. Contrary to previous speculation, party leader Karl Erjavec will not stand. "I didn't see a challenge there," he said.
Debate calls for definition of precarious work, systemic measures
LJUBLJANA - A debate on precarious work hosted by the Labour Ministry and the National Council agreed that everybody deserves decent pay for their work and has the right to social security. Such forms of work should therefore be defined and measures found at the systemic level to tackle the issue, the debate heard. "Since precarious work brings numerous negative consequences both for the economic and social security of an individual, it is high time to introduce measures at the systemic level," said Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer.
General govt surplus in 2018 EUR 34m above initial calculations
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia generated a EUR 34m higher general government surplus in 2018 than the initial calculation released by the Statistics Office in March, which put it at EUR 303m. The new figure was calculated following the regular procedure of data explanation to Eurostat, the Statistics Office said. The surplus was equivalent to 0.7% of GDP, while the country's debt amounted to EUR 32.23bn, the equivalent of 70.1% of GDP.
Tourism accounted for 12% of Slovenia's GDP in 2018
LJUBLJANA - Tourism contributed EUR 5.7bn or 12.3% to the Slovenian gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018, according to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The sector employed 110,700 people or 12.8% of total employment. The annual contribution of tourism to the Slovenian GDP increased by 6% compared to 2017, the Slovenian Tourist Board said.
Consumer confidence drops for third month in a row
LJUBLJANA - The consumer confidence indicator for Slovenia has deteriorated for the third month in a row in April, dropping by one percentage point at the monthly level and by nine points year-on-year, Statistics Office data show. The consumer confidence indicator in April was down four percentage points compared to January, but was still 12 points higher than the long-term average.
Slovenia gets honorary consulate in Seoul
SEOUL, South Korea- Slovenia has opened a consulate in the South Korean capital of Seoul, which is headed by Honorary Consul Chung Mong Won, chairman of Halla Corporation. The consulate was inaugurated on Thursday by Slovenian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Simona Leskovar, who noted that the initiative for the consulate had been made at the Slovenian House at the PyeongChang Olympics in February 2018.
Good State joins EU election race
LJUBLJANA - The non-parliamentary party the Good State, founded by former MP Bojan Dobovšek, will also vie for seats in the European Parliament in the 26 May election. The party, which is no more than a blip in opinion poll charts, is building its campaign on fight against corruption. The first name on the ticket of the Good State is Robert Golob, who is in charge of Slovenia's political relations with China at the Foreign Ministry.
Lonstroff defends Slovenia boss, says site purchase decision collective
LJUBLJANA/ZURICH, Switzerland - The management of Lonstroff, a Swiss maker of elastomers, has spoken up in defence of its Slovenia director in the aftermath of reports that he is suspected of defrauding his company of EUR 1.7m with the acquisition of land for a manufacturing facility near Logatec. The management board of Lonstroff AG contacted the Office of the State Prosecutor General to confirm that "as buyers they were familiar with the provisions of the Sales Agreement for the purchase of immovable property in Logatec," the company said in a written statement for the STA.
Slovenian airline traffic up by 8% last year
LJUBLJANA - Last year around 1.8 million passengers passed through the three Slovenian international airports in Ljubljana, Maribor and Portorož, 8% more than in 2017, according to the Statistics Office. 12,363 tonnes of cargo were transloaded in the three airports, a figure 6% larger than the previous year. Almost all of the cargo was transported with scheduled flights.
Portorož boat show to feature 150 exhibitors in mid-May
PORTOROŽ - Marina Portorož will host between 16 and 19 May a boat show featuring around 150 exhibitors and 100 vessels, which are expected to attract around 15,000 visitors. The organisers are also promising an attractive accompanying programme. The organisers expect around 150 exhibitors and around 100 vessels, including 60 in the water, and are announcing a number of premieres. In addition to large sail boats and motorboats and yachts, also to be presented will be various nautical equipment.
