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A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here
Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here
This summary is provided by the STA:
President, Prince Edward mark first Slovenia-UK Friendship Day
VINICA - President Borut Pahor and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, marked the first Day of Slovenia-UK Friendship in Gornji Suhor, a village in south-eastern Slovenia where a British bomber crashed in 1945. After laying wreaths at the memorial plaque commemorating the crew, Pahor and Prince Edward addressed the ceremony to underline the importance of friendship between their countries in the past and in the future. "Today is an important day. A day to remember what connects us, both in the past and the present and more importantly in the future," Prince Edward said.
Pahor appeals for army modernisation
CERKLJE OB KRKI - President Borut Pahor addressed a ceremony on the eve of Slovenian Armed Forces Day at Cerklje pri Krki airfield, underscoring that Slovenia must modernise its Armed Forces so that they would be able to perform missions of greatest intensity with excellence. He said that Slovenia was a safe country and that its army was a pillar of security. Despite readiness shortcomings, he said the army performed its duties perfectly, at home and abroad. The ceremony was also addressed attended by Defence Minister Karl Erjavec and Chief of the General Staff, Major General Alenka Ermenc.
PM and defence minister say migration issues "overblown"
LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec and Defence Minister Karl Erjavec commented on topical developments in the country, arguing that the ouster motion against Erjavec, as well as "exaggeration" of problems related to illegal migration should be regarded in the context of the EU election campaign. Both Šarec and Erjavec said that the police and army were managing the situation on the south border, and they both argued that the problems in wake of the recent abduction incident were overblown. Šarec also proposed deploying Frontex to Croatia to prevent illegal migration.
Erjavec says US military has no reason to worry about Poček
LJUBLJANA - After TV Slovenija reported on Monday that the US military had been considering no longer participating in joint exercises in Slovenia in the current scope, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said there was no reason for concern. The public broadcaster reported that the US military had considered scaling-down their military exercises in Slovenia following uncertainty and restrictions regarding the Poček training grounds. Erjavec said he had met US Chargé d'Affaires Gautam Rana to assure him that all scheduled military exercises would be carried out as planned.
Cerar meets Cape Verde minister to discuss development coop
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar met Luis Filipe Tavares, the Cape Verde minister in charge of foreign affairs, cooperation and defence, to discuss development cooperation, an area in the focus of Slovenia's cooperation with the African country. They agreed that Slovenia and Cape Verde had established good and friendly relations, which had been marked by successful development aid projects in Cape Verde over the past few years. Tavares will address tomorrow the 8th Africa Day conference, which the Foreign Ministry and the African diaspora in Slovenia will host until Thursday.
Three new ambassadors present credentials
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor received the credentials of three new ambassadors to Slovenia representing Bulgaria, Mauritania and Guinea. Pahor was presented with the credentials of the new Bulgarian Ambassador Mladen Petrov Chervenyakov, Mauritanian Ambassador Sidi Mohamed Hamed and Guinean Ambassador Mohamed Cherif Diallo. Chervenyakov will be based in Ljubljana, while the Mauritanian and Guinean ambassadors will be based in Rome.
Lebanese chemist found guilty of ordering murder of institute senior
LJUBLJANA - Lebanese chemist Michel Stephan was found guilty of soliciting to the murder of one of his former superiors at the National Institute of Chemistry, and sentenced to eight years in prison. The Ljubljana District Court found that Stephan hired an Iraqi asylum seeker in 2017 to kill Janez Plavec, the head of the institute's NMR Centre. The murder was not committed because the Iraqi alerted the police and helped them collect evidence to arrest Stephan. The defence announced an appeal.
Abanka planning high dividend payout before privatisation
LJUBLJANA - The state-owned Abanka plans to pay out EUR 66.7 million in dividends prior to being privatised, roughly 75% of the total distributable profit, according to the notice convening the annual general meeting of shareholders, which will be held on Thursday. The figure corresponds to the bank's entire profit for 2018 and is more than 50% higher than last year's dividend payout, which totalled EUR 42.6m. Three bidders have reportedly submitted binding bids: Slovenia's NKBM, Hungary's OTP bank and Serbia's AIK Banka, which already owns Gorenjska Banka.
Pipistrel's aircraft charging station introduced to the US
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian aircraft company Pipistrel has gotten one of its aircraft charging stations installed by Los Angeles County Public Works at Compton/Woodley Airport. According to the department, Pipistrel has thus provided the first commercial electric aircraft docking station for the US. The county's infrastructure department has bought four Pipistrel SkyCharge chargers and two Alpha Electro electric aircraft.
Survey shows many immigrants overqualified for their jobs
LJUBLJANA - While the general belief in Slovenia is that most immigrants from the Western Balkans are unqualified workers, a survey presented by the charity Caritas suggests that most immigrants have secondary education and are often overqualified for the work they do in Slovenia. Meanwhile, Slovenia does not export only young educated people but also unqualified workers and the number of people leaving the county almost matches the number of those moving in, shows the survey, funded by the European Commission and the Foreign Ministry.
Beef, pork production down last year, honey output doubled
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia produced less beef and pork in 2018 compared to the year before but more poultry, lamb and goat meat, preliminary statistics show. Domestic production of beef dropped by 5% in annual comparison, while the live weight gain decreased by some 2%. The live weight gain for pork was level as in 2017 and so was pork production. The production of honey more than doubled to 1,700 tonnes, the Statistics Office said.
Cannes Film Market features four Slovenian films
CANNES, France - Slovenia will promote four feature films at the film market accompanying the Cannes Film Festival, while The Right One, a short by Slovenian director Urška Djukić and Greek-Danish director Gabriel Tzafka, will be screened at the opening of the Directors' Fortnight festival section. The first Slovenian feature to be be screened by the Slovenian Film Centre (SFC) at the Marche du Film market will be Don't Forget to Breathe by Martin Turk.
Photographer Tadej Vaukman wins OHO Group Award
LJUBLJANA - Tadej Vaukman, an artist and photographer focusing on documentary and street photography portraying subcultural and marginal phenomena, won the 2019 OHO Group Award for up-and-coming Slovenian artists. Named after the influential Slovenian avant-garde artist group OHO, which was active in the late 1960s and 1970s, the award is given out annually by the Ljubljana-based P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. Institute in cooperation with the New York Foundation for a Civil Society and Trust for Mutual Understanding.
Skomina to referee Champions League final
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's referee Damir Skomina will take charge of the UEFA Champions League final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in Madrid on 1 June, the UEFA Referees Committee announced. "Refereeing the Champions League final is a tremendous honour, and an even bigger responsibility," the 42-year-old said in his first response. This is the second final of a European football tournament for Skomina since the country's independence.
