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This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenia's annual inflation hits 2% in July
LJUBLJANA - Consumer prices in Slovenia grew at an annual rate of 2% in July, up from 1.8% in June and the highest level since the end of last year, even as prices declined by 0.7% at the monthly level due to summer clearance sales. Prices in the group housing were the biggest drivers of inflation, accounting for 0.6 percentage points of the annual growth rate on the back of much higher water and electricity prices. Dearer food contributed another 0.5 percentage points.
Govt budget EUR 200m in surplus
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's government budget posted a surplus of EUR 208.2 million for the first half of the year, which compares to a surplus of EUR 184.2 million in the same period a year ago, data from the Finance Ministry show. The revised budget for 2019, passed in March, projects a revenue of EUR 10.35 billion and EUR 10.16 billion in expenditure with a surplus of EUR 193.6 million.
Pahor certain that border with Croatia will be implemented
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor posted a series of tweets, noting that an agreement was reached ten years ago today that led to the 2017 border arbitration award by the International Court of Arbitration. Despite Croatia's refusal to acknowledge the award, he believes that the award will be implemented sooner or later. "Some European leaders have stated clearly that Slovenia is right and that the award needs to be respected. At the same time, many hint that we should do this in a way that would allow Croatia to save face. To them I say that the only right and honest thing to do is to treat Croatia like any other responsible contracting party, liable to meet all of its obligations, and not treat it like a spoilt child who only does what it wants."
Ex-minister sees Lenarčič candidacy as sign of deeper problems
LJUBLJANA - Dimitrij Rupel, the long-serving former foreign minister, took issue with the candidacy of Janez Lenarčič for the commissioner job in an op-ed in Delo, saying he was not the best fit for the job. Indeed, he sees the candidacy as a sign of deeper problems for the political class. Lenarčič is "a capable and decent diplomat, but he is neither a former prime minister or deputy prime minister, neither foreign or finance minister, and neither MEP, which means he has never contested an election," Rupel says.
Career diplomat Suhadolnik appointed ambassador to China
LJUBLJANA - Career diplomat Alenka Suhadolnik has been appointed Slovenia's ambassador to China. She is currently serving as the director general of the Foreign Ministry's Directorate for Economic and Public Diplomacy and has previously served as Slovenia's ambassador to Israel. President Borut Pahor signed the order appointing her the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to China on 12 July, the Foreign Ministry said in today's press release.
Cinkarna Celje's half-year revenue, profit down
CELJE - The chemical company Cinkarna Celje saw its sales revenue drop by 5.6% year-on-year to EUR 92.7 million in the first half of the year. Net profit meanwhile plummeted by 57% to EUR 9.7 million, the company said on the web site of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. The management said in the half-year report that the poorer results were a consequence of a changed balance in the supply and demand for the titanium dioxide, its main product.
Slovenia's beer exports up by almost 20% last year
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian beer exports grew by almost 20% in 2018 year-on-year, while hop exports increased by 17%, showed the Statistics Office data released ahead of International Beer Day, which is observed on the first Friday in August. The country's beer exports exceeded imports last year - exports topped EUR 34 million, while imports reached EUR 28.5 million. Slovenia exported most of its beer to Croatia (30%), while most of Slovenian beer imports, which decreased slightly last year (by 3%), came from Austria (40%).
Slovenia starts brewing zero-alcohol Heineken
LJUBLJANA - Pivovarna Laško Union, the Slovenian subsidiary of the Dutch brewer Heineken, got the green light in July to start brewing and bottling non-alcoholic Heineken beer. The EUR 2 million investment will consolidate the Slovenian company's role as one of the major exporters within the Dutch group. The first batch of zero-alcohol Heineken beer produced in Slovenia proved satisfactory in May, meeting all the global Heineken requirements. Regular production has been launched this month.
Protesters rally for affordable housing
LJUBLJANA - A few dozen people, mostly young, protested against what they believe will be a recapitalisation of the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC), the bad bank, through the national Housing Fund. Dubbed Where Will We Sleep Tomorrow?, the civil initiative believes that the Housing Fund should not have to pay for the plots it is to receive from the bad bank. "The Housing Fund has not been recapitalised since 2009. Now, the government decided to recapitalise the fund to the tune of the value of the plots that are to be transferred from BAMC. This means that the entire sum will immediately be forwarded to BAMC," said Klemen Ploštajner.
Retailer Jagros ventures into bakery business
ROGAŠKA SLATINA - Jagros, a family-run business operating a chain of retail stores in the north-east of the country, has acquired the Ptuj-based bakery Ptujske Pekarne in Slaščičarne as part of its expansion drive. Jagros acquired the bakery and its debts from Bank Assets Management Company, taken over from the liquidated bank Probanka. The newspaper Delo values the deal at half a million euro.
Slovenian tourism bullish in first half of year
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian tourism continued to boom in the first half of the year. Arrivals were up by over 6% compared to the same period last year to 2.6 million, with accommodation facilities recording 6.3 million nights, an increase of 10%, fresh statistics show. While domestic arrivals increased just 4% to 733,000, foreign arrivals surged by 8% to 1.8 million, mostly due to increases in arrivals from the most important source countries.
Govt to allocate EUR 1.7m to towns affected by army activities
LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed a programme of financing of local infrastructural projects this year and in 2020 in three municipalities that are affected by activities and training of the Slovenian armed forces. In line with the decision, the Defence Ministry will allocate EUR 1.7 million for infrastructure projects in the municipalities of Pivka, Ilirska Bistrica and Brežice. The three municipalities are home to the army's main training grounds Poček, shooting ground Bač and the Cerklje ob Krki airbase.
Prime suspect from prostitution ring sought by Interpol
LJUBLJANA - Interpol has issued an arrest warrant against Slovenian businessmen Sergej Racman, the former owner of the cinema chain operator Kolosej, who is being sought by the Slovenian police in connection with a prostitution ring that was allegedly operating near Nova Gorica. Racman has recently been indicted as the prime suspect together with 17 persons after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) completed in January a four-year investigation into prostitution, human trafficking and drug abuse in the areas of Nova Gorica and Maribor.
Police apprehend trafficker of illegals after traffic accident
ORMOŽ - The police apprehended on Tuesday a Serbian citizen who was transporting six Turkish Kurds who had entered Slovenia illegally. He was caught only after a chase, during which he caused a traffic accident in Ormož (NE). As the initial attempt by the police to stop the vehicle failed, the police started following it, with the chase lasting some ten minutes.
Modern photography on display in Novo Mesto
NOVO MESTO - The 6th international festival of contemporary photography Fotopub started in Novo Mesto in south-east. Until Sunday, 27 artists from ten European countries and China will be presented at six exhibitions. The exhibitions will explore the difference between reality and fiction, which "can become a tool for constructing collective and individual identities through visual and popular culture and information technologies".
Four-days music festival starts in Fara
KOSTEL - A four-day music festival started in the idyllic village of Fara in the south, including camping on the Kolpa river. The long list of bands that will entertain the crowd includes Asian Dub Foundation, Soulfly, Skindred and Inner Circle. The organisers have also prepared a variety of activities to keep visitors entertained during the day.
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