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A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here
This summary is provided by the STA:
New players restoring Adria Airways links
LJUBLJANA - A day after Slovenian carrier Adria Airways filed for receivership, Ljubljana airport operator Fraport Slovenija announced that a network of flights comparable to Adria's could be set up within a year and a half. The company is in intensive talks with other air carriers to replace the key connections soon. The Belgian air carrier Brussels Airlines, part of Lufthansa Group, announced it would restore its Brussels-Ljubljana link on 4 November with six flights a week. Travel agency Nomago has also organised several charter flights to mitigate the effects of Adria collapse on conference tourism. The coalition held a first meeting on possible future steps, but PM Marjan Šarec said there was nothing concrete to report yet.
Slovenia, Luxembourg call for multilateralism and rule of law
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and his Luxembourgian counterpart Jean Asselborn noted the importance of multilateralism and respect for international law, as they addressed reporters during Asselborn's official visit to Slovenia. European values and responsibility and solving problems through solidarity are "the ABC of the European Union", said Asselborn. He and Cerar announced a new Slovenia-Benelux summit for later this year or early 2020. Asselborn also met Slovenia's other top officials.
Krka doubles R&D capacities with EUR 56m investment
NOVO MESTO - Pharmaceutical company Krka inaugurated a EUR 55.6 million research and development centre at its location in Novo Mesto that nearly doubles its R&D, and control and analysis capacities. The Research and Control Centre 4 (RKC 4) has state-of-the-art equipment for laboratories, analysis and technology. The eight-storey building spanning 18,000 square metres is connected with a bridge to RKC 3 and then on to RKC 1. It is especially important for pilot development of solid pharmaceuticals.
Lek moving antibiotics production to Austria
PREVALJE - Lek, the Slovenian subsidiary of Swiss multinational Novartis, announced it would phase out antibiotics production in Slovenia's Prevalje in two years, moving it to Austria, while Prevalje will become part of Novartis's emerging global operative centre. The news comes a month after Lek abandoned its plans to expand production at Prevalje despite having built a new facility there. The facility is to be bought by TAB Mežica, the local battery maker, for production of lithium-ion batteries.
Property valuation act facing constitutional review
LJUBLJANA - A group of 32 MPs has requested that the Constitutional Court review the property mass valuation act. The request, distributed to the press on Tuesday by the opposition New Slovenia (NSi), says that the valuation models used for the estimates, set to serve as basis for a property tax, should have been closely defined by the act. The issues found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in 2013 still remain after the act was changed in May 2019, the request says.
Šarec stepping in to restore social dialogue
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec announced he would attend a session of the Economic and Social Council (ESS) in person next Tuesday in an attempt to restore social dialogue. This is after employer representatives announced withdrawal from the industrial relations forum over bills being filed in parliament past the ESS, and the head of the ZSSS trade union confederation resigned as the ESS chair. Šarec said the partners caused "a huge storm in a teacup for no reason".
Demands raised on Int Day of Older Persons
LJUBLJANA - Calls to improve the economic and housing situation of the elderly marked the start of the three-day Festival for the Third Age on International Day of Older Persons. In his address parliamentary Speaker Dejan Židan called on the government to set up a solidarity-based system of long term care before the end of its term. On the occasion, the Pensioners' Association issued a list of demands to the government, including for an annual allowance and an immediate indexation of pensions.
New academic year starts
LJUBLJANA - A new academic year started for close to 76,000 Slovenian students. A total of 11,051 freshmen out of some 14,590 applicants have been admitted to the four Slovenian universities and public and publicly-licensed higher education institutions so far. The remaining 18,632 places may be filled by the end of October. In total, more than 48,300 new places are available this year at nearly 820 graduate, MA and doctoral programmes.
Preliminary results of mass real estate appraisal released
LJUBLJANA - The Surveying and Mapping Authority released the results of a preliminary mass real estate appraisal. With a public consultation on the appraisal model under way property owners can submit their remarks by 15 November. The total value of all real estate in Slovenia has increased from EUR 123 billion in 2017 to EUR 160 billion, which means that the estimated value of some properties will be 20-40% higher compared to the previous appraisal model. Prime Minister Marjan Šarec told MPs today that the government in its current form was not in a position to push through a real estate tax.
Slovenia preparing to introduce biometric ID card
LJUBLJANA - The Interior Ministry is working on legislation that will allow Slovenia to introduce biometric identity cards by 2 August 2021 in line with EU rules. The new card will feature a chip with the holder's face and two fingerprints saved as biometric data. The card would also feature data for electronic identification and electronic signature, to allow the holder to use e-commerce services. Now 1.83 million Slovenian citizens have an ID card, with which they can travel to 37 countries.
US-wanted Slovenian hacker arrested in Germany
LJUBLJANA - The father of Matjaž Škorjanc, a Slovenian coder wanted by the US on charges of cyber crime, confirmed he was arrested by German federal police on a US arrest warrant last week. Škorjanc is charged with involvement in a criminal racket that hacked into computers to steal credit card numbers and other data between 2008 and 2013, causing US$4.5 million in damage to the victims. His father Martin Škorjanc noted that Škorjanc had already served the sentence for the crimes in Slovenia.
Feminist contemporary art festival opens in Ljubljana
LJUBLJANA - The 25th City of Women, an international festival of contemporary arts, opened with a production by acclaimed German theatre collective She She Pop at the Ljubljana Mladinsko Theatre (SMG). The legendary duo, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary as well, will put on Drawers, a production about the German reunification process retold through the eyes of women from West and East Berlin and taking a form of couples counselling. The festival is running until 13 October.
Parliamentary committee backs sports day initiative
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Education Committee endorsed an initiative to honour Slovenian sports achievements by proposing the government designate 1 October as National Sports Day. The initiative for a public holiday celebrating sports accomplishments and the role they play in boosting national identity had been launched by the Slovenian Olympic Committee in the wake of the recent achievements of the national men's volleyball team and cycling star Primož Roglič.
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