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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:
National Assembly slightly reduces taxes on labour
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a package of tax bills that slightly reduce the taxation of labour in favour of higher taxes on capital gains, rental income and a minimum corporate income tax rate of 7%. Finance Minister Andrej Bertonclj rejected calls for more substantial cuts by arguing fiscal constraints meant these would need to be gradual. He argued the bills would particularly reduce the tax burden of highly skilled workers. The Left insisted the reform would primary benefit the rich.
Pahor meets Japanese PM Abe
TOKYO, Japan - President Borut Pahor met Shinzo Abe for a bilateral meeting after attending Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony in Tokyo yesterday. Pahor and Abbe talked about bilateral ties and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, agreeing that effort should be invested to find a peaceful solution and achieve reconciliation. Pahor also visited the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK) in Tsukuba, where Slovenian scientists have been involved in an antimatter project. He decorated KEK director-general Masanori Yamauchi with the Order of Merit for helping promote Slovenian science.
Janša critical of govt's opposition to Croatia entering Schengen
LJUBLJANA - A day after the European Commission decided that Croatia met the requirements to enter the Schegen zone, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) Janez Janša argued that Croatia's joining the Schengen zone was in Slovenia's strategic interest, and that the Slovenian government alone was incapable of politically blocking Croatia in the European Council. Meanwhile, Slovenian diplomatic source expressed belief that the country should veto Croatia's joining the passport-free zone.
ICC president visits Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - Chile Eboe-Osuji, the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), held meetings with Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and Justice Minister Andreja Katič as part of a visit to Slovenia. They discussed the challenges of international criminal justice and the court in particular. Cerar pledged for Slovenia to remain a firm ally of the ICC and to promote the values of the Rome Statute in bilateral and international activities. Eboe-Osuji hailed Slovenia as an example to other countries.
Slovenia puts forward candidates for EU public prosecutor
LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that the government had put forward to Brussels three candidates for the post of Slovenia's prosecutor at the emerging European Public Prosecutor's Office; Jaka Brezigar, Tanja Frank Eler and Marjana Grašič. Headed by Romania's Laura Codruta Kövesi, the European Public Prosecutor's Office will have one prosecutor from each member country. Its job will be to investigate, prosecute and bring to judgement crimes against the EU budget.
Not all risks can be budgeted for, FinMin tells Fiscal Council
LJUBLJANA - Finance Minister Andrej Bertoncelj welcomed the Fiscal Council's assessment that the budget documents for the coming two years are in compliance with the fiscal rule, but commenting on the council's concerns about risks, he said these could not be fully included in the budget documents. "We're carefully monitoring developments in our major trading partners, and the government will respond to any change in projections, but it's impossible to include all risks in those two documents," he said.
Thousands of pensioners sign petition for back payments
LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Pensioners and a civil initiative presented a petition calling for an extraordinary indexation of pensions to compensate for the austerity measures that have affected pensioners since 2010. The difference between the paid amount and the amount pensioners are eligible for under the systemic law is estimated at 7.2%, or roughly EUR 50 a month. Signed by almost 14,000 people, the petition was handed today to Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and parliamentary Speaker Dejan Židan.
FDI stock up for fifth consecutive year in 2018
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's inbound total foreign direct investment (FDI) stock increased by 8.6% in 2018 to EUR 15.2 billion, as outbound FDI stock rose by 1.6% to EUR 6.1 billion, according to data from the central bank. Both inbound and outbound FDI stock recorded growth for the fifth consecutive year in 2018. The rate of increase in inbound FDI stock was even higher than the year before, at 7.6%. Average return on inbound FDI stock reached 5.4%, while return on outbound FDI stock was at 2.9% last year.
Official says German, Slovenian companies prepared for slowdown
LJUBLJANA - Gertrud Rantzen, the head of the German-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the economic outlook at a talk in Maribor, noting that economic slowdown was a reality which would also affect Slovenian companies. However, she also said that companies, both in Slovenia and Germany, were better prepared for a potential new crisis than the last time around. She believes a bigger problem for the German economy and Slovenia's is a shortage of trained staff.
Trade union to file charges against food safety administration
LJUBLJANA - The trade union of the Agriculture Ministry announced it would bring criminal charges against the Administration for Food Safety in the wake of the banned meat additive scandal. Inspectors working at the administration claim the veterinary arm of the service had known about the additive for more than three months before informing them. The union said that the government body in charge of food safety had thus jeopardised consumers' health for more than three months and had violated the inspection act, which states that an immediate notification of the public is required in cases of danger and unlawful practices.
Ljubljana and Vienna want to tackle challenges together
LJUBLJANA - The mayors of Ljubljana and Vienna, Zoran Janković and Michael Ludwig, met as part of the three-day event Vienna Days, assessing that despite the Austrian capital being six times larger, the cities faced many common challenges. They agreed that the cities should play a more prominent role in the creation of European policies. Janković and Ludwig noted the good cooperation between the two cities, saying they wanted to learn from each other.
Consumer confidence drops to a three-year low
LJUBLJANA - Consumer confidence in Slovenia deteriorated for the third month running in October to fall to the lowest point in the last three years. The most influential factor was the more pessimistic expectations about the state of the country's economy. A report from the Statistics Office shows the consumer confidence indicator falling by two percentage points compared to September to a level where it was last time in mid-2016. It was still six percentage points above the long-term average, though.
Labour costs up 3% last year
LJUBLJANA - Average monthly labour costs per employee reached EUR 2,286.36 in Slovenia last year, which is 3.1% more than in 2017, the Statistics Office reported. The costs were the highest in the energy and financial sectors, and the lowest in the hospitality sectors and activities such as security, cleaning and maintenance. Labour costs comprise of the costs of wages, including bonuses and various allowances (85.6% last year), as well as social and other contributions.
Lidl opens new logistics centre in Arja Vas
ARJA VAS - The Slovenian subsidiary of the German discount supermarket chain Lidl opened a new EUR 70m logistics centre in Arja Vas near Celje. The new hub, spanning 13 hectares and with a surface area of 57,000 square metres, is Lidl's largest and most modern centre in Slovenia and the wider region, said Lidl Slovenija director-general Gregor Kosi. The investment is to create 100 new jobs as well as reduce the greenhouse gas footprint. The opening was also attended by Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek.
Ljubljana film festival to highlight Slovenian cinema
LJUBLJANA - The 30th Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe) will bring a vast choice of films to the capital between 13 and 24 November, notably those by seminal filmmakers such as Abel Ferrara and Agnès Varda as well as recent Slovenian cinema achievements. Those include Gregor Božič's acclaimed debut Stories from the Chestnut Woods, as well as the first two parts of the noir crime-thriller TV series The Lake. Ferrara will be in Ljubljana for the occasion and his Tomasso will open the festival.
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