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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:
Šarec critical of central bank-imposed consumer lending restrictions
LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec issued a scathing criticism of the restrictions to consumer lending to be enforced by Banka Slovenije as of 1 November. Echoing the views of the Bank Association, Šarec spoke of a poorly thought through measure that would harm the people and the state. He urged a "more humane and realistic" approach. Šarec announced he would call on representatives of the Bank Association to use a meeting scheduled for 15 November with key stakeholders "to reconsider and find a better solution that will be to the benefit of all people and at the same time secure financial stability".
Bonus for social benefit recipients scrapped
LJUBLJANA - MPs in an 34:18 vote amendments scraping a bonus for social benefit recipients who work. The majority of MPs agreed that the bonus, introduced in 2012 as a corrective welfare measure and work incentive, in many cases discouraged people from taking a full-time job. Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer reiterated during the debate that the bonus did not have the same effect as in 2012, when it was introduced, and did not encourage people to take on a job. The strongest opposition to eliminating the bonus was voiced by the opposition Left, which deems it an anti-social measure. Also added was an amendment from the SDS under which able-bodied recipients of welfare need to participate in public works, otherwise their benefit is cut in half.
Loan guarantee bill for rail, expressway passes first reading
LJUBLJANA - The bill providing state guarantees for the construction of a new rail link to the port of Koper and two sections of the Third Development Axis expressway was passed at first reading. However, the debate indicated that parties are far from supporting the bill in its current form and have announced amendments for second reading.The bill entails a maximum of EUR 417 million loan guarantee for the railway and another EUR 360 million for the two expressway sections, one in the north one in the south. Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek said that the loan guarantees could save Slovenia more than EUR 8.34 million a year for loans with maturity of between 20 and 30 years.
Cerar discusses cooperation, W Balkans, Middle East in UAE
ABU DHABI, UAE- Foreign Minister Miro Cerar met Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash on day two of his working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), discussing with him further cooperation and the situations in the Middle East and the Western Balkans, the Foreign Ministry said. In the afternoon, Cerar officially inaugurated in Abu Dhabi Slovenia's first embassy in a Gulf country, which has been operating since 2018.
Gorenje to be split into two companies
VELENJE/LJUBLJANA - The household appliances maker Gorenje will be split into two companies as part of group integration a year after it was taken over by Chinese conglomerate Hisense, with the management becoming a separate company. Hisense Europe will be headquartered in Ljubljana and provide corporate support services for all Hisense companies in Europe. Meanwhile Gorenje will comprise the production company in Velenje and the Gorenje group's subsidiaries. The company said in a press release that adaptation to new business environment demanded a further boosting of efficiency and streamlined organisation of the Gorenje group.
Clashing interpretations as reasons for Petrol board resignation leaked
LJUBLJANA - Days after the board of energy group Petrol surprisingly stepped down over differences in strategy with the supervisory board, a document has been leaked indicating that the board's borrowing plans for future acquisitions had exceeded limits set down in the current strategy. A leaked legal opinion that the Čeferin Law Firm made for the the Petrol supervisory board shows that the management board had repeatedly changed its estimate of how much leverage the company would have to take on to finance its continued expansion in the Balkans.
New EP resolution on totalitarianism starting to stir Slovenian politics
LJUBLJANA - Following years of disagreement on the manner in which Slovenia should acknowledge the 2009 European Parliament resolution on European conscience and totalitarianism, a new resolution to this effect adopted in Strasbourg in September this year could be headed down the same path. Slovenian MEPs from the ranks of the European People's Party (EPP) said they had called on the government and parliament to act in keeping with the resolution on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe. The document also calls on "all member states of the EU to make a clear and principled assessment of the crimes and acts of aggression perpetrated by the totalitarian communist regimes and the Nazi regime".
Public transport free of charge for pensioners as of mid-2020
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly unanimously endorsed legislative changes making public transportation free of charge for pensioners and persons with disabilities, among others, as of 1 July 2020. In addition to pensioners and persons possessing the EU disability card, the motion also applies to all registered athletes attending secondary schools and universities and university students with motor disabilities. It was proposed in the thurd reading today by the SMC and three other parties that unemployed independence war veterans are also eligible for the benefit. The amendment was confirmed.
AI challenges discussed at UN event co-hosted by Slovenia
NEW YORK, US - Slovenian mission to the UN, the Council of Europe (CoE) and UNESCO hosted an event discussing the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday night. In just over a fortnight, UNESCO is expected to approve Slovenia's plan to launch an AI research centre under its auspices. Dubbed Artificial Intelligence: Technology to Serve Humankind, Setting Legal Standards, the debate drew a number of participants and listeners. Many shared the view that AI offered a number of advantages but also many risks.
More meat products recalled as precaution in Austrian meat scandal
LJUBLJANA - As many as nine Slovenian meat processing companies have recalled a number of products after the Food Safety Administration warned on Friday that meat from an Austrian abattoir that failed to meet the required standards might have entered food supply chain. Meanwhile, the head of the Slovenian Food Safety Administration, Janez Posedi, said that the recalls in Slovenia were only precautionary measures. "There is no evidence that the animals ended up in the food supply chain." Posedi said that between 17 September and 22 October the abattoir from Styria had put on the market meat intended for disposal, however, the meat never reached the rendering plant.
Men outnumber women for first time ever in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - Men outnumbered women in Slovenia in the first half of 2019 for the first time in the 160-year long history of population statistics recording in the present-day territory of Slovenia, the Statistics Office reported. In the total number of residents of Slovenia, which includes foreigners, recorded on 1 July there were 1,045,835 men and 1,043,475 women. This is due to the number of foreigners increasing by 10,000 in the first half of the year, and the number of Slovenian citizens decreasing by 1,600. Women still outnumber men when it comes to Slovenian citizens alone, their share standing at 51.2%, while the share of women among foreigners residing in Slovenia is only 33.7%.
Maritime passenger number grows the most in 2018
LJUBLJANA - The number of road and urban public transport passengers dropped in 2018 on the previous year, while the rail passenger figure stayed mostly level. Passenger traffic in the Slovenian port and air passenger transport saw an increase last year, with the number of ship passengers going up the most - by as much as 23%. In 2018, 28.5 million passengers were transported in road public transport, down 11% compared to the previous year, while in urban public transport, almost 60 million passengers were carried, a 3% drop on 2017, the Statistic Office reported.
Slovenian on-line children's magazine wins Austrian award
LJUBLJANA/VIENNA, Austria - A project presenting stories of refugee and migrant children in Slovenia carried out by the Časoris on-line magazine for children has been awarded this year's Intercultural Achievement Award (IAA) in the media category, conferred by the Austrian Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs. The award supporting intercultural projects related to education, youth, women, media, migration and integration went to the magazine for its project Stories of Children of the World among more than 200 competing projects from 31 countries.
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