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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:
PM: Finnish EU budget proposal bad for Slovenia
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec assessed that the Finnish presidency's proposal for the EU's next long-term budget is very bad for Slovenia, because it would cut its cohesion funds by 28% compared to the current period. Šarec revealed the figures as he arrived in Brussels for an EU summit, which was to discuss the latest proposal for the multi-annual financial framework for 2021-2027. Slovenia is one of the countries that stands to lose the most in funding.
Slovenia supports carbon neutrality for EU by 2050, PM says
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia wants the EU to have a carbon-neutral footprint by 2050, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said as he arrived for an EU summit. He added that Slovenia would not be able to reach this goal without shutting down the Šoštanj thermal power plant, which covers 25% of the country's energy needs. This is also why the government has launched a discussion about building a new nuclear generator at the nuclear power plant in Krško.
Slovenia joins calls for more ambitious climate action
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has joined a Green Group call for more ambitious measures in the face of climate change at the climate conference in Madrid. "The members of the Green Group highlighted the need in a joint statement for a comprehensive management of water resources and for better understanding the impact of climate change on water security, and committed to using water as an instrument for promoting peace and cooperation," the Foreign Ministry said.
Pahor confident that border with Croatia would eventually follow arbitration award
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor expressed confidence in an interview with Radio Slovenija that in time, border between Slovenia and Croatia will run along the line defined by the arbitration tribunal in 2017. "Imagine what Croatia would give to support its position with a tribunal decision... These small victories, celebrated by Croatia, may be legitimate, but they are futile," he said a day after it was announced that the advocate general handling Slovenia's case against Croatia over EU law violations at the European Court of Justice deemed the case inadmissible.
Jurist deems advocate general's opinion unconvincing
LJUBLJANA - Having studied Advocate General Priit Pikamäe's opinion on the admissibility of Slovenia's case against Croatia over the border arbitration award, law professor Matej Avbelj said that Pikamäe had not set out his arguments in a very convincing way and that he was running the risk that the EU Court of Justice would not adopt his opinion. Avbelj, professor at the Graduate School of Government and European Studies, opined that the advocate general had needlessly exposed himself to political criticism by expressing his own value judgement, regret that a final resolution of the border issue not reached, which Avbelj said in fact was.
Official at centre of arbitration scandal takes parliament to court
LJUBLJANA - Simona Drenik Bavdek, the government official at the centre of a scandal that led to Croatia renouncing the border arbitration procedure in 2015, filed a lawsuit seeking withdrawal of a parliamentary report on the scandal that incriminates her. She asked the Administrative Court to rule that her human rights have been violated. Drenik Bavdek is not seeking a temporary injunction or damages, she believes that "establishing her rights have been violated is sufficient," her attorney said.
Govt endorses minister hopeful Mlinar's citizenship request
LJUBLJANA - The government granted the citizenship request by Angelika Mlinar, a former Austrian MEP who had been nominated to head the government office in charge of cohesion policy, under provisions of the citizenship act typically used to fast-track athletes' applications. It said the request had merit in that "there is interest by the Republic of Slovenia in admitting the person in question into citizenship." The Interior Ministry will now issue a formal citizenship decision.
Slovenian and Hungarian defence ministers on strengthening cooperation
BLED - Defence Minister Karl Erjavec hosted his Hungarian counterpart Tibor Benko at the lake resort of Bled for a discussion about the security situation in the region and about ways to bolster bilateral and regional defence and military cooperation. According to the Defence Ministry, the highlighted that the collaboration in both areas was extensive and intense.
President appeals on behalf of Afghan asylum seeker
LJUBLJANA - The office of President Borut Pahor asked the Interior Ministry to closely examine the case of an Afghan who is facing deportation from Slovenia, as it believes his stands out from usual cases. This comes as NGOs have again called on the authorities not to deport Noor, who has found a home and has family in the town of Novo Mesto. The call comes after two Slovenian NGOs urged Pahor, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina last week not to allow the Afghan, who has has lived in Slovenia since 2015, has a family here and speaks the language, to be deported.
European left checking out migrant situation in SE Slovenia
ČRNOMELJ - Representatives of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) visited Črnomelj area to assess the migrant situation there on route to Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Following a talk with migrants, German MEP Cornelia Ernst said the delegation had noted good practices in Slovenia as well as a number of issues, including "police violence against refugees", as well as consecutive pushbacks of migrants into Croatia.
Minister sees no need for army to patrol border at the moment
LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar told MPs that giving army members extra powers to help the police patrol the border had been considered, but that illegal migration numbers had since fallen so there was currently no reason for that. The minister made the comments as he addressed a session of the parliamentary Interior Affairs Committee, called by the opposition Democrats (SDS) to urge invoking a special article of the defence act which was passed in 2015 and which allows deploying the army on the border by giving soldiers powers on a par with those of the police.
EU healthcare overview finds shortcomings and improvements in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's healthcare faces many challenges but positive shifts have been detected, according to the biannual State of Health in the EU 2019 report. Life expectancy has grown considerably since 2000, although there are substantial differences between the genders and socio-economic groups. Moreover, the country has made a positive shift to utilising preventative programmes. Long waiting periods remain a problem and there has also been no progress in reforming fiscal sustainability of the system and the long-term care system.
Blueprint ready for state housing loan guarantee scheme
LJUBLJANA - The Finance Ministry presented a blueprint for a law introducing government guarantees for housing loans. These would be fully guaranteed up to EUR 150,000 in principal provided the borrower provides 20% in the form of own funds. Finance Ministry State Secretary Alojz Stana said the scheme was aimed at the young up to the age of 35, young families and those in fixed-term or precarious forms of employment not older than 40. Guarantees for up to EUR 500 million in principal would be available.
Auditors to check 30 major Petrol transactions
LJUBLJANA - Auditors will check major deals concerning the acquisition and disposal of financial investments, other types of investments and sponsorship contracts that energy firm Petrol has concluded since the start of 2015 under a resolution that Petrol shareholders adopted at an extraordinary general meeting. The resolution was the result of a compromise between two major shareholders, the business empire of Darij Južna and Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH).
Govt to allocate EUR 10m for European Capital of Culture 2025
LJUBLJANA - The government said it would allocate EUR 10 million in 2021-2026 to support projects the Slovenian town to be designated a European Capital of Culture for 2025 will host. The funds will be planned in the revised national budget for 2021 and in the budgets to follow until 2026. Several cities have so far announced their bids, including Ljubljana, Kranj, Nova Gorica, Piran, Lendava and Ptuj.
New monument marks centenary of Prekmurje reunification with Slovenia
MURSKA SOBOTA - A monument marking the 100th anniversary of the reunification of Slovenia and its north-eastern region of Prekmurje was unveiled in a Murska Sobota park. Designed by sculptor Mirsad Begić, it consists of a granite block and cast bronze heads representing historic personalities from the region. Slovenia's first President Milan Kučan said that in addition to fostering historical memory, the monument was a symbol of the confidence and pride of the local people.
Parliamentary body says schools should teach more about Slovenians abroad
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for Slovenians Abroad believes school programmes should devote more attention to Slovenians abroad, especially to their achievements in arts and science. Having gotten acquainted with a report on the inclusion of topics related to Slovenians living in Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia in curricula in primary and secondary schools, the parliamentary working body recommended the government take this into account during the next revision of school curricula.
State to assume EUR 30m in annual costs from local communities
LJUBLJANA - The cabinet adopted a bill relieving municipalities of some EUR 30 million in annual costs at the expense of the government, effectively compensating for its refusal to raise the per capita budget transfers for local governments. Under the bill, the government will assume the obligation to pay certain costs which are currently covered by municipalities, including basic health insurance for unemployed persons.
Soldiers get new, improved boots a year after frostbite reports
LJUBLJANA - Just over a year after Slovenian soldiers allegedly got frostbite due to poor footwear during a military exercise, the military received 12,000 pairs of new boots. After complaints b soldiers, the Defence Ministry performed tests on the boots. The results showed that the boots met all the requirements, even surpassing them. Nevertheless, Alpina decided to improve the footwear in conjunction with the army.
Enterprise software companies Saop and Mit joining forces
LJUBLJANA - Saop and Mit Informatika, which specialise in enterprise software, signed a business combination agreement that creates a new major player on the Slovenian IT market that they say will be better equipped to compete with global software providers. Saop acquired the smaller Mit Informatika outright for an undisclosed sum.
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