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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:
Mlinar becomes Slovenian citizen, formally nominated minister
LJUBLJANA - Angelika Mlinar was formally nominated for the minister without portfolio for development and cohesion policy as Prime Minister Marjan Šarec submitted the candidacy to parliament. The nomination came after Mlinar, an Austrian citizen of Slovenian descent, was first granted Slovenian citizenship on ground of national interest, whereupon Austria granted her request to hold dual Austrian-Slovenian citizenship. The committee hearing is scheduled for Tuesday while the plenary vote at the National Assembly is expected on Thursday. While not all opposition parties support her, it is not clear if she enjoys support of all coalition parties.
Šarec says Slovenia unlikely to found new national carrier
LJUBLJANA - The founding of a new airline in full or partial state ownership after flag carrier Adria Airways went into receivership is not very likely, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec told reporters. This was considered one of the ways to keep Ljubljana connected to the world after Adria went into receivership at the end of September. "There are no major changes, because risks are very high. I think it's not very likely that we get our airline at this point," Šarec said.
Šarec sees nuclear as key to Slovenia's carbon neutrality
LJUBLJANA - The government appears prepared to making construction of a new nuclear reactor a cornerstone of Slovenia's plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in line with EU goals. "The fact is ... that if we don't build a second reactor at the nuclear power station and if we close coal-fired power stations, we will not achieve environmental goals," Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said during questions' time at the National Assembly.
Commissioner Lenarčič wants European Green Deal to succeed
LJUBLJANA - European Commissioner Janez Lenarčič urged the implementation of the European Green Deal, outlined by the European Commission last week, as he met Slovenia's senior officials. He believes Europe should continue to play a leading role in the global fight against climate change. He would like the Green Deal, under which the EU aims to become the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050, to be a success story. He also believes environmental issues are one of Slovenia's major challenges for the future.
Lenarčič wants EU better prepared to tackle crises
LJUBLJANA - European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič is confident that in five years, the EU will be better prepared to rapidly provide humanitarian aid in the event of crisis. Preparedness must be improved, he told a debate on crisis management co-organised by the STA during his official visit to Slovenia. The Slovenian member of the European Commission pointed out that climate change would increase the intensity and frequency of natural disasters. "Without action, the consequences of these phenomena will be unmanageable."
Cerar presents Slovenia's view on multilateralism in Madrid
MADRID, Spain - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar presented Slovenia's stance on multilateralism and its efforts related to climate change, sustainable development and gender equality on the final day of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Madrid, where he also held several bilateral meetings. In his address, he stressed the need for cooperation in the tackling of global challenges and the importance of strengthening multilateralism, noting Slovenia remained committed to the system of multilateralism that is based on UN values, to the rule of law and human rights. He also called for rapid implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Slovenian consul worried about neo-fascist campaign
TRIESTE, Italy - Slovenian Consul General in Italy's Trieste Vojko Volk condemned the posters on which an Italian neo-fascist movement labelled five Slovenian victims of fascism as terrorists. The provocation happened in two Italian towns on Saturday, on the the eve of an event commemorating the victims, executed in 1941. The neo-fascist campaign was immediately condemned by the Slovenian minority SSk party and by the SKGZ umbrella minority organisation, with TIGR Primorska, an association cherishing the memory of the first anti-Fascist fighters, urging Slovenian senior officials to respond. Volk said the incident was meant to undermine the achieved level of cooperation and trust among the Slovenian and Italian nations.
Report: Militia leader's prison deferral request not granted
MARIBOR - The District Court in Maribor threw out a request by Andrej Šiško, the self-styled leader of a militia that calls itself the Štajerska Guard, for deferral of a prison sentence he received for incitement to subversion of the constitutional order earlier this year. This means the court's decision that he has to go to prison became final two days ago, so he will have to go to prison, POP TV and TV Slovenija reported, but said no arrest warrant had been issued against him. Šiško was sentenced to eight months in prison in March, but has already served around seven months while being in detention before and during the trial.
PM announces tightening of vaccination law
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec announced legislative changes to prevent an increasing number of parents citing health reasons to avoid their children getting the compulsory vaccinations. Amendments to the contagious diseases act will be ready by April and will bring changes to long-term administrative procedures related to refuse inoculation out of medical reasons, Šarec told MPs in questions' time about a law that he said was often abused.
Salaries up in October
LJUBLJANA - Average take-home pay paid out in Slovenia for October amounted to EUR 1,122, up 1.6% in nominal terms and 1.5% in real terms compared to the month before, and 3.3% nominally year-on-year. Fresh data from the national Statistics Office showed that average gross pay for October was 1,742, up 1.7% in nominal terms and 1.6% in real terms compared to September's and up 3.9% compared to that for October 2018.
European Blockchain Hub declares bankruptcy
LJUBLJANA - Just over a year after its launch, the Ljubljana-based European Blockchain Hub, a cooperative designed to act as a platform bringing together blockchain stakeholders, has declared bankruptcy. Founded in October 2018 with the aim of facilitating the development of blockchain technology and start-ups based on "European values and principles of good corporate governance", the cooperative never really took off. Director Blaž Golob said the main reason why the cooperative had to enter bankruptcy was because some stakeholders had failed to deliver.
Slovenian painter wins Eugene Boudin Award in France
PARIS, France - Slovenian painter Gregor Pratneker has won the Eugene Boudin Prize at the Salon de Beaux Arts in Paris, a major international art showcase. He received the honour for his oil painting Spring in Mountains. Pratneker, a Maribor native, makes exclusively oil canvasses and has lately been focusing on landscapes.
Slovenian Tea Jarc to head European youth union group
LJUBLJANA - The Youth Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) elected Slovenian Tea Jarc its president, making her the first Slovenian to elected president of a European trade union confederation. Jarc heads Mladi Plus, a part of Slovenia's biggest trade union confederation, the ZSSS, and represents secondary school students, students, the young unemployed, and youths in precarious jobs.
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