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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:
Watchdog temporarily seizes Mercator shares from Agrokor
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's Competition Protection Agency temporarily seized 70% of Slovenian retailer Mercator shares from its owner, Croatia's Agrokor. The move is to ensure that Agrokor pay a EUR 53.9 million fine the agency imposed in September after Agrokor failed to notify it of its 2016 takeover of Slovenian-based bottled water company Costella. The agency decided to seize the shares on Monday, Fortenova Group, the successor of indebted Agrokor, said today. The agency said the decision was not final and could be challenged with an appeal, with Fortenova announcing it would fight against it with all means available.
Support for ministerial nominee Mlinar in parliament uncertain
LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec has been put in the position of having to secure votes for cohesion minister candidate Angelika Mlinar, who does not have sufficient support in parliament heading into Thursday's vote. The Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), which had put Mlinar forward, expects "more activity" from Šarec given that Mlinar would but a minister in his government. SAB leader Alenka Bratušek said her party would think twice whether to stay in the coalition if Mlinar failed to get appointed. Analysts think Mlinar's failure in parliament, although not very likely, could be damaging for the government, and controlling the outcome will require prudence by Šarec and his party.
Bill passed on loan guarantees for key infrastructure projects
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed a bill to secure state loan guarantees for the construction of a new rail link connecting the Koper port and Divača, and a part of an expressway connecting the north and south of the country. The law caps the loan guarantee for the Koper-Divača rail project at EUR 417 million, securing up to EUR 360 million in guarantees for the expressway between Slovenj Gradec and Velenje in the north and between Novo Mesto and Osredek in the south, two sections of the link known as Third Development Axis. The law is to enable the state-owned companies 2TDK and DARS to negotiate much lower interest rates for the planned loans.
Parliament briefed on arbitration intel report
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly reviewed a report on the 2015 wiretapping scandal during the Slovenia-Croatia border arbitration process behind closed doors. The report, compiled by the parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Commission (KNOVS), pins the blame for the scandal, which Croatia used as an excuse to withdraw from the arbitration, on Simona Drenik, who served as Slovenia's agent in the procedure. KNOVS chair Matej Tonin from the opposition New Slovenia (NSi) said most MPs assessed the report as useful because they had learnt what went wrong - it was not a systemic problem but rather a human error.
Bad bank working on more frequent flights to major hubs
LJUBLJANA - The Bank Assets Management Company is in talks with several "European regional carriers" to increase flight frequencies on routes connecting Ljubljana with Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Brussels following the bankruptcy of air carrier Adria Airways, its director Matej Pirc told the STA. While Lufthansa and its affiliates have quickly filled the gaps on these routes, which are considered key hubs for Slovenian business executives and tourism, there have been complaints about the absence of morning flights to Brussels, which are often used by public administration officials.
Financial stability strong, some risks remain, c-bank says
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian financial system is sound and risks remain low to moderate, with only one particular area of concern, banks' income, suggests the Slovenian central bank's quarterly financial stability report, released today. The income risk estimate has been raised from moderate in the second quarter to heightened with a negative outlook in the third quarter, mostly as a result of increasing systemic risks associated with the cooling of economic growth and uncertainty in the international environment. The only other risk estimated as heightened stems from the real estate market, but its outlook has been changed to positive as housing prices start to drop.
Lowest allowances for new parents to be raised in 2021
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed legislative changes that raise the lowest maternity, paternity and parental pay from EUR 252 to EUR 402 net a month as of 2021, the level of the national minimal income. The same amount will be paid to parents who are not entitled to maternity, paternity or parental pay because they do not pay parenthood contributions, most often students. The rise will apply for parents of children born after January 2021.
Majority in favour of Slovenia's stance on arbitration
LJUBLJANA - Slovenians are largely in favour of the government's policy towards Croatia with regard to border arbitration, in particular its insistence that the award handed down by a Hague-based arbitration tribunal be implemented despite Croatia's recalcitrance. Almost 78% of respondents of a Delo poll are in favour of this stance and around 14% agree Slovenia should consent to new bilateral talks, a stance held by Croatia and a portion of the centre-right opposition in Slovenia. Asked about the responsibility for the non-implementation of the arbitration decision, almost 39% blamed Croatian politics.
Slovenian suppliers talk e-mobility cooperation with Volkswagen
WOLFSBURG, Germany - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and representatives of Slovenian automotive industry suppliers paid a visit to the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group, designed to boost cooperation, especially in e-mobility, with Volkswagen also being presented investment opportunities in Slovenia. Tanja Mohorič, the head of the Automotive Cluster (ACS), said that the visit opened up new opportunities for cooperation to members of the strategic research and innovation partnership for mobility in Slovenia. Počivalšek said the visit had discussed innovative solutions for carbon-neutral society and e-mobility, adding that the ACS members were up to the task.
Luxury cars tax avoidance scheme exposed
LJUBLJANA - The Financial Administration (FURS) has found some taxpayers are avoiding paying taxes on their luxury cars by registering them abroad but using them in Slovenia. In one such case, an individual was ordered to pay EUR 219,000 in additional tax for two cars he registered in Germany. After analysing the use of the vehicles with foreign licence plates whose users are Slovenian residents, FURS discovered that individuals had been avoiding paying taxes in Slovenia by setting up a company in another EU country with the sole purpose of buying and registering luxury vehicles.
Supernova takes over another ten shopping centres
LJUBLJANA - Supernova, an Austrian manager of shopping centres, confirmed reports from earlier this year it was acquiring new shopping malls in Slovenia from Centrice Real Estate. The company is to acquire ten centres, mostly of the Qlandia brand, for EUR 220 million, after it bought ten centres run by Mercator at the beginning of 2019. The transaction was green-lighted by the Competition Protection Agency in November, according to the watchdog's web site. The acquisition means Supernova will have exceeded EUR 100 million in annual revenue from leases and its Slovenian ventures make up more than 30% of its revenue.
Slovenia remains 35th in human freedom
WASHINGTON, US - Slovenia placed 35th in this year's human freedom index ranking, level with last year. Its index is 7.97, above the average of 6.89. Among the country's neighbours, Austria is the only one doing better, ranking 13th, while all the others lag behind - Italy ranked 32nd, Croatia 37th and Hungary 45th. The ranking includes 162 countries, with New Zealand topping the list. It is based on publicly available data, with the 2019 report based on the 2017 figures.
Extensive Slovenia geography book in English published
LJUBLJANA - Non-Slovenian speakers will be able to get an insight into Slovenia's geographical diversity as the first English-language geographical overview of the country will be officially launched by Springer Publishing in 2020, although it is already available for purchase. Geography of Slovenia - Small but Diverse, a 360-page book written by researchers of the Anton Melik Geography Institute of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, features maps and photographs so as to best present Slovenia as a meeting point of four geographical units: the Alps, Pannonian lowlands, Dinaric Alps and the Mediterranean.
Slovenia's first photo gallery 40 years old
MARIBOR - Housed in a 15th-century tower in Maribor, the first ever Slovenian gallery dedicated specifically to photography is marking its 40th anniversary with an exhibition of minimalist photography. The tower next to the city's former synagogue, was assigned to the local photo club in 1979 by the city council, but it took almost a decade before it was made fit to serve as an exhibition venue. "Maribor may be proud to have the first specialised gallery for photographic art in Slovenia," Branimir Ritonja, the head of the Maribor Photo Club, said as he recalled how its members put in countless hours of voluntary work to refurbish it.
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