EU court to announce Slovenia-v-Croatia suit admissibility on 31 Jan
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The EU's Court of Justice said it would announce on 31 January whether it will admit Slovenia's suit against Croatia over the latter's failure to implement the 2017 border arbitration award. In early December 2019, the court's Advocate General Priit Pikamäe proposed to the court to rule the case inadmissible, which came as a surprise to many in Slovenia. However, while many agreed the opinion did not bode well for the fate of the procedure, the opinion does not prejudge the court's final decision on admissibility.
Poklukar urges launching Frontex in Western Balkans
ZAGREB, Croatia - Attending an informal meeting of EU home ministers in Zagreb, Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar said that "mounting fully functioning Frontex operations in the Western Balkans as soon as possible and signing status agreements with the region's countries" was necessary for the effective management of migrations. The minister called for such measures during a discussion on challenges and plans regarding implementing border and coastguard regulations. He also proposed drawing up an operational system of Frontex postings to fully tap into the agency's potential.
Commission finds systemic flaws in intel agency hiring
LJUBLJANA - The opposition-led parliamentary Commission for Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services released a report finding that an acquaintance of PM Marjan Šarec was given special treatment when being hired by the intelligence agency SOVA. The commission also found systemic flaws in SOVA staffing. The commission established that Šarec's acquaintance had not met all the requirements for the job she was given, although she was later reassigned to a post she met requirements for. Šarec, who was interviewed by the commission today, denied the woman was given the job because being his acquaintance.
NGOs warn about ramifications of handing over refugees
LJUBLJANA - A group of NGOs noted at a press conference that, by handing asylum seekers over to the Croatian authorities, Slovenia was aggravating one of the most severe humanitarian crises in Europe. The NGOs, including Amnesty International Slovenija and the Legal and Information Centre, argue that such measures are illegal and that the country should immediately cease implementing the relevant agreement with Croatia. They also expressed their concern over conditions at refugee camps in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Croatian police violence against migrants. The Interior Ministry denied the claims.
Justice Ministry: Rupnik judgement not rehabilitating his actions
LJUBLJANA - In its first reaction to the controversy about the Supreme Court's decision to quash the 1946 conviction of collaborationist official Leon Rupnik, the Justice Ministry said that court decisions in appeals over post-war judgements were not denying the abject nature of concrete cases, even less did they rehabilitate them. Meanwhile, Ljubo Bavcon, professor emeritus of penal law at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law, whose mother was tortured by Rupnik's police, indicated that he might mount a joint appeal with Rupnik's other victims at the Constitutional Court over the matter.
Slovenian MEP attracts ire of Serbian officials
BELGRADE, Serbia - Slovenian MEP Tanja Fajon (S&D/SD), the chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Serbia, drew the ire of Serbian officials with an article in which she expresses concern for democracy and the freedom of the press in Serbia. In an op-ed for the Serbian newspaper NIN, Fajon said that "democracy and media freedom [in the country] are seriously threatened as national channels do not treat all political parties the same way". Serbian Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović accused Fajon of overstepping her mandate and making biased assessments.
Defence Ministry to set up network of renewables hubs
LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry announced it would set up a network of energy hubs at Slovenian army barracks to provide for more self-sufficient energy supply. This was after its project designed to improve energy efficiency in the defence sector, supported by the European Defence Agency, received EUR 310,000 in funding under the Structural Reform Support Programme of the European Commission. The network of hubs is to support military and civilian electric mobility.
Slovenia ratifies revised CoE film co-production convention
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia ratified the Council of Europe's (CoE) revised convention on cinematographic co-production, which envisages co-productions with countries which are not CoE members. The instrument of ratification was deposited by Andrej Slapničar, Slovenia's permanent representative at the CoE. Jelka Stergel, Slovenia's representative in Eurimages, told the STA the revised convention was important for European producers because it improved the prospects for co-productions.
Slovenia fall to Spain in handball Euro Semi-finals
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - The Slovenian men's handball team lost to Spain 32:34 in the semi-finals of the European Championship, and will play Norway in the third-place match. The reigning European champions Spain were too much for Slovenia who were looking to make it to what would be their second European champions finals ever, taking advantage of many fast-breaks to build a 20:15 lead in the half-time. Slovenia will try to bounce back from the loss on Saturday as they try to win the bronze medal against Norway, who lost to Croatia 28:29 in a double overtime thriller in the other semi-final earlier today.
Dončić selected as starter for NBA All-Star Game
NEW YORK, US - Luka Dončić has been selected as a Western Conference starter for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the youngest European and the first Slovenian ever to be selected directly to play in the prestigious exhibition game. In the fan voting, the 20-year-old was second only to the NBA great LeBron James. Dončić will be the second Slovenian ever to appear in the NBA All-Star Game, following Goran Dragić in 2018, who made the team as an injury replacement and did not get voted in directly.
Biathlon: Germany's Herrmann wins women's 15km at Pokljuka
POKLJUKA - The second day of the Biathlon World Cup meet on Pokljuka saw German Denise Herrmann win the women's 15km individual event, ahead of Swede Hanna Oeberg and France's Anais Bescond. Herrmann was perfect in the shooting, while Oeberg missed one target to finish 59.2 seconds behind the winner. Bescond hit all targets but was slower in the running part (+1:15.7). The race featured two Slovenian athletes, with Lea Einfalt finishing 76th (+9:20.9) and Polona Klemenčič finishing 87th (+10:49.8).
Slovenian table tennis team make first Olympic qualification
GONDOMAR, Portugal - The Slovenian men's table tennis team qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in what is its first Olympic qualification ever. After beating Iran on Wednesday, Slovenia defeated India today to make it among the eight teams to secure a berth for Tokyo at the qualifying tournament in Portugal's Gondomart. The duel with the favoured India ended with 3:1 for Slovenia, with two wins contributed by Darko Jorgić and one by veteran Bojan Tokić.
Scientific vaudeville to explore human evolution, fate
LJUBLJANA - A major theatre production, 2020, directed by Ivica Buljan based on writings by contemporary Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, will open at Cankarjev Dom on Saturday. The scientific vaudeville is focusing on human evolution and fate. The goal was to "create a clever, entertaining and educational artwork about evolution, space and our place in it," Buljan said. The production is based on Harari's books Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.
Snow castle competition hopes to bring winter feel to Koroška
ČRNA NA KOROŠKEM - Several thousand people are expected in the northern town of Črna na Koroškem this weekend for the 28th annual snow castle-building competition. Slovenia has had virtually no snow this winter, but with a bit of luck weather forecast will hold and it will be snowing at the weekend. The events kicked off with a hike and a treasure hunt, followed by torch-lit a ski race. Some 30 teams are expected to take part in the castle-building competition starting on Saturday morning.
