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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:
First estimate puts Slovenia's GDP growth in 2019 at 2.4%
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's GDP expanded by 2.4% in 2019 after growing by 1.7% in the final quarter year-on-year, shows the first estimate released by the Statistics Office. The annual increase is slightly below what had been announced in projections. The Statistics Office said external demand had had a positive impact on economic growth even though the growth of exports was more moderate than in 2017 and 2018. Exports increased by 4.4% in 2019, which compares to 6.1% the year before.
Vote on Janša as prime minister-designate expected on Tuesday
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly is expected to vote in a secret ballot on the appointment of Janez Janša, the head of the Democrats (SDS), prime minister-designate next Tuesday. The plenary will start on Monday with questions for members of the outgoing government, and MPs are expected to put the vote on Janša on the agenda for Tuesday. In order to be confirmed, Janša needs at least 46 votes in the 90-member legislature and he is expected to be confirmed with a slight majority.
Protest held against incoming government
LJUBLJANA - A group of NGOs staged a protest against the emerging centre-right coalition, with the participants stopping outside the headquarters of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and Modern Centre Party (SMC) to urge them to reconsider their decision to join the "coalition of hate". More than a thousand protesters reminded the SMC and DeSUS of their promise ahead of the 2018 election not to join a coalition headed by Janez Janša, the Democrats' (SDS) leader. On the sidelines of the protest, left-leaning parties engaged in a blame game over the new government.
N Macedonian police said to suspect Hungarian money laundered through Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian web portal Oštro along with two more investigative journalism groups in the region run a report alleging that a Slovenia-based company was used to launder illegal Hungarian government money and finance media propaganda in North Macedonia. The report - coming after those showing entrepreneurs close to Hungarian PM Viktor Orban helped fund Slovenian media with ties to the Democrats (SDS) and Macedonian media associated with the country's VMRO-DPMNE party - is based on an investigation that had been started by Macedonian financial police in 2018.
Committee in heated debate over foreign ownership of media
LJUBLJANA - Members of the Culture Committee called on the relevant authorities to look into the flow of funds used to finance media in Slovenia after a heated debate on Thursday, initiated by the call to discuss the Hungarian financing of media with ties to the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS). The six-hour session, which was called at the request of the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), saw the debate expand beyond the main topic, with the ownership of a number of Slovenian media houses being discussed.
Five Slovenian MEPs join petition against rise of hate ideology
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Five Slovenian MEPs, including Milan Brglez (S&D/SD) as the first among 45 signatories, joined a petition calling on the European Commission and the EU Council to respond to the rise of hate ideology and hate speech. The MEPs also urge the preservation of core EU values, starting with the protection of human rights and rights of minorities.
Social partners support EU minimum wage, differ on concept
LJUBLJANA - A debate hosted by MEP Milan Brglez showed that social partners in Slovenia broadly support the introduction of a EU-wide minimum wage, but disagree over what kind of concept should be used. The outgoing government is in favour of a minimum wage based on the cost of living, which Labour Ministry State Secretary Tilen Božič said was a concept that emphasises the human aspect. Employers are more in favour of a mathematical approach that draws on macroeconomic indicators.
Port operator Luka Koper reports 32% decline in net profit for 2019
LJUBLJANA - Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole maritime port, saw a group net profit plunge by 32% to EUR 40.4 million in 2019 due to a slowdown of global trade. Revenue remained broadly flat at EUR 228.7 million, six percent below plans, the company said. Profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by over a quarter to EUR 73.1 million and operating profit (EBIT), at EUR 45.3 million, was 35% lower than in the year before.
Insurance group Sava's profit up 16.7% to EUR 50.2m last year
LJUBLJANA - The insurance group Sava collected EUR 599.3 million in gross premiums last year, 9.7% more than in 2018, while its net profit was up 16.7% to EUR 50.2 million. The company's unaudited financial results show that the gross premium growth was contributed mainly by Slovenian non-life insurance business, which was up 12.2%, and the non-life insurance business in foreign countries (+20.3%).
Boxmark Leather to lay off almost 300 workers by end-April
KIDRIČEVO - The foreign-owned car upholstery maker Boxmark Leather announced it would lay off a total of 288 workers at its sole remaining Slovenian location, in Kidričevo, by the end of April, with 157 handed pink slips today. The management said the company would stay in the country, denying the rumours about production closure.
Annual inflation in February at 2% due to costlier food, housing
LJUBLJANA - Consumer prices in Slovenia were up by 2% on average in February over the same month in 2019, mostly due to higher prices of food and housing. More expensive holiday packages were the main factor in the monthly inflation, which stood at 0.7%, the Statistics Office reported. Food prices, gong up by 4.3%, contributed 0.6 of a percentage point to the annual inflation, with the prices of meat and fruit increasing by over 11%.
Survey unemployment in last quarter of 2019 lowest on record
LJUBLJANA - The survey unemployment rate in Slovenia stood at 4% in the fourth quarter of 2019, down 0.8 percentage points from the previous quarter, reaching the lowest point since 1997, when the Statistics Office started to implement the survey on the quarterly basis. The survey unemployment rate dropped the most in the 50-64 age category, by 1.1 percentage points to 3%.
Survey find Slovenians optimistic about EU future
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The latest Barometer survey shows that Slovenians are more optimistic about the future of the EU than citizens from other member states. As many as 69% of the Slovenians polled are very or quite optimistic about the EU future, which compares to the EU average of 60%. Slovenians see healthcare, social care and pensions as well as immigration and climate change as main national challenges, while immigration and climate change (27%) are deemed most burning issues at the EU level.
Documentary on Trieste National Hall arson premiers
LJUBLJANA - The arson of the Trieste National Hall (Narodni dom) by the Fascists a century ago marked the start of a painful period for the Slovenian community that ended up on the Italian side of the border. Author Majda Širca sheds light on that event and the traumatic developments coming in its wake in the documentary Arson (Požig), which premiered in Ljubljana. She told the STA in an interview that the arson marked the beginning of Fascism in Europe.
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