BSF leader's panel focuses on migrations
BLED - The Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) opened with a leader's panel that largely discussed a potential new migration wave coming to Europe and what the EU's response should be. European Parliament President David Sassoli said the EU was faced with the responsibility of protecting asylum-seekers and managing the migration flows together. Slovenian PM Janez Janša noted resolving migration issues was also about hard power, and not only soft power, as a secure environment needed to be created in the countries of origin of migrations. Other participants warned against migrant smuggling, among other things. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state of the Holy See, said politicians in the EU should have a positive attitude to migrations and integrating refugees instead of displaying a negative approach.
Renewed call for continuation of EU enlargement to Western Balkans at BSF
BLED - The stalled process of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans was one of the topics debated at the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) panel on the future of Europe. The panellists called for a continuation of the enlargement process as a matter of strategic importance. The debate was prompted by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who assessed there was no enthusiasm for the enlargement process, and that he would like to see the EU providing some clarity to the Western Balkans. EU Parliament President David Sassoli said now was the time to inject new energy into the enlargement process, which he hopes the Slovenian EU presidency can contribute to. European Council President Charles Michel said that Serbia needed more investments from the EU and that the bloc indeed wanted to deliver concrete projects that would be visible for Serbian people.
Situation in Afghanistan topic of debate at Bled Strategic Forum
BLED - The situation in Afghanistan was one of the topics of debate at the Bled Strategic Forum, after EU home affairs ministers adopted a joint statement to that effect that the bloc would prevent mass inflows of asylum seekers from Afghanistan by providing aid in the region and protecting its borders. "Not a single European country wants a repeat of 2015" or the policy of open borders, PM Janez Janša said about the prospect of an influx of migrants from Afghanistan at the opening panel of the BSF. European Parliament President David Sassoli voiced disappointment with the conclusions adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council and the fact that none of the EU member states had expressed willingness to accept Afghan refugees.
Crucial for EU enlargement is W Balkans' integration in EU, panellists agree
BLED - While stressing the importance and benefits of the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans as a strategically important issue, leaders at a panel on the future of Europe and enlargement held as part of the Bled Strategic Forum agreed that integration of the region into the EU will be crucial. "The enlargement is a process that has its stages. It is a more of an administrative than a political process. However, what we should discuss is how the Western Balkans will become a part of the EU," said European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi. President Borut Pahor was critical of the lack of progress in the case of North Macedonia, deeming this a "moral concern".
PM Janša calls for return to EU's roots
BLED - PM Janez Janša urged the EU to return to its roots, to the basic principles laid down by the founding fathers, as he argued at the Bled Strategic Forum that this is the only way to ensure unity while preserving diversity. FM Anže Logar said that Europe had started to be "more like a problem-solving union instead of a community adopting a strategic approach", noting that it was now necessary to identify the bloc's role in the world. European Council President Charles Michel noted that talking about the future of the EU must be about "what it should be ... its relationship with entire European geographic area, how it is organised ... and how to involve the citizens more".
Slovenia aims to make EU-Western Balkans summit regular feature
BLED - Slovenia's EU presidency will host an EU-Western Balkans summit in early October and its desire is to make these summits a regular annual event as a means of accelerating the EU enlargement process, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said. Such regular summits would represent "an important type of pressure" on countries in the region to achieve headway in accession, while at the same time putting the onus on the EU to make significant steps, Logar told the press at the Bled Strategic Forum. He noted the high-level participation in this year's forum had set a new benchmark and showed how joint efforts could be leveraged to further affirm Slovenia in the international arena.
Former leaders discuss Afghanistan, EU enlargement, differences in EU
BLED - Developments in Afghanistan could be an opportunity to strengthen the EU, was one of the views presented at the former leaders' panel at the Bled Strategic Forum, where the importance of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans and differences in understanding European values in the EU were also highlighted. "I can't imagine strong prospects for the Western Balkans without a strong Brussels, in the strategical sense," said Slovenia's first Prime Minister and former MEP Lojze Peterle.
Green transition, digitalisation key for recovery, BSF debate hears
BLED - A debate on post-pandemic recovery at the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) noted the importance of green transition and digitalisation for the process, with a broad agreement that economic measures must go hand in hand with healthcare measures, in particular vaccination. Boštjan Vasle, the governor of the Slovenian central bank, admitted that "we do not understand completely how the health crisis will translate into the economy", while noting that the current support measures were essential.
Bilateral talks on the sidelines of BSF focus on Afghanistan
BLED - Several bilateral meetings were held on the sidelines of the first day of the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF). President Borut Pahor met Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, while Foreign Minister Anže Logar and Defence Minister Matej Tonin met Jean-Pierre Lacroix, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. Pahor and Zaev said Slovenia and entire Europe were hoping for the open issues between North Macedonia and Bulgaria to be resolved, and that the Slovenian EU presidency was an opportunity to deal with this challenge, the Macedonian press agency MIA reported. The situation in Afghanistan was the main topic of talks between Lacroix and Tonin and Lacroix and Logar.
Plenković confident Slovenia-Croatia border issue solvable this term
BLED - Arriving at the Bled Strategic Forum, Croatian PM Andrej Plenković lauded Slovenia and Croatia for bringing their relationship into a very good phase through a mature approach. He said the bilateral border issue could be tackled this government term. During the term of Slovenian PM Janez Janša, the two countries established "splendid dialogue, excellent communication and cooperation", said Plenković, adding that everything was being solved to the satisfaction of both countries.
Janša and Mitsotakis talk Afghanistan, Western Balkans
BLED - PM Janez Janša met on Tuesday evening his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis to talk about the situation in Afghanistan and related migration challenges. They also discussed the situation in the Western Balkans and called for the commitments given to the region at the EU summit in Thessaloniki to be met. "During our [EU] presidency we will try to convince other member states that it is high time to take further steps towards enlargement," said Janša, who thinks that a step forward also needs to be taken in including countries in the Schengen Area.
Daily coronavirus count hits 4-month high
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 764 coronavirus infections for Tuesday, the highest daily increase in infections since 5 May, data from the National Institute of Public Health shows. This was as Covid-19 hospitalisations rose to 159, with 37 patients in intensive care according to the tracker site Covid-19 Sledilnik. As many as 20.1% of the tests performed yesterday were positive. The 7-day average of new daily cases rose to 468, and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents to 270.
Slovenia to get invitation to join Med7 this month
BLED - The Med7, a club of seven Mediterranean EU countries, will invite Slovenia to become a member at a summit scheduled to take place later this month, Foreign Minister Anže Logar told the press at the Bled Strategic Forum, noting membership would give Slovenia "a place at the table" in a group that was an important voice in the EU and other forums. This will be "particularly important in the light of potential new migration pressure in the future," Logar said.
Dikaučič hopes European delegated prosecutors will be appointed ASAP
BRUSSELS, Belgium/LJUBLJANA - Justice Minister Marjan Dikaučič presented via video call Slovenia's EU presidency priorities in judiciary to the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. He also stressed Slovenia was making efforts to appoint its European delegated prosecutors as soon as possible. Apart from the European Public Prosecutor's Office, committee members were primarily interested in Slovenia's positions on the rule of law, the fight against hate speech, the protection of children's rights, and on the e-evidence dossier.
Koritnik meets tech giants representatives in Bled
BLED - Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik met representatives of tech giants Microsoft and Facebook to discuss cyber security and regulation of digital services. He also met representatives of Saudi Arabia's National Center for Artificial Intelligence. He is due to meet Google officials on Thursday. "As an EU presiding country, Slovenia strives for development of innovative practices, but we mainly wish to protect users and provide a safe online environment," Koritnik said.
Fines proposed for indecent behaviour towards officials, their families
LJUBLJANA - The Interior Ministry has prepared changes to the public order act that introduce fines of EUR 500-1,000 for indecent behaviour towards state officials, senior representatives of the authorities and their families. The proposal, which has already been endorsed by the government, is yet to be approved in parliament. The government said the changes had been proposed in light of a rise in "threats to MPs and other senior representatives of the state recently". Some centre-left opposition parties opposed the proposal, saying it was an attempt to silence criticism.
New school starts in person, but amid uncertainty
LJUBLJANA - A new school year started for almost 270,000 Slovenian primary and secondary school children and nearly 30,000 teachers. Classes will be held in person for everyone for the time being but with safety measures in place, including mandatory Covid certificates for staff, masks for staff and all children in communal areas and voluntary self-testing for older children. If schools flout the rules, they may be ordered by inspectors to switch to remote classes under a decision taken by the Education Ministry on Tuesday night.
EANA urges Slovenian government to restore financing of STA
BERN, Switzerland - The European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) called on the Slovenian government to restore the statutorily provided funding of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) to enable it to operate in a stable manner. "Political pressure on the STA must end," EANA stressed. "We consider that STA, as any national news agency, is one of the main pillars of democracy in Slovenia, and it doesn't deserve to be shattered by adverse policy," said the Board of EANA.
Slovenia records 400-600 missing persons per year, vast majority are found
LJUBLJANA - Between 400 and 600 people are reported missing in Slovenia every year, a third of them being adolescents or children. Most are found within a day, while more than 90% of the children are found within four hours, said Damjan Miklič, head of the Police Expert Network on Missing Persons, on the sidelines of an international conference on missing persons. He said that investigating missing persons was difficult precisely because there are so many unknowns at the outset. According to the police, there are currently 237 missing persons reported in Slovenia.
Cinkarna Celje reports 60% higher half-year net profit
CELJE - Cinkarna Celje, the Celje-based chemical company, saw its half-year sales revenue rise by 12% year-on-year to EUR 99.39 million on the back of good demand, boosting net profit by 60% to EUR 15.8 million. The company's CEO Aleš Skok said the demand was favourable across the geographical regions. The increase was mainly due to growth in construction and the competitiveness of Asian suppliers in Europe being affected by strong demand at home and by high transport costs.
Newspaper Večer getting new owners
MARIBOR/LJUBLJANA - Media company Časnik Večer has transferred the daily newspaper Večer with its 94 employees onto Večer Mediji, a new company incorporated today. The new company is to be sold to six companies which are, according to unofficial information, owned by media mogul Martin Odlazek. Večer newspaper staff were informally told in July that classifieds magazine Salomon and tabloid Svet24 would be among the new owners of the newspaper. Delo reported that a several-owner solution was to bypass the rule to seek a Culture Ministry regulatory clearance in case a company owns 20% of a media company or more.
Tiršek wins second medal at Tokyo Paralympics
TOKYO, Japan - Shooter Franček Gorazd Tiršek won bronze in the men's 10m air rifle prone event at the Tokyo Paralympics in what is the second medal for him and Slovenia at the ongoing games. Tiršek won silver in the air rifle standing competition on Monday, having already won medals of the same colour in this discipline at the two previous Paralympics. He now has four Paralympic medals under his belt. "Even though bronze, this medal is gold to me," said Tiršek.
