What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 26 July
LJUBLJANA - The government officially confirmed Slovenia's ambassador to the EU Janez Lenarčič as the country's candidate for European commissioner and submitted his candidacy to Brussels. The pick was met with criticism from some parties in the coalition as well as the opposition Democrats (SDS).
LJUBLJANA - Preliminary findings showed that the freight train derailment that led to a massive kerosene spill near Hrastovlje on 25 June had been caused by a broken rail switch. An investigation into why the rail switch broke will be conducted by an independent institute specialising in metals.
LJUBLJANA - The household appliances group Gorenje generated EUR 567.5 million in revenue in the first six months of the year, up 1.6% on the same period in 2018. However, the company posted a net loss of EUR 29.5 million.
HRASTNIK - Glass maker Steklarna Hrastnik posted EUR 33 million in revenue for the first half of 2019, a 11% year-on-year increase, and a net profit of EUR 5.9 million, a 54% improvement. The company told the STA that its glass packaging division had been the main driving force behind the successful results.
KOPER - The passenger terminal at Koper, Slovenia's sole maritime port, welcomed 55,000 cruise line passengers by 26 July with more than 109,000 expected to arrive at the port by the end of the season.
SATURDAY, 27 July
VRŠIČ - National Assembly Speaker Dejan Židan addressed the annual ceremony at the Russian Chapel below the Vršič mountain pass, saying that the chapel had become more than a place of reverence and a symbol of the deep friendship between the Slovenian and Russian nations. The ceremony featured senior officials from Russia and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as Slovenian President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Marjan Šarec.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc took stock of her outgoing term in an interview for the STA, noting that the EU was first to start discussing the vision of zero transport emissions by 2050. She is also very proud of the transport agreement with the Western Balkans, labelling it the biggest achievement in relations with the region.
SUNDAY, 28 July
ZAGREB, Croatia - Smiljana Knez, who is wrapping up her term as Slovenia's ambassador to Croatia to become an aide to President Borut Pahor, told the STA in a valedictory interview that a lack of trust was the biggest obstacle preventing relations between two countries from thriving.
LJUBLJANA - After the government proposed a series of tax tweaks to reduce labour taxation, coupled with higher taxes on capital which would partly offset the loss of revenue, the Finance Ministry revealed that the missing amount would be secured through more effective tax collection. An extra EUR 160 million is to be produced through a proactive approach that would make tax collection more effective.
LJUBLJANA - The approval rating for the Marjan Šarec government increased further in a poll commissioned by the commercial broadcaster POP TV, while Šarec overtook President Borut Pahor as the most popular politician. The poll, conducted by Mediana, shows 57% of those questioned supporting the government, up 3.1 points on the month before; 11.4% are undecided and 31.5% oppose it.
MONDAY, 29 July
LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR - The Competition Protection Agency (AVK) cleared the merger of Dnevnik and Večer, the publishers of the second and third largest daily newspapers in the country. The joint company is to have a 40% share on the print media market, which is believed to have been the reason why the deliberations of the AVK on the case took a whole year.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia slipped one spot to rank 31st among 129 countries in the 2019 Global Innovation Index, released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, and business school INSEAD. Switzerland continues in the lead as the world's most innovative country, followed by Sweden and the US.
LJUBLJANA - Chief of the General Staff Alenka Ermenc launched a disciplinary procedure against the head of the Trade Union of Soldiers (SVS), Gvido Novak, over his alleged grave violations of army discipline. While the SVS said he was being prosecuted for his unionist activities, the General Staff claimed the procedure had been launched due to his actions as a member of the armed forces.
LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Dnevnik reported that former State Secretary at the Education Ministry Andreja Barle Lakota was among the ten people who have been indicted for alleged abuse of office in a case involving Armenian healer Ruben Papian. He was allegedly paid tens of thousands of euro between 2009 and 2011 by three Slovenian education institutions for two studies allegedly written by Barle Lakota.
TUESDAY, 30 July
LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council warned that some of the measures included in the pension reform blueprint could jeopardise the long-term sustainability of public finances. Under the changes, the pensionable base for men with the full 40 years of service would increase from 57.25% to 63.5% by 1 January 2025, a figure that is already in place for women.
LJUBLJANA - As part of an ongoing upgrade of the rail line between Maribor and the Šentilj border crossing with Austria, three bids were submitted for the construction of a demanding new section. The lowest bid was submitted by a local consortium headed by Pomgrad and including Kolektor Koling, SŽ-ŽGP, GH-Holding and Gorenjska Gradbena Družba, according to the Infrastructure Agency.
LJUBLJANA - Researchers at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine presented the discovery of a new molecular mechanism of action in ketamine that they say opens up new potential for development of fast-acting antidepressants. Ketamine, a medication used primarily as an anaesthetic, is already applied to treat depression in the US but not yet in Europe.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's population stood at 2,084,301 on 1 April, which is 3,400 more than at the start of January, the Statistics Office reported. The increase however comes on account of a larger number of foreign citizens, with the number of Slovenian citizens in fact decreasing.
WEDNESDAY, 31 July
LJUBLJANA - Consumer prices in Slovenia grew at an annual rate of 2% in July, up from 1.8% in June and the highest level since the end of last year, even as prices declined by 0.7% at the monthly level due to summer clearance sales. Prices in the group housing were the biggest drivers of inflation.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor marked the tenth anniversary of a meeting between him, in the capacity of prime minister, and his then Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor, which led to the signing of the arbitration agreement, with a series of tweets calling for the implementation of the arbitration award. He stated Croatia should not be treated "like a spoilt child who only does what it wants".
CELJE - The chemical company Cinkarna Celje saw its sales revenue drop by 5.6% year-on-year to EUR 92.7 million in the first half of the year. Net profit meanwhile plummeted by 57% to EUR 9.7 million.
LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed the financing of local infrastructural projects this year and in 2020 in three municipalities that are affected army activities. In line with the decision, the Defence Ministry will allocate EUR 1.7 million for infrastructure projects in the municipalities of Pivka, Ilirska Bistrica and Brežice.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Slovenian football champions Maribor qualified for the third round of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers by eliminating AIK in Stockholm by virtue of scoring more away goals. Maribor had to work extra time as the regular time ended with a 3:3 tie on aggregate.
THURSDAY, 1 August
KOPER - Port operator Luka Koper selected C Gradnje and its business partner Pro-concrete for the construction of a parking garage with 6,000 parking spaces and expansion of car terminal capacities. The value of the project had been estimated at some EUR 19 million.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian mountaineers Aleš Česen, Luka Stražar and Brit Tom Livingston learnt they will receive the Piolet d'Or, the top award in mountaineering, for their ascent of Latok I in August last year. They were only the second expedition that ascended the 7145-metre peak and the first ever to climb the mountain's north face.
MARIBOR - UKC Maribor, Slovenia's second largest hospital, will conduct an internal inquiry on suspicion of mass unauthorised access to the health records of a Maribor judge who was recently brutally assaulted. A special commission is to check whether hospital staff or even some outside the hospital had accessed the health records of Judge Danijela Ružič, who suffered severe injuries in an assault in front of her Maribor home in mid-June, Večer reported.
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