Ljubljana related
STA, 13 April 2021 - The Locked Shields 21 cyber defence and strategic decision-making exercise will start on Tuesday [13 April] in 30 countries, including Slovenia for the first time. The largest and most complex international exercise in the field will in Slovenia also include representatives of businesses.
Organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) annually since 2010, the exercise will see Slovenia participate for the first time as the country became a CCDCOE member last year.
Taking place until Friday, it will feature over 2,000 experts in cyber security, strategic decision-making and strategic communication, Viktor Sterle of the Defence Ministry's IT and communications office announced at a press conference.
Sterle added that it would enable countries to be tested in a realistic and safe environment, and improve their capabilities of defence of national information systems and critical infrastructure against cyber attacks.
The first, technical and competitive part of the exercise will feature red teams from excellence centres acting against blue teams comprising the participating countries.
The latter will play the role of national groups for rapid response to cybersecurity events and help a fictitious country solve complex cybersecurity incidents.
The blue teams will be assessed and classified at the end of the exercise. In addition to the Slovenian, it will feature another 21 blue teams from various countries, with 40 experts in each term on average, Sterle said.
In the second part of the exercise, the process of recognition, coordination and decision-making will be tested in simulated cases of complex cybersecurity incidents in accordance with the relevant national legislation.
According to Sterle, the scenario is based on real cybersecurity events, and the exercise environment will feature around 5,000 virtualised systems that will be exposed to more than 4,000 attacks.
He noted that, as the Covid-19 epidemic had made society even more dependent on ICT and virtual services, effective cooperation between the public and private sector had become a must in creating a safe cyberspace.
The Slovenian blue team will thus feature experts from companies associated in the cybersecurity section of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), and experts from the state and public administration.
Gregor Spagnolo, the head of the section and leader of the Slovenian team, welcomed the public-private partnership, and noted that this was the first time intensive cooperation in cybersecurity took place at such a high level in Slovenia.
STA, 15 February 2021 - The Slovenian military will spend nearly EUR 8.5 million on new equipment, including underwear, boots, uniforms, backpacks and sleeping bags, in the next two years, the Defence Ministry said on Monday.
The objective was to get new, more functional and lighter equipment. Some equipment has already been tested and is the best the commercial market has to offer, Colonel Anže Rode told the press on Monday.
High-tech materials will be used and camouflage patterns have been changed. Outerwear will be fire-proof, while underwear will offer a high level of protection from cuts, Veronika Vrhunc of the Defence Ministry's logistics directorate said.
Since 2015, the military has been involved in developing a new fabric, which has replaced the previously used 100% cotton. The moisture-wicking fabric is four times as wear-resistant as cotton.
Soldiers will also get new winter fatigues, new rain and winter uniforms, summer boots and moisture-wicking polo shirts. Rode underlined that the new uniforms will be 25% lighter than the old ones.
For the first time, soldiers will also get equipment for outdoor sleeping: bivouacs, summer and winter sleeping bags, sleeping mats, ponchos, tarps and gaiters, said Aleš Lebar of the logistics directorate. Ponchos and gaiters also provide IR detection protection against night-vision devices.
Rode said that Slovenian soldiers will be getting the most advanced equipment, which will provide protection and comfort in any condition for the next 10 to 15 years.
STA, 26 August 2020 - The defence and interior ministries as well as the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) and the police have agreed to boost cooperation in guarding the state border, said the Defence Ministry on Wednesday, announcing additional measures, including a reform of the rules governing the military's deployment on the border.
The meeting took place on Tuesday and featured Defence Minister Matej Tonin, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs, Chief of the General Staff, Brigadier General Robert Glavaš, and acting Police Commissioner Andrej Jurič.
The Defence Ministry said it will tweak the rules and prepare four levels of deployment in line with Article 37 of the defence act, which enables SAF members to help the police patrol the border without having any police powers.
The green level will signal the deployment of 150 soldiers along the border, the yellow level 400, the orange level 800 and the red level will mean 2,000 soldiers are to be deployed, reads the ministry's press release.
The SAF will also start conducting the majority of their military exercises at areas close to the border in coming weeks to strengthen its presence there and "help citizens who are facing negative consequences of migrations", said Tonin.
Don’t be alarmed if you see a lot of military transport on the roads Thursday morning, as it’s just part of an exercise that will see the vehicles moving from around Maribor, Kranj, Ljubljana, Pivka and Ankaran towards the Jernej Molan Barracks (Vojašnica Jerneja Molana) in Cerklje ob Krki, eastern Slovenia, then returning home Friday afternoon and early evening. The exercise, to be conducted by the Slovenian Armed Forces and allies, will also see military planes and helicopters make some low flights on Friday, between 12:20 and 12:30.
STA, 11 June 2020 - The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) and Defence Minister Matej Tonin came under significant pressure in Thursday, a day after it transpired that soldiers likely had been involved in an incident on the border with Italy despite initial indications to the contrary. Responding to demands for clarification, SAF vowed to help investigate the matter.
After initial reports that the incident happened on 8 May, the SAF said there had been no soldiers in the area that day, while Tonin labelled the report fake news.
In late May, the newspaper Primorski Dnevnik reported that a civilian was stopped at gunpoint by two Slovenian soldiers on the Slovenian-Italian border near Trieste the previous week.
SAF press officer Colonel Marjan Sirk told the press today that the SAF had looked into the movements of all patrols in the week specified but later also on 8 May, the date subsequently provided to the SAF by the journalist who wrote the piece.
Looking into the whereabouts of troops on 8 May, the SAF reported that no military patrols had been in the area that day.
But commercial broadcaster POP TV reported yesterday that the police investigation, which had been launched, had found the incident took place a day earlier and that the man who was stopped at gunpoint had identified the two men who stopped him in photographs.
According to unofficial sources, the police force had taken recorded soldiers when they reported for duty.
The investigation has since been picked up by the Defence Ministry's Intelligence and Security Service (OVS) because there had been Slovenian troops in the area on 7 May.
Before Sirk took questions from reporters, the Chief of the General Staff Brigadier General Robert Glavaš gave a statement ensuring that the military will cooperate in the investigation as it wants to determine what happened.
"It is in the interest of all of us, and above all in the interest of the military, that this event be investigated. We do not allow misuse of powers. Any anomaly must be sanctioned," said Glavaš.
Glavaš also expressed surprise that an inter-ministerial task force had not been formed in the wake of the incident. The relevant government decree on military's assistance to the police on the border stipulates that the ministries of interior and defence form a special task force in case of violations.
He also said that the military had been assisting the police in border controls since 2015, having carried out a total of 110,000 patrols along the border and this being the only such incident to date.
When asked why had soldiers been assisting the police on the Italian border, not the one with Croatia, where illegal migrants enter the country, Sirk said this was a question for the police, because the military only followed orders by police in this capacity.
He also said that soldiers were obligated to report on encounters to their superiors, but not on all encounters. He said no official report about such an incident had been made, and no information about this had reached the HQ in Ljubljana.
When asked about the use of weapons by the troops helping the police control the border, Sirk said that soldiers were allowed to use force and that this would have depended on their assessment of the situation. After all, civilians are allowed to use force in self-defence as well, he said.
The 32-year-old civilian told Primorski Dnevnik that he was stopped by two Slovenian soldiers while taking a walk with his girlfriend near the border in the woods above the Glinščiva Valley (Val Rosandra).
He also said that they let him go, when they realised he spoke Slovenian and had told him they were patrolling the area for illegal migrants.
Today, all parliamentary parties have expressed expectation that the incident be investigated and that Tonin provide clarifications.
While coalition parties expressed confidence that Tonin would be able to provide clarifications, the opposition was more critical, with the Left's MP Matej T. Vatovec that this was a "massive international incident without comparison".
The party also accused Tonin of trying to cover it up when he said that the Primorski Dnevnik report was fake news. Vatovec also indicated that Tonin may face an ouster motion over this.
Earlier today, Tonin met with President Borut Pahor, the supreme commander of the SAF, with the latter tweeting that he expected a thorough written report about the incident.
Last night, Tonin appeared in the late news show Odmevi. When asked whether he considered resigning, Tonin said that more than 6,000 people worked in defence. "If the minister would have to take responsibility for each mistake they make, we'd soon run out of ministers."
STA, 3 June 2020 - Defence Minister Matej Tonin set out a plan to invest EUR 780 million in defence over the next six years as he joined President Borut Pahor for the viewing of a military exercise on Wednesday.
Tonin and Pahor as the supreme commander were hosted by the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) for a presentation within a series of exercises dubbed Leap 2020 in Babno Polje in the south of the country.
The minister commented that the name of the exercise suggested the SAF's challenge was to "leap into a new reality, to be able to confront the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, and, above all, to be able to act in aggravated conditions".
The exercise is special in that it is not being held in the country's main military exercise grounds, but in local communities, which Tonin said welcomed SAF members well. Such a format of the exercise is meant to bring the army closer to people.
Tonin repeated his pledge to work for amendments to the defence act and defence investment act, with talks under way with opposition deputy factions on the former, which requires a two-thirds majority in parliament to pass.
The gist of amendments to the defence act is to tackle the status of soldiers beyond the age of 45 when under the current law they are required to retire. "The best promoter of the SAF is a satisfied soldier," said Tonin.
He was happy to announce that that the ministries of defence and finance had agreed the final wording of the bill amending the defence investment act that foresees EUR 780 million investment in SAF over the next six years. Tonin will now seek the coalition's support for the bill.
Pahor noted that the needed major investments in the army could not be planned over a single government term, declaring that the planned investment would "allow the SAF to continue as the military pillar of Slovenia's security".
The president underscored that Slovenia being a safe country was one of the major achievements since independence. He said Slovenia had no enemies in the world, but had many friends and was acquiring new ones.
"It's an achievement that is the merit of the security system," the president said, noting the contribution of the police force and other factors aside the army.
The exercise, which also involved overflights by US F16 fighter jets and Slovenian Pilatus aircraft, was also viewed by other senior guests, including US Ambassador Lynda C. Blanchard, the chair of the parliamentary Defence Committee Samo Bevk and Interior Ministry State Secretary Franc Kangler.
The Leap 2020 exercise has been running since 11 May at various locations across the country. A total of 2,500 service members will have been involved in the tactical drills until 19 June.
STA, 1 June 2020 - Slovenian frontline staff will get an unprecedented thank you for their work during the coronavirus epidemic as military planes and US fighter jets conduct a flypast of the entire country on Monday, the first day after the formal end of the epidemic.
Three Slovenian Pilatus PC-9 will be joined by for the six American F-16 fighters, taking off from Aviano air base in Italy, will join up around Jesenice in the west just after 1pm and then fly a loop over the entire country east and then back west.
The flight path15. PVL in 31. lovski polk @US_EUCOM iz @AirAviano 1. junija med 13.10 in 14.25 na preletu nad RS za zdravstveno osebje, CZ, @sos112, prostovoljce, vse v boju proti #COVID19. V imenu MO, @Slovenskavojska, @URS_ZR, @Policija in @USEmbassySLO, #AlliesPartnersFriends – iskrena hvala pic.twitter.com/IPAl1zNkiA
— MO RS (@MO_RS) June 1, 2020
The flypast will be in two echelons a mile apart at an altitude of about 1,200 metres and a speed of 425 km/h.
The commander of the Slovenian air force, Lt-Col Janez Gaube, said on Friday that the flypast was "a clear, loud and visible thank you to all the people who gave it their all in the fight against Covid-19."
Lt-Col Ben Shaha, the US military attaché to Slovenia, added that the virus may have slowed down cooperation a bit but could not defeat the alliance.
STA, 20 April 2020 - Brigadier Robert Glavaš will formally take over as the new chief of the general staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) on Monday. His major challenge will be staffing and modernising the underfunded army.
Born in 1962, Glavaš has been with the SAF since its beginnings in 1991, gaining experience and praise as a commander at home and abroad.
Before being appointed first as interim and then full-fledged chief of the general staff, Glavaš served as deputy to his predecessor, Maj-Gen Alenka Ermenc, who was dismissed at the new government's maiden session on 14 March. Earlier, he served as commander of the 1st Slovenian Armed Forces Brigade,
Glavaš, who specialised in transport sciences at the Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport, has earned a reputation as a dedicated and broad-minded officer.
He has taken part in several international missions, serving as deputy chief of staff for support at Regional Command West, KFOR, Kosovo, contingent commander, ISAF, Afghanistan, and mentor to commander, 207th Corps, Afghan National Army.
He has also chaired different NATO exercise and training boards, headed the NATO CIMIC Centre of Excellence Steering Committee, and had assignments at tactical, operational and strategic levels in Slovenia and abroad as well as commanded units and branches in Slovenia and abroad.
His service has earned him a number of national and international medals and decorations, including Peace Peeping KFOR Medal, Non-Article Five ISAF Medal, EU Presidency Medal and the Italian Medal for Cooperation.
On Glavaš's appointment by the government on Thursday, Defence Minister Matej Tonin praised him for his operational skills, commitment and professionalism, adding: "I believe the is the right choice to lead the SAF in the future."
Glavaš has also been praised by Iztok Prezelj of the defence studies chair at the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, who mentored Glavaš on his thesis for the military HQ and commanders school in 2008.
In his thesis Glavaš deals with the security situation in the Balkans from a broad aspect, including nationalisms, organised crime, corruption, refugees and internally displaced persons.
Talking with the STA, Prezelj expressed the belief that such a broad-based approach was the most suitable for the present situation when the talk is of involving the SAF in securing the south border.
President Borut Pahor, the SAF supreme commander, knows Glavaš as "a professional soldier with experiences gained as a commander and at other military duties at home and abroad".
Pahor is planning to host Glavaš for a meeting this week. He is expected to shortly promote him to the rank of major general, with promotions usually taking place on 15 May, Slovenian Armed Forces Day.
Even before that Pahor is expected to unveil to the public the conclusions of the annual SAF readiness report, which will reveal the state of the legacy handed down to the new chief of the general staff.
Last year's report, covering 2018, found the SAF state of readiness for peacetime action satisfactory, but their capacity for wartime action remained unsatisfactory for the fifth straight year.
On receiving the report last year, Pahor proposed adopting a systemic law to secure funding for national security.
Like Glavaš's predecessor Ermenc, Pahor identified shortages of staff, equipment and armament as the key issues affecting the readiness assessment both for peacetime and wartime or crisis action.
During her stint, Ermenc was also warning of delays in the building of military capabilities. She found a 4% increase in the defence budget for 2020 insufficient for a development breakthrough.
According to data as of March this year, the SAF numbers 7,013 members, 6,353 members of the regular permanent force and 660 members of contract reserve. This is almost 3,000 short of the 10,000 target.
Minister Tonin believes part of a solution to filling up the shortages lies in extracting the SAF from the single public sector pay system.
He has also pledged to tackle the status of soldiers beyond the age of 45, and expressed support for reintroduction of conscription, saying he would like to attract the young eager to serve.
Apart from the staffing, Prezelj believes another challenge for the new team will be developing the SAF to boost its capacity to operate in various security scenarios and modernisation in the direction of forming two battalion-sized battle groups.
One of the goals will be investment in cyber defence capacities. "All those goals will obviously depend on an increase in defence spending. If these funds don't increase, most ambitions will be jeopardised," said the defence expert.
STA, 31 March 2020 - The government has adopted a motion that, if passed in parliament, will activate a legislative provision that gives the military limited police powers in controlling the border. To be passed, the proposal needs the support of two-thirds of MPs. The National Assembly might discuss it as soon as on Thursday.
In two days, the National Assembly may discuss a mega-package of stimulus measures worth EUR 3 billion to help companies and individuals cope with the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
The government wants to give police powers to the military so as to allow troops to take over some of the tasks from police officers patrolling Slovenia's border with Croatia, which is also the Schengen border.
Interior Minister Aleš Hojs told the Odmevi news show this evening that the proposal has not secured sufficient support in parliament. This comes nearly a week after he said that the government would not go forward with the motion before discussing it with deputy groups.
He said that some remarks by deputy groups had been taken into account, while some could not be. He also said that the remarks were more technical than anything else and believes that the opposition might provide the votes needed for the proposal to pass.
The proposal has raised a lot of dust in public, with many claiming this was a disproportionate measure and that the government was trying to use the coronavirus epidemic to send the military to the border.
Hojs also said last week that the army was not currently needed in Slovenian cities or on the country's roads, but it is "badly needed on Slovenia's southern border" so as to ease the burden on the police force.
The government said in a press release after adopting the proposal that it would brief the relevant parliamentary bodies about the troops' engagement on the border every two weeks and that the troops would have police powers for a period of three months.
Moreover, the troops would be working alongside police officers in line with a plan drafted by the police force and based on its guidelines, the government also said.
STA, 5 March 202 - A proposal to reintroduce mandatory military service tabled by the incoming ruling Democrats (SDS) was defeated in parliament on Thursday in a 36:51 vote. Apart from the SDS, the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and National Party (SNS) were in favour of the proposal, but failed to convince the others.
The Modern Centre Party (SMC) and New Slovenia (NSi), the two of the four parties forming the new SDS-led coalition, did not back the bill, same as the newly-formed opposition.
The SDS tabled the proposal in January before outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec's resignation. It envisaged military service of six months or civil service of twelve months for conscientious objectors.
The first reading of the proposal took place on Wednesday, with the SDS highlighting that reintroducing conscription would reinforce Slovenia's standing army and military reserves.
The caretaker government did not support the amendment, with Defence Ministry State Secretary Nataša Dolenc saying that compulsory service was not warranted and that any changes to the system should be based on a comprehensive analysis.
Most critical were members of the Left, highlighting that instead the state should come up with actual solutions for the issues of the young and announcing that, should the proposal be adopted, the party would use any means available to fight its implementation, including a referendum.
