Ljubljana related

24 Mar 2022, 20:44 PM

STA, 24 March 2022 - Prime Minister Janez Janša urged ending Europe's dependency on Russian energy as soon as possible, as he arrived at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday afternoon. "This train is already on its way and has no return," he said.

Slovenia supports the decision, which will be probably adopted today, that Europe frees itself of Russian energy as soon this is feasible, said Janša.

"This unfortunately doesn't mean tomorrow. We support as fast a path as possible," he said. "This train is already on its way and has no return. This will probably happen later than we wish, but much sooner than Russia wishes."

Janša said that the European Commission will present some solutions today. "I can say that those of which we have already heard are effective to a large degree."

Ways of the US helping out with liquefied gas was discussed earlier in the day with US President Joe Biden, who is Brussels.

Some proposals were also given by the Ukrainian side when Janša and his Polish and Czech counterparts visited Kyiv on 15 March, Janša said.

These proposals contain very efficient sanctions on which opinions in Europe practically do not differ, he said.

At the NATO summit, which was held before the EU summit, sanctions concerning military affairs were discussed. Janša said Russia buys certain dual-use products as civilian products but uses them for military technology.

23 Mar 2022, 11:31 AM

STA, 22 March 2022 - The government has adopted an initiative to revoke an agreement with Russia on scientific and cultural centres, and submitted it to the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee for confirmation. The reason for the step is Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Government Communication Office said the proposal was adopted at Tuesday's session of the government committee on state organisation and public affairs.

The decision was justified with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which the release described as an unacceptable and grave violation of international law and treaties, including the founding Charter of the United Nations.

The agreement, signed in 2011, created the legal basis for the Russian Scientific and Cultural Centre in Ljubljana (Ruski dom v Ljubljani), and a potential such Slovenian institution in Russia, which Slovenia has however never developed.

22 Mar 2022, 11:35 AM

STA, 22 March - As the Slovenian tourism industry has not yet bounced back from the Covid pandemic while it expects to be also hit by the war in Ukraine, its representatives propose a set of 15 measures the government should immediately take to help the most severely affected companies. They argue the situation is "very serious".

The Tourism and Hospitality Chamber and 15 tourism associations argue in a statement on Tuesday that despite Slovenia having relaxed coronavirus restrictions, the epidemiological situation in the country is not good, which makes its tourism industry less competitive on the global market.

The situation will be further aggravated as a result of the war in Ukraine, which the chamber would like to end as soon as possible.

In 2021, Ukrainian and Russian tourists generated 101,300 nights in Slovenia, while tourism firms expect a 30% drop in March-May and up to a 25% drop in June-August.

"In some destinations which have been focussed on these two markets in recent years, the loss will be 50%," the chamber quoted results of a survey among tourism firms.

Recovery on the two markers is expected to take several years, the war has made tourists in other countries more cautious about travel plans, and the industry is further affected by rising prices of energy, goods and services across Europe.

The chamber thus proposes a one-off bonus for tourism, noting the measure was included in a draft emergency coronavirus bill in March 2021.

The government should also immediately reintroduce the short-time work scheme; the chamber says the Labour Ministry is working on a systemic measure to be ready by the end of the year, which is much too late for the industry.

The chamber also proposes extending the period in which companies which performed better than initially estimated during the coronavirus must return state aid.

The proposal also features several measures regarding staff recruitment, while the chamber welcomes a tender to subsidise air carriers to fly to Ljubljana airport.

"Further delays in adopting these urgent measures will result in countries with more business-friendly practices (Austria, Czech Republic, Italy) to further outperform us and push us to the margin of tourist Europe," the statement reads.

21 Mar 2022, 10:46 AM

STA, 21 March 2022 - Slovenia plans to send its diplomatic representatives back to Kyiv this week. "We are working to make the EU do the same. Ukraine needs diplomatic support," PM Janez Janša announced on Twitter on Sunday evening. The diplomats will return to Ukraine on a voluntary basis, and the Foreign Ministry confirmed they will be based in Kyiv.

Like most foreign diplomats, Slovenian diplomatic representatives left Kyiv at or prior to the start of the Russian invasion.

The Foreign Ministry later told the STA that the delegation of diplomats that is to return to Ukraine had not yet been finalised.
The chargé d'affaires is expected to head the diplomatic representation office there, and it should become clear in the coming days how many people will make up the delegation and when they are expected to leave for Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar confirmed Janša's announcement on Monday on his arrival at the EU foreign and defence ministers' meeting in Brussels.

He announced that "Slovenia will send the chargé d'affaires to Kyiv to show trust in Ukraine and its European prospects", calling on the EU to also send its special envoy to Ukraine.

According to Logar, Ambassador Tomaž Mencin, who had been stationed in Kyiv prior to the diplomats' return home due to the war, will not go back to Ukraine.

The ministry said that it was not yet entirely clear whether the representation office will be set up in Kyiv or somewhere else in the country. Diplomats who are still present in Ukraine have mainly moved to Lviv in the west of the country.

Janša said after a surprise visit to Kyiv last week alongside his Czech and Polish counterparts that Ukraine felt abandoned and that the EU had to send its representative back to Kyiv, "somebody who can represent us in person."

In a subsequent interview, he said that diplomats existed to "address situations, to give negotiations a chance when fighting is under way, we don't have them for banquets."

According to Logar, the matter of the EU sending back its representative will be discussed at today's session that will be mainly dedicated to efforts to further help Ukraine and to ensure effective implementation of sanctions against Russia, and to potential additional sanctions.

"Russia continues its attack, so we should have a joint and determined response to that in terms of the economy. We should step up sanctions, close ports, ban imports of energy products and resolutely support Ukraine's future in the EU," Logar said.

18 Mar 2022, 11:18 AM

STA, 17 March 2022 - Drug company Krka, which has significant exposure to the Russian and Ukrainian markets, said on Thursday it could not yet assess the impact of the current situation in these two countries on its operations in 2022. But it stressed it had a strong capital structure, robust money flow and no financial debt, so long-term operations were not at risk.

According to unaudited consolidated business results, Krka generated EUR 1.57 billion in revenue in 2021, up 2% from 2020. Net profit was up 7% to EUR 308.2 million, which is slightly more than what was reported in a preliminary report at the end of January.

The results in 2021 were not affected by the war in Ukraine and the impact on the 2022 results could not yet be assessed. Any changes to the projections for 2022 will be presented when reliable short- and long-term assessments of the consequences of the war will be possible, Krka said.

Krka is active in Ukraine and Russia through its three subsidiaries and the parent company Krka Novo Mesto.

TOV Krka Ukraine, which deals only with marketing and has no production facilities, is based in Kyiv, and Krka-Rus OOO, a drug manufacturer, is based in the town of Istra near Moscow, while its marketing and sales offices are in Moscow.

Russia is Krka's largest single market, where the group generated EUR 333 million in sales last year, which is 21.3% of its total sales.

In Ukraine, which was the third largest market for Krka in 2021, sales reached EUR 96 million, which is 6.2% of the group's total sales.

In Ukraine, all measures have been taken to preserve the health and security of the staff, and pharmaceutical products are being shipped in line with expectations given the circumstances, Krka said.

Sales in Ukraine for the first quarter of 2022 has been estimated at EUR 25.9 million, up from EUR 22 million in the same period last year.

In Russia, all activities are running without any major disruptions, although some delays are being recorded in transport.

Krka is selling its products in the Russian market in the local currency so it is exposed to some risks given the current depreciation of the ruble. The estimated sale in the first quarter was slightly up to EUR 79.9 million.

The key short-term risks for Krka are the current situation in Ukraine, economic sanctions, volatility and depreciation of the rouble and credit risks.

Medicines are not subject to sanctions - neither in exports nor imports. Krka estimates that other markets and sales regions will not be directly affected by the situation, while indirect impact on the other markets of the eastern Europe region will depend on the duration of the war.

Krka has been present in the markets of eastern Europe for more than 50 years and has been exposed to many challenges, which have in the long term further enhanced its market share, Krka said in a press release.

It added that its robust business operations were based on a system of vertical integration, which ensured resilience against external shocks and responsiveness to the rapidly changing market situation.

17 Mar 2022, 09:49 AM

STA, 16 March 2022 - Prime Minister Janez Janša has reiterated that the EU must offer Ukraine a fast track to EU membership, telling BBC World Service radio on Wednesday that this is a strategic decision.

"We have to accept the challenge, we have to stop pretending that this is a normal situation and we need 15 years of negotiations and bickering about small issues. This is a strategic decision," he said.

For Ukraine EU membership represents a security guarantees framework. "They need some institutional guarantees and if the EU is is that for them, we have to respect it," he said, adding that "the hot potato is on the EU table".

Janša was speaking to the BBC after he made a surprise trip to Kyiv yesterday along with the Polish and Czech prime ministers.

He said the discussion with the Ukrainian leadership was about "real issues" such as sanctions, humanitarian and technical aid, and also military help.

Asked whether they were able to offer solid military help, he said a lot of help had been offered so far, but not all offers have been fulfilled yet. "But the time is of the essence ... We discussed very concretely how to increase the speed of delivery."

He also said people were happy to see the officials travelling to Kyiv because during the last three weeks people were mostly going the opposite way, including ambassadors of EU countries.

"Now we have to somehow turn the trend and our first proposal ... when we returned from Kyiv this morning was that the EU has to send its representative back to Kyiv to have there somebody who can represent us physically," he said.

Asked what should happen to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said that if Putin was prepared to negotiate, "he will have influence over what will happen with him in the future."

And if Russian forces withdraw, sanctions will be lifted. "The faster the withdrawal, the faster the lifting of sanctions."

16 Mar 2022, 11:51 AM

STA, 16 March 2022 - Prime Minister Janez Janša and his Polish and Czech counterparts have arrived safely in Poland back from their trip to Kyiv where they met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Tuesday evening. Janša thanked for the hospitality and deep insight into the situation provided by the Ukrainian officials.

"The delegations of Poland, Slovenia and Czechia have returned safely from Kyiv to Poland," Piotr Müller, a Polish government's spokesman, has tweeted.

Janša and his Polish and Czech counterparts, Mateusz Morawiecki and Petr Fiala, were the first foreign leaders to visit Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February. They travelled by train.

In a post on his Twitter profile on Wednesday Janša thanked Shmyhal for the "warm hospitality in Kyiv in this challenging time and for deep insight into a very complex situation at the variety of battlefields".

He also thanked to the Polish team for taking care of the many challenges before and during the visit.

Morawiecki wrote in a tweet that the Ukrainian people "have reminded the whole of Europe what it means to fight for freedom, what it means to be brave and what greatness really is". He urged giving hope to Ukraine.

The Slovenian government tweeted that the Polish prime minister had thanked Janša on Tuesday for making the initiative to visit Kyiv.

The three prime ministers told reporters after the meeting they had come to express support for Ukraine's fight for freedom and democracy. Zelensky earlier thanked the trio for the "strong sign of support".

"We're here to admire your courage and your fight, which is destroying the myth of the invincible Russian army," Janša said, adding that Ukraine was defending not just its territory but also fundamental European values.

He pledged they would do everything in their power to help Ukraine. He said they were aware what Ukraine currently needed the most was aid in weapons. He also supported EU candidate status for Ukraine.

16 Mar 2022, 07:06 AM

STA, 15 March 2022 - The prime ministers of Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv on Tuesday evening. Zelensky thanked them for the "strong sign of support."

"Your visit to Kyiv at this difficult time for Ukraine is a strong sign of support. We really appreciate it," Zelensky said in a message on his official Telegram channel.

The Ukrainian side circulated several videos showing Slovenia's Janez Janša, Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki and Czechia's Petr Fiala in a meeting with the Ukrainian leadership.

Janša told the press after the meeting that the prime ministers had come to express support for Ukraine's fight for freedom and democracy.

"We're here to admire your courage and your fight, which is destroying the myth of the invincible Russian army," he said, adding that Ukraine was defending not just its territory but also fundamental European values.

He said Ukraine was a European country and "we will do everything in our power ... to deliver candidate status for Ukraine as soon as possible."

This would be a message that "you are part of our family and that our family is prepared to defend and support Ukraine."

Janša noted that the atmosphere in the EU had "changed considerably," Europeans having recognised that Ukrainians were fighting for European values.

The three prime ministers headed to Kyiv by train today, the first foreign leaders to visit Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.

Janša said on route to Kyiv that they would deliver the message Ukraine was a European country that would soon be on a path to the EU.

15 Mar 2022, 14:27 PM

STA, 15 March 2022 - Prime Minister Janez Janša, en route to meeting top Ukrainian officials along with his Polish and Czech counterparts, said on Tuesday that the purpose of the visit was to send Ukraine the message that it would soon be on the path towards the EU.

"Ukraine is a European country. Every path in Ukraine is a European path. Soon, it will be an EU path, too," he said on Twitter.

According to Janša, the war in Ukraine has turned the theoretical debate in the EU about European values into the realisation that those fundamental European values actually exist.

"And that they are threatened. And that Europeans are defending them. With their lives. In Ukraine."

He said this was the moment when the EU "started to finally wake up" and change, becoming more united than ever in its support for Ukraine because of its values.

"There is no country on the whole of our continent which is more European than Ukraine," he said, thanking Ukraine for not only defending the homeland and Europe as a territory, but for defending "the very core of European values and our way of life."

Janša has been among the most vocal proponents of fast-tracking Ukraine to EU membership. While several EU countries have expressed support for membership, some others are against and at last week's summit Ukraine did not receive much coveted guarantees regarding membership.

Janez Janša joined his Polish and Czech counterparts, Mateusz Morawiecki and Petr Fiala, for a visit to Kyiv today in what is the first trip by foreign leaders to the country since the start of the Russian invasion.

They plan to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor welcomed the trip on Twitter as a "politically exceptionally important visit" and a strong show of support for Ukraine.

11 Mar 2022, 12:04 PM

STA, 10 March 2022 - Prime Minister Janez Janša has said the EU summit in Versailles should commit to Ukraine being guaranteed membership of the bloc similarly as the leaders did for the Western Balkan countries at the Thessaloniki summit in 2003. EU leaders should also pledge to do everything in their power for this to happen as soon as possible.

Similarly as in the case of the commitment to end the EU's reliance on Russian energy, Janša said Slovenia was against talking of one year or the other in debate on Ukraine's application for membership, arguing that promises what would happen in then years meant nothing to the Ukrainians.

Considering the draft statement, EU leaders are to pledge continued political, financial, material and humanitarian aid to Ukraine but are unlikely to give the country any clear guarantees over its membership of the EU that Ukraine wants.

The leaders are to reaffirm the wording from the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement that came into effect in September 2017 and that makes only a vague reference to membership: "The EU acknowledges the European aspirations of Ukraine and welcomes its European choice."

The EU leaders are to note that a few days ago EU member states called on the European Commission to draw up an opinion on Ukraine's membership application in record time. Pending this opinion, and without further delay, the member states will further enhance the ties and deepen the partnership, reads the draft statement.

Asked how far EU leaders could realistically go on the issue of Ukraine's EU membership, given the weak language in the draft statement, Janša said there were several drafts and they were changing, but that even that was a big improvement on the positions two weeks ago that it should not be mentioned at all.

He said they had spoken today with the leaders of most of the Ukrainian parliamentary parties, and he noted the remarkable unity among the Ukrainian people and politics. "Today is a very important day and I hope that the EU summit will be in tune with the times, which have changed drastically in the last two weeks," he stressed.

Asked how likely it was for the EU to offer Ukraine an Association Agreement plus, Janša said that amidst war the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra played the European anthem in Kyiv's central square on Wednesday, and European flags were flying on many buildings shelled by the Russian army. "In Ukraine they are also fighting for Europe," he added.

He said that today they had also spoken with Petro Poroshenko, the former Ukrainian president, who he said was 100% behind the current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite being his political opponent.

Poroshenko said something worth considering, namely that a Ukrainian pilot in an old Mig-29 is doing more at the moment to defend European democracy than ten state-of-the-art F16s in a hangar, Janša said.

"The consequences of what happens in Ukraine will shape the years and decades to come in the EU and the rest of the world," said Janša, adding that the Australian PM had told him recently they were closely following developments in Ukraine, as it would depend on those how China would act in the Pacific.

The Versailles statement, to be adopted by EU leaders this weekend, is in Janša's view a strong document that sets out a political framework for the EU's real strategic autonomy, not only in energy, but also in food security and defence. There are few meetings and political documents of such importance, he said.

EU could offset cost of sanctions with seized Russian assets

STA, 10 March 2022 - Arriving for an EU summit in Versailles on Thursday, Prime Minister Janez Janša said an idea was taking shape in the EU to establish a fund to pool the money from frozen accounts of Russian oligarchs and state institutions. The funds would be used to repay the damage sustained by member states due to sanctions imposed on Russia.

Asked about Slovenia's position in the debate on compensation for the cost of sanctions in EU member states, Janša said that as far as Slovenian companies were concerned the Economy Ministry was working on solutions and had been in continuous contact with the affected companies.

When it comes to the European level and threats from Russia, he said the idea was being formed to set up a fund at European level to which the money currently frozen in the accounts of Russian oligarchs or state institutions would flow, and that it would simply be used to pay for the damage.

He regretted this was happening but said that "the one who started aggression must realise that there are two ends to every stick".

Asked whether there was any estimate of the damage suffered by Slovenia this far, the prime minister said that unlike the widely held belief by the public in Slovenia, Russia was not Slovenia's strategic economic partner and Slovenia had larger volumes of goods trade with at least 20 smaller countries.

He did say that any market loss was unnecessary, expressing the hope that the Russian nation, who contributed a lot to the European civilisation through history, would muster the strength to elect leaders who would not jeopardise others.

Commenting on rising food prices, Janša said these were only partly a result of the war in Ukraine and partly of higher energy prices, which had been rising even before Russia's aggression on Ukraine.

However, he said the EU had attained more than 80% food self-sufficiency through the common agricultural policy, which meant there could be shortages of some foodstuffs, but Europe would not go hungry.

Slovenia has recently also made great effort in this direction and has commodity reserves for turbulent times. "There may not be ten types of croissants on the table, but we will not go hungry," he said.

However, rising prices were a reminder that agriculture should be given appropriate attention.

Janša urges EU get rid of Russian energy ASAP

STA, 10 March 2022 - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša called for the EU to end its reliance on Russian energy as soon as possible as he arrived for an EU summit in Versailles on Thursday. He condemned what he described as a series of crimes against humanity committed by Russia in Ukraine.

Asked by reporters how the EU would respond to the Russian bombardment of the maternity ward in Mariupol and whether time had come to ban imports of Russian gas and oil, Janša said it was not just the hospital's bombardment but a series of crimes against humanity in Russian aggression on Ukraine.

He said an important decision that should be adopted by the EU was to exclude Russian energy products as soon as possible. He said Slovenia was not advocating setting any date, but merely the commitment that this should be done as soon as possible. "Talking about that happening in ten year's time is an insult to those who are dying in the war," he said.

The step is not simple but if the EU joins forces it has some stockpiles for turbulent times and then this can be done in a time when it can still affect Russia's positions on Ukraine, he said.

Earlier, as he arrived at a meeting of the European People's Party held ahead of the EU summit, Janša said that Russia was committing war crimes in Ukraine. "Anyone can see that it is against all conventions," he said as quoted by Reuters.

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