The Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers, Borut Pahor and Jadranka Kosor, met in Bohinj on Saturday in a bid to come up with a solution for the last major outstanding issue in bilateral relations, the debt of Slovenia's LB bank to Croatian savers. They set the course for removal of the last major stumbling block in bilateral ties, which will be "in compliance with the succession agreement" and would "satisfy the expectations of people who are facing this problem," as Pahor said at the press conference.
The Slovenian Environment Ministry denied on Friday reports by two Trieste-based papers on the alleged horse trading between Slovenia and Italy over the planned energy and transport facilities in the northern Adriatic. The ministry said preparations for taking Italy to the European Court of Justice were under way.
The Ministry of Education and Sport welcomed the bill on the Planica sports centre which the government adopted on Thursday. Minister Igor Luksic said the construction of the centre would be an important step toward unification of sports policies in Slovenia.
The next newsletter will be issued on 7 September 2010.
We wish you a nice summer holiday.
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| Foreign Affairs |
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| Germany and Slovenia Stress Commitment to Stronger Ties |
| Ljubljana - The German and Slovenian foreign ministers, Guido Westerwelle and Samuel Zbogar, stressed the commitment of both countries to stronger cooperation, especially economic ties, as they met in Ljubljana today. Addressing a press conference after the first half of their talks, the pair emphas... More » |
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| Pahor's Talks in Bosnia Focus on Economic Cooperation, Succession |
| Banja Luka - Prime Minister Borut Pahor and his Bosnian counterpart Nikola Spiric agreed at an informal meeting on Tuesday evening that regional issues, such as succession regarding former Yugoslavia, should be resolved as soon as possible. They also pledged to further enhance economic ties.
Ther... More » |
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| Slovenian, Croatian FMs Laying Groundwork for Meeting of PMs |
| Obrezje - The Slovenia and Croatian foreign ministers, Samuel Zbogar and Gordan Jandrokovic, highlighted the new spirit in Slovenian-Croatian relations as they met on the border on Wednesday to prepare Saturday's meeting of the prime ministers of the two countries.
Speaking ahead of their meeting... More » |
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| Slovenia, Croatia Set Course for Resolution of LB Debt Issue |
| Bohinj - The Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers, Borut Pahor and Jadranka Kosor, set the course for removal of the last major stumbling block in bilateral ties Saturday, but they fell short of reaching a concrete agreement, suggesting instead that an actual solution could be on the table in thre... More » |
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| Economy & Finance |
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| New Economy Minister: "I'm a Supporter of Privatisation" |
| Ljubljana - New Economy Minister Darja Radic has declared herself a supporter of privatisation, which "needs to be completed once and for all". "The withdrawal of the state from the economy has been absolutely too slow," she said in an interview with the STA.
Radic believes this has contributed t... More » |
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| Govt Looking for Ways to Make 2011-12 Budgets Workable |
| Ljubljana - Development and EU Affairs Minister Mitja Gaspari said after a government session on Thursday that talks on the 2011 and 2012 budget are continuing as demands by individual ministries are currently exceeding the envisaged spending cap of EUR 10bn by EUR 800m.
Announcing that the gover... More » |
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| Annual Inflation at 2.1%, Deflation at Monthly level |
| Ljubljana - Slovenia's inflation rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 2.1% at the annual level in July, even though consumer prices fell by 0.7% at the monthly level, according to official statistics.
Measured with the harmonised index of consumer prices, an EU benchmark, the annual inflation ra... More » |
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| Succession Boss: LB Talks will Continue in Basel |
| Ljubljana - Slovenia's high representative for succession interprets Saturday's agreement by the Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers to resolve the LB debt issue in line with the succession agreement as meaning that negotiations will be held at the Basel Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
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| President Says NLB Ownership Matter of National Interest |
| Ljubljana - President Danilo Tuerk deems state ownership of Slovenia's largest bank, NLB, to be a national interest, but he also warned in an interview for POP TV Sunday evening that "national interest needs to be carefully defined. Not everything that is being depicted as national interest is in fa... More » |
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| Business |
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| GZS Calls for Internationalisation of Companies |
| Ljubljana - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) called on the Economy Ministry on Tuesday to draw up a long-term strategy for the internationalisation of Slovenian companies, to support exporters and to introduce measures promoting exports.
The GZS has drawn up a list of proposals to encou... More » |
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| Gorenje Takes Over Swedish Rival Asko |
| Velenje - Household appliances maker Gorenje announced on Wednesday it had taken over Swedish rival Asko Appliances Group in a bid to seek synergy and to foster growth. The contract was signed on Wednesday.
The Velenje-based company did not say how much it paid for the 100% stake in the Swedish h... More » |
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| Lesnina Sold to Austrian Furniture Giant XXXLutz |
| Ljubljana - Slovenian furniture chain Lesnina has been sold to Austrian furniture retailer XXXLutz for an undisclosed sum pending approval by the competition authorities, Lesnina chairman Bojan Papic told the press on Wednesday.
The company was sold by the sole shareholder Siringa, one of the fir... More » |
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| Govt, Management Fail to Save Prevent |
| Ljubljana/Slovenj Gradec - It appears that the government and the management of Prevent Global failed with their last-ditch attempts to save the troubled maker of car seat covers with 1,260 employees. While talks with potential investors were still underway at the Economy Ministry on Monday, the man... More » |
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| Slovenian Firm to Produce Coils for Ford |
| Bovec - A subsidiary of Slovenian car parts maker Iskra Avtoelektrika has launched production of ignition coils for US car maker Ford, creating 20 new jobs in the process, the company said in a press release.
Iskra Bovec was selected for the job by German industrial conglomerate Robert Bosch, bus... More » |
The annual Bled Strategic Forum began on Sunday with debates focusing on challenges facing the world in the next decade. One of the biggest international events in Slovenia has also touched on cooperation in the Balkans.
With over 400 participants from around the world, the forum is a showcase event for Slovenia. It is hailed by Slovenian officials as one of the most important of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.
Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar voiced satisfaction with the results of the fifth Bled Strategic Forum at the end of the two-day event. He said he hoped the issues raised at the event will be used by decision-makers in tackling topical challenges.
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| Foreign Affairs |
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| Zbogar Lauds Value of Bled Forum Debates |
| Bled - Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar voiced satisfaction with the results of the fifth Bled Strategic Forum at the end of the two-day event. He said he hoped the issues raised at the event will be used by decision-makers in tackling topical challenges.
Praising the role of Slovenia's p... More » |
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| EU Needs Balkans Just as Balkans Need EU, Bled Panel Told |
| Bled - A panel on the progress of the Balkans towards EU integration heard warnings that the EU should not ignore the importance of the region for Europe. If the EU wants to be a global economic force, it must continue to expand, Kosovo Minister for European Integration Besim Beqaj said in Bled on M... More » |
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| Slovenian, Croatian FMs Hope for LB Issue Solution by October |
| Bled - The Slovenian and Croatian foreign ministers, Samuel Zbogar and Gordan Jandrokovic, met on Monday on the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum, continuing talks on the LB bank savings issue. Zbogar told the reporters that the countries were making efforts to close the issue by the end of Octo... More » |
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| Foreign Minister Hails Progress of Economic Diplomacy |
| Ljubljana - Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar hailed the progress of Slovenia's economic diplomacy as he addressed in Ljubljana on Monday the first event of a three-day annual meeting of Slovenian diplomats.
Zbogar told the meeting of business executives with the heads of Slovenian embassies and con... More » |
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| New Ambassador to Croatia Takes Over |
| Zagreb - New Slovenian Ambassador to Croatia Vojko Volk presented his credentials to Croatian President Ivo Josipovic in Zagreb on Wednesday, expressing confidence that the relations between the two countries would strengthen further during his term, according to the Croatian president's office.
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| Culture & Media |
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| Piran to Host Traditional Festival of Classical Music |
| Piran - Classical music will fill the streets of Slovenian coastal towns between 27 August and 11 September as the 9th annual Tartini Festival gets under way. The opening concert of Hungarian chamber orchestra Budapest Virtuosi featuring French violinist Pierre Hommage will be held on Friday evening... More » |
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| Veronika Prize for Poetry Goes to Andrej Medved |
| Celje - Poet Andrej Medved won the 2010 Veronika Prize for best poetry collection in the past two years for "Razlagalec sanj" (Interpreter of Dreams). The Celje municipality presented the award at a ceremony in Celje on Tuesday.
"It is Medved's poems that offer an opportunity for meditation on po... More » |
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| Slovenia's Biggest Poetry Festival to Open in Ptuj |
| Ptuj - Slovenia's leading poetry festival is moving from its traditional location in the wine region of Goriska Brda to the country's oldest city of Ptuj. Starting on Wednesday, the 14th Days of Poetry and Wine will host 27 poets from over 20 countries, including Australian poet and anthologist Les ... More » |
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| Islamic and Asian Elements at Young Lions Festival |
| Ljubljana - The 13th Young Lions festival of performing arts will kick off on Friday to focus on documentary performances with Asian elements and the link between art and broader social practice.
The opening performance "Radio Muezzin" features Egyptian muezzins, singers of Islamic prayers who ar... More » |
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| Events |
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| Schedule of Events for 30 August - 5 September |
MONDAY, 30 August
- BLED - The Bled Strategic Forum, the annual get-together of officials from around the world dedicated to topical issues, will come to a close.
- LJUBLJANA - Public sector trade unions will announce their decision on the government's offer to a achieve a pay fr... More »
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| Powell Urges Optimism in Dealing with Global Challenges |
| Bled - Praising the progress of Slovenia and the EU since the end of the Cold War, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell called for optimism in dealing with the challenges of the modern world in an address during the official dinner at the Bled Strategic Forum.
Powell, who served as secretary... More » |
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| Global Governance in Focus of Bled Debates |
| Bled - A panel dedicated to discussing the key challenges facing the world in the next decade at the Bled Strategic Forum highlighted the importance of strong global governance and equitable representation in international organisations.
The need for equitable representation was raised by a numbe... More » |
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| Need for Cooperation Raised as Bled Forum Examines Key Global Issues |
| Bled - One of Slovenia's premiere international political events was launched at the lake-side resort of Bled on Sunday with calls for imaginative ideas for key challenges facing humanity.
The world has reached a crossroads and decisions must now be made on how to proceed, Slovenian Foreign Minis... More » |
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| Bled Forum to Discuss Challenges of Next Decade |
| Bled - Global challenges of the next decade will be in the focus as one of Slovenia's biggest international events gets underway at Bled on Sunday.
With over 400 participants from around the world, the Bled Strategic Forum is a showcase event for Slovenia. It is hailed by Slovenian officials as o... More » |
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| Global Problems Require Partnerships, Powell Says |
| Ljubljana - Global problems need to be tackled in partnership, as there is no superpower that can tackle them on its own, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell told Slovenian journalists in Ljubljana on Saturday. He warned against allowing Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists again.... More » |
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| Slovenia to Promote Its Tourist Destinations in Turkey |
| A day ahead of the official opening of the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey on 27 August, the country’s capital, Istanbul, is to host a presentation of Slovenia jointly organised by the Government Communication Office (GCO), the Slovenian Tourist Board (STB) and the Basketball Federation of ... More » |
