Slovenia News 22 February 2005

While the domestic policy arena was dominated this week by economic issues, notably the Lisbon Agenda and the government's plans for this year, foreign policy pundits were busy promoting Slovenia's stance of the lately restless relations with Italy and Austria. In line with FM Dimitrij Rupel's statement that films should be judged by film critics, the government has so far refrained from formally commenting on a controversial Italian film about post-war killings, which has provoked widespread condemnation due to its biased view. Yet it has taken a firmer stance in relations with Austria, continuously rebuffing the statement of Austrian Parliament Speaker Andreas Khol that Slovenia is not, and cannot be, a party to the Austrian State Treaty. After prolonged controversy, the government decided last week to voice its opinion on the lately tense relations with Italy and Austria. The cabinet said that Italy may not forget the suffering that the Fascist regime caused. It also addresses the controversy regarding the Austrian State Treaty, stressing that Slovenia is a legal successor to Yugoslavia, although not a moral successor to the Communist regime. More » An international law expert, Miha Pogacnik believes that Slovenia could declare an ecological zone in the Adriatic quite swiftly, considering that it has a legal basis to do so in the amended maritime code. More » Topical issues concerning the OSCE and the EU topped FM Dimitrij Rupel's meeting with his German counterpart Joschka Fischer in Berlin on 18 February. According to Rupel, the talks with Fischer have been some of the most fruitful he has held since assuming the OSCE chairmanship. More » Responding to recent controversy about whether Slovenia is indeed a legal successor to the Austrian State Treaty, which was signed by Yugoslavia, international law experts Borut Bohte and Milan Brglez claim that Slovenia certainly has the right according to international law to succeed Yugoslavia's legal status in the treaty. More » Meeting convergence criteria for euro zone entry and ensuring efficient phasing of EU funds are the top priorities that the government has set in its 2005 programme, PM Janez Jansa said on Wednesday. The document contains 203 objectives which will require the government to draft 230 pieces of legislation, he explained. More » The government is pleased, overall, with the proposed reform of the Lisbon Strategy, as it agrees with the shift of focus to growth and employment. Yet it also wants greater integration with the various documents mentioned in the reform proposals, to ensure a balanced implementation of sustainable development measures, the government said after Thursday's session. More » The Ministry of Agriculture has set five priority objectives for this year, one of which is the drafting of a new development strategy for the sector. The document will provide the groundwork for new legislation and other key programmes, Agriculture Minister Marija Lukacic told the press Monday. More » EU ministers in charge of education, youth and culture, including Milan Zver, the minister of education and sport, on Monday reviewed the intermediate report on the Lisbon Strategy and debated the efficiency of education in Europe. More » Slovenia has joined a group of 16 EU member states in a forum where views are exchanged on the EU's next financial perspective, State Secretary in charge of European affairs Marcel Koprol said in Brussels on Monday. "This is an informal group, an open forum for exchanging positions," Koprol said. More » The government has approved SIT 24m (EUR 100,000) for the creation of NATO's fund for training Iraqi security forces. Moreover, the government took a decision to send weapons and equipment to the Iraqi security forces, although it refused to give details of the shipment. More » A series of black-and-white impressionist photographs of China won Jan Raposa the Photo of the Year award, conferred for the 11th time by the magazine Emzin. The award ceremony on Wednesday evening also launched the Emzin Photo of the Year 2003 exhibition at the Ljubljana arts centre Cankarjev dom. More » Slovenia donated EUR 2.8m in aid for the Asian countries hit by the deadly tsunami in December, which is EUR 1.5 per capita, Foreign Ministry State Secretary Bozo Cerar said in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Cerar said this was the total amount provided by the government and Slovenian humanitarian agencies. More » Rok Benkovic won gold on the small hill at the Nordic World Championships in Oberstdorf on Saturday, ahead of Jakub Janda of the Czech Republic and Finland's Janne Ahonnen. More »

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