Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, the OSCE chairman-in-office, kicked off a multi-day visit to the US by visiting the United Nations on Friday. There he addressed the UN Security Council, presenting the priorities of Slovenia's OSCE chairmanship. In other news, the Slovenian government paid a visit to Pomurje, the least developed region in Slovenia, pledging action that will help bridge the development gap between Pomurje and the rest of Slovenia.
The government is to make the effort to help Pomurje, Slovenia's least developed region, near the average rate of development over the next four years. Visiting the region on Wednesday, Prime Minister Janez Jansa explained that that was the reason the government came to Pomurje at the beginning of its term in office. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel called on the UN Security Council to make better use of the OSCE as he addressed the body on Friday. According to Rupel, the OSCE chairman-in-office, the OSCE is facing difficulties and efforts must be stepped up to preserve it. More »
The Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers discussed open issues between the countries in an unannounced private meeting held on Sunday in the NW Slovenian town of Bovec. More »
An NGO was established on Thursday that will aim at boosting cooperation with people in developing countries. The aim of the Centre for North-South Development Cooperation is to fight poverty, boost sustainable global development and achieve fair distribution of global resources. More »
The government passed a number of decisions to boost the drawing of money from the EU structural funds, as it discussed a report on the drawing of funds from the Cohesion Fund on the basis of the Single Programming Document in 2004. More »
The government has named an inter-ministerial monitoring group which will oversee the use of money provided through what is called the Schengen source - grants awarded between 2004 and 2006 to the EU newcomers on the bloc's new external border. Head of the Government Office for European Affairs (SVEZ), Marcel Koprol, has been named chairman. More »
Labour Minister Janez Drobnic announced active employment policy measures on Tuesday, which the minister promises would increase employment rather than prevent unemployment. According to Drobnic, the ministry has a budget of almost SIT 21bn (EUR 87.59m) in 2005 for implementing the measures. More »
Slovenia ranks fairly high in terms of employment among the EU member states, Labour Minister Janez Drobnic said in Brussels on Thursday. He particularly pointed to a low unemployment rate at between 6% and 7%, while some EU countries face unemployment rates close to 20%. More »
The current deficit of the general government sector in 2004 amounted to SIT 117.32bn (EUR 489m) or 1.9% of GDP and debt totalled SIT 1,823.94bn (EUR 7.61bn) or 29.4% of GDP, a report compiled by the Finance Ministry in cooperation with the Statistics Office says. The report has been sent to the European Commission, which will use it to examine whether Slovenia meets the Maastricht convergence criteria. More »
EU citizens support the Union's common agricultural policy, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey, as 66 percent back the recent reforms. Slovenians share the EU view, as 71 percent support the shift away from production-related payments to direct subsidies for farmers and rural development. More »
In order to deliver the Lisbon goals, an increase of the EU budget for science and research as well as a rise in individual members' budgets are necessary, said EU Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik in an interview for the Brussels bulletin EurActiv. He also pointed out that these funds should be properly managed. More »
Mayor of Ljubljana Danica Simsic has said that the EU's structural and cohesion policy should pay more attention to and allocate more financial resources for European cities. "If cities are to play a comprehensive role in implementing EU goals, adequate financial resources must be allocated for cohesion policy," Simsic said in Brussels on Thursday. More »
Slovenia will increase its contributions to NATO's KFOR operation in Kosovo and the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said after talks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday. More »
The Transport Ministry has set itself 16 top priorities for this year, the most important of which will be the adoption of a resolution on transport policy, followed by the drawing of EU funds. More »
An exhibition on totalitarian regimes in two Slovenian and Austrian regions which have been historically connected, has arrived in Ljubljana after visiting several cities in both countries. More »
An exhibition of Slovenian fashion design, which first opened at the Maribor Art Gallery in Slovenia in early June, has travelled to the Slovenian gallery in Italy's Venice. More »
Women made up 51 percent of Slovenia's population in 2004. They formed 61 percent of all national university graduates in 2003, while their 2002 gross salary lagged behind the average salary by EUR 50, data released by the national Statistics Office ahead of the International Women's Day show. More »
A new portal "www.hotel.si" has been launched at the start of the week, enabling users to check availability and pricing of accommodation in Slovenian hotels online. It offers information in Slovenian, English, German and Italian. More »
The most important objectives for the Health Ministry this year will be to establish a balance between public and private health care, improve breast cancer treatment and replace outdated diagnostic and treatment devices, Health Minister Andrej Brucan told the press on Thursday. More »