Slovenia News 15 March 2005

This Sunday marked a hundred days since the new government of Prime Minister Janez Janša was appointed on 3 December last year. In this time, it has adopted its programme of work for 2005, while towards the end of February it submitted the normative part of its programme to the National Assembly for discussion. Austrian Parliament Speaker Andreas Khol paid a visit to Slovenia, confirming the validity of the Austrian State Treaty for the protection of the Slovenian minority in Austria. His eagerly awaited visit came just days before the minority and the Austrian authorities are expected to come together for what is called a consensus conference. Meanwhile, FM Dimitrij Rupel came back from a multi-day tour of the US, saying he felt more confident about the future of the OSCE that Slovenia chairs this year. This Sunday marked a hundred days since the new government of Prime Minister Janez Janša was appointed on 3 December last year. In this time, it has adopted its programme of work for 2005, while towards the end of February it submitted the normative part of its programme to the National Assembly for discussion. More » Speaker of Austrian Parliament Andreas Khol confirmed the validity of the Austrian State Treaty for the protection of the Slovenian minority in Austria, mitigating tensions that he had created earlier by saying that Slovenia is not and cannot be a party to the treaty. More » Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, the OSCE chairman-in-office, said he felt more upbeat about the future of the OSCE after he held talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on 7 March. More » Ambassadors of former Yugoslav republics based in Slovenia believe that Slovenia is an indispensable link in the integration of their countries into the EU. The diplomats, gathered for a panel in Koper on Wednesday, also agreed that a stable SE Europe was a guarantee to the stability of the Union as a whole. More » The Slovenian and Croatian governments will hold a joint session in late April or early May, according to Croatian daily Novi list, which had the information confirmed by the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. More » Science institutes, universities, enterprises and state authorities must join forces to speed up the transfer of innovations from academia into the corporate sector, Economics Minister Andrej Vizjak told Thursday's panel on the transfer of innovation, which focused on ways of motivating scientists and researchers to take part in corporate R&D. More » The police dealt with 86,568 criminal offences last year, a rise of 13% over 2003. According to the head of Slovenian police forces, Darko Anzelj, the increase is mainly due to a rise in reported property crime, while there was also an increase in the cases of gravest crime, such as rape and sexual assaults against minors. More » Slovenian farmers lack the knowledge to market their products, while co-operatives are too often unwilling to help them, a conference on Slovenian agriculture has heard. According to the participants of a round table on the cooperation between co-operatives, the food-processing industry and retailers, Slovenian farmers must find an appropriate sales pitch to woo over consumers, while focusing on producing high-quality goods. More » To achieve the level of technological development necessary for economic progress, Slovenia would need to develop adequate cooperation between science and the corporate sector. If the state gets richer, it will not have to get indebted to develop further, found the participants of the Tuesday conference on technological development. More » The government has adopted an energy plan for 2005 in which it outlines the volume of energy consumption and primary energy sources. The figures suggest more than one half of the energy Slovenia will need would have to be imported. More » Slovenia's success in the first period of EU membership will be measured by several criteria. But its weight as a member state, as well as its capability to find compromise and partners in pursuing the set objectives, will definitely transpire in the outcome of the negotiations on the EU's next budget period, according to Marcel Koprol, the head of the Government Office for European Affairs (SVEZ). More » Slovenia, along with the other EU newcomers, expects to enter the Schengen zone in October 2007, the head of the Government Office for European Affairs (SVEZ) Marcel Koprol said. More » The assessment of Slovenia's updated stability and convergence programme is "positive overall" despite the conclusion that the objectives have been met only partially, Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said on Tuesday after EU finance ministers confirmed the European Commission's recent report. More » Slovenia and some other countries have backed the start of EU membership negotiations with Croatia, yet most EU members thought that the conditions for the start of membership talks have not been met, Slovenian Ambassador to the EU Ciril Stokelj said after Thursday's meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper). More » A meeting of the heads of European environmental organisations in Ljubljana is aimed at turning environmental policies into concrete action, director of the European Environment Agency Jacqueline McGlade said at the outset of the event. McGlade said this was a strategic meeting of those who are in charge of introducing actual changes in individual countries. More » A presentation of Japanese kabuki theatre is to lift the curtain on a festival of Japanese culture at the Ljubljana-based Cankarjev dom arts centre. The festival will also showcase music, film, fine arts and literature. More » Slovenian Composers' Association (DSS) will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a number of concerts in Slovenia and abroad. It also plans to issue three publications on its work and the music of Alojz Ajdic's opera "Brata" (Brothers). The opera will be staged for the first time ever by the Ljubljana Opera and Ballet House in May. More » The City Museum of Ljubljana is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, with the museum management promising to boost its activities "for and about the people of Ljubljana". Its priority is to finish the permanent exhibition on the city's history entitled "Visages of Ljubljana". More » The advertising agency Futura DBB has won the award for best agency at the 15th festival of Slovenian advertising, the SOF. This is the second year in a row that the agency has been conferred the prestigious title, beating Pristop, Mayer McCann, Agencija Imelda Ogilvy and LunaTBWA. More » The Slovenian capital proved very popular with tourists last year, as the city registered 264,460 holidaymakers, up 23 percent over the year before. More » Schedule of Events from 15 - 20 March More »

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