Slovenia News - December 2004

Slovenia News 28 December 2004

In his first official press conference since the new Slovenian cabinet took office, Prime Minister Janez Jansa expressed hope that the start of EU accession talks with Croatia would present Slovenia and Croatia with a new framework for solving bilateral open issues. In other news, the Slovenian government appointed a new head for the special task force that is overseeing Slovenia's presidency of the OSCE. Redarding the implementation of a comprehensive tax reform, which is due on 1 January 2005, it will not be put off even if the government's advisory economic council on Friday proposed its one-year freezing. On Thursday 23 December, Prime Minister Janez Janša appointed the Strategic Council for Economic Development, which will be headed by economist Dr. Mićo Mrkaić. At the last parliamentary session the council made a decision to propose that the Government delay the implementation of tax reforms. More » The start of Croatia's accession talks with the EU, which are to begin on 17 March, represents a new framework for solving Slovenian-Croatian open issues. The rules of conduct observed in the EU include abstention from unilateral moves such as was Croatia's declaration of the ecological and fisheries zone, PM Janez Jansa told the press on Tuesday. More » The implementation of a comprehensive tax reform, which is due on 1 January 2005, will not be put off even if the government's advisory economic council on Friday proposed its one-year freezing. More » The Janez Jansa government has taken its turn in office with high 69.2 percent support of the public, shows the regular monthly opinion poll of the daily Dnevnik. The new MPs also enjoy high public support, while policies of the new government are not favoured by 20 percent of respondents. More » The Constitutional Court held a ceremony celebrating Constitutional Day, which marks 13 years since the Slovenian assembly adopted the first Constitution of the independent Slovenia. More » Fourteen years to date, Slovenians overwhelmingly voted for independence in a referendum. The official results - 88.5% of the ballots were in favour - were released three days later and 26 December has been marked as Independence Day ever since. More » A former Slovenian foreign minister has been appointed by the government to head a special task force that will oversee Slovenia's presidency of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2005. More » Non-residential Japanese Ambassador to Slovenia Itaru Umezu, who was on Monday received by Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, announced that Japan was planning to open an embassy in Ljubljana at the beginning of 2006. More » The government has appointed members of the strategic council for economic development, a newly-established advisory body that will discuss strategic issues of Slovenia's development. The council will be headed by economist Mico Mrkaic, an advocate of liberalisation and the state's withdrawal from the economy. More » The Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) was established on 26 December 1989, after two new federal laws enabled such a move in the centrally-planned economy in the former Yugoslavia. The Ljubljana stock market was the first stock exchange to be set up in any socialist country, a move that came only a day before Belgrade got its own stock exchange and six months before the stock markets were set up in Hungary and China. More » Slovenia's best woman skier Tina Maze has finished first at the Women's World Cup giant slalom event in Switzerland's St. Moritz in what is the second World Cup win in her career. More » Schedule of Events from 27 Dec 2004 to 2 Jan 2005 More »

Slovenia News (21 December 2004)

At the EU summit in Brussels Slovenia has expressed backing for the launch of EU membership negotiations with Croatia and also the launch of EU accession talks with Turkey under the set conditions. Slovenia's economic growth this year will probably somewhat exceed 4 percent, yet it will be below the 4.5 percent reached in the first three quarters of the year. The work of the new government reached full pace this week as the cabinet took important decisions, including that to streamline the public administration. The advent period is also associated with the placing of creches around houses, churches and sometimes even in public places. The first documented creche in Slovenia was created by the Jesuits in Ljubljana in 1644, although it was not preserved to this day. The Jesuit creche was obviously not the first artistic representation of a Christmas event in our region. The oldest scene of the birth of the Lord in Slovenia is recorded on a document dating back to 1242, in fact bearing the seal of the Benedictine monastery at Gornji Grad in Savinjska dolina, explains Janko Svetina, an expert on creche tradition and creche enthusiast. More » The government has reorganised public administration bodies in a bid to rationalize the work of ministries and avoid the doubling of tasks. The cabinet has also decided to remove from the agenda some bills already in parliamentary procedure, among others the systemic bill on the erased, the local self-government bill and changes to the constitution concerning referendums. More » Ivan Zagar was appointed minister without portfolio in charge of regional development and local self-government in a 50-to-11 vote in parliament. The 16th minister of the Janez Jansa cabinet has already been sworn in. More » Slovenia has expressed backing for the launch of EU membership negotiations with Croatia and also the launch of EU accession talks with Turkey under the set conditions, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said at the conclusion of the EU summit in Brussels on Friday. More » Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel on Wednesday briefed the parliamentary foreign policy committee on Slovenia's preparations for the 2005 OSCE presidency. The committee pointed out that the OSCE presidency was a national project that must be carried out in collaboration with the National Assembly. More » The transport ministers from Slovenia, Croatia, Italy and Hungary on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in establishing the fifth pan-European transport route. More » The office for Slovenians living abroad, which used to be under the domain of the Foreign Ministry, has become an independent government service whose job it is to follow the work of other state bodies that cover the relations with Slovenians abroad, the issue being now a direct responsibility of PM Janez Jansa. More » "Slovenia's economic growth this year will probably somewhat exceed 4 percent, yet it will be below the 4.5 percent reached in the first three quarters of the year," the director of the national macroeconomic institute told the press on Monday. More » Mercator is the biggest business group in Slovenia with its SIT 331.5bn (EUR 1.4bn) of consolidated revenues and SIT 5.9bn (EUR 24.6m) of net profit in 2003. The group also anticipates a 12 percent increase in revenues to SIT 40bn (EUR 166.8m) in 2004. Its net profit in the same year is expected to reach around SIT 6bn (EUR 25m). More » The government appointed Marcel Koprol as the head of the Government Office for European Affairs on Tuesday. Koprol, who has so far served as consul general in Cleveland, was already appointed state secretary in the office of prime minister by the government last week. More » Slovenian MEPs backed the adoption of the EU budget for 2005 on Thursday, but stressed that Slovenia would have to pay great attention to drawing EU funds so as not to become a net contributor to the European budget as early as next year. More » Artist Matej Andraz Vogrincic, known for his dressing of houses and other site-specific projects, has been setting up an "Enchanted Forrest" in a park in the centre of Ljubljana. His latest installation, consisting of 1,000 potted fir trees, opened in Zvezda Park on Sunday afternoon. More » Three Christian churches have held a special joint service in Ljubljana to welcome the Peace Light from Bethlehem to Slovenia. More »

Slovenia News 14 December 2004

The newly-appointed ministers assumed their offices last week and Prime Minister Janez Jansa nominated another member to his cabinet, as Ivan Zagar of the People's Party was proposed to become the Minister without Portfolio for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy. Newly appointed Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel had a busy schedule last week, attending the ministerial council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Sofia and later in the week a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. The new cabinet meanwhile decided to back the beginning of EU accession talks with Croatia and Turkey at next week's EU summit. EU veterinary inspection began its five-day visit to Slovenia to examine the implementation of European measures pertaining to food-processing facilities, animal infectious diseases and the system of control over products of animal origin. A tour by a European veterinary inspection team resulted in the temporary shut-down of a small red-meat processing plant. In the area of organization of the Veterinary Office the inspection team established a positive improvement. They were also satisfied with the veterinary training sessions held this year and programme of training sessions for next year. The inspection team also reviewed the regulations on slaughtering at agricultural tourism farms. In this context they also visited a small agricultural tourism slaughterhouse and assessed that it was in conformance with regulations and that sufficient veterinary controls had been performed. More » Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has said that, at the EU summit later this week, Slovenia will not object to the Union launching accession negotiations with Croatia. Rupel believes this is the right decision that will pay off in the future. More » Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel oulined the activities of the ministry after he recently took over. He has also downplayed the failure of the ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), saying that 21 resolutions were adopted at the Sofia meeting earlier last week. More » The draft cooperation agreement between the government and NGOs for the period between 2005 and 2008 was presented to the public on Wednesday in the National Council. The document aims at improving the working conditions of NGOs and encouraging the government to acknowledge the important role of NGOs. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa on Friday nominated Ivan Zagar, currently mayor of Slovenska Bistrica, as the minister without portfolio in charge of regional development and local self-government. Zagar is to undergo a hearing in front of the relevant parliamentary committee within seven days. More » The government announced its plans Thursday to bring about changes to the tax legislation drafted by the previous government and currently waiting to be passed by parliament. The changes would drastically cut the proposed taxes on capital gains. More » The government adopted Thursday amendments to the companies act, which harmonises Slovenia's corporation legislation with the acquis. Economics Minister Andrej Vizjak was hopeful that the amendments could come into effect by the start of next year. More » Economic cooperation between Slovenia and China was high on the agenda as a National Council delegation visited China last week. Speaking to the press after their return to Ljubljana, councillors said opportunities for Slovenian companies lie in the 2008 Olympics and the Expo 2010, both to be hosted by China. More » Ivan Bizjak has been appointed new director general for justice and home affairs at the EU. The former Slovenian justice minister will therefore become the second-highest-ranking Slovenian official in the EU administration, second only to European commissioner Janez Potocnik. More » In the EU, further enlargement is mainly backed by the new member states, including Slovenia, while old EU members appear to be significantly less enthusiastic about it, citizens of seven of them being clearly against enlargement, suggest the latest Eurobarometer results published on Friday. More » Slovenia will increase the number of its participants in the NATO peace-keeping mission in Afghanistan, while its position on Iraq remains unchanged - no soldiers will be sent there. This is what Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday. More » Even recent health problems could not stop the excellent Slovenian gymnast Mitja Petkovsek who reached for gold at the parallel bars finals of the Gymnastics World Cup held this weekend in the UK. Slovenian swimmer Peter Mankoc won gold in men's 100m individual medley at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Vienna on Sunday. More » Schedule of Events from 14 - 19 December More »

Slovenia News 7 December 2004

Slovenia got a new government last week, the eighth in a row since the country's independence, as parliament appointed a 15-member cabinet of Prime Minister Janez Jansa in a vote 51:37. Announcing the foreign policy of the new government, Dimitrij Rupel, who has once again become foreign minister, said Slovenia will be focusing on its presidency of the OSCE. Slovenian officials also promised Slovenia's support to Turkey's EU bid, as the Turkish foreign minister paid a two-day visit to Ljubljana. The European Commission Representative Office in Slovenia held a public debate entitled ‘The Slovene Voice in the European Union’. It was attended by European Parliament Deputies Mojca Drčar Murko (ALDE/LDS), Miha Brejc (EPP/SDS) and Borut Pahor (PES/ZLSD), who confirmed that they speak Slovene whenever possible in the framework of their parliamentary duties, and also agreed that they represent the interests of the people who elected them to the European Parliament. More » Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel called for a balanced approach to all three dimensions of the OSCE - the security, economic and humanitarian fields - as he delivered a speech at the OSCE ministerial meeting in Sofia on Monday. More » Slovenia has earmarked EUR 20,000 for the reintegration of demobilised soldiers from Bosnia-Herzegovina, a joint programme of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Organisation for Migration. More » Exactly two months after the general election, parliament appointed a 15-member cabinet of Prime Minister Janez Jansa by 51 votes against 37 on Friday. The centre-right coalition government of the Slovenian Democrats (SDS), New Slovenia (NSi), People's Party (SLS) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) controls 49 seats in the 90-seat parliament. More » Holding its maiden session on Friday, the centre-right government of Janez Jansa appointed 13 state secretaries tasked to assist the ministers and 3 state secretaries to work in the cabinet. More » Alojz Uran has officially taken over as the new Ljubljana archbishop and Slovenian metropolitan. Uran was invested by Apostolic Nuncio Santos Abril y Castello at a solemn mass at the Ljubljana Cathedral on Sunday. More » Slovene officials assured Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Guel, who paid a two-day visit to Slovenia, that the country supports Turkey's EU bid. More » Last year Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 77 percent of the average of the enlarged EU, according to audited data released by Eurostat on Friday. Slovenia thus places 16th among the 25 member states in terms of GDP per capita, expressed in terms of purchasing power standards. More » The leading Slovenian grocer opened a Mercator shopping mall in the Croatian city of Osijek in an investment worth nearly EUR 24m. Addressing the opening ceremony, Mercator CEO Zoran Jankovic said the company would like to increase its market share in Croatia from 3 to 10% over the next few years, thus becoming the country's top retailer. More » Slovenian MEP Alojz Peterle has been conferred an award by the Luxembourg-based foundation Merite Europeen for his merits in the process of European integration. More » The magic one-billion-euro revenue mark was crossed by 54 companies from eight of the new EU member states last year, and among the 1,000 major companies from the new EU members, one tenth are Slovenian, according to the latest issue of a Slovenian business weekly published on Monday. More » Zoran Stancic, outgoing Slovenian state secretary, has been appointed deputy director general in the EU Directorate-General for Research. More » The National Council for Culture will propose to the government to establish an agency for the international promotion of Slovenian culture. All preparations for the project are to be made within six months. More » The 2004 Preseren Awards - the highest national awards for artistic achievements - will go to painter Bogdan Borcic and flautist Irena Grafenauer, the Preseren Fund said Friday. More » The number of tourists visiting Slovenia keeps rising, accompanied by an increasing inflow of foreign currency. The Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) is adjusting its programme to the latest figures, its key projects being included in the coalition agreement of the new government. More » Ljubljana became illuminated on Friday evening to conjure up the December holiday magic. This year, the holiday spirit will capture the capital city for even longer, with the events dubbed the "Festive December" taking place until 8 January. More » Schedule of events from 7 - 12 December More »

Archive

year month 2008 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12 2007 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12 2006 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12 2005 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12 2004 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12

© Government Communication Office