Janez Jansa and Ivo Sanader, the prime ministers of Slovenia and Croatia, have restarted bilateral talks after a lull induced by elections in both countries. In line with expectations that no big solutions would be devised, they reviewed all open bilateral issues and agreed on approaches to be taken in solving them. Yet as one commentator put it, despite the clichés one should not overlook the fact that is not a continuation of dialogue where the old cabinet left it, but rather a new beginning. Meanwhile, parliament was immersed in debates on the EU treaty, which will thoroughly re-design the EU's institutional framework. Since the National Assembly must, and may, only rubber-stamp it, debates focused on how to best inform the public about the landmark document and its implications.
"Without changing legislation, it will be impossible to create the conditions facilitating a rise in investments. The rise is necessary for economic growth, which will also be propelled by an effective drawing of EU budgetary funds, stressed Mojmir Mrak of the Ljubljana Economics Faculty. More »
The government has sped up preparations for Slovenia to meet the nominal convergence criteria in order to introduce the EU's single currency, Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the parliament on Monday, highlighting the need to lower inflation. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa is to pay an introductory visit to the EU and NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, where he will discuss a number of topics regarding Slovenia's relations with the EU and NATO. More »
Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers, Janez Jansa and Ivo Sanader, reviewed all open bilateral issues and agreed on approaches to be taken in solving them as they met for their first working visit at the Mokrice Castle in SE Slovenia on Friday. More »
Slovene-Slovak relations are excellent and amicable, the foreign ministers of Slovenia and Slovakia, Dimitrij Rupel and Eduard Kukan, said when they met the press after their meeting in Ljubljana on Friday. More »
The government has united the Regional Development and Structural Policy Office and the Interior Ministry's Directorate for Local Self-Government into the Office for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy. The new body is headed by minister without portfolio Ivan Zagar. More »
Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant met representatives of NGOs on Friday to discuss the establishment of a dialogue between the government and the NGOs. More »
The parliamentary commission for Slovenians abroad held a panel debate ahead of drafting a national strategy on Slovenians living in neighbouring countries, which is to take into account the present position of Slovenia as a EU member country. The panel focused mainly on the preservation of Slovenian language. More »
Anton Kokalj, the chair of the parliamentary EU affairs committee, has agreed on closer cooperation between the committee and Slovenian officials in EU institutions. More »
Members of the parliamentary commission for constitutional affairs met to discuss the EU constitutional treaty before the National Assembly convenes for a session on 1 February to ratify it. More »
Slovenia supports a reform of the stability and growth pact. "Certain modifications are necessary, yet they must be minimal," Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance ministers on Tuesday, echoing the general agreement that the pact's key elements must stay in place. More »
Due to lacklustre domestic demand, economic activity is being sustained by exports. Moreover, foreign trade is increasingly reliant on the EU, as exports to the Union account for two-thirds of the overall exports, according to Economic Trends, a monthly publication of the Faculty of Law's Economic Institute. More »
Smuggling of illegal immigrants, arms trafficking and distribution of counterfeited euros are the most frequent cases of organised crime in Slovenia, suggests an annual report by Europol. More »
Slovenia's GDP per capita stood at 75.3 percent in 2002, which means that the country was just slightly above the level that makes it eligible for EU funds under Objective 1. This is according to data released on Tuesday by the EU's statistics office Eurostat. More »
The National Veterinary Administration (VURS) makes sure that Slovenian consumers are guaranteed an adequate level of food safety. "This level is definitely comparable to the European level," VURS director Vida Cadonic Spelic said. More »
Slovenian content on the World Wide Web amounts to around 8.7 million documents, 67 percent more than in December 2003, according to figures from the country's top search engine. More »
The European Commission would like to see as soon as possible the completion of the railway line between France's Lyon and Hungary's Budapest, which also crosses Slovenia, Transport Minister Janez Bozic told the press after meeting European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot and the head of the Commission's Transport DG Francois Lamoureux in Brussels. More »
Slovenian charities have been flooded with donations for victims of the 26 December tsunami in SE Asia. While the Slovenian Red Cross has received almost SIT 69m (EUR 290,000) in donations, Slovenska Karitas has collected SIT 125m (EUR 520,000). More »
Slovenia's Tina Maze won the World Cup giant slalom event in front of a cheering home crowd on Saturday, bagging her third g-slalom win of the season. Maze finished in 2:16.36, 0.22s ahead of Italy's Karen Putzer. Martina Ertl of Germany was third, 0.93s behind. More »
The main headlines of last week were made by foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel who officially presented the priorities of Slovenia's OSCE chairmanship, which will be dominated by the "triple-R agenda: revitalise, reform and rebalance", as he addressed the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday. Rupel also visited Kosovo in the capacity of OSCE chair earlier in the week, where he called on all sides to take a part in political dialogue. Slovenian members of the European Parliament have expressed their backing for the EU constitution at a plenary debate on the document on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk has announced that the government will reform the new tax legislation, which came into effect on 1 January, in order to reduce taxation of work, tackle the informal economy and increase the number of taxpayers. More »
The biggest challenge for the OSCE and as such Slovenia's priority in 2005 is "the triple-R agenda: revitalise, reform and rebalance". This is what Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said on Thursday as he addressed the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel and Riccardo Illy, the president of the regional government of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia, have expressed concern over the fact that the act protecting the Slovenian minority is still not being implemented. More »
Slovenian members of the European Parliament have expressed their backing for the EU constitution at a plenary debate on the document on Tuesday. The Slovenian MEPs are convinced that an overwhelming vote for the constitution in the European Parliament will be an important signal as EU member states begin ratifying the document. More »
The government has approved a further SIT 44 millions (EUR 0.18m) for the victims of the 26 December earthquake and tsunami in south and southeastern Asia. The aid would be intended mainly for children. More »
Slovenia is considering hiring foreign medical staff, especially doctors, to deal with under-staffing at Slovenia's hospitals, Health Minister Andrej Brucan revealed as he began a tour of Slovenian hospitals and health care centres on Tuesday. More »
Istrabenz, the tourism and energy group, has acquired 73 percent of Ljubljana-based food company Kolinska through its official takeover bid, raising its total stake in the company to 93.22 percent. More »
The European Commission has granted EUR 620m for the assessment and construction of trans-European transport network projects (TEN). Two Slovenian projects were granted a total of EUR 6.97m. More »
A leading Slovenian economic institute has concluded that Slovenia is unlikely to catch up to the average GDP per person in the European Union before the year 2025. This is 12 years later than predicted in the current national development strategy. More »
A 117-strong infantry unit bid farewell on Friday before heading off to Bosnia-Herzegovina to serve in the EU-led Altea peacekeeping mission. The unit, which is based at the Celje barracks, will be stationed at a military base in Tuzla. More »
An Austrian air carrier is launching a new route between Slovenia and France on Monday. Styrian Spirit will operate flights on the new route from Monday to Saturday, with all flights making a stop in Austria's Salzburg. More »
Jacques Offenbach's rediscovered opera "Rhine Nymphs" was premiere in Slovenia on 13 January in a historic production put on stage for the first time after this great Romantic opera was written and staged 140 years ago. More »
Schedule of events from 18 January to 23 January More »
Slovenia News 11 January 2005
Editorial
Slovenia assumed the chairmanship of the 55-strong OSCE on 1 January, a task that Slovenian diplomats expect to be a great challenge. Given that this security organisation is burdened by internal disagreements, Slovenia has vowed to bring different interests closer together, and has announced to work towards a successful OSCE reform.
With the New Year, Slovenia took over the presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. This is the greatest challenge for Slovene foreign policy after gaining independence since our leadership of the UN Security Council. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, on a visit to Ukraine as the OSCE chairman-in-office, has told the officials there that he has come to express his admiration and congratulations on the democratic process, and to listen and to learn. More »
Slovenia's diplomacy is facing big challenges, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in an address to Slovenian diplomats. In practical terms, this means more work without much more resources, in particular over the next two years, said Jansa, referring to Slovenia's stint at the helm of the OSCE and its presidency over the EU later on. More »
Slovenia's chairmanship of the OSCE will be taking place in the most unfavourable international situation, President Janez Drnovsek said in an address to Slovenian diplomats as he outlined some of the main task they will be involved in this year. More »
The government has adopted supplements to the Convergence Programme, passed in May 2004, and authorised the Finance Ministry to submit it to the European Commission and the Council of Ministers. Preparations for the introduction of the single European currency meanwhile also topped the agenda of a meeting of PM Janez Jansa and Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk with the central bank governor Mitja Gaspari and vice-governor Andrej Rant on Friday. More »
The government economic panel has urged for a simplification of tax legislation. Since the implementation of the tax laws that entered into force on 1 January has been causing certain difficulties, the panel on Friday proposed to the finance minister to set up a taskforce to draft a reform of this legislation as soon as possible. More »
The government has confirmed the bill on the ratification of the EU constitution and sent it for approval to parliament. According to FM Dimitrij Rupel, the government expects the National Assembly to give it its stamp of approval by the end of January. More »
The government on Thursday created a working group put in charge of preparations for Slovenia's EU presidency in the first half of 2008. Chaired by PM Janez Jansa, the group includes Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk, Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant and head of the Government Office for European Affairs (SVEZ) Marcel Koprol. More »
Slovenia has received mixed marks in the annual Index of Economic Freedom for a combined rating of "mostly free". The country came in 45th out of 161 countries scrutinised by the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, and the Wall Street Journal. More »
In Slovenia’s first full year as a member of the European Union it was a net recipient of funds. The Budget and Public Accounting Directorate at the Ministry of Finance reported that last year Slovenia paid 40.64 billion tolars into Brussels’ treasury, and received 43.97 billion tolars. More »
American conductor of international renown George Pehlivanian has become the first ever chief conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic. Pehlivanian was appointed the resident conductor effective on 1 January, and will be a kind of artistic director of this music house until the end of September 2008. More »
Dance company Plesni Teater Ljubljana, which is considered to be the pioneer of Slovenian contemporary dance and has trained the country's most acclaimed dancers and choreographers, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. More »
Irena Grafenauer, the Slovenian flautist of world renown, has been selected woman of the year by readers of one of the most popular Slovenian women's magazines, Jana. More »
2004 has been one of the most successful years for Slovenian spa resorts recently. The visitor numbers were up by 6.9 percent to 529,940, with 56.4 percent of the guests coming from abroad. More »
The Slovenian capital has witnessed a steady increase in visitors in the past few years. Ljubljana saw a record rise in overnights and the highest number of visits to tourist and information centres last year. During the Christmas and New Year's holidays alone the number of overnights jumped by over 50% year-on-year. More »
Ljubljana, 9 January
Slovenia News 4 January 2005
Editorial
Meeting the criteria for the introduction of the euro will be one of the biggest challenges for the new government in 2005, Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the press on Wednesday. The fact is that we need to curb inflation and make sure that the general government deficit stays within the boundaries of the Maastricht criteria, he stressed.
Just like elsewhere in the world, the news about the devastating earthquake and tsunamis in Asia made headlines in Slovenia in the last week in 2004. While only 360 Slovenian citizens were there at the time of the cataclysm, which claimed around 125,000 lives, the Foreign Ministry and their relatives have been unable to contact seven. Furthermore, the government and local charities joined international calls for aid by sending money to the affected region.
Slovenia's leading daily Delo has honoured Gorazd Kocijancic, a philosopher, writer and translator, with its Person of the Year Award, conferred for outstanding achievements outside of the media spotlight. More »
Meeting the criteria for the introduction of the euro will be one of the biggest challenges for the new government in 2005, Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the press on Wednesday. The fact is that we need to curb inflation and make sure that the general government deficit stays within the boundaries of the Maastricht criteria, he stressed. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa has reiterated that Slovenia's presidency of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will be one of the key challenges for the Slovenian government this year. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said in his New Year's message published Thursday that the ministry would continue to work for the country's interest in 2005. Outlining the year about to end, he acknowledged that 2004 saw some slips alongside the triumphs of EU and NATO entry. More »
The government donated SIT 20m (EUR 83,400) of aid to the countries of SE Asia that were hit by an earthquake and devastating tsunami on Sunday, Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the press on Wednesday. The donation was made to the Red Cross. More »
While the new parliamentary commission in charge of constitutional changes only has one proposal for changing the Constitution on the table for now, it is unlikely to be short of work in 2005. More »
Textile trade between the EU and Serbia is expected to be liberalised at the end of March, the date by which Serbia could ratify an agreement on textile trade the two sides signed at the end of December. More »
The popularity of the ruling Slovenian Democrats (SDS) is rising, according to an opinion poll in which 37.8 percent of respondents would vote for the SDS if an election was held these days. This is a rise of 2.1 percentage points over November. More »
An opinion poll published by the daily Delo shows that Slovenians are quite optimistic about the future. 38 percent of the respondents expect the coming year to be better than the past one. More »
Slovenia is to introduce biometric passports in line with an EU directive and in response to US demands that countries included in the visa waiver programme embed biometric identifiers in passports in order to preserve their visa-free status. More »
Jacques Offenbach's opera "Rhine Nymphs" will premiere in Slovenia on 13 January in a historic production put on stage for the first time after this great Romantic opera was written and put on stage 140 years ago. More »
The year 2005 will mark 100 years since the first Slovenian film was made. It was in 1905 that lawyer and photographer Karol Grossmann (1864-1929) filmmed people leaving church after a Sunday service. More »
A new road safety act, which became effective on 1 JUanuary, brings much higher fines for traffic offenders in a bid to fight the high accident rate and improve road safety in the country. In fact it upgrades a similar piece of restrictive legislation from 1998. More »
The beginning of every year typically brings about significant legislative changes, but 2005 will be remembered foremost as a year of comprehensive changes to the income tax acts, affecting every taxpayer in the country. More »
Traditional outdoor celebrations were staged in all major cities and towns across Slovenia. Unlike last year when festivities were somehow spoilt by rain, outdoor celebrations attracted tens of thousands of New Year revellers to the streets this night. More »