Slovenia News - September 2005

Slovenia News 27 September 2005

Prime Minister Janez Jansa was guaranteed support from deputy groups for two key government bills last week: the declaration of the ecological zone and continental shelf in the Adriatic as well as the government bill on the promotion of balanced regional development. Meanwhile, the Slovenian government last week sent a request to Italy for the return of artwork taken by the Fascists from Istria ahead of the Second World War. The government-sponsored act on public broadcaster RTV Slovenija won sufficient support at Sunday's referendum, as it was endorsed with a slim majority of 50.2%. If Slovenia was born as a nation with its independence, its stint at the helm of the EU will make it come of age: this will be its test of maturity, Slovenia's Ambassador to the EU Igor Sencar pointed out as he assumed his post as Slovenia's permanent representative at the EU in July. More » Heads of deputy groups threw their support behind a proposal that the government be allowed to set the number of cohesion regions in line with a bill on balanced regional development. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa was confident after Thursday's meeting with the heads of parliamentary parties that the bill on the declaration of an ecological zone in the Adriatic would be endorsed in parliament. More » The Slovenian cabinet decided on Thursday to send a request to Italian authorities for the return of works of art that the Fascists took from churches and monasteries in Istria prior to the Second World War. More » Now that the act on public broadcaster RTV Slovenija was confirmed at referendum, it is up to the government to provide the conditions for implementation, Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the press on Monday. More » When Slovenia became independent, it had an economic advantage over the other countries in the region. However, Slovenia was overly pleased with its success, which stopped it from developing further, allowing other countries to catch up, Stephane Garelli of the Swiss Institute for Management Development (IMD) has told a business meeting in Bled. More » All red-tape obstructing Slovenia's trade with Serbia should be torn down, Economics Minister Andrej Vizjak told Serbian Minister for International Economic Relations Milan Parivodic as he launched a two-day visit to Belgrade on Monday. Vizjak called for the promotion of economic ties. More » Economist Joze P. Damijan, the head of the government's reform committee, believes the reforms that his group will draft should not be rushed, or else the government risks creating a "cock-up" similar to that caused by the previous government with its reform package. More » Investing in countries of the Stability Pact for SE Europe is becoming increasingly popular among enterprises, participants of a round table held in Celje have stressed. More » Janez Sustersic, the head of the government Institute for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development (IMAD), was appointed by the government on Thursday the national coordinator for the Lisbon Strategy. More » Over 400 guests, among them politicians, professors and members of the diplomatic corps, gathered in Maribor on Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the University of Maribor, the second largest university in the country. More » The company Logarska dolina, responsible for the management and protection of the Alpine Logarska Valley, was awarded a EUR 25,000 prize at Thursday's conference of the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) in Brig, Switzerland. More » Slovenia received all the promised EU budget funds in 2004 and, like other EU newcomers, ended the year as a net recipient, according to the Report on Allocation of 2004 EU Operating Expenditure by Member State, which was released in Brussels on Thursday. More » A total of 89% of Slovenians speak at least one foreign language, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey, released in Brussels on Friday. More » Slovenian director Jan Cvitkovic has won the Best New Director prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival for his film "Gravehopping". More » Slovenia is joining a festival of European heritage held in 48 countries with a series of events focusing on intangible heritage that will be launched across the country. The coastal town of Piran provided a venue for the start of events, which enabled the visitors to get to know the town's rich cultural heritage. More » The town of Cahors near Toulouse, France, is to host a festival of foreign cultures dubbed "Visages Francophones" this autumn, with Slovenia as a special guest. It is to showcase around 150 artists presenting music, theatre, dance, literature, visual arts, video, crafts and food between 27 September and 2 October. More » A Slovenian journalism expert has been awarded the South East Europe Media Organisation's (SEEMO) prize for promoting understanding in Southeast Europe. More » Slovenia must focus its tourism development goals using its knowledge and experience, the head of the Slovenian Tourism Association said at a ceremony to mark 100 years of the organisation. More » Schedule of Events from 26 September to 2 October More »

Slovenia News 20 September 2005

Prime Minister Janez Jansa has come out to defend the government-sponsored act on public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, calling on voters to endorse it when they go to the polls for the 25 September referendum. Prime Minister Janez Jansa also paid the first official visits abroad since taking office late last year. Accompanied by a strong business delegation, he was seeking ways of boosting ties, in particular trade, with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in talks with senior officials there. President Janez Drnovsek attended the UN Summit marking the 60th anniversary of the organisation. He has reminded world leaders of the responsibility that developed nations in particular have in taking action to eliminate imbalances that keep millions of people worldwide in poverty. Prime Minister Janez Jansa has come out to defend the government-sponsored act on public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, calling on voters to endorse it when they go to the polls for the 25 September referendum. More » Slovenian FM Dimitrij Rupel welcomed the Outcome Document of the ongoing UN summit as "an important step towards an effective reform of the UN". Nevertheless, Slovenia misses "a more ambitious platform" with clearer solutions about how to cope with the challenges and threats of the 21st century. More » Italian FM Gianfranco Fini reassured his Slovenian counterpart Dimitrij Rupel that Italy would not want to act to the detriment of any Adriatic country, as they met on the margins of a UN General Assembly session in New York on Sunday. More » Janša's three-day tour of the Baltic states, which share many common interests with Slovenia, was his first official visit abroad as prime minister. The goal of his tour was the deepening of bilateral political and economic relations and the strengthening of the dialog on current European and other international issues. More » President Janez Drnovsek has reminded world leaders of the responsibility that developed nations in particular have in taking action to eliminate imbalances that keep millions of people worldwide in poverty. It is an illusion to think there will be no wars if these imbalances continue, he said in his address to the UN Summit on Thursday. More » Slovenia's humanitarian aid for the victims of hurricane Katrina is on its way to the US. The SIT 21.7m (US$ 120,000) worth of cots, mattresses, blankets and first-aid kits was seen off by the Defence Minister Karl Erjavec and US Ambassador Thomas B. Robertson on Friday. More » The government adopted Thursday a resolution on the national research and development programme for the 2006-2010 period. One of its main objectives is to increase the influence of R&D by promoting cooperation among companies, researchers and intermediaries who transfer new technology and innovations to the corporate sector. More » Slovenia is working to convince old EU members which erected barriers to workers from the newcomers, to ease the restrictions for Slovenian workers, who it says pose no threat to their labour markets due to the small size of the workforce. More » Denmark showed interest in closer cooperation with Slovenia in the field of transport, with the transport giant Maersk wanting to cooperate in constructing the third pier of the Luka Koper port, Transport Minister Janez Bozic said. More » Cankarjev dom, the largest cultural institution in Slovenia, celebrated 25 years of cultural performances and shows on Monday, 19 September. The ceremony was launched by director general Mitja Rotovnik, who has been running Cankarjev dom since 1982. More » The Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts (ALU) celebrates 60 years of existence this year. Since it was founded in 1945 as the Academy of Visual Arts, 2,933 students attended its classes to date. Its first dean was the acclaimed Slovenian artist Bozidar Jakac. More » More than 500 foreigners have purchased real estate after Slovenia joined the EU, according to the data from Slovenia's Tax Administration (DURS). The properties, especially in the NE Pomurje region, at the coast and in the NW Gorenjska region, are mainly being bought by the British. More » Schedule of Events from 20 to 25 September More »

Slovenia News 13 September 2005

Croatia's informal proposal for Slovenia and Croatia to resort to international arbitration on their outstanding border problems likely made the majority of headlines last week. Another focus was on the ever more heated campaign ahead of the 25 Sept referendum on the public broadcaster act. Internationally, OSCE chairman Dimitrij Rupel travelled to Azerbaijan and Armenia in a bid to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and returned fairly optimistic from the region. Croatian PM Ivo Sanader said on Tuesday, 6 Sept, that since Slovenia and Croatia had not solved the border issue over the past 15 years, the time had come for international arbitration. More » As the 25 Sept referendum on the new government-sponsored act on RTV Slovenija is ever closer, heated debates about its pros and cons could be witnessed, yet with no new insights. More » FM Dimitrij Rupel visited as OSCE chairman-in-office Azerbaijan and Armenia to facilitate a solution to the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh, an independence-seeking enclave located in Azerbaijan, but populated mainly by Armenians. More » Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek is to be among more than 170 heads of state from around the world taking part in the UN General Assembly that will get underway on Wednesday in New York. More » The chair of the government reform group, economist Joze P. Damijan, has said the cornerstone of the group's proposal, to be unveiled at the end of the month, will be flat tax and privatisation of state-owned companies. More » The government has amended the indicative programme for the Schengen Facility for the 2004-2006 period and authorised the Government Office for European Affairs (SVEZ) to harmonise the amendments with the European Commission. More » Slovenia will send SIT 23m (US$ 120,000) worth of aid to the United States to help the victims of hurricane Katrina, the government decided on Thursday. More » Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated to 5.2% in real terms in Q2 over the same period last year, up from 2.6% in the first quarter. Growth was buoyed in particular by surging exports and domestic expenditure, Slovenia's Statistical Office reported on Friday. More » The majority of Slovenians believe that their country gained by entering the EU, the results of the spring Eurobarometer Poll 2005 showed on Friday. More » Slovenia places 26th in this year's human development report of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), up one place over 2004. Moreover, it was placed among the countries with the highest human development rate. More » European food and veterinary inspectors established during a five-day visit to Slovenia that the country's plant passport requirements system was functioning well, head of the National Phytosanitary Administration Katarina Groznik told public broadcaster Radio Slovenija on Friday. More » In a recent Eurostat survey on Europeans, science and technology, Slovenians proved that they have a good command of the subject, taking seventh place among 32 European countries, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Jure Zupan told the press on Tuesday. More » The 2005 Vilenica Award, the international award for literature, was conferred on the authors Ilma Rakusa in Karl-Markus Gauss at a ceremony in the cave of the same name on Saturday evening. This year the jury selected two winners to celebrate 20 years of the Vilenica International Literature Festival. More » Slovenia's Urska Zolnir and Rasa Sraka have won bronze in their respective categories at the Judo World Championships in Cairo. More »

Slovenia News 6 September 2005

Croatia and Slovenia slipped into yet another argument: Croatia has decried Slovenia's the decision to declare an ecological zone and continental shelf in the Adriatic as unlawful, whilst Slovenia insists it is perfectly lawful, underpinned by domestic and international law. Mercator, Slovenia's largest retailer, got new supervisors representing capital on Tuesday. The appointment was carried out under a counter-proposal by the state-run Pension Fund Management (KAD) and Restitution Fund (SOD). Slovenia has hit back at Croatia's protests against the proposed declaration of an ecological zone and continental shelf in the Adriatic, and the allegations that the move constitutes a land-grab attempt. PM Janez Jansa said on Saturday, 27 August, that this was neither a land grab nor the setting for a new conflict, but a legitimate act based on the Slovenian maritime code. More » The government is studying the feasibility of several locations where it would like to expand its network of trade offices in a bid to attract more FDI and improve Slovenia's international competitive rating. More » Mercator, Slovenia's largest retailer, got new supervisors representing capital on Tuesday. The appointment was carried out under a counter-proposal by the state-run Pension Fund Management (KAD) and Restitution Fund (SOD). More » Organisers of the 43rd Agriculture and Food Fair in Gornja Radgona have assessed the week-long event as successful and a sign of better times for agriculture and the food industry. More » European Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik has called for greater investments in new energy technologies in light of the soaring oil prices that are set to affect the competitiveness of the economy and society as a whole. More » The University of Maribor will mark its 30th anniversary with numerous events between 16 September and 16 November, including the main ceremony on 20 September in front of the university seat, the university representatives told the press on Monday. More » Slovenia's national carrier Adria Airways launched a new direct route between Slovenia and Poland on Monday with four flights from Ljubljana to Warsaw every week. More » All is set for the launch of the 20th jubilee Vilenica international writers' gathering at Lipica, home of the famous Lipizzaner horses in southwestern Slovenia. The festival, named after a Karst cave near Lipica, will take place between 7 and 11 September, the organisers said on Tuesday. More » A new translation of Goethe's Faust into Slovenian was presented in Ljubljana on Thursday. The poetic drama in five acts by German poet, novelist and playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was translated by acclaimed translator Janko Moder and published by publisher Sanje. More » The international Continental Breakfast project, entitled "Ljubljana, Memory (w)hole" will take place between 2 and 25 September at Ljubljana Castle. More » Canvasses will be stamped in several cities and towns in Slovenia and Croatia to mark the beginning of Ex-tempore Piran 2005, a painter's event in which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. More » A documentary about Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, who has variously been described as an "academic rock star", "Elvis of cultural theory" and human encyclopaedia, is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September. More » Iztok Cop and Luka Spik have won the World Championship title in double sculls on Saturday, after an exciting finish that saw them neck-and-neck with the Italian boat until the very last metres. More »

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