Slovenia News - September 2006

Slovenia News 26 September 2006

As he addressed the plenary session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel underlined the role of small countries. "The smaller countries rarely threaten or endanger other countries. They have knowledge of small systems and minorities in large systems. They can perform special tasks that demand special qualities and particular capabilities," he told the delegates. Despite the announced delay in the implementation of the Schengen Information System II (SIS II), Slovenia could potentially still enter the Schengen border-free zone in October 2007 as originally planned, Interior Minister Dragutin Mate stressed on the sidelines of Friday's informal meeting of EU justice and home ministers. The central region of Slovenia (which includes the capital Ljubljana) is, according to various criteria, statistically far above the Slovenian and also European average, PM Janez Jansa said at a meeting with mayors, business leaders, MPs and councillors following the cabinet's tour of the region on Wednesday. More » British parliamentarian has expressed regret over the British decision after WWII to repatriate 12,000 Slovenian domobranci (Home Guard), who then became the victims of summary killings by the Partisans. More » Foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel, who is attending the UN General Assembly in New York met the foreign ministers of Georgia, Iraq and Peru on Wednesday. He will also attend the ministers' NATO meeting which takes place on Thursday. More » Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has taken part in a meeting of EU foreign ministers with their Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov which focused on relations between the EU and Russia as well as on international topics. More » Speaking for Saturday's edition of the Austrian daily Kleine Zeitung, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa has expressed his expectation that Austria will "put in to practice the rulings of its Constitutional Court" on bilingual sings. More » Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has conferred a special award to a Slovenian church in New York for its work in promoting Slovenian culture and language. More » Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel underlined the role of small countries as he addressed the 61th session of the UN General Assembly on Monday. "The smaller countries rarely threaten or endanger other countries. They have knowledge of small systems and minorities in large systems. They can perform special tasks that demand special qualities and particular capabilities," he told the delegates. More » New German Ambassador to Slovenia Hans-Joachim Goetz presented his credentials to President Janez Drnovsek on Tuesday. Drnovsek also received the outgoing Greek Ambassador John N. Boucaouris, the president's office said. More » The cabinet has adopted changes to the electronic communications act in a bid to deal with the European Commission's concerns regarding the independence of the national telecommunications regulatory authority. More » The government adopted on Thursday a bill on the Slovenian Engineering Academy (IAS) in a bid to promote technological development and a deficit in trained workers in Slovenia. More » The government wants to create conditions for the active involvement of the elderly in employment, Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs Janez Drobnic said after the government's session on Thursday, at which the cabinet adopted a strategy for the security of the elderly until 2010. More » The cabinet adopted at its regular session on Thursday changes to the judicial service act in a bid to tackle court backlogs, State Secretary at the Justice Ministry Robert Marolt said. The government also adopted changes to the courts act. More » The Slovenian cabinet has appointed a special project group to lay the groundwork for the creation of a University of the Mediterranean in Slovenia. Officials believe such a university can promote dialogue between the cultures. More » The parliamentary committees for the economy, EU affairs and labour voiced satisfaction with the progress Slovenia has made in implementing reforms for the Lisbon Strategy at Thursday's joint session. More » The Ministry of Defence is aware of the increasing importance of scientific research and technological development for Slovenia's defence capabilities, State Secretary at the Defence Ministry Franci Znidarsic told a meeting entitled The Defence Industry in the EU - Challenges and Opportunities for Slovenia at the Pomurski sejem fair in Gornja Radgona on Thursday. More » The Slovenia Times publication and the Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments conferred on Thursday awards for this year's best foreign investors. The awards were presented to TCG Unitech LTH-ol, Ydria Motors, Sun Roller Adriatica and Epas, while the special reward went to Revoz, the organisers said. More » Executives of vehicle producers Tovarna vozil Maribor (TVM) and Austria's Magna Steyr signed on Thursday a contract on transferring production of frames for the Mercedes G off-road vehicle's chassis to the Slovenian company. More » The changes to the 2007 and the draft budget for 2008 that the government is to discuss in the coming days, will keep the budget deficit at around 1% (SIT 73bn/EUR 305.26m) of Slovenia's GDP, Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told the press on Thursday. More » Slovenia's largest retailer Mercator signed last Friday a long-term EUR 40m loan agreement with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) for financing its ongoing investments in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the company said on Thursday. More » The amount of state aid in Slovenia has substantially decreased in 2005 in comparison v previous years, falling for the first time under 1.0% of GDP, according to a report on state aid published on the government website. More » A total of 844,949 tonnes of municipal waste piled up in Slovenia last year, 797,721 tonnes of which was collected by public refuse companies. This translates to 1.16 kilograms of garbage per Slovenian per day, data from the Statistics Office shows. More » Members of the Slovenian cabinet paid a visit to Slovenia's leading research institution, the Jozef Stefan Institute (IJS), as part of their tour of the central Osrednjoslovensko region on Wednesday. The IJS sees its future in working with the economy, Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak said after the visit. More » A three-day conference of university rectors from the Central European region got underway on Thursday at the University of Maribor, focusing on the role of universities in promoting economic competitiveness. More » European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik called for cooperation between universities and business as he addressed a three-day conference of university rectors from Central Europe at the University of Maribor on Friday. More » Mobile operator Simobil and telecommunications company T-2 have been awarded licences for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third-generation mobile communications system, the telecommunications watchdog revealed on Wednesday. More » "Slovenia's EU presidency in the first half of 2008 will bring about a thorough reorganisation of public administration", Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant said Wednesday at Slovenian Administration Days conference in Portoroz (SW). More » While the EU has done a lot through its environment legislation in the past 30 years, it still faces the problems of balancing various policies in the field, especially among environmentalists and businesses, Nicholas Hanley of the European Commission's Directorate General for the Environment has said. More » There are many debates going on in the EU about the use of nuclear power. The latest enlargement of the EU has brought about a more positive view of this energy type, said Giles Chichester, MEP and president of the committee for Industry, Research and Energy in the European Parliament at the end of the European Energy Forum's visit to Slovenia. More » The 46th general assembly of the Union of EU Capitals started on Friday in Ljubljana, the current chair of the organisation. The participants at the two-day event will focus on "creative capitals", since creativity is essential for the development of economy and society, municipality Ljubljana said. More » Innovation policies are expected to be of great importance during Slovenia's EU presidency in the first half of 2008, Economy Ministry State Secretary Andrijana Starina Kosem said at Monday's meeting of EU ministers responsible for competition. More » Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said that twelve members of the Slovenian Armed Forces will leave for Lebanon to join the UN peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL) in the end of October or in early November. More » Two contingents of Slovenian soldiers bid farewell in Celje on Friday before heading to Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina respectively in the coming days to relieve their colleagues of their duties. More » Slovenia assumed the chairmanship of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday. Ernest Petric, the Slovenian ambassador to the IAEA, who will chair the board in the coming term, said that the chairman must make sure the board takes the necessary decisions and ensures that the IAEA works normally. More » The main goal of this year's European Mobility Week, which took place in 25 Slovenian municipalities between 16 and 22 September, was to reduce the amount of road traffic in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Radovan Tavzes of the Environment Ministry said. More » The Motorway Company (DARS) concluded on Wednesday a SIT 7.34bn (EUR 30.51m) contract on constructing two tunnels on the Razdrto-Vipava dual carriageway. More » Slovenian Transport Minister Janez Bozic has continued his four-day visit to Russia on Wednesday by participating in the Bajkalsk Economic Forum and meeting Russian counterpart Igor Levitin. Bozic and Levitin focused on possible cooperation between Slovenia and Russia in the areas of road, sea, rail and air transport. More » The Slovenian Motorway Company (DARS) signed on Thursday a SIT 21bn (EUR 87.81m) contract on the construction of a motorway section between Beltinci and Lendava in NE Slovenia. More » Terminal00, international "balkanart" festival, organised by the Association for the Promotion of Visual Culture, will take place on various locations throughout the city of Ljubljana between 27 and 30 September. More » The Maribor Metropolitan Archdiocese was officially inaugurated at a mass at the Maribor Cathedral on Sunday. At the ceremony Franc Kramberger was officially installed the first archbishop and metropolitan of Maribor. More » The mass grave located in the Konfin pothole in Kocevski rog (SE) differs from other mass graves which resulted from post Second World War killings, in that experts have already identified the remains of the 88 murdered people. More » An open house day at the Lipica Stud Farm, the home of the famous Lipizzaner white horses, has attracted several thousand visitors. Sunday's event marked the end of the Days of the Lipica Stud Farm, a three-day festival aimed at promoting this jewel of the Karst. More » Interior Minister Dragutin Mate has expressed concern over the recently announced delay in the expansion of the Schengen border-free zone, as he met the interior ministers of the Salzburg Forum in Finland's Tampere on Thursday. More » Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate and Bosnia-Herzegovina's Minister of Security Barisa Colak signed an agreement on the return of illegal immigrants and a protocol on its implementation as they met in Ljubljana on Monday. More » Schedule of Events from 26 September to 1 October More »

Slovenia News 19 September 2006

The Slovenian cabinet adopted on Thursday a package of legislation that makes up its recently-unveiled tax reform, the main aim of which is to simplify tax procedures and lower the tax burden on businesses. Other than that relations between Slovenia and Croatia hit a new low after Croatian police arrested several Slovenian journalists in a disputed border stretch on Wednesday. Tensions calmed by the end of the week after the two sides signed a technical agreement on repairs to the levees alongside the Mura river (NE). The relations between Slovenia and Croatia hit a boiling point, after Croatian police arrested and then released several Slovenian journalists in a disputed territory in the north-east of the country on Wednesday, 13 September. Following an unfulfilled announcement by Interior Minister Dragutin Mate on Saturday, 9 September, that works on levees alongside the border river Mura would continue on Monday, 11 September, the arrests sparked sharp criticism in Slovenia and in consequence in Croatia. More » The Primorsko region deserves major credit for the fact that Slovenians have been able to not only keep-up with the more developed European neighbourhood, but also to participate in it, PM Janez Jansa said on Friday as speaker of honour at a ceremony held to remember the return of a large part of Primorsko to the country. More » The government adopted at its session on Thursday a draft report on the Reform Programme for the Implementation of the Lisbon Strategy in Slovenia, which presents the first yearly review of the progress made since the programme was adopted in October 2005. More » The Slovenian cabinet adopted on Thursday a package of legislation that makes up its recently-unveiled tax reform, the main aim of which is to simplify tax procedures and lower the tax burden on businesses. More » The government has adopted a new bill on road cargo transport, simplifying the currently valid act and adjusting the area to EU legislation, Transport Minister Janez Bozic said after the cabinet's regular session on Thursday. More » The supervisory board of home appliance maker Gorenje endorsed on Tuesday plans for a capital injection, the management board of the Velenje-based company said on Wednesday, adding that it cannot yet discuss the details of the share capital increase. More » A total of 17% of Slovenians are "daring" investors, according to the results of a survey carried out by the GfK Slovenija market research company on a sample of 1,000 respondents. More » The regular yearly revision on the Slovenian gross domestic product (GDP) has shown that Slovenian economy grew at 4% in 2005, up 0.1 percentage point over the preliminary assessment, the Statistical Office said on Friday. More » Slovenia will be entitled to EUR 900m from the EU for rural development purposes in line with the EU budget framework for 2007-2013, the European Commission said on Tuesday. More » Energy will be one of the priorities of Slovenia's stint as EU chair in the first half of 2008, Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak has pledged. According to him, the country will focus on the functioning of the internal energy market, stability of energy supply and a treaty on establishing an energy community in SE Europe. More » Slovenian Defence Minister Karl Erjavec stressed the role of NATO in fighting international terrorism which presents a serious threat of the EU and US' security interests, as he took part in a panel on transatlantic relations in Ljubljana on Thursday. More » "Through the aid of music Slovenians have managed to retain their identity, language and culture," Prime Minister Janez Jansa said as he gave an opening address at the first conference of Slovenian musicians from home and abroad in Nova Gorica on Wednesday. More » This year's Rozanc Prize for best collection of essays goes to writer Drago Jancar for his book "The Soul of Europe". The prize has been awarded since 1993 and this is the third time that Jancar has won it. He won it in its first year and in 1995. More » "Short Circuits" by Janez Lapajne took all of the major Vesna Awards at the 9th Festival of Slovenian Film, as the event drew to a close in the seaside resort of Piran on Sunday. More » The most recognised brand name in Slovenia in the first six months of 2006 was Barcaffe coffee, made by food company Droga Kolinska, shows a survey by market research agency Cati. More » Slovenia is to join this-year's European Heritage Days (EHD) on 23 September, two days after EHD have been launched in Russia, with a journey into the history of Skofja Loka, one of the oldest towns in Slovenia. More » The Lipica Stud Farm unveiled on Thursday plans for the farm which include a renovation of the golf course, clean grazing grounds, new racing tracks and a new hippodrome manege. More » Health Minister Andrej Brucan presented the health care priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency in 2008 at the 56th meeting of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Committee for Europe. Slovenia wants to focus on reigning in cancer, Brucan said. More » Schedule of Events from 19 to 24 September More »

Slovenia News 12 September 2006

Slovenian officials could not hide their delight on Tuesday, 5 September, as Tomo Kriznar, the human rights activist who became President Janez Drnovsek's envoy for Darfur, returned to Slovenia after spending more than a month and a half in a Sudanese prison on spying charges. With Slovenia one of the Schengen zone candidates, PM Janez Jansa criticised a possible delay of the Schengen zone enlargement beyond the target date of the end of October 2007 as he spoke with reporters on the margin of the ASEM summit in Helsinki on Sunday. It was a triumphant day for Slovenian diplomacy on Tuesday as Tomo Kriznar, the human rights activist who became President Janez Drnovsek's envoy for Darfur, returned to Slovenia after spending more than a month and a half in a Sudanese prison on spying charges. More » Together with the rest of the free-loving world, Slovenia insists that terrorism must be fought against, Slovenian PM Janez Jansa stressed out in a message on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. More » The September 11 terrorist attack against the US was an attack on the values of human and collective freedom without which there can be no prosperity and democracy, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said in a press release upon the fifth anniversary of the attacks. More » Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa has met his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao for talks on economic cooperation between the countries. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa has admitted that Slovenia is partly to blame for the fact that reconstruction works on a levee in a disputed border stretch with Croatia have not been able to begin in spite of an agreement that envisages joint works. More » Minister of the Economy Andrej Vizjak has said that implementing the programme for promoting entrepreneurship and competitiveness for the 2007-2013 period will result in some 15,000 new jobs and 1,200 new companies, as he opened the 39th Celje International Trade Fair in Celje on Wednesday. More » The Slovenian government has decided to send up to 12 soldiers to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a period determined in accordance with a partnering country and with the option of subsequent rotations, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec told the press on Thursday. More » Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways and logistics group Intereuropa on Wednesday signed a deal on long-term strategic cooperation in international air transport in Kosovo, which is expected to earn Adria EUR 3m annually. More » Slovenian Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk expressed satisfaction over solid economic growth in the EU as well as Slovenia, after attending a meeting of finance ministers from the eurozone countries, the Eurogroup, for the first time. More » Buoyed by domestic consumption, gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a rate of 4.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2006, down slightly from 5.1% in the first quarter of the year, according to preliminary data by the National Statistical Office. More » Because of the drought in July the quantity of grapes expected to be picked this year will be smaller than last year, but it will be of top quality, the wine cellars Goriska Brda and Agroind Vipava 1894 pointed out on Thursday. More » A new solar power plant has been constructed by the 20-year-old hydro plant in Mavcice near Kranj. The anniversary of the hydro plant and the official opening of the environment friendly plant will be celebrated on Friday. More » Defence ministers of NATO member states are expected in the seaside town of Portoroz at the end of this month for an informal autumn meeting to discuss NATO transformation and its operations, Slovenian Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said on Friday. More » Works are scheduled to begin in the coming days on the Karavanke (Karawanken) tunnel under the Julian Alps on the border between Slovenia and Austria. More » The 21st International Literary Festival Vilenica concluded on Saturday evening as the Vilanice Grand Prix was conferred on Serbian poet Miodrag Pavlovic, who has joined the ranks of distinguished Vilenica laureates such as Ilma Rakusa, Karl-Markus Gauss, Peter Handke, Peter Esterhazy, Milan Kundera and Erica Pedretti. More » The Association of Mediators of Slovenia held its maiden meeting on Tuesday, stating as its goals the development, implementation and promotion of mediation and other alternative methods of settling disputes, its president Gordana Ristin told the press after the meeting. More » With Slovenia one of the Schengen zone candidates, PM Janez Jansa criticised a possible delay of the Schengen zone enlargement beyond the target date of the end of October 2007 as he spoke with reporters on the margin of the ASEM summit in Helsinki on Sunday. More » Schedule of Events from 12 to 17 September More »

Slovenia News 5 September 2006

The Finance Ministry has decided to reduce the number of income tax brackets from five to three (16%, 28% and 39%) and curb corporate income tax by two percentage points to 23% in a tax reform proposal that was unveiled on Wednesday. The top rate has thus been reduced from 50%, while the general tax relief will be increased. The value added tax (VAT) will remain unchanged with two rates of 20% and 8.5%, Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told the press after the proposal was presented to the coalition, the Development Partnership and big trade unions. Slovenia would like to retain a softer border crossing regime with Croatia even after it joins the Schengen zone, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has said on the sidelines of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers. More » The Slovenian cabinet has confirmed a joint statement adopted by Slovenian and Croatian PMs, Janez Jansa and Ivo Sanader, at Saturday meeting in a disputed stretch of the border between two countries. Slovenian parties meanwhile had mixed reactions about the statement. More » Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and Chinese Deputy Minister of Trade Yu Guangzhou signed an agreement on economic cooperation in Ljubljana on Thursday, the second day of the official visit of the Chinese delegation headed by State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan. More » The Slovenian cabinet adopted a joint statement at its correspondence session on Monday calling for stronger cooperation with Azerbaijan, as Azeri President Ilham Aliyev paid his first official visit to Slovenia. More » The Finance Ministry has decided to reduce the number of income tax brackets from five to three (16%, 28% and 39%) and curb corporate income tax by two percentage points to 23% in a tax reform proposal that was unveiled on Wednesday. More » Practical examples of entrepreneurship promotion and various ways to facilitate women entrepreneurs will form the agenda of an international meeting and a workshop on economic inclusion of women that is to take place on Saturday in Celje, National Councillor Marta Turk has said. More » Croatian tour operator adriatica.net has acquired 50% plus one share of Slovenia's leading tourism agency Kompas for an undisclosed price, Croatian media have reported. Privately-held Kompas refused to confirm or deny the news on Tuesday. More » The 39th International Trade Fair in Celje, to take place between 6 and 13 September, will be the largest to date, a consequence of the economic situation in Slovenia and a new European role of Slovenian companies, according to the company running the Celje fairgrounds. More » For France Krizanic, the chair of the Economics Institute at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law, the intentions of Russian oil giant Lukoil, which is establishing a joint venture with Slovenian oil trader Petrol, are positive. More » The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) and the trade unions have welcomed the government's decision to abandon the idea of introducing a flat tax as part of the tax reform package which the Finance Ministry unveiled on Wednesday. More » Slovenia's second-largest mobile operator, Simobil, has made the highest bid for a third-generation mobile telephony license in public bidding. More » The International Agriculture and Food Fair in the NE Slovenian town of Gornja Radgona closed its doors on Friday after a week of events which saw as many as 135,000 visitors. More » The small size of Slovenian farms is not a reason for pessimism. The ability to adapt to the EU's agriculture policy is more important for their future than the size, Peter Vrisk, the head of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry, said on Monday. More » State secretaries from the Austrian, Czech and Slovenian transport ministries signed on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding to develop the railway link between the Czech capital of Prague and the Slovenian port of Koper. More » Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways and Austrian Airways on Thursday signed a contract under which Adria will continue to service the Austrian carrier's Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) airplanes. More » Ervin Fritz is the recipient of the 2006 Veronika Prize for the best Slovenian collection of poems. The city of Celje, which conferred the award at a ceremony on Tuesday evening, honoured Fritz's "Ogrlica iz rad" collection with EUR 3,300 and a special recognition of the city. More » The Ljubljana Festival 2006 featured more than 3,500 artist from 20 countries since 19 June, the largest number ever, the festivals' director Darko Brlek told the press on Wednesday, a day before the curtain falls on the biggest summer event in Ljubljana. More » Draga, the traditional three-day meeting of Slovenian intellectuals, concluded on Sunday. Discussions at the 41st edition of Draga revolved around minority culture and the nation's soul. More » Ljubljana will be flooded with puppets between 7 and 12 September, as the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre hosts the 8th biennial festival Puppets '06. The competition programme includes 17 shows, many of which deal with serious, even taboo topics, the organisers told the press on Monday. More » Lipica and several other villages around the Karst will host the 21st International Literary Festival Vilenica between 6 and 10 September. Thoroughly Central European since the very beginning, its mission has turned from striving for political freedom to the resistance against the linguistic and cultural uniformity in Europe. More » Slovenia joined around 30 other European countries in observing the European Day of Jewish Culture on 3 September. As part of the celebrations, a diverse programme has been prepared for Sunday and Monday by Jewish organisations in the country in a bid to present Jewish culture and heritage. More » Tomo Kriznar, the Slovenian presidential envoy who was jailed for espionage in Sudan but then pardoned, arrived in Slovenia late on Tuesday morning, less than a day after he was released from prison in the Sudanese city of El Fasher. More » While Slovenians are average honey consumers with a yearly consumption of 0.8 to 1.2 kg per person, the latest tests have proven Slovenian honey too be of excellent quality. The Slovenian Beekeepers' Association has decided too keep it that way by introducing controlled production, its president Anton Tomec said. More » Schedule of Events from 5 to 10 September More »

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