Slovenia wants to stress enlargement, Western Balkans and intercultural dialogue, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said in Brussels on Monday, 11 December, as the troika of forthcoming EU presidents (Germany, Portugal and Slovenia) unveiled their joint 18-month presidency programme.
The country will also continue with endeavours for enlarging the Schengen no-border zone and the eurozone, Rupel added. It will carry on with accession talks with Turkey and Croatia and promote the European prospects of the Western Balkan countries, as all members of the troika are convinced that Western Balkan countries belong to the EU.
Justice Minister Lovro Sturm believes that next year will be crucial in efforts to eliminate court backlogs. He told the press in Ljubljana on Tuesday that his optimism was based on the continuing fall in the number of pending cases. More »
The joint 18-month EU presidency programme by Germany, Portugal and Slovenia adheres to the basic philosophy of "all tugging in the same direction" and aims at securing continuity and coherent functioning of the bloc, German Ambassador to Slovenia Hans Joachim Goetz said as the programme was presented in Ljubljana on Tuesday. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa warned Croatia on Friday it could find itself in a situation similar to the one currently faced by Turkey if its parliament endorsed the decision to enforce the ecological and fishery zone regime for all EU member states on 1 January 2008. More »
Slovenia opened on Tuesday a consulate in Linz, Austria, which will be headed by Honorary Consul Guenther Grassner, the Foreign Ministry reported on its website on Wednesday. More »
European issues and Franco-Slovenian relations topped talks as Prime Minister Janez Jansa met French President Jacques Chirac on the sidelines of Friday's proceedings at the EU summit in Brussels. More »
The cabinet adopted Wednesday amendments to the economic zones act. The amendments include new guidelines on state regional aid, allowing taxpayers to be entitled to tax benefits, Finance Ministry State Secretary Andrej Sircelj told the press after the session. More »
The government adopted on Wednesday a decree on regional tax brakes for research and development. The decree regulates tax brakes for research and development in line with the corporate income tax act, which earmarks higher tax brakes for investment in research in less developed regions. More »
The government confirmed on Wednesday the financial and operating plans of the Slovenian Tourist Board for 2007, the Government PR and Media office said after the cabinet session. The plan envisages the state paying SIT 1.986bn (EUR 8.28) to the STO, with the board chipping in additional SIT 214m (EUR 893,000). More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the MPs on Monday that government measures, including a pledge not to raise capped prices and the implementation of dual pricing, would serve to prevent price hikes stemming from the approaching euro changeover. More »
Marjeta Cotman was appointed the new minister of labour, the family and social affairs in a 46:26 vote in parliament on Monday. After the confirmation Cotman, previously the state secretary at the ministry, was sworn in as the second woman in the cabinet of Prime Minister Janez Jansa. More »
The Economic and Social Council on Friday endorsed the government proposal to open Slovenia's labour market to Romanian and Bulgarian citizens on 1 January 2007, as these two nations join the EU bloc. More »
Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak wants Slovenia to improve economic relations with Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The three central Asian countries expressed the same wish, Vizjak added after meeting their representatives in Moscow on Tuesday. More »
Sava, the chemical and tourism conglomerate, expects net profit to grow to EUR 44.2m in 2011, over 30% more than their planned profit for 2006, the company supervisors heard in Kranj on Thursday. More »
Slovenian civil engineering company Riko Hise will build a EUR 130m commercial and hotel complex within the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, the company said. More »
The head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) operations in Slovenia has said the institution plans to withdraw from Slovenia in 2010 because there is no longer a need for its presence here. More »
Kuwaiti businessman Hussein Al Kharafi met Slovenian Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak on Monday for talks that focused on investment opportunities in Slovenia and potential for joint ventures in Southeastern Europe, the Economy Ministry said. More »
Slovenians are among the strongest supporters of EU enlargement. Some 74% are in favour of admitting new members to the block, compared to the EU average of 46%, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey. More »
Average monthly labour costs per person in paid employment amounted to SIT 406,183 (EUR 1,695) last year, according to the Statistics Office. Salaries represented the bulk or 81.9% of the costs, as they amounted to SIT 332.764 (EUR 1,389). More »
An anthology about the life and work of one of the most ingenious Slovenian scientists Jurij Vega (1754-1802) was launched on Tuesday. Vega was a great man, however is not as appreciated as he should be, Bostjan Zeks, the president of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences, said at the book's launch in Ljubljana. More »
EU transport ministers failed to agree on the location of the headquarters of the Supervisory Authority of the European satellite navigation system Galileo. They also failed to see eye to eye on whether the headquarters should be located in an old or a new EU member, Slovenian Transport Minister Janez Bozic said after Tuesday's meeting. More »
The headquarters of the Slovenian-European Natural Sciences Research Centre (SENARC) were inaugurated in Maribor on Friday. SENARC is a regional reference laboratory for metrology in chemistry for the Southeastern Europe. More »
Energy markets of South-East Europe have extensive potential, therefore it is necessary to get ready for entering these markets in the future, Haris Boko of the Croatian Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar told Wednesday's conference on energy markets in SE Europe. More »
Representatives of Holding Slovenske elektrarne (HSE) and Republika srpska, the Serbian entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, agreed on Friday that HSE and the Ugljevik thermal power plant would establish a joint venture with HSE as the majority owner. More »
The European Commission called on Slovenia on Tuesday to enact "stronger measures to ensure the sustainability and adequacy of the pension system and to promote active ageing," in order to improve the long-term sustainability of its public finance. More »
Slovenia has entered the final phase of preparations for the launch pf the euro on New Year's Day. "All euro cash is in Slovenia. We believe we are well prepared for the euro," a central bank official said on Thursday. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa officially opened in Brussels on Friday the new offices of Slovenia's Permanent Representation to the EU. Jansa took the opportunity to label Slovenia's upcoming stint as EU president as the biggest challenge for the country after its independence. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa believes the EU could tackle immigration more efficiently if it adopted a common policy on the issue. Migration, just like energy, will constantly crop up at the sessions of the EU Council, the Slovenian prime minister said after the close of the EU summit in Brussels on Friday. More »
Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant said following Friday's meeting with European Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen that the EU and national governments have a joint responsibility for cutting red tape for enterprises. More »
Banks on Friday started selling starter sets of Slovenian euro coins in a bid to help Slovenians get used to the new currency. One pack costs SIT 3,000 and contains 44 coins of all denominations worth EUR 12.52. More »
The Preseren Fund board revealed on Tuesday that the 2007 Preseren Prize for lifetime achievement in arts would go to Janez Maticic (1926), a pianist and composer, and Radko Polic Rac (1942), one of the greatest Slovenian actors. More »
Slovenian composer Avgust Ipavec, who lives and works in Vienna, has been awarded an Austrian state decoration, according to Henrik Neubauer, the head of the Slovenian Chamber Music Theatre. More »
The National Gallery plans to mount an exhibition of newly acquired paintings by Slovenian Neoclassical painter Franc Kavcic in 2007. Recently, the gallery has also been awarded seven paintings by Impressionist Ivan Grohar, which are part of its permanent collection, but have been in denationalisation procedure for over a decade. More »
A retrospective exhibition on Laibach, the world-famed Slovenian industrial music band, has been put on display at the Artikraak gallery in The Hague. The exhibition features photographs that highlight major events in the history of what has been the most notorious and successful cultural export of Slovenia and Yugoslavia. More »
The Sadar Vuga Arhitekti architecture bureau is launching in Barcelona on Friday an exhibition of its projects in the Slovenian capital over the past decade. More »
The exhibition "Waiting List: Time and Transition in Cuban Contemporary Art" opened at the City Gallery in Ljubljana on Monday evening. Works by more than 40 artists and groups highlight various tensions in political, cultural and social spaces of Cuba, the gallery director Aleksander Bassin told the press. More »
The Croatian community in Slovenia has acquired a centre designed to support the activities of various Croatian organisations. The Croatian Home, located in the heart of Slovenia's capital, was inaugurated on Friday, with the key of the centre handed over by Ziga Debeljak, the CEO of retailer Mercator, which donated the house. More »
Santa Claus left his reindeer in Finland, where they are resting and preparing for the Christmas eve, he told the press after arriving in Slovenia from Zagreb airport on Tuesday. He also arrived without his trusty helpers, the elves, but still plans to visit as many children as he can before returning to Finland on Thursday. More »
Slovenian extreme skier Davor Karnicar has completed his "7 Summits" project, becoming the first person to ski down the highest peaks of all the world's seven continents. Last on his checklist was the 4,897m Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, which he conquered on 28 November. More »
The Peace Light from Bethlehem, brought to Slovenia from Vienna by the Slovenian Scouts, was received on Sunday at the Ljubljana the City Hall and at the Ljubljana Cathedral where a special service was held to mark the occasion. More »
The ski season kicked off last weekend after a drop in temperatures finally allowed some ski resorts to start their snow makers. The resorts are generally well prepared and are hoping for a successful season although the weather conditions so far have not been promising. More »
PM Janez Jansa said Slovenia was prepared for its stint at the helm of the EU at least as well as other countries. "We are fully in line with the timetable, somewhere even ahead of it," Jansa said as he addressed the press on the second anniversary of the inauguration of his government."
The government on Thursday adopted the Stability Programme 2006-2009 which explains how Slovenia will meet the conditions of the eurozone Stability and Growth Pact. "Things in Slovenia are going better than we expected a year ago," Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told the press.
The cabinet decided on Thursday to purchase a building in the Croatian capital Zagreb to house the Slovenian embassy. It also agreed to donate US$ 30,000 to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Government PR and Media Office said. More »
The government on Thursday adopted the Stability Programme 2006-2009 which explains how Slovenia will meet the conditions of the eurozone Stability and Growth Pact. "Things in Slovenia are going better than we expected a year ago," Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told the press. More »
The cabinet adopted on Thursday changes to the decree on public funding of higher education and other institutions. The changes increase the amount of funds for such institutions, Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Jure Zupan told the press after the session. More »
The government on Thursday made the commitment not to use the changeover to the euro to increase fees and contributions determined in regulations and other legal acts that it adopts or which it can influence. All ministries and government departments have been ordered to honour the commitment until 30 June 2007. More »
The parliament's committees on foreign policy and EU affairs on Friday scrutinised the 18-month programme of the successive EU presidencies of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia and Slovenia's preparations for its stint in the first half of 2008. The lawmakers decided that the contents would be debated in parliament twice in 2007. More »
A former chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB) on Tuesday lavished praise on the role of the Slovenian central bank, Banka Slovenije, in the preparations for the adoption of the euro. The bank has done its job well and with credibility, Otmar Issing said in a lecture in Ljubljana. Issing also met PM Janez Jansa later in the day. More »
The management of Nova kreditna banka Maribor (NKBM), Slovenia's second largest bank, presented on Wednesday the final preparations for the euro changeover. According to its chairman Matjaz Kovacic, the bank has fully adjusted its software, while recent simulations have confirmed the system is well-prepared for the changeover. More »
The president of the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday praised the Slovenian central bank and the government for the job they have done in preparation for the 1 January adoption of the euro. "They have shown model cooperation with the ECB and other European institutions," Trichet said. More »
Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak began a visit to Moscow, where he is to attend a session of the Regional Communications Union (RCU) council, the Economy Ministry said. More »
There are no doubts that the earth is getting warmer, there is only a difference in opinions why these changes are taking place, said Lucka Kajfez from the Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty at an environmental round table in Maribor on Monday. More »
Slovenia's biggest power producer, HSE group expects to generate SIT 186bn (EUR 0.78bn) in revenues this year, and about one billion euros in 2007. The core HSE company is to post SIT 8bn (EUR 33.38m) in net profit and thus become one of the most profitable Slovenian companies, HSE chief exec Joze Zagozen told the press on Monday. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Tuesday Slovenia was prepared for its stint at the helm of the EU at least as well as other countries. "We are fully in line with the timetable, somewhere even ahead of it," Jansa said as he addressed the press on the second anniversary of the inauguration of his government. More »
The European Commission presented on Monday a report which assesses that Slovenia handed out EUR 100m in state aid in 2005. This represents 0.59% of the country's GDP, down from 0.61% in 2004, the Commission said. More »
Slovenia wants to stress enlargement, Western Balkans and intercultural dialogue, FM Dimitrij Rupel said in Brussels on Monday as the troika of forthcoming EU presidents (Germany, Portugal and Slovenia) unveiled their joint 18-month presidency programme. More »
Slovenian households are to receive the "Evro pred vrati" (Euro at the Door) publication in the coming days, which means that day will be equipped with all the information necessary ahead of the euro changeover on 1 January 2007, the government and Banka Slovenije, Slovenia's central bank, said on Monday. More »
Four Slovenian ministers signed on Thursday a protocol on the scope and contents of a national spatial plan for the renovation of the Cerklje ob Krki military airport. The Defence Ministry said that the facility would not be used as a NATO airbase. More »
Slovenian Defence Minister Karl Erjavec expects no difficulties early next year when Slovenia is to send a 530-strong battalion to Kosovo. Preparations for deployment are on track so no technical problems are expected, Erjavec said after visiting Slovenian troops in the province on Friday. More »
The management of the National Rail Transport Agency and subcontractors signed on Friday a SIT 8.7bn (EUR 36.3m) deal to modernise the Pragersko-Ormoz section of the railway. The section in NE Slovenia is part of the 5th pan-European transport corridor which makes it a priority investment, Agency director Rajko Satler said. More »
Architects Andrej Hrausky and Janez Kozelj and art historian Damjan Prelovsek have joined forces for another book on Joze Plecnik (1872-1957), this time offering a truly comprehensive insight into the work of Slovenia's most renowned architect. More »
Carniola sausages, a Slovenian specialty, will make their premiere appearance in space. According to Wednesday's report in the Ohio-based News-Herald, the smoked delicacies belong to a care pack of Sunita Williams, an astronaut with Slovenian and Indian roots who is expected to depart shortly for the International Space Station. More »
Drago Kos, the head of the Corruption Prevention Commission, has been reelected president of the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), according to Friday's press release from the Slovenian anti-fraud commission. More »
Bostjan Zeks, the president of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, labelled Anton Tomaz Linhart as "one of the most important Slovenians, who is unfortunately not known and appreciated as he should be", as he addressed a ceremony marking the 250th birth anniversary on Slovenia's first playwright late on Sunday in Radovljica. More »
Slovenia's top swimmer Peter Mankoc won gold in the men's 100m medley at the European Short-Course Swimming Championships in Helsinki on Sunday, his seventh consecutive victory in the event. More »
Stakeholders in tourism gathered in Maribor on Thursday to examine ways of creating added value and offering innovative products. There is increasing demand for products that offer something more, and such products typically have higher value added, the head of the Economy Ministry's Directorate for Tourism, Marjan Hribar, said in his address. More »
Interior Minister Dragutin Mate expects Slovenia to join the Schengen no-border zone by the end of 2007 after EU interior ministers endorsed on Tuesday the phased-out removal of border checks starting in December 2007. More »
Brussels, 05 December
Slovenia News 5 December 2006
Editorial
"Slovenia brings a simple and clear message to the eurozone - God's blessing on all nations", Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said as he opened in Brussels on Tuesday an exhibition entitled Slovenia and the euro. "The euro switch is the final step on the country's long path back to Europe," the minister added, toasting the "historic achievement" with a glass of "good Slovenian wine".
Other than that Sunday marks two years since the government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa was sworn in.
Labour, the Family and Social Affairs Minister Janez Drobnic was ousted in a 59-7 vote in parliament on Friday in what is the first dismissal of a cabinet member in this government's term in office. More »
Tensions flared up in the central Slovenian village of Ambrus late on Saturday, 25 November after a Roma family that had been moved from there at the end of October decided to return home, fed up with the failure of the authorities to find them a new permanent home. More »
Turkey will not back down despite warnings by the European Commission over Cyprus. "We are always willing to open our seaports and airports, but only after the European Union lifts the restrictions on Northern Cyprus as promised," Ali Babacan, Turkey's chief EU accession negotiator, said in Ljubljana on Friday. More »
The Slovenian Embassy in Rome sent on 30 November a note to the Italian Foreign Ministry over mistakes in personal documents issued to Slovenians living in Italy, members of the Slovenian minority and Italian citizens born in Slovenia, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said on Monday. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa believes the economic and political situation in Slovenia is stable and solid after the cabinet's first two years in office. "The economic situation is better than ever... Slovenia has the most favourable relationship between economic growth, inflation and employment ever," Jansa said on Tuesday. More »
The government has still not decided on the conditions set by US casino operator Harrah's Entertainment and Slovenia's Hit for launching a mega gaming and entertainment centre in western Slovenia, although "a lot has been achieved in talks already", Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said in Ljubljana on Monday. More »
Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti won a vote of confidence in the National Assembly on Thursday, 30 November, as lawmakers voted 41 to 33 against the motion to oust him filed by the opposition LDS. More »
Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said on Tuesday that the first general assessment of national reform programmes for growth and jobs showed Slovenia was doing well in granting tax brakes to companies investing in science and research, reducing the tax burden on emerging companies and creating new jobs. More »
Desire for higher profit, new challenges and the wish to be "their own boss" are the main reasons for starting new companies, according to a National Statistics Office survey. The obstacles meanwhile include red tape, bigger responsibility and securing sufficient capital. More »
The macroeconomic environment is stable, we are experiencing considerable growth and employment is rising, Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak commented on Friday on the results of his ministry in the past two years. More »
The Finance Ministry is sanguine about the 1 January changeover to the euro. Slovenia has put in place infrastructure that will allow for the resolution of potential problems, Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told the press on Monday. More »
Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said on Monday that he would "in the coming days or weeks at the latest" unveil a tangible plan for the state's withdrawal from Nova ljubljanska banka (NLB), Slovenia's largest bank. More »
Slovenian Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Jure Zupan and Indonesian counterpart Kadiman Kusmayanto signed in Ljubljana on Thursday a bilateral agreement on cooperation in science and technology. More »
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology held its first presentation on the 7th Research Framework Programme in Ljubljana on Monday. The new programme is worth over EUR 50bn in the 2007-2013 period, more than double that of as its predecessor, which runs until the end of this year. More »
"Slovenia brings a simple and clear message to the eurozone - God's blessing on all nations", Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said as he opened in Brussels on Tuesday an exhibition entitled Slovenia and the euro. More »
The European Commission said on Tuesday that Slovenia does not meet the demands regarding carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Even if the country enacted additional measures, its CO2 emissions would be too large, the Commission said in a press release. More »
Focusing on the situation in the Middle East and relations between different cultures in the Mediterranean, the EU-Mediterranean ministerial in Tampere expressed broad support for intercultural dialogue, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel stressed on the sidelines of the event that is to wrap up in Tuesday. More »
A European Consumer Centre (EPC), an institution that protects consumer rights in the European Union, opened in Ljubljana on Wednesday. The centre is a part of European consumer centres network from 25 EU member states, Norway and Iceland. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel arrived in Riga for NATO summit on Tuesday saying that Slovenia favoured the alliance's "encouraging attitude" towards Croatia, Macedonia and Albania, while it also worked towards inviting Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina to join the Partnership for Peace as soon as possible. More »
Slovenia will reconsider caveats on the activities of Slovenian troops in Afghanistan. However, this does not mean they would be redeployed to the more restive parts of the country, PM Janez Jansa told reporters at the NATO summit in Riga, which focused on Afghanistan and NATO's role there. More »
Several awards for achievements in publishing, printing, literature and book design were presented on Tuesday evening as the 22th Slovenian Book Fair opened at the Cankarjev dom arts centre. More »
The Month of Slovenian culture kicked off in Finland on Thursday with the opening of an exhibition of Slovenian art and design at the International Cultural Centre Caisa in Helsinki. More »
People in Slovenia are increasingly reluctant to marry. According to the latest data of the National Statistics Office, the annual number of marriages plummeted in the last three decades, from over 15,000 in 1975 to less than 6,000 last year. More »
The European Voice, an EU affairs weekly, has selected Slovenian Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk the winner of it annual Achiever of the Year award. The award was given out in Brussels on Tuesday. More »
The Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) said in Brussels on Wednesday that the issue of the erased has to be resolved before Slovenia takes over as EU president. It is unacceptable that a country which violates human rights presides the EU, the group said. More »
"The readers of my books can find a self-positive approach on how to improve themselves and relations with other people and in turn improve the world," President Janez Drnovsek said on Sunday as he was signing his new book entitled "Bistvo sveta" (The Essence of the World) as part of the 22th Slovenian Book Fair in Ljubljana. More »
EU health ministers called on Thursday for measures aimed at reducing the damaging effects of alcohol use on the health of the young, children and unborn babies, Slovenia's Andrej Brucan said on the sidelines of the EU Council of Employment, Social Policy, Public Health and Consumer Protection in Brussels. More »
Slovenia has a relatively low HIV/AIDS incidence compared to the world average, according to Slovenian Institute of Health (IVZ) data on HIV and AIDS cases in Slovenia in 2006. A total of 28 new HIV infections were reported this year, while five people were diagnosed with AIDS since the beginning of 2006. More »
The project of a helicopter ambulance, conducted on a trial basis since 16 June 2003 by the Slovenian Army, commenced regular operation on 1 December. The medical chopper has already had three interventions since Friday, said Health Minister Andrej Brucan at Monday's presentation. More »
Next week's meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council will see EU newcomers calling on the bloc's members to adopt the Portuguese Schengen Information System (SIS I) solution for all Schengen candidates, Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate said on Thursday after meeting his colleagues from new EU member states in Vilnius. More »