Slovenia News - March 2007

Slovenia News 27 March 2007

It is in Slovenia's interests that procedures on resolving the EU constitutional crisis are launched during Germany's EU presidency and Slovenia will strive as best it can for a compromise solution to this issue at the June EU summit, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Tuesday. The Slovenian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had received a diplomatic note from Croatia in which Slovenia's southern neighbour confirmed reciprocity for Slovenians in acquiring real estate in Croatia. The ministry expects Croatia to meet its obligation in practice as well. The note means Croatia met an obligation from its EU accession talks, the ministry said. President Janez Drnovsek met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Wednesday. The office of the secretary general as well as Drnovsek's office have confirmed that the pair discussed Kosovo, Iran and Darfur. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa has honoured the role played by political dissident Joze Pucnik in bringing independence to Slovenia. According to Jansa, a great injustice is being done to Pucnik, as his role in the independence efforts has not been emphasised enough. More » Condemning the crimes of totalitarian systems plays an important role in educating new generations, Justice Minister Lovro Sturm said at the annual European Standing Conference of History Teachers' Associations at Bled on Thursday. More » The Slovenian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had received a diplomatic note from Croatia in which Slovenia's southern neighbour confirmed reciprocity for Slovenians in acquiring real estate in Croatia. The ministry expects Croatia to meet its obligation in practice as well. More » Defence Minister Karl Erjavec and his Macedonian counterpart Lazar Elenovski signed on Thursday an agreement on cooperation in 2007. This year the countries are planning 24 joint projects, including language education and cooperation in training. More » Visiting Istria and Karst on Tuesday, Prime Minister Janez Jansa met representatives of the Italian national community in Slovenia. Jansa concluded that a lot had been achieved in the two years since the last meeting and added that one of the challenges ahead came in the form of the legislation introducing provinces. More » The Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investment (JAPTI) will get EUR 34.1m in budget funds in 2007 in accordance with the programme and financial plan adopted by the government last Thursday, JAPTI chairman Franc Hoffman told the press in Ljubljana on Tuesday. More » The Obalno-Krasko region, the second richest Slovenian region, has been undergoing intensive development in the last two years and meets all the criteria for soon becoming a successful province, Primer Minister Janez Jansa said on Wednesday as part of the government's visit to Slovenian Istria and Karst. More » The cabinet confirmed on Thursday that the Slovenian Armed Forces would take part in an EU battlegroup alongside Hungarian and Italian armed forces. The battlegroup will include a motorised company of 200 Slovenian soldiers and will be on standby from 1 July to 31 December 2007. More » The Slovenian cabinet moved to stamp out unfair business practices, including deceptive and aggressive sales behaviour, by confirming a bill on unfair business practices on Thursday. More » The cabinet confirmed on Thursday Slovenia would lodge a request with the European Commission for an extension of the reduced VAT rate on construction, renovation and maintenance work for residential housing and food preparation. More » Defence Ministry and Kobilarna Lipica, the state institution managing the Lipica stud farm, signed on Wednesday an agreement on the establishment of a cavalry honour guard unit, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said in Lipica. More » Carthago, the German manufacturer of motorhomes, is to open a factory in Odranci in northeastern Slovenia, the company's owner, Karl-Heinz Schuler, said on Tuesday. The factory, which will produce top-end motorhomes, is to be built by April 2008. More » The government on Thursday adopted a plan for the second stage of privatisation of Telekom Slovenije which determines that up to 39% of the telco would be sold to a strategic investor in a public tender to be published in July. More » Renault-owned car maker Revoz was the biggest Slovenian exporter for the 14th year in a row in 2006, its exports amounting to EUR 973.7m or 5.8% of the Slovenian total, according to a survey by the daily Delo. More » Outgoing Central Bank Governor Mitja Gaspari said on Monday that he was pleased with his achievements during his six-year term at the post. He pointed to the "fact that we had changed over to the euro, that the adoption did not worsen the economic trends, that the switch was well organised and that it brought no side effects". More » The central bank projects that the Slovenian economy will expand by 4.6% this year, slowing down to 4.4% in 2008 and 4% in 2009. Inflation is to amount to 2.7% this year and next, and 2.6% in 2009, according to the report on price stability which Banka Slovenije unveiled on Monday. More » The Steklarna Rogaska glassworks will provide the crystal statuettes for the winners of this year's Miss USA beauty pageant. More » Trimo, the Trebnje-based maker of prefabricated components for the construction industry, posted sales of EUR 134.2m for 2006, an increase of 31% year-on-year and significantly above plans. Net profit soared 38% to EUR 4.8m, Trimo chief executive Tatjana Fink told the press on Tuesday. More » Laboratory tests have shown that a suspected case of classical swine fever in Cresnjevci near the Austrian border was a false alarm, but the National Veterinary Administration (VURS) said on Friday farmers should continue to be cautious. More » A memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a Mediterranean University was signed on Wednesday by Piran Mayor Tomaz Gantar and Higher Education Minister Jure Zupan, who said the government was fully backing the project. More » The opposition Social Democrats (SD) have come head-to-head with the ruling Slovenian Democrats (SD) in the latest Politbarometer survey, which gives both parties an approval rating of 19%. More » An EU house providing information about the European Union opened in Ljubljana on Thursday as part of the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. More » The Government Communication Office and the European Commission signed on Friday a communication management partnership agreement with the aim to bring EU issues closer to the public. More » The EU is the biggest European success story, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has told the STA on the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaty. According to him, the biggest challenge facing the bloc in the coming months and years is the adoption of a constitution. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa believes that the upbeat mood prevailing at the ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the EU will make the search for a compromise on the EU constitution easier. More » It is in Slovenia's interests that procedures on resolving the EU constitutional crisis are launched during Germany's EU presidency and Slovenia will strive as best it can for a compromise solution to this issue at the June EU summit, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Tuesday. More » The EU-US open skies agreement confirmed by the EU Transport Council agreed on Thursday is a big opportunity also for the Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways in the market of transatlantic flights, Transport Minister Janez Bozic said on the sidelines of the meeting in Brussels. More » Flag carrier Adria Airways and the company Gio have been selected in a public tender as the providers of air transport services for the government and government agencies for 2007 and 2008, in a deal worth EUR 6.8m. More » The Carmina Slovenica choir, led by conductor Karmina Silec, is to present in Ljubljana on 27 March its newest project "CS Light". The performance sees the world-famous choir focusing for the first time on minimalist music. More » The Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAZU) presented on Tuesday a facsimile of the oldest Slovenian translations of the Bible, published by German publishing house Ferdinand Schoeningh in the Biblia Slavica series. More » The oldest book fair in Europe opened its doors on Thursday in Germany's Leipzig. The fair, which traces its history to the second half of the 15th century, is focusing this year on Slovenia as part of its programme to promote Central and Eastern European literature. More » This year's Slovenian Advertising Festival (SOF) is seeing a record 600 advertisements, the president of the event Marko Vrtovec told the press in Portoroz on Thursday. The festival started on Wednesday and ended on Friday with an awards ceremony. More » The advertising agency Futura DDB bagged the "Best Agency" award for the fourth year in a row, as the 16th Festival of Slovenian Advertising (SOF) closed in Portoroz late on Friday evening. More » Historian Guenther Bernhard of the Graz University presented at the Maribor Faculty of Arts on Monday his monograph "Documenta Patriarchalia Res Gestas Slovenicas Illustrantia", which brings documents on Slovenian monasteries in Sticna and Gornji grad. More » People were standing in line in front of the Slovenian central bank on Monday morning to get their hands on the limited-issue commemorative euro coins marking the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. More » Petra Majdic outran the world's best cross-country skiers at the 4.5-kilometre classic sprint in Stockholm on Wednesday. Majdic beat the second-placed Virpi Kuitunen of Finland by 4.5 seconds, while Anna Dahlberg of Sweden came in third, 5.6 seconds of the pace. More » Schedule of Events from 27 March to 1 April More »

Slovenia News 20 March 2007

Slovenian diplomats had a busy week, topped by the visit of the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who came to Slovenia following a letter by President Drnovsek to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran's nuclear programme and efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly economic ties, dominated talks held by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki with Slovenian officials on Wednesday, 14 March. Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel also held talks with European Parliament's rapporteur for Croatia Hannes Swoboda over balancing the MEP's draft report on Croatia's progress towards EU accession, soon to be debated by European Parliament. It is not history that is dividing Europeans, but above all the political and ideological interpreting of it, Former President Milan Kucan said in Strunjan on Friday as he addressed a memorial ceremony devoted to victims of Fascism prior to and during WWII. More » Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek told the Austrian public broadcaster ORF on Saturday that he was against the expansion of Slovenia's sole nuclear plant in Krsko. According to a report on Sunday by TV Slovenija, Drnovsek told ORF that there were enough nuclear plants in Europe and that he preferred "different, cleaner energy". More » President Janez Drnovsek is on his way to New York, where he is to meet on Wednesday UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for talks that will focus on global crisis spots, foremost Darfur and Iran, the president's office said. More » The Foreign Ministry issued on Wednesday a rebuke against Croatian political and media depictions of Slovenian-Croatian relations, saying that "certain Croatian politicians and journalists" have been providing untrue pictures of bilateral relations, whereby they have been "harshly, intolerantly as well as unjustifiably attacking Slovenian officials." More » Iran's nuclear programme and efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly economic ties, dominated talks held by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki with Slovenian officials during his visit here on Wednesday. More » The European Parliament's rapporteur for Croatia Hannes Swoboda has said he has no intention of withdrawing a proposal in his draft report on Croatia's readiness for EU membership that Slovenia and Croatia consider arbitration in efforts to solve their border dispute. More » Croatia's Ambassador to Slovenia Mario Nobilo was summoned to the Slovenian Foreign Ministry on Monday for talks about his recent statement that Croatian citizens were not allowed to buy real estate in Slovenia. The ministry refuted the claim and Nobilo told STA that the two countries were very close to resolving the issue of reciprocity. More » The Joint Committee for the Distribution of Diplomatic and Consular Property of the former Yugoslavia agreed in Ljubljana on Friday on the schedule for the division of the assets. While residences are to be handed over by the end of June 2007, embassies and consulates will get new owners by the end of this year. More » The Government Office for Local Government and Regional Policy sent to deputy groups on Monday five draft bills that deal with establishing provinces. The documents propose that the country be divided into 14 provinces. More » The cabinet decided on Thursday to set up a national power distribution company (SODO). The company will get a license to manage the network of the current five power distributors and will be headquartered in Maribor, the Economy Ministry wrote in a press release. More » Slovenia will enter the European market of debt securities on 22 March with its first issue of benchmark 11-year Eurobonds in a nominal value of one billion euros and with a fixed interest rate of 4%, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. More » Eight Slovenian executives received on Thursday awards for exceptional business and entrepreneurial achievements in 2006, handed out by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS). The award ceremony saw Prime Minister Janez Jansa praising the companies. More » The European Central Bank (ECB) has found "significant budgetary imbalances" in Slovenia in its March bulletin on the economic situation in the eurozone, placing Slovenia among the countries which are "not yet in safe budgetary positions". More » A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Slovenia to undertake "substantive reforms of the pension system sooner than later" in order to ensure its sustainability. "If nothing is done now to improve the parameters of the system, calculations show that the system would be completely unsustainable by 2050," the head of the delegation, Piritta Sorsa, said at the end of the annual IMF mission on Friday. More » The state-run KAD and SOD funds, and the DSU management and consultancy enterprise on Friday published an invitation for bids for their shares in 96 companies, among them printworks Cetis, Slovenia's largest dairy Ljubljanske mlekarne and chemical company Cinkarna Celje. More » The Austrian Central Bank organised a special event in Graz on Monday to honour Slovenia's adoption of euro. The event was attended by Austrian Central Bank Governor Klaus Liebscher and Slovenian Central Bank Governor Mitja Gaspari. More » Three quarters of Europeans and 63% of Slovenians support warning labels on alcohol products that would highlight the hazards drinks have for pregnant women and drivers, according to the results of the latest Eurobarometer poll, published in Brussels on Wednesday. More » Of the 57,360 Slovenian farmers who received EU subsidies in 2005, some 95% (54,610) received less than EUR 1,250, while none received over EUR 50,000, according to data published by the European Commission on Tuesday. EU subsidies for Slovenian farmers totalled EUR 24.5m in 2005. More » EU agriculture ministers struck on Monday a compromise on voluntary modulation, a scheme which had been rejected by the European Parliament last year, effectively blocking 20% of the EU's rural development aid. Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc said Slovenia welcomed the agreement. More » A joint proposal of the Slovenian government and the Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED) on the establishing of a Mediterranean university received wide support at the third Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly meeting held this weekend in Tunis, the Ministry of Higher Education said in a press release on Sunday. More » Addressing parliamentary EU affairs committee in Ljubljana on Monday, European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik said the European Commission would continue in 2008 the path it has set last year. The future lies in competitiveness supported by a knowledge-based society, Potocnik said. More » A political party that could come out of the Zares (For Real), a recently established society of six former deputies of the opposition Liberal Democrats (LDS), could take 16.9% of the vote at the 2008 general elections, show the results of a survey published in Saturday's edition of weekly Mladina. More » The president of the Social Democrats (SD), Borut Pahor, was in Berlin on Monday to explore the workings of Germany's "grand coalition", which he believes might take shape in Slovenia considering the current balance of power. More » Simobil, Slovenia's second largest provider of mobile services, generated operating revenues to the tune of EUR 131.2m in 2006, 30.2% more than in 2005. Its operating profit meanwhile soared by 149.6% to EUR 11.2m, the company told the press in Ljubljana on Wednesday. More » Slovenia will considerably increase the share of renewable energy sources by 2020 in accordance with the recently adopted EU Directive for Renewable Energy Sources, Hinko Solinc of the Environment Ministry said on Monday at the opening of a three-day conference on district energy in Portoroz. More » The government is to address to the European Commission an initiative for an extension of the reduced VAT rate on construction, renovation and maintenance work for residential housing, the Finance Ministry confirmed on Wednesday. More » The chairman of the British House of Lords EU Committee, Lord Grenfell, praised Slovenia's role in the EU as he held talks with Slovenian officials in Ljubljana on Thursday. "Slovenia is playing an important role in the EU, as it will be the first new member state to preside the EU and the first newcomer to adopt the euro," he said. More » The participants of a meeting on the construction of the third development axis, a transport link between northeastern and southeastern Slovenia, agreed in Slovenj Gradec on Wednesday that the construction of the NE part of the link should begin as soon as possible. More » The cabinet adopted on Thursday the programme for the construction and maintenance of motorways in 2007. The EUR 734.5m plan includes opening 17.7 kilometres of new motorways and construction of over 100 kilometres of existing and new sections. More » The development of transport infrastructure between Slovenia and Macedonia, and new opportunities for bilateral cooperation in transport, topped the agenda as Macedonian Transport Minister Mile Janakieski held talks on Thursday with Slovenian counterpart Janez Bozic. More » The Kranj-based Presernovo gledalisce Kranj will showcase eleven Slovenian plays as part of the Week of Slovenian Drama. The 37th annual theatre festival will see six plays competing for the Seligo Award for the best play, while five will be vying for the Grum Award for the best Slovenian theatre text. More » The Ljubljana Opera and Ballet House marked the 400th anniversary of opera as a genre in Ljubljana on Saturday. The event was marked by a concert performance of the opera "Samson and Delilah" by French composer Camille Saint-Saens. More » Slovenian Literature will get a prominent place at the Leipzig book fair which will take place in the German city between 22 and 25 March. The fair that has its roots going all the way to the second half of 15th century will focus on Slovenia as part of presenting literature from Central and Eastern European countries. More » Slovenians perceive entrepreneurs from the EU as the most suitable foreign owners of Slovenian companies, a survey published by financial daily Finance on Wednesday has shown. Americans, Russians, Serbians and Croatians on the other hand enjoy far less trust. More » Ziga Turk, the recently appointed development minister, has said that his office would nurture direct relationships with people responsible for development in all the ministries and on the regional level. We want to spur creative and entrepreneurial spirit, Turk told the Friday edition of daily Dnevnik. More » Slovenia lacks trained doctors and nurses with Klinicni center, Ljubljana's central hospital, assessing that retirements will force the institution to look for 230 doctors by 2015. The Health Ministry has meanwhile said that the NE regions of Stajersko and Prekmurje are facing an shortage of family doctors. More » After the warmest winter on record, Slovenia was taken by surprise on Monday. Morning rain turned into heavy snow throughout the country by the afternoon, causing major traffic problems on many main roads in the country and congestion in city centres. More » Slovenian police achieved a breakthrough in fighting white-collar and organised crime as well as corruption in 2006, but its record on petty crime and road safety was worse, police director general Joze Romsek said on Monday as he presented the annual report on police activities. More » Slovenian cross-country runner Petra Majdic finished second in the World Cup sprint in Norway's Drammen on Wednesday, clinching the third podium finish of the season and reaffirming her standing as one of the strongest competitors in the sport this year. More » Even though there was not much snow and despite the fact that the number of skiers dropped by half, the 2006/2007 winter season was a success, the head of the Slovenian Tourist Board Dimitrij Piciga told the press on Tuesday. More » The world's oldest vine was pruned as part of a traditional tourist event in Maribor on Friday, as the city vinedresser Tone Zafosnik dealt the expert cut which will ensure this 400-year-old Guinness World Record-holding lady gives a plentiful crop. More » Schedule of Events from 20 to 25 March More »

Slovenia News 13 March 2007

There was a new momentum in the Slovenian-Croatian dispute on the border, as an Austrian MEP proposed last week that the two countries settle for arbitration on the issue. This was coupled by calls from senior EU officials for the issue to be dealt with before Slovenia held the EU presidency in the first half of 2008. Slovenian officials responded by saying that the country does not oppose arbitration, but would agree to it only if the whole border rather than just the maritime border is considered. The view that arbitration was acceptable in this form was also voiced by the majority of Slovenian parties. Meanwhile, PM Janez Jansa told a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, 8 March, that Croatia had so far not sent Slovenia any tangible plans for arbitration. Sanader meanwhile opened the door to the possibility for arbitration on the whole border, which Croatia had been rejecting until now. The director of Slovenia's nuclear watchdog, Andrej Stritar, believes everything seems to point to the fact that a second reactor will be built at Slovenia's sole nuclear power plant at Krsko. More » Trade unions are calling for caution in privatisation in sectors such as health care and education. This cannot be merely a legal or economic issue, it also involves crucial ethical and social aspects, Dusan Semolic, the head of the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia, told the press on Tuesday. More » Visiting European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said on Friday that Slovenia would shoulder the burden in seeking a compromise between member states on regulating the bloc's internal energy market as its holds the EU presidency in the first half of 2008. More » Slovenia granted asylum to nine people in 2006 from a total of 579 applications for asylum or refugee status, Bojan Trnovsek of the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. More » The Italian government appointed on Wednesday the four missing members of a joint committee which oversees the umbrella law on the protection of the Slovenian minority, a move which had been promised when minority officials met Italian Minister for Regional Affairs and Local Autonomy Linda Lanzillotta a month ago. More » The Slovenian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed the findings in the US State Department report on human rights in 2006, published on Tuesday. The report assesses the state of human rights in Slovenia as "positive in general" and "finds progress in a number of areas", the ministry wrote in a press release. More » Slovenia does not tie open issues with Croatia with its southern neighbour's EU aspirations, PM Janez Jansa said in Brussels on Thursday. "Stressing arbitration or bilateral relations in connection with Croatia's EU bid is somewhat misplaced, there are other challenges for the candidate state to tackle," Jansa said prior to the launch of the EU summit. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Friday that the border issue between Slovenia and Croatia is not of key importance for Croatia's EU bid. Croatia has to meet very strict demands from individual negotiating chapters, including on opening its real estate market, he said at the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels. More » The Berlin Declaration, expected to mark the 50th birthday of the EU, will not tackle the issues connected with the European constitutional treaty, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in Brussels on Friday. It will merely be a positive assessment of what the bloc has already achieved and what the future brings, Jansa added. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa said the agreement reached on Friday by EU leaders on securing 20% of EU's energy from renewable sources by 2020 is a marked success. More » Slovenian Ambassador to Italy Andrej Capuder and Undersecretary at Italian Interior Ministry Ettore Rosato signed Wednesday a convention on the maintenance of the border between the countries, the Foreign Ministry said. More » The National Assembly on Tuesday endorsed Prime Minister Janez Jansa's nominees for two cabinet posts, confirming Iztok Jarc the new minister for agriculture, forestry and food and Ziga Turk the minister without portfolio in charge of development. More » The guests of the sixth Night of Thousand Dinners, organised on Thursday by the Slovenian-run International Trust Fund for Demining (ITF) and the American Chamber of Commerce, donated some EUR 22,000 for the ITF's demining efforts. The sum collected at the fund raiser, which will now be doubled by the US government, will be spent on the demining of Croatia. More » Telco Telekom Slovenije and Kosovo officials signed an agreement in Pristina on Tuesday, making Telekom's subsidiary Ipkonet the region's second mobile operator. More » Slovenian carmaker Revoz has launched the serial production of Renault's new model of the Twingo city car. Being the only Renault factory making the new model, the Novo mesto-based company expects the project will generate 300 new jobs. More » Slovenia's economy expanded by 5.2% last year, one of the fastest rates of annual growth in the last decade, fuelled by exports and domestic spending, shows preliminary data released on Friday by the the Statistics Office. More » German discount chain Lidl is to open on 29 March 15 stores throughout Slovenia, becoming the sixth discount chain on the Slovenian market. More » Agriculture is one of the key factors in the development of the countryside, which means cooperatives need to be incorporated into all segments of regional development, the head of the Cooperatives Association Peter Vrisk said at Tuesday's launch of the 34th annual conference of cooperatives in Portoroz. More » The European Commission said last week that the fund for restructuring Europe's sugar industry contained enough funds to pay out aid to all who requested it. This means that Tovarna sladkorja Ormoz, Slovenia's lone sugar plant, will get EUR 39.8m, the Agriculture Ministry said on Monday. More » The deputies who defected from the opposition Liberal Democrats (LDS) in recent weeks to become independents established a new society, which they hope will eventually grow into a party. According to Matej Lahovnik, the head of the group of independent deputies, the six lawmakers are establishing a group called "Zares" (For Real). The goal, said Lahovnik, is to create a new political wing that will enable the political participation of those who currently do not have the possibility to be politically active. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa announced on Saturday that he would invite all the parliamentary parties to enter into an agreement on Slovenia's presidency of the EU. More » Irish budget airline Ryanair is to start flying between Maribor, Slovenia's second largest city, and London as of 7 June, Ryanair representatives announced at Thursday's press conference at the Maribor international airport. More » Macedonian publisher Menora has published a book with selected poems by Slovenian poet Kajetan Kovic. The poems were chosen and translated by the distinguished Macedonian poet and translator Eftim Kletnikov, Macedonian daily Vreme said on Wednesday. More » While only 6% Slovenians agree with the statement that a woman should stay at home, the amount of housework done by women is still double that of men, a TGI-commissioned survey on gender equality has shown. More » Tanja Salecl, the head of the Government Office for Equal Opportunities, pointed on Wednesday to the low share of women in politics and the fact that women still perform most of household chores. More » The owner of the retail chain Enrgotus, Mirko Tus, is the richest Slovenian alive with an estimated wealth of EUR 240m, daily Finance writes on Wednesday. More » The Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia has confirmed that it has received an initiative to begin the process of beatifying the country's best-known architect, Joze Plecnik (1872-1957). More » The Slovenian Football Association and Slovenia's Premiere Football League marked 15 years of Slovenian club football in Maribor on Friday, handing out awards and praising the successes of Slovenian clubs. More » Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) director Dimitrij Piciga said that the fact Slovenia placed 44th in the world in a survey on the most attractive environments for developing tourism was also an obligation to improve in areas where the country fell short of expectations. More » Schedule of Events from 13 to 18 March More »

Slovenia News 6 March 2007

Prime Minister Janez Jansa paid a two day visit to Macedonia for the first meeting of the PM's of the two countries in two years. Jansa promised Slovenia would continue to support Macedonia's EU accession efforts, while the two sides also signed several bilateral agreements. The two countries signed agreements on cooperation in health and medicine, in European affairs for 2007, employment of seasonal workers and on adoptions. The Association of the Erased (people unlawfully removed from the permanent residence registry in 1992) presented a draft compensation claim on Tuesday. It is expected that many of the 4,093 erased whose permanent residence status was retroactively restored in 2004 would file claims in the coming days. More » Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his Macedonian opposite number Nikola Gruevski opened a Macedonian-Slovenian business conference on Monday as part of Jansa's two-day official visit to Macedonia. More » The Strategic Council on Foreign Policy agreed on the necessity for a unified foreign policy towards Croatia and decided to draft a list of all unilateral changes that happened at the border with Croatia since Slovenia gained independence in 1991, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said after the meeting on Friday. More » President Janez Drnovsek has broken his silence about the contents of a letter sent to his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano over recent comments by the Italian president regarding WWII events. Drnovsek told the public broadcaster that his message to Napolitano was that the comments "were not suitable". More » Slovenia is very likely to participate in the aid initiative agreed upon by EU's foreign ministers on Monday in response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Darfur, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel told the press on the sidelines of the meeting in Brussels. More » President Janez Drnovsek on Thursday received the credentials of the first resident Indian Ambassador to Slovenia, Villur Sundararajan Seshadri, with both officials calling for tighter cooperation in all fields. More » Delegates from Slovenia and Austria as well as potential partners for cross-border cooperation projects met on Tuesday to discuss cooperation between the border regions in the EU's 2007-2013 budget framework. The conference in Brdo pri Kranju also featured a cross-border project fair and a contact-making event. More » The time has come for the Central European countries that were once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire to stand united and face the challenges of modern times, former Hungarian foreign minister Geza Jeszensky said at a lecture in Ljubljana on Monday. More » The cabinet adopted on Thursday the regulatory framework needed to launch subsidy measures in agriculture. The measures allocate EUR 587.64m for the 2007-2013 period, Gvido Mravljak of the Agriculture, Forestry and Food Ministry told the press following the cabinet's session. More » The government on Thursday confirmed the sale of a 55.35% stake in the Slovenska industrija jekla (SIJ) steel group to the Russian industrial group Koks for EUR 105m, wrapping up the biggest privatisation procedure in years. More » The cabinet adopted on Thursday amendments to the prevention of restriction of competition act, which provide for a more effective persecution of restrictive practices. More » The government adopted on Thursday an agreement under which Slovenia joins the Academy of European Law, based in Germany's Trier. Membership of the academy is seen by the cabinet as an important part of preparations for Slovenia's EU presidency in 2008. More » The cabinet adopted Thursday amendments to the Constitutional Court act which involve changes to the scope of issues that the court has to deal with. More » Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), reiterated on Wednesday that eurozone countries should open its labour market for Slovenian labour as the country has joined the eurozone. More » Attending a meeting of EU defence ministers on Thursday, Slovenia's Karl Erjavec explained that Slovenia was implementing the bloc's decision to gradually reduce it peace-keeping force in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He added that Slovenia would on the other hand further increase its presence in Kosovo, also as part of a new civil initiative. More » The Gorenje group around the namesake household appliance maker increased net revenues to EUR 1.1bn in 2006, up over 10% over 2005. Net profit was up 4.4% to EUR 22.3m, the group said on Tuesday. Gorenje generated net revenues to the tune of EUR 340m in the last quarter alone. More » Iskra Avtoelektrika, a maker of electronic components for vehicles, generated EUR 2.41m in net profit last year, which is more than a ten-fold increase over 2005, according to unaudited and non-consolidated results. More » Slovenska industrija jekla (SIJ) steel group director Tibor Simonka told the press on Friday that SIJ and the Russian company Koks, the new owner of a 55.35% stake in SIJ, were "complementary to each other and not competitors, which is a good sign and a guarantee for the future". More » Ski equipment manufacturer Elan will produce 640,000 pairs of skis in 2007, 20% below the target for the year, the supervisory board of Elan's owner Skimar was told at an extraordinary session on Monday. More » Slovenians are among the most satisfied with kindergartens and schools in the EU, trailing behind only behind Cyprus, while the least satisfied are the Maltese and Romanians, a Eurobarometer survey on Europe's social reality has found. More » The overwhelming majority of Slovenians (91%) are concerned about climate change, and many believe (79%) that buying energy saving appliances will become a must in the future, according to the latest results of the Eurobarometer survey. More » With 1.26 children born per woman Slovenia is among the countries with the lowest birth rates in the EU, according to data released by Eurostat ahead of 8 March, International Women's Day. More » An agriculture expert has warned farmers that Slovenian agriculture and forestry are very vulnerable to climate change. The worst dangers for the farmers are droughts, floods and hailstorms, Lucka Kajfez Bogataj of the Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty told Thursday's a panel on climate change in the NE town of Zrece. More » Addressing the inaugural conference of the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme in Ljubljana on Friday, European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik said globalisation was the biggest cause of change in the world and that Slovenia's decision to deal with this change with the help of EU research funds was a step in the right direction. More » The EU's Economic and Financial Council (ECOFIN) highlighted the problem of an aging population as it assessed the sustainability of Slovenia's public finances on Tuesday. Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk labelled the report as "positive on the whole", but pointed to the need for an open public debate concerning Slovenia's long term problems. More » Slovenia supports the European Commission proposal on EU-wide cutting of red tape by 25% by 2012, European Affairs State Secretary Janez Lenarcic said at a session of the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on Monday. More » The Slovenian and Hungarian armed forces have held more than 200 meetings, joint exercises and trainings since 2001, the Slovenian Chief-of-Staff, Lieutenant-General Albin Gutman, said Thursday after meeting his Hungarian opposite number, General Andras Havril. More » President Janez Drnovsek met on Tuesday Mikhail Svidkoy, the head of the Russian Federal Agency for Culture and Cinema, for talks on the activities and plans of the Forum of Slavic Cultures. More » The draft bill on cultural heritage protection covers an extensive field of cultural heritage, includes both tangible and intangible heritage and introduces a new approach to dealing with the issue, Culture Ministry State Secretary Jelka Pirkovic said as she outlined the draft on Monday. More » American Slovenians in Cleveland have announced their plan to establish a cultural centre that is to help preserve the rich cultural and historical heritage of the biggest Slovenian community outside Slovenia, the representatives of the community have said. More » Justice Minister Lovro Sturm came out of Friday's meeting with Baroness Ashton of the British Department for Constitutional Affairs saying Slovenia will focus on higher consumer protection, e-law and family law during its EU presidency in 2008. More » The religious freedoms act, which brings new specifications with regard to the rights of religious communities and the conditions for their registration, and defines the Church and other religious communities as entities of public utility, entered into force on Saturday. More » Slovenian adventure swimmer Martin Strel has completed half of his 5,430 km journey down the Amazon 2 days ahead of schedule. Aided by the highest water levels in years, he conquered 2,654 km after 29 days of dehydration, sunburns and encounters with a plethora of dangerous creatures. More » The staging of the ballet performance "Bygone Celebrations" marked on Friday the centenary of the birth of the ballet legend Pino Mlakar, who died last year. More » Environment Minister Janez Podobnik amended on Thursday the ministry's plan for the culling of brown bears in 2007, reducing the number of bears slated to be killed from 106 to 100, the ministry said in Friday's press release. More » Benjamin Raich of Austria won the Kranjska Gora World Cup giant slalom on Saturday. Bagging his third consecutive win in Kranjska Gora, Raich finished 0.55 seconds ahead of Canadian Francois Bourque and 0.57 seconds ahead of Massimiliano Blardone of Italy. More » A flawless second run earned world champion Mario Matt first place in the World Cup slalom in Kranjska Gora on Sunday, but fellow Austrian Benjamin Raich dethroned Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal from the top of the overall World Cup rankings with second place. More » While they may have come back from two very different places, Slovenian track and field athletes and Nordic sports competitors arrived to the same hero's welcome on Monday in Ljubljana. More » Slovenia placed 44th in a survey on the most attractive environments for developing the tourism industry published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Thursday. The highest ranked among the 124 countries included in the survey are Switzerland, Austria and Germany. More » Slovenian ski resorts have been hit hard by the unusually mild winter and lack of snowfall. It will be a while before hard figures are out, but the Association of Slovenian Ski Operators estimates that the number of skiers will be almost 60% lower than last year, when a record 1.94 million people hit the slopes. More » Schedule of Events from 6 to 11 March More »

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