Heavy rains hit Slovenia on 18 of September causing flash flooding and setting off mudslides. Torrential waters made six victims and ravaged several towns. The Franja partisan hospital, a national monument shortlisted for the UNESCO World Heritage List, has been devastated too. Franja was among the best equipped clandestine partisan hospitals during WWII, boasting an operating room, X-ray apparatus, a disabled care facility, and a small electricity plant. It was gradually constructed between December 1943 and May 1945, and was never discovered by the occupying forces, despite extensive search campaigns.
In this edition we also write about the Prime Minister's visit to New York, where Jansa is attending the 62nd summit of the UN General Assembly. On Monday PM Jansa spoke at a round table on adapting to climate change, where he outlined the EU's views on how to respond it and Slovenia's experience with its effects, including the recent devastating floods.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, who will attend the opening part of the General Debate of the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly tomorrow in New York, at UN Headquarters today attended a high-level event on climate change called The Future in our Hands: Addressing the Leadership Challenge of Climate Change, convened by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. Slovenia's participation at this session is all the more important in the light of the country's forthcoming EU Presidency, when climate change is expected to top agendas both in the EU and globally. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel held a number of bilateral meetings ahead of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday. Speaking after talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, Rupel said developing countries should not be subject to the same environmental standards as developed ones. More »
Parliament Speaker France Cukjati met on Friday in Tainach his Austrian counterpart Barbara Prammer, discussing bilateral relations and possibilities for their improvement. Cukjati pointed to the importance of solving open questions regarding the Slovenian minority in the province of Carinthia and the minority's inclusion in cross-border cooperation. More »
The head of the Slovenian parliament's upper chamber, Janez Susnik, is visiting Russia until Thursday at the invitation of his counterpart Sergey Mironov. Bilateral cooperation and Slovenia's upcoming spell as EU president are expected to dominate his agenda. More »
In the aftermath of Tuesday's devastating flooding, the government on Thursday adopted relief measures and decided to declare Friday a national day of mourning for the victims. More »
Retail chain Mercator opened on Thursday a 7,500 sq. metre shopping mall in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, dubbed Zagreb III. The investment is worth EUR 10m, director of the Croatian subsidiary Mercator-H, Alan Krickovic, told the press. More »
The president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) Zdenko Pavcek visited Banja Luka on Monday, also holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik and Bosnia-Herzegovina Minister for Trade and Economy Slobodan Puhalac. Both expressed interest in cooperation with Slovenian companies. More »
The number of asylum seekers in Slovenia stood at 500 in 2006, 70% less than in 2005, when it stood at 1,550, according to the latest Eurostat data published on Friday in Brussels. More »
Slovenian Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant said on Thursday that the results of a recent survey placed Slovenia second in e-public administration in the EU. More »
European Affairs State Secretary Janez Lenarcic told the daily Vecer on Saturday that he was "pleased with the positive assessments" Slovenia is getting about its preparations for EU presidency in the first half of next year. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has told the opening of a two-day conference on security in the Western Balkans that giving the countries of the region a European future is the solution to the region's security issues. More »
Belgian airline Brussels Airlines is to start flying between Brussels and Ljubljana as of 19 November. The airline will operate the route six times a week, Brussels Airlines said in a press release on Wednesday. More »
Slovenian port operator Luka Koper presented last week its activities at the international logistics fair in Thailand's Bangkok, and discussed with the Association of Thai Freight Forwarders (TIFFA) possibilities of using the port of Koper as an entry point for freight transports from Southeast Asia. More »
Sabina Cvilak, a 30-year-old soprano from Maribor, has won a standing ovation at the Washington National Opera in her debut as Mimi in Giacomo Puccini's classic "La Boheme". More »
Slovenia on Saturday joined the European Heritage Days, a traditional event sponsored by the Council of Europe and the EU, with a series of events focusing on its legendary architect Joze Plecnik (1872-1957). More »
A booklet on Slovenian as an European language, aimed at presenting the role, importance, historical development, presence and diversity of Slovenian language was unveiled on Monday in Ljubljana, ahead of the European Day of Languages, on 26 September. More »
The government adopted on Thursday an umbrella domestic violence bill as the first document of its kind to define domestic violence, Labour, the Family Social Affairs Minister Marjeta Cotman told the press after the session. More »
The city of Novo mesto won the bronze award at this year's Entente Florale Europe, the European Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom, which took place on 21 September in Harrogate, the UK, Novo mesto Mayor Alojzij Muhic told the press on Monday. More »
Slovenia, along with Slovakia and Hungary, is expected to sign an agreement with Austria in November for boosting cross-border police cooperation following the expansion of the Schengen border-free zone, diplomatic sources in Brussels said on Friday. More »
His Royal Highness The Duke of York visited Slovenia as the UK's special representative for international trade and investment. Prince Andrew congratulated the Prime Minister Janez Jansa on the exceptional progress Slovenia has achieved since independence, expressing hope that this would continue in the future, and stressing that the United Kingdom was willing to share good practices in the field of public-private partnerships, among other things. Prince Andrew also wished Slovenia a successful EU Presidency and said that the UK would support Slovenia's efforts.
The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, praised Slovenia's achievements since it gained independence in 1991 as he met top Slovenian officials on Tuesday, including Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel. More »
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano signed on Wednesday the decree that was the basis for enforcing the 2001 Slovenian minority act in 32 municipalities in the Italian Friuli Venezia-Giulia region. Zorko Pelikan, the head of the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad, welcomed the signing later in the day. More »
At today's extraordinary session of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia presented his proposal to appoint Mr Radovan Zerjav the Minister of Transport, and Mrs Zofija Mazej Kukovic the Minister of Health. Prior to the session, both candidates were overwhelmingly approved by the competent National Assembly committees. More »
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, today met representatives of parliamentary parties and the group of unaffiliated deputies, to discuss the resolving of outstanding issues between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia. At a similar meeting on 27 August 2007, a decision was reached that before any further concrete steps would be taken, an opinion would be obtained from a coordination group of international legal experts about whether referring the border dispute with Croatia to the International Court of Justice in The Hague was in principle an acceptable option for Slovenia. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel highlighted the strategic importance of Primorsko for Slovenia on Saturday as the country marked 60 years since regaining this western region under the Paris Peace Treaty between Italy and the Allies. More »
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) is not concerned about the rising euro, which hit a record of 1.3927 against the US dollar on Thursday. Some 70% of Slovenia's exports go to the EU, so the strong euro is welcome, the GZS told STA. More »
In terms of working conditions, Slovenia is on par with the old EU member states, according to a European survey on working conditions carried out by Eurofund, the European Fund for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. More »
Parliament Speaker France Cukjati discussed Slovenia's priorities during its approaching stint as EU president as he met with senior officials of the Slovakian parliament in Bratislava on Wednesday. More »
European Multilingualism Commissioner Leonard Orban, who payed on Monday an official visit to Slovenia, backed plans to introduce a second foreign language as an obligatory subject in the first three years of primary education, which are subject of the Slovenian government-sponsored education reform. More »
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mariann Fischer-Boel said in Portugal's Oporto on Monday she expected a lot from Slovenia's spell as EU president in the first half of 2008. She emphasised Slovenia was facing a lot of work on EU dossiers in the area of agriculture and that the interim review of the common agricultural policy would be of key importance. More »
Interior Minister Dragutin Mate and police director general Joze Romsek presented the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency in talks on Monday with Max-Peter Ratzel, the director of the European police office Europol. More »
Defence Minister Karl Erjavec took part in Berlin on Monday in the Congress on European Defence, which saw defence ministers from the current presiding trio discuss European defence policies. According to Erjavec, he used the opportunity to present the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency term in the first half of next year. More »
Today, the Core Working Group for the EU Presidency (CWG) headed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, met at its September session to discuss preparations for the EU Presidency in the first half of 2008. The members approved the progress report on preparations between July and September and the operational work programme of subgroups for the final quarter of 2007. More »
Slovenia's candidate for this year's Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is "Kratki stiki" (Short Circuits) by Janez Lapajne, president of the Association of Slovenian Filmmakers (DSFU) Igor Korsic said on Monday. More »
A new bilingual lower secondary school has opened its door in the Italian Friuli Venezia-Giulia region has opened in what is an important achievement for the Slovenian minority in Italy. More »
The third Slovenia Open WTA tournament will start in the seaside resort of Portoroz on Monday. The US$ 145,000 tournament running until 23 September will feature nine of the world's top 50 woman tennis players. More »
Gymnasts Mitja Petkovsek and Alen Dimic bagged two more wins for Slovenia at the gymnastics World Cup meet in Ostrava, the Czech Republic, on Saturday. More »
EU home ministers reached an agreement on Tuesday that will allow Croatian citizens to cross the Schengen border into Slovenia, Italy and Hungary with ID cards only. "The final solution was acceptable for everyone," Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate told the press in Brussels. More »
The President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy, Romano Prodi, spent a two-days official visit to Slovenia. The Italian Prime Minister began his visit on Sunday by meeting representatives of the Italian minority and by visiting along with Slovenian PM Janez Jansa the WWI Museum in Kobarid. The status of minorities, Slovenia's EU presidency and economic cooperation were in the focus of talks that Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi held on Monday with senior Slovenian officials, including his counterpart Janez Jansa, Parliament Speaker France Cukjati and Social Democrats (SD) leader Borut Pahor.
Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi suggested after Monday's talks with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa that in order to make the Northern Adriatic more competitive, the Koper and the Trieste ports should merge into one port and even include the Croatian port of Rijeka. More »
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the Slovenian-run International Demining Fund (ITF) have signed an agreement which determines the areas in which they are to cooperate as part of a global anti-mine initiative, the fund said in a press release on Tuesday. More »
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, has been hosting Romano Prodi, the President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy on a two-day visit. PM Prodi also met the President of the National Assembly, France Cukjati, and representatives of the Italian minority in Slovenia. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who is to hold official talks with his visiting Italian counterpart Romano Prodi on Monday, met on Sunday with the representatives of the Slovenian minority in Italy. While saying that he noticed signs of progress, Jansa called on Italy to fully implement its minority protection law. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa stressed on Saturday that the 10th Motorised Battalion's Kosovo mission was a success. Slovenia's largest contingent abroad to date, which returned from the KFOR peace-keeping mission in early September, was praised by both the Albanians and Serbians, according to Jansa. More »
Flag carried Adria Airways posted operating revenues in excess of EUR 100m for the first seven months of 2007, up 17% year-on-year. Operating profit reached EUR 1.3m compared to a loss of EUR 1.2m last year. More »
The government adopted on Thursday amendments to the research and development act, bringing it in line with EU law by determining the procedure for the official authorization of research organisations that want to sign hosting agreements. More »
EU Affairs State Secretary Janez Lenarcic met on Friday Albanian Minister for European Integration Majlinda Bregu and acquainted her with Slovenia's plans and priorities for its presidency over the EU in the first half of 2008. More »
Slovenia's Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said on Friday that talks on the new EU treaty were getting close to a solution, but pointed to potential difficulties in the ratification process and the lack of time. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel and Javier Solana, the EU's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, agreed in Brussels on Monday that Slovenian diplomats were well prepared for the country's upcoming spell as EU president. More »
Members of the seventh contingent of Slovenian soldiers serving in the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan, who returned to Slovenia on Sunday, received medals for services to peace at a reception in Celje on Wednesday. More »
Slovenia supports efforts to set up interoperable rail networks beyond the EU's borders and a regional approach to developing a modern network in SE Europe, Jelka Sinkovec Funduk of the Transport Ministry said as a two-day international conference on investments in rail infrastructure in SE Europe got underway in Ljubljana on Thursday. More »
The 27th Ljubljana Graphic Arts Biennial will start on Thursday, featuring eight exhibitions and eight different perspectives on graphic arts. The project, which is being carried out by several galleries, will close on 28 October. More »
The government confirmed on Thursday a proposal by the Labour, Family and Social Affairs Ministry to declare a mass grave site near Maribor into a memorial park. It also gave the ministry to go-ahead to draft a plan for marking and maintaining all post sites where summary killings happened after WWII. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa said late on Friday that the TIGR resistance movement was the first anti-fascist organisation in Europe and the first to fight the Italian occupying forces. He also regretted that not enough attention was given to it at a ceremony in Sezana that marked 80 years since TIGR was founded. More »
Innovation in education will be a priority of Slovenia for when it takes over as the EU presiding country in January 2008. Education and Sport Minister Milan Zver said this on Friday after talks with Odile Quintin, the European Commission director general for employment and social affairs More »
Slovenia's gymnasts Mitja Petkovsek and Aljaz Pegan further expanded their medal collection from top events on Sunday, Petovsek claiming in Germany's Stuttgart the title of parallel bars world champion and Pegan bagging silver on the horizontal bar. More »
Slovenian spa resorts posted 80.7% occupancy rate in August. While the number of guests in the first eight months was up 5.1% over the same period last year, overnight stays increased by 2.4%, the Association of Slovenian Spa Resorts said in a press release on Thursday. More »
Slovenia will launch a national programme for screening and early detection of colorectal cancer. The programme, aimed at prevention and early treatment of this disease, is to start in 2008. More »
Three ministers presented their resignation on Thursday, Health Minister Andreaj Brucan, Transport Minister Janez Bozic and Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Jure Zupan. Prime Minister Janez Jansa accepted the resignation, and publicly thanked all three ministers for all the good projects they had carried out and the work they had done in their terms of office. The PM asked the leaders of the coalition parties for their full support, so that he would be able to nominate the new candidates as soon as possible and propose them to the National Assembly for confirmation.
Jansa also announced on Thursday the dismissal of the director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (SOVA), Matjaz Sinkovec, which will be succeeded by Andrej Rupnik, the head of the international relations department at the office of the police director general.
Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc met on Friday his Macedonian counterpart Aco Spasenoski at the sidelines of the Agriculture and Food Fair in Gornja Radgona. The pair discussed potential cooperation in agriculture, rural development, the establishment of a payment agency in Macedonia, and ways of boosting trade. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel met his Georgian counterpart Gela Bezhuashvili in Ljubljana on Friday, discussing the South Caucasus, Georgia's path towards NATO and the EU, and bilateral relations. More »
Three ministers tendered in their resignations on Thursday in a move that was welcomed by the opposition, while the coalition parties assessed that they had decided to go because of unfounded public pressure. Prime Minister Janez Jansa believes that the cabinet reshuffle will be completed in ten days. More »
The last members of the 500-strong Slovenian Sokol contingent returned on Saturday from their six-month tour of duty in Kosovo where their served as part of the KFOR peace-keeping mission. More »
Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk on Friday expressed pleasure over the fact that inflation in Slovenia was calming down, but he noted that it was still above the expected level. More »
Slovenia's birth rate exceeded the country's mortality rate for the first time in ten years in 2006. While the number of deaths stood at 18,180, the number of births was at 18,932, Apolonija Oblak Flander of the national Statistics Office told the press on Friday. More »
Slovenian Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc and his visiting French counterpart Michel Barnier called on Monday on the European Commission to analyse the causes of the growth of food prices. More »
EU enlargement and preparations for Slovenia's spell as the EU president in the first half of 2008 were in focus of Wednesday's talks between a delegation of Swedish MPs and Slovenian deputies, the parliament said. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel highlighted the challenges and priorities of Slovenia as the next EU-presiding country as he addressed Austrian diplomats gathered for a consultation in Vienna on Monday. More »
Transport Ministry State Secretary Peter Verlic refuted claims that the state did not care about the development of the Maribor airport as representatives of the ministry visited the airport on Wednesday to get acquainted with investments there and future steps. More »
The Ljubljana Festival 2007, which got underway on 2 July and is to end on Saturday, featured 72 performances of different kinds and attracted more than 83,000 visitors, director Darko Brlek told the press on Friday. The figures make it the biggest summer event the capital has seen in the past 15 years, according to Brlek. More »
A website aimed at combating discrimination was launched on Monday as part of the promotion of the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. More »
Slovenia's top rowing duo of Iztok Cop and Luka Spik were crowned world champions in Munich on Saturday, beating the French and Estonian boats in a hair-raising finish. More »
The Slovenian lakeside resort of Bled is to host the World Rowing Championships in 2011. This follows a decision passed at Monday's congress of the International Rowing Federation (FISA) in Munich. More »
A joint Slovenian-Hungarian working group on tourism set on Wednesday and Thursday the guidelines for future cooperation in the tourism sector. The group met ahead of a joint session of the Slovenian and Hungarian governments scheduled for October. More »
The Bled Castle is to get a complete makeover before 2011 worth some EUR 6m, Matjaz Zavrsnik, head of the Bled institute for tourism, which is now in charge of the castle, told the press on Thursday. More »
A giant poster advertising Slovenia has been put up at the Zaventem airport in Brussels with the slogan "99 Minutes Away, but Forever in your Heart". The poster will stay in place for a year, the Slovenian Tourist Office in Brussels has said. More »
The Institute of Public Health (IVZ), the National Education Institute and the Consumers' Association (ZPS) presented on Friday a project designed to encourage healthier eating habits and sport activity among the young, which is to be introduced in primary and secondary schools. More »
The police started using on Saturday the Schengen Information System, which represents a key step in Slovenia's integration in the Schengen passport-free zone. More »