Slovenia News - April 2008

Slovenia News 29 April 2008

Prime Minister Janez Jansa's visit to Japan concluded on 23 April after a three-day program that included meetings with the highest Japanese officials and the Summit EU-Japan. Climate change and cooperation in economy and trade topped the visit of the Slovenian Prime Minister, who held official talks with his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda and the Japanese Emperor Akihito. Prime Minister Jansa also held a working lunch with Keikichi Honda of Nippon Keidanren, the most important business association in Japan, and attended with Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak a business conference in Tokyo, where Minister Vizjak delivered the opening address. The fight against climate change dominated the agenda of the EU-Japan Summit Meeting, held in Tokyo on 23 April. The EU and Japan confirmed their commitment to fighting climate change and announced they would work together to find a fair and effective global mechanism to replace the Kyoto Protocol after 2012. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa met his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda in Tokyo early on Wednesday to discuss efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in the economy. More » President Danilo Tuerk met his Slovakian counterpart Ivan Gasparovic in Bratislava on Tuesday as part of his first official visit to the country. The pair agreed that relations between the countries are outstanding, and highlighted the common history of both countries and their bright future in the EU. More » Participants of the "Jobs for Youth - Prosperity for All" conference, which was held in Brdo pri Kranju on Friday, agreed that it is of a key importance for the EU to create an environment which would enable the young people to develop their potential. More » Labour Minister Marjeta Cotman said prior to the launch of a two-day conference on intergenerational solidarity in Brdo pri Kranju on Monday that society could successfully develop in the long run only with close mutual connections and cooperation of all generations. More » Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa met representatives of the Keidanren business association and visited Sony headquarters on the second day of his official visit to Japan. Jansa is accompanied by Slovenian Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and a group of Slovenian businessmen, who attended a Slovenian-Japanese business conference. More » Perutnina Ptuj, Slovenia's largest poultry producer, officially opened a new factory in the town of Breza near Sarajevo on Wednesday. The new factory is one of the largest greenfield investments in Bosnia-Herzegovina and concludes the company's 20m investment cycle in the country. More » The general assembly of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) confirmed on Tuesday its white paper in which it lists measures for boosting the competitive ability of Slovenia's economy. The document includes key strategic positions for talks with the government, project leader Alenka Avbersek said. More » The EU and Japan confirmed their commitment to fighting climate change and announced they would work together to find a fair and effective global mechanism to replace the Kyoto Protocol after 2012 at their summit in Tokyo on Wednesday. More » Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk told the European Parliament on Wednesday that the EU must take on the role of a global leader. Among the main challenges faced by the bloc, he pointed to climate change, human rights, migration and EU enlargement. More » Presidents of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the EU, Lovro Sturm and Dragutin Mate discussed fight against drugs and organised crime, and cooperation in border control as they took part in a two-day EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council meeting in St. Petersburg. More » Kosovo, the South Caucasus, the Transnistrian region and Afghanistan dominated the agenda of the EU troika meeting with the OSCE in Luxembourg on Monday, with the chair of the meeting, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, stressing the supportive role of the EU and the OSCE in these areas. More » European Affairs State Secretary Janez Lenarcic presented in Strasbourg on Tuesday the progress of the Slovenian EU presidency and its plans for the remaining two months to the Conference of Chairs of the European Parliament's Committees. More » The Karavanke tunnel linking Slovenia and Austria was given a "pass" grade in the assessment of 31 motorway tunnels across Europe by the German car association ADAC. The tunnel's biggest shortfalls are the lack of escape routes and poor lighting, issues that the Slovenian motorway company DARS promised would be addressed. More » President Danilo Tuerk told a ceremony in Begunje na Gorenjskem on Sunday that the National Liberation Struggle confirmed the vitality of the Slovenia nation, enabling it to create its own state and take its place in the EU half a century later. More » Several towns around Slovenia are to host performances by folklore groups from around Europe as part of this year's running of the SloFolk festival. The project, organised by folklore groups from the Dolenjsko and Posavje regions, will run from 29 April through 4 May. More » Slovenia's men gymnasts had an excellent outing on Sunday in front of the home crowd at the Salamun Memorial in Maribor. Aljaz Pegan and Alen Dimic had a one-two finish on the high bar, while Mitja Petkovsek took third on the parallel bars. More » Slovenia's Sara Isakovic broke national records in the 200 and 400 m freestyle events at an international swim meet in Vienna at weekend, raising expectations ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. More » A round table discussion on the importance of vaccination took place on Wednesday at the Ljubljana Castle to mark the European Immunisation Week, 21 - 27 April. More » Representatives of EU pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement authorities held a meeting at Brdo pri Kranju on Monday, which was aimed at establishing an EU network of expert bodies in the area. More » The government adopted on Friday the bill on mental health, which will serve as basis for the national programme for the protection of mental health. More » Calendar of events for 29 April - 4 May More »

Slovenia News 22 April 2008

The EU Ministers in charge of competitiveness met in Brdo pri Kranju at an Informal Meeting hosted by the Slovenian Presidency on 15 an 16 April. On the first day of proceedings, chaired by Slovenian Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Mojca Kucler Dolinar, the Ministers launched the "Ljubljana Process" aimed to the formation of a single and efficient European research area through better coordination of all stakeholders at all levels of decision-making. The initiative arose from the conviction that more cooperation and synergy are needed to improve research in order to create a globally competitive Europe able of competing with the likes of the US and Japan, as well as the rising powers of India and China. EU Commissioner Janez Potocnik, who attended the first day of meeting, said that the EU was trying to change brain drain into the positive concept of "brain circulation", which is essential to the functioning of research. He said there were a number of policies to attract researchers who have left Europe and policies aimed at making Europe more attractive. The second day of meeting, chaired by the Slovenian Minister for the Economy, Andrej Vizjak, focused on issues related to industry. The Ministers voiced broad support for two major initiatives mulled by the European Commission - the Small Business Act and sustainable industrial policy. European Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen positively assessed the Ministers' support for two policy initiatives which are considered the key drivers to the EU's effort to improve competitiveness. Slovenian Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Mojca Kucler Dolinar discussed on Monday efforts to bolster Slovenian-Argentinean cooperation in science as she held talks with her visiting Argentinean counterpart Lino Baranao. More » Slovenian Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc concluded on Monday his three-day working visit to Macedonia. The aim of the visit was to boost cooperation in agriculture and Jarc signed several agreements with Macedonia. More » Austrian Minister for Education, Arts and Culture Claudia Schmied paid a visit to Slovenia on Monday, discussing with her hosts, Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti and Education Minister Milan Zver, topical issues in the light of bilateral and regional cooperation and Slovenia's EU presidency. More » The government amended on Thursday the environment protection act with the provisions of the EU directives on environmental liability and remedial measures for the environment and with the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, Environment Minister Janez Podobnik told the press. More » EU ministers in charge of competitiveness voiced broad support Wednesday for two initiatives mulled by the European Commission - the Small Business Act and sustainable industrial policy - which are considered the key drivers to the EU's effort to improve competitiveness. More » EU accession is the only way to tear down the borders between Western Balkan countries, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Wednesday at the opening of the Slovenian Business Week, a series of business conferences in Ljubljana. He told economists from the region that joining the EU was worth the effort. More » Senior officials for trade and investment from EU and Asian countries have called for progress in negotiations on free trade agreements between the two regions at a two-day meeting in Slovenia's Maribor. They exchanged views regarding some global issues and called for liberalisation of world trade. More » The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises presented at a conference in Bled on Thursday specific proposals to reduce administrative barriers by 25% by 2012. The document was submitted to the Slovenian EU presidency and the European Commission. More » Slovenia's biggest bank, NLB, said on Wednesday it would issue 898,204 new shares at EUR 334 apiece. The EUR 300m issue will increase the bank's share capital by 11.2%, NLB said, adding that the proceedings are to be launched on Thursday for existing shareholders. More » EU ministers in charge of science launched at Brdo pri Kranju on Tuesday the "Ljubljana Process", which would lead to the formation of a single and efficient European research area through better coordination of all stakeholders at all levels of decision-making. More » Structured cooperation in implementing the EU health strategy topped the final day of a two-day informal meeting of EU health ministers at Brdo pri Kranju. The ministers backed a proposal by the Slovenian presidency to have a group of officials deal with coordinating efforts in health between the member states and the European Commission. More » Joseph Daul, the head of the European People's Party (EPP-ED) deputy group in the European Parliament, told the press on Friday that one of the main topics of the party's two-day meeting was the increase in living expenses, which he believes should be of priority concern for the EU. More » Slovenian parliamentary Speaker France Cukjati assured his Turkish counterpart Koeksal Toptan in Ljubljana on Tuesday that Slovenia supported Turkey's progress in the lengthy, multi-step EU accession talks. More » Issues related to the European law enforcement organisation, Europol, and negotiations on the visa regime with the US topped the agenda as Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate met his Czech counterpart Ivan Langer in Prague on Wednesday, according to a press release from the Slovenian presidency of the EU. More » The Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2008, a three-day conference on road transport development, started in Ljubljana on Monday. According to European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik, the event aims to strengthen cooperation in the area of transport development. More » The Slovenian Music Days, a festival dedicated to Slovenian composers of contemporary music, will this year focus on the works of avant-garde composer Vinko Globokar, including his best known work "Angel zgodovine" (Angel of History), a three-part concerto for two orchestras and two conductors. More » Slovenia's Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti is one of the three historians who wrote the first comprehensive overview of the Slovenian history in a foreign language. More » EU directors general for youth have underlined dialogue with youth as the main vehicle for improving the situation of young people in the EU. Meeting at Brdo pri Kranju on Monday, the participants discussed the future of EU youth policy and the working methods for the next ten years. More » The "Promoting the Participation of Young People with Fewer Opportunities in Society" event took place in Ljubljana from Friday to Sunday, with Slovenian Education Minister Milan Zver and EU Education, Training, Culture and Youth Commissioner pointing to the importance of the young. More » A delegation of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) which has visited venues in and around Maribor that are to host the Winter Universiade in 2013 on Wednesday expressed full support for the only candidate for the event. More » Health Minister Zofija Mazej Kukovic said in Brdo pri Kranju on Thursday that her EU counterparts agreed interdisciplinary approach was required for a disease such as cancer, as well as other diseases. More » Slovenia launched the national breast cancer screening programme on Monday, with the first mammography being performed in Ljubljana. The programme, dubbed Dora, is aimed at reducing breast cancer mortality by 25%, director of the Ljubljana Oncology Institute Aljosa Rojec told the press. More » Calendar of Events for 22 - 27 April More »

Slovenia News 15 April 2008

The Slovenian Presidency held on 11 and 12 April an Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Environment. The meeting, also attended by EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, focussed on the reduction of Co2 emissions with the use of sustainable biofuels and precluding adverse impacts such as deforestation. According to Slovene Environment Minister Janez Podobnik, who chaired the meeting, a special ad hoc group of the Committee of Permanent Representatives at the EU (Coreper) is expected to draft the sustainability criteria for the production of biofuels by its 7 May meeting. According to Environment Commissioner Dimas, the work of the ad hoc group is very important. "I'm sure they will do their best to achieve the best sustainability criteria in the world, taking into account the social and environmental impacts, and maximising the benefits from the use of biofuels," Dimas said. In Slovenia the EU Ministers also discussed funding of programmes to prevent deforestation. Dimas said that various approaches were being discussed, including credits for avoiding deforestation, and using 20% of the estimated EUR 30-50bn that member states will get from auctioning CO2 emission permits for "good causes". In this edition of Slovenia News we also write on Foreign Minister Rupel's visit to the USA, where Dr Rupel met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon discussed Kosovo on Saturday, agreeing that all involved parties should work together to solve the issue. "We emphasised that joint action is needed to achieve the common good," Rupel said in New York. More » Kosovo was again at the forefront of talks as Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the State Department in Washington on Monday. Rupel said they shared concern over the situation in the Western Balkans, and were keen to see progress as soon as possible. More » Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc and his Romanian counterpart Dacian Ciolos discussed cooperation between their ministries and countries' agricultural sectors on Friday, as Jarc started a two-day visit to Romania. The pair agreed that cooperation between the countries was good and that it would be strengthened in the future. More » President Danilo Tuerk and Jordanian King Abdallah II agreed on Tuesday that relations between the countries were good and that Slovenia and Jordan should bolster ties, especially in business, as they met at Brdo pri Kranju. The pair also discussed the situation in the Middle East. More » Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak met on Monday Vietnamese Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang to discuss the proposal of a new EU regulation on the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for the 2009-2011 period, which envisages the exclusion of footwear of Vietnamese origin from the GSP framework. More » Speaking at a meeting of the UN Social and Economic Council in New York on Monday, Slovenian Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk called for adequate measures for prevention of crisis similar to the current one, and for the strengthening of the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with reforms. More » Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Alexei Miller, CEO of the Russian gas producer Gazprom, discussed in Ljubljana on Friday energy safety in Europe and the world, the prime minister's office said. Gazprom meanwhile said the talks concerned the South Stream project. More » The management boards of the Slovenian and Bosnian telecoms incumbents confirmed their intent to cooperate in technology and services as they met in Ljubljana on Thursday. More » The supervisory board of fuel trader Petrol, one of Slovenia's biggest companies, endorsed on Wednesday single tier management. The proposal, given by one of the company's major shareholders, is also supported by the management and will be put to vote at the annual general meeting on 15 May. More » Seeking to strike a balance between reducing Co2 emissions with the use of biofuels and precluding adverse impacts such as deforestation, the EU is hard at work on sustainability criteria for the production of biofuels, Slovenian Environment Minister Janez Podobnik said on Saturday. More » Human rights, education, the rule of law, energy and environment, water resources, climate change, drug trafficking, Afghanistan and Iran were the main topics of today’s plenary session of the EU Troika and the countries of Central Asia at the ministerial level. More » Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc said in Luxembourg on Monday after a meeting of EU ministers responsible for fisheries that opinions on the combat against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing were very different, adding that there was still room for progress. More » Top environment officials from the EU, candidate countries and EFTA members planted an avenue of 34 linden trees at the Brdo estate on Saturday, in what was a symbolic culmination of the informal meeting of EU environment ministers and a message of the importance of trees for the environment. More » The Slovenian-run International Trust Fund for Demining (ITF) celebrated in Ljubljana on Friday its 10th anniversary. President Danilo Tuerk on the occasion expressed his satisfaction with great progress that had been made in demining in the last ten years. More » The heads of parliamentary culture committees from EU member states and accession candidates are holding a one-day meeting in Ljubljana on Monday, dedicated to intercultural dialogue. The aim of the meeting is to raise the awareness of culture and intercultural dialogue, said Slovenia's Branko Grims. More » The last day of the conference on intercultural dialogue entitled "Europe, the World and Humanity in the 21st Century" focused on the history and future of the idea of a united Europe, and the role of media in contemporary society. More » A conference promoting innovation and creativity in education rounded off at Brdo pri Kranju on Thursday. "If Europe wants to stay one step ahead of the most developed regions, creativity must become a way of life," stressed Education Minister Milan Zver at the close of the conference. More » Acroni Jesenice became on Wednesday the Slovenian ice-hockey champions for the 2007/08 season after defeating Olimpija from Ljubljana with 1:2 (0:2, 1:0, 0:0) to sweep the final series and take the 6th title since Slovenia's independence. More » Slovenian judoka Petra Nareks won bronze in the up to 52 kg category at the European Judo Championships in Lisbon on Friday. However, her sixth medal at European Championships was not enough to secure her a berth at the Olympic Games in Beijing. More » Slovenian swimmer Peter Mankoc won gold in the 100-metre butterfly at the World Swimming Championships (25m) in Manchester on Thursday. More » Slovenia placed 36th in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report for 2008 published recently by the World Economic Forum (WEF). This improves Slovenia's ranking by eight places compared to last year, representatives of the Economy Ministry's tourism directorate said on Wednesday. More » Calendar of Events for 15 - 20 April More »

Slovenia News 8 April 2008

EU Ministers of Finance met in Slovenia on 4 and 5 April for the Informal ECOFIN held by the Slovenian EU Presidency. At Brdo Congress Centre the Ministers agreed on a memorandum of understanding which sets the groundwork for the formation of cross-border stability groups bringing together supervisory authorities, central banks and finance ministries in tackling cross-border financial crises. The Ministers also discussed on the new investment framework for the Western Balkans. According to Slovenian Finance Minister and the chair of the ECOFIN council Andrej Bajuk, the Ministers agreed it should provide for a better efficiency of the existing financing instruments for the region, that could be boosted through the gradual harmonisation of the available financing instruments. The EU also reaffirmed its commitment to make social expenditure more efficient and effective. "There are differences in welfare systems but Europe has a distinct welfare model - which we would like to make even more efficient," Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said on the second day of meeting. EU Finance Ministers and central bank governors also agreed a common position on the quota system and budget in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will be the main themes of the 12-13 April meeting of the IMF and World Bank in Washington. Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and Moroccan Minister of Higher Education Ahmed Akhchichine signed in Rabat on Thursday a joint statement on cooperation in all areas of education and scientific research. More » Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk and his Austrian host and counterpart Heinz Fischer agreed on Monday that relations between their countries had never been as good as now. The countries are no longer separated by an official border and use the euro, the pair told the press after an hour's talks in Vienna. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa received representatives of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) ahead of Saturday's protest in Ljubljana, stressing after the meeting that he agreed with the unions that the trend of the decreasing share of wages in GPD needed to be addressed. More » Insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav increased net profit by 102% to EUR 43m in 2007 year on year, prompting chairman Andrej Kocic to assess on Wednesday the company's operations as successful. Triglav moreover collected EUR 708.3m in gross premiums and paid out EUR 367.6m in damages, the press were told in Ljubljana. More » Slovenia's leading grocer, Mercator, won the Women Manager-Friendly Company Award, while Tadej Tufek, the CEO of the national flag-carrier Adria Airways, bagged the Young Manager Award at the spring meeting of the Slovenian Managers' Association in Portoroz on Thursday. More » President of the Slovenian Managers Association Franjo Bobinac urged countries in SE Europe on Friday to concentrate on progress and to remove obstacles to mutual business in order to make the region stronger and thus benefit their economies. More » The government endorsed on Thursday an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between Slovenia and Montenegro and tasked Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Mojca Kucler Dolinar to sign it in Ljubljana in May. More » The EU agreed a memorandum of understanding which sets the groundwork for the formation of cross-border stability groups bringing together supervisory authorities, central banks and finance ministries in tackling cross-border financial crises. The groups are designed to enhance preparedness for dealing with cross-border systemic financial crisis in normal times, and facilitate the management and resolution of such crises when they occur, according to the memorandum, which was confirmed at an Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Finance (ECOFIN) which started in Slovenia at Brdo pri Kranju on 4 April. More » The EU has reaffirmed its commitment to make social expenditure more efficient and effective. "There are differences in welfare systems but Europe has a distinct welfare model - which we would like to make even more efficient," Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said after an informal meeting with his EU counterparts. More » Slovenia's ongoing six-month stint at the helm of the EU is the pinnacle of Slovenian politics, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel told the press in Ljubljana on Wednesday. "Slovenia is steering the EU and coordinating European politics," he added. More » The vice-president of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament (PES), Hannes Swoboda, called on Friday on the Slovenian EU presidency to launch a "Ljubljana Process" and give more emphasis on the economic and social development of the Western Balkans, which would in turn increase the competitiveness of the region More » Some 140 participants of a two-day conference on cohesion policy that kicked off in Maribor on Monday focused on new challenges and the future of European cohesion policy. More » The Slovenian delgation led by Prime Minister Janez Jansa attended the NATO summit, held in Bucharest between 2 and 4 April. Enlargement of the Alliance and security in the Euro-Atlantic area topped the talks of the Heads of State and Government gathered in the Romanian capital. More » The government adopted on Thursday a proposal on the participation of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces in the NATO Training Teams (NTT) and the Military Civilian Advice Division (MCAD) in the command of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR). More » The Slovenian government has donated EUR 150,000 through a new EU aid mechanism for the Palestinian Authority. The donation will be used to pay teacher salaries, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry has said on its website. More » The rule and dramatic fall of Slovenia's most important medieval aristocratic dynasty will be featured in an exhibition that opens Tuesday afternoon at Ljubljana Castle. More » A photo exhibition portraying the 27 EU member states as well as the European historical heritage will open at the Ljubljana City Gallery on Monday evening. More » The head of the Council of the Roma Community, Jozek Horvat Muc, has told the press ahead of the 8 April International Day of the Roma that the situation in Slovenia is favourable for the Roma, which has also been confirmed at a recent plenary of the parliament of the International Romani Union. More » Calendar of Events for 8 - 13 April More »

Slovenia News 1 April 2008

EU Foreign Ministers met in Brdo pri Kranju on 28 and 29 March, for the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Gymnich) held by the Slovenian Presidency. The meeting was also attended by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe/High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, the EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Dr Benita Ferrero-Waldner and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn. Representatives of the Governments of the candidate countries and the potential candidate countries of the Western Balkans attended the meeting as well. At the first day of meeting Ministers mainly discussed about the Middle East peace process, and the relations between the EU and Russia. Foreign Minister Rupel also called for dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama in the wake of recent protests in Tibet. The second day of Gymnich focussed on the Western Balkans. GAERC President and Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, who chaired the meeting, said the ministers had sought to give a fresh impetus to the Thessaloniki agenda, a strategy giving a European perspective to the Western Balkans. "We have done this," he said after two days of proceedings, at which the ministers also met officials from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. India opened its embassy in Ljubljana on Monday, just over a year after the first resident Indian ambassador to Slovenia, Villur Sundararajan Seshadri, took office. More » Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel met Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra in Ljubljana on Thursday, sharing with him Slovenia's experience regarding the EU presidency. More » A reception by Peruvian counterpart Alan Garcia Perez at the government palace in Lima launched President Danilo Tuerk's tour of Latin America on Monday. The pair focused on the EU-Latin America Summit, which is to be hosted by Peru in May. More » The ministries of justice and higher education have commissioned an analysis of information technology implementation in the judiciary as part of the e-justice strategy for the period 2008-2013, Justice Minister Lovro Sturm and Higher Education Minister Mojca Kucler Dolinar told the press on Tuesday. More » The NKBM financial group, centred around Slovenia's second largest bank, Nova Kreditna banka Maribor (NKBM), posted a net profit of EUR 56.5m for 2007, almost 20% more than in 2006. Total assets stood at EUR 5.1bn, up 25% year-on year, according to unaudited results released on Monday. More » Representatives of the Financial Fund for the Decommissioning of the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant (NEK) described on Tuesday the fund's operations in 2007 as successful. The fund's investment portfolio increased by EUR 14.2m to EUR 145.7m, its director Janko Strasek told the press. More » Chemicals-through-tourism conglomerate Sava generated EUR 39.3m net profit in 2007, up 15% compared to the year before and 28% above plans, according to group's Friday press release. Sales revenues were up 11% to EUR 188.2m, 2% above the target. More » The Agriculture Ministry has drawn up a strategy to minimise the harmful effects of climate change on Slovenian agriculture. "We believe this is one of the first strategic documents of its kind," Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc told the press on Tuesday. More » A symposium devoted to Slovenian space science pioneer Herman Potocnik Noordung (1892-1929) was held in Washington on Thursday, featuring a number of distinguished guests, among them US astronaut of Slovenian-Indian descent Sunita Williams. More » The first day of the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Gymnich) was attended by the Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe/High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, the EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Dr Benita Ferrero-Waldner. More » EU foreign ministers reaffirmed the bloc's commitment to the Western Balkans and threw their support behind a set of measures that would bring tangible benefits for the people of the region at the final day of the Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers at Brdo pri Kranju on Saturday. More » Cooperation between the EU and the United Nations Refugee Agency in view of Slovenia's EU presidency dominated talks as UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres paid a visit to Slovenia on Wednesday. More » Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel hosted on Thursday a lunch for his Finish counterpart and current chair of OSCE Ilkka Kanerva, who said that development of crisis management capacity was more than needed and did not exclude the possibility of cooperation in the field of crisis management between the EU and Russia. More » Slovenia will continue to support Montenegro's efforts to join the EU, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said after holding talks on Wednesday with Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Gordana Djurovic. More » State Secretary for European Affairs Janez Lenarcic said on Monday that Slovenia as EU president had so far done everything expected of the head of the 27-nation bloc. "Despite initial doubts and questions, we can now clearly say that Slovenia is up to the task," he said. More » The American Chamber of Commerce and the Slovenian-run International Trust Fund for Demining (ITF) organised in Ljubljana on Thursday the seventh Night of Thousand Dinners, at which guests donated over EUR 43,500 for two demining projects in Bosnia-Herzegovina. More » More than 60 authors that have converged on the lakeside resort of Bled for the 40th annual International PEN meeting mulled the question of European conscience at two panels on Thursday, while they also attended a reception hosted by President Danilo Tuerk. More » Architect Peter Flister won this year's Stele Award for lifetime achievement in conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. The Slovenian Association of Conservators recognized Flister and several other experts in a ceremony at the National Gallery on Monday. More » As part of an ongoing project to bring the EU closer to the people, Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Science Commissioner Janez Potocnik visited secondary schools in Kranj and Ivancna Gorica to talk with students about how the EU functions. More » Natura 2000 has recently expanded by 18,784 km2, including 750 km2 in Slovenia, the European Commission wrote on Friday. According to the Commission, Europe's network of protected natural areas now covers almost 20% of the continent's landmass and 100,000 km2 of its seas. More » Schengen no-border zone after the air borders among the old end nine new Schengen members were abolished on Sunday. The national ceremony marking the event was held at the Ljubljana airport on Monday with Prime Minister Janez Jansa as the keynote speaker. More » Calendar of Events for 1 - 6 April More »

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