Development Minister Joze P. Damijan resigned for personal reasons on Tuesday, 21 March after heading the government's newly-established Development Office for less than three months.
Also last week, Archbishop Franc Rode was elevated to cardinal and PM Janez Jansa was busy at the EU summit, which was low-key but nevertheless set goals that Jansa said Slovenia would have to work hard to achieve.
Development Minister Joze P. Damijan resigned for personal reasons on Tuesday, 21 March after heading the government's newly-established Development Office for less than three months. This gave rise to speculations that the reforms he authored, in particular the beleaguered flat tax, will be shelved. Prime Minister Janez Jansa said he "regrets, but respects" the decision. However, he was also quick to point out that the reforms will proceed as planned, also thanks to Damijan. More »
Slovenian Archbishop Franc Rode was elevated to cardinal at a ceremony in St. Peter's Square on Friday, 24 March, in which Pope Benedict XVI formally installed 15 new "princes of the church." The new cardinals were elevated at a consistory, in which newly-appointed cardinals receive the typical crimson robes and red hats symbolising their willingness to shed their blood for the Church. More »
The resolutions of the EU summit regarding economic growth, employment and energy policy pose several new challenges to Slovenia, PM Janez Jansa told journalists after the talks, but indicated that only energy policy would require adaptations. "We will not have to change anything at the national level regarding growth and employment, as some of the national goals are already more ambitious...However certain adaptations will be required in energy policy, and this is a challenge," Jansa said on Friday. More »
Slovenia is to run for one of the six seats reserved for countries of the East European group in the newly-established United Nations Council of Human Rights. Eight countries from the group have already announced their candidacy. More »
The cabinet already has the proposals of expert groups on the privatisation of all strategic sectors - companies and banking institutions - and is therefore "on track with the privatisation roadmap", PM Janez Jansa told the parliament on Monday. More »
Slovenian companies expect that a total of 7,328 workers would lose their jobs either because of sacking or because companies would go bankrupt in 2006, 60.1% of which will be made redundant in manufacturing, shows a survey of the Slovenian Employment Service. More »
Italian Minister of Labour and Welfare Roberto Maroni has told a Trieste daily that Italy was willing to enact an exemption to the ban from workers from EU newcomers, to allow Slovenians to work in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Slovenia has welcomed the news. More »
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Jure Zupan, Development Minister Joze P. Damijan and Jozef Stefan research institute director Jadran Lenarcic, who met on Tuesday as part of the 14th Days of Jozef Stefan, labelled to closer cooperation between researchers and industry as vital for expanding the Slovenian development potential. More »
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Jure Zupan and the vice-chairman of the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Jean-Pierre Le Roux, signed on Monday an agreement on cooperation between the Slovenian ministry and the CEA. More »
The uniform driver's license for cars and motorcycles directive which was backed by the EU transport ministers on Monday will confront Slovenian citizens with a number of changes, the most prominent being the limitation of the license's validity to a maximum of 15 years. More »
Some 40 international and 30 Slovenian writers are expected at the lakeside resort of Bled between 29 March and 2 April for a meeting organised by the Slovenian PEN. The authors are to focus on the role of PEN and literature in an increasingly globalised world. More »
Slovenian theatres sold around 1,052,000 tickets in Slovenia in the 2003-2004 season, shows data from the National Statistical Office released on Friday ahead of the World Theatre Day, which was celebrated on Monday. More »
Representatives of the Student Organisation of Slovenia (SOS) and the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS) held a rally in front of the French Embassy in Ljubljana on Friday in a show of support for French unions and students protesting a new labour law. More »
"Slovenian UNICEF is among the first five national UNICEF's in the world in terms of funds raised for humanitarian aid per Slovenian citizen," Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has told a meeting of Lions Club International council of directors. More »
Slovenia's gymnast Mitja Petkovsek is continuing with excellent performances on parallel bars in 2006. After winning World Cup meets in Iran's Tehran and France's Lyon, he took another gold on Sunday at the Gymnastics World Cup meet in Germany's Cottbus. More »