Slovenia News 19 December 2006

Slovenia wants to stress enlargement, Western Balkans and intercultural dialogue, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said in Brussels on Monday, 11 December, as the troika of forthcoming EU presidents (Germany, Portugal and Slovenia) unveiled their joint 18-month presidency programme. The country will also continue with endeavours for enlarging the Schengen no-border zone and the eurozone, Rupel added. It will carry on with accession talks with Turkey and Croatia and promote the European prospects of the Western Balkan countries, as all members of the troika are convinced that Western Balkan countries belong to the EU. Justice Minister Lovro Sturm believes that next year will be crucial in efforts to eliminate court backlogs. He told the press in Ljubljana on Tuesday that his optimism was based on the continuing fall in the number of pending cases. More » The joint 18-month EU presidency programme by Germany, Portugal and Slovenia adheres to the basic philosophy of "all tugging in the same direction" and aims at securing continuity and coherent functioning of the bloc, German Ambassador to Slovenia Hans Joachim Goetz said as the programme was presented in Ljubljana on Tuesday. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa warned Croatia on Friday it could find itself in a situation similar to the one currently faced by Turkey if its parliament endorsed the decision to enforce the ecological and fishery zone regime for all EU member states on 1 January 2008. More » Slovenia opened on Tuesday a consulate in Linz, Austria, which will be headed by Honorary Consul Guenther Grassner, the Foreign Ministry reported on its website on Wednesday. More » European issues and Franco-Slovenian relations topped talks as Prime Minister Janez Jansa met French President Jacques Chirac on the sidelines of Friday's proceedings at the EU summit in Brussels. More » The cabinet adopted Wednesday amendments to the economic zones act. The amendments include new guidelines on state regional aid, allowing taxpayers to be entitled to tax benefits, Finance Ministry State Secretary Andrej Sircelj told the press after the session. More » The government adopted on Wednesday a decree on regional tax brakes for research and development. The decree regulates tax brakes for research and development in line with the corporate income tax act, which earmarks higher tax brakes for investment in research in less developed regions. More » The government confirmed on Wednesday the financial and operating plans of the Slovenian Tourist Board for 2007, the Government PR and Media office said after the cabinet session. The plan envisages the state paying SIT 1.986bn (EUR 8.28) to the STO, with the board chipping in additional SIT 214m (EUR 893,000). More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the MPs on Monday that government measures, including a pledge not to raise capped prices and the implementation of dual pricing, would serve to prevent price hikes stemming from the approaching euro changeover. More » Marjeta Cotman was appointed the new minister of labour, the family and social affairs in a 46:26 vote in parliament on Monday. After the confirmation Cotman, previously the state secretary at the ministry, was sworn in as the second woman in the cabinet of Prime Minister Janez Jansa. More » The Economic and Social Council on Friday endorsed the government proposal to open Slovenia's labour market to Romanian and Bulgarian citizens on 1 January 2007, as these two nations join the EU bloc. More » Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak wants Slovenia to improve economic relations with Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The three central Asian countries expressed the same wish, Vizjak added after meeting their representatives in Moscow on Tuesday. More » Sava, the chemical and tourism conglomerate, expects net profit to grow to EUR 44.2m in 2011, over 30% more than their planned profit for 2006, the company supervisors heard in Kranj on Thursday. More » Slovenian civil engineering company Riko Hise will build a EUR 130m commercial and hotel complex within the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, the company said. More » The head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) operations in Slovenia has said the institution plans to withdraw from Slovenia in 2010 because there is no longer a need for its presence here. More » Kuwaiti businessman Hussein Al Kharafi met Slovenian Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak on Monday for talks that focused on investment opportunities in Slovenia and potential for joint ventures in Southeastern Europe, the Economy Ministry said. More » Slovenians are among the strongest supporters of EU enlargement. Some 74% are in favour of admitting new members to the block, compared to the EU average of 46%, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey. More » Average monthly labour costs per person in paid employment amounted to SIT 406,183 (EUR 1,695) last year, according to the Statistics Office. Salaries represented the bulk or 81.9% of the costs, as they amounted to SIT 332.764 (EUR 1,389). More » An anthology about the life and work of one of the most ingenious Slovenian scientists Jurij Vega (1754-1802) was launched on Tuesday. Vega was a great man, however is not as appreciated as he should be, Bostjan Zeks, the president of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences, said at the book's launch in Ljubljana. More » EU transport ministers failed to agree on the location of the headquarters of the Supervisory Authority of the European satellite navigation system Galileo. They also failed to see eye to eye on whether the headquarters should be located in an old or a new EU member, Slovenian Transport Minister Janez Bozic said after Tuesday's meeting. More » The headquarters of the Slovenian-European Natural Sciences Research Centre (SENARC) were inaugurated in Maribor on Friday. SENARC is a regional reference laboratory for metrology in chemistry for the Southeastern Europe. More » Energy markets of South-East Europe have extensive potential, therefore it is necessary to get ready for entering these markets in the future, Haris Boko of the Croatian Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar told Wednesday's conference on energy markets in SE Europe. More » Representatives of Holding Slovenske elektrarne (HSE) and Republika srpska, the Serbian entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, agreed on Friday that HSE and the Ugljevik thermal power plant would establish a joint venture with HSE as the majority owner. More » The European Commission called on Slovenia on Tuesday to enact "stronger measures to ensure the sustainability and adequacy of the pension system and to promote active ageing," in order to improve the long-term sustainability of its public finance. More » Slovenia has entered the final phase of preparations for the launch pf the euro on New Year's Day. "All euro cash is in Slovenia. We believe we are well prepared for the euro," a central bank official said on Thursday. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa officially opened in Brussels on Friday the new offices of Slovenia's Permanent Representation to the EU. Jansa took the opportunity to label Slovenia's upcoming stint as EU president as the biggest challenge for the country after its independence. More » Prime Minister Janez Jansa believes the EU could tackle immigration more efficiently if it adopted a common policy on the issue. Migration, just like energy, will constantly crop up at the sessions of the EU Council, the Slovenian prime minister said after the close of the EU summit in Brussels on Friday. More » Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant said following Friday's meeting with European Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen that the EU and national governments have a joint responsibility for cutting red tape for enterprises. More » Banks on Friday started selling starter sets of Slovenian euro coins in a bid to help Slovenians get used to the new currency. One pack costs SIT 3,000 and contains 44 coins of all denominations worth EUR 12.52. More » The Preseren Fund board revealed on Tuesday that the 2007 Preseren Prize for lifetime achievement in arts would go to Janez Maticic (1926), a pianist and composer, and Radko Polic Rac (1942), one of the greatest Slovenian actors. More » Slovenian composer Avgust Ipavec, who lives and works in Vienna, has been awarded an Austrian state decoration, according to Henrik Neubauer, the head of the Slovenian Chamber Music Theatre. More » The National Gallery plans to mount an exhibition of newly acquired paintings by Slovenian Neoclassical painter Franc Kavcic in 2007. Recently, the gallery has also been awarded seven paintings by Impressionist Ivan Grohar, which are part of its permanent collection, but have been in denationalisation procedure for over a decade. More » A retrospective exhibition on Laibach, the world-famed Slovenian industrial music band, has been put on display at the Artikraak gallery in The Hague. The exhibition features photographs that highlight major events in the history of what has been the most notorious and successful cultural export of Slovenia and Yugoslavia. More » The Sadar Vuga Arhitekti architecture bureau is launching in Barcelona on Friday an exhibition of its projects in the Slovenian capital over the past decade. More » The exhibition "Waiting List: Time and Transition in Cuban Contemporary Art" opened at the City Gallery in Ljubljana on Monday evening. Works by more than 40 artists and groups highlight various tensions in political, cultural and social spaces of Cuba, the gallery director Aleksander Bassin told the press. More » The Croatian community in Slovenia has acquired a centre designed to support the activities of various Croatian organisations. The Croatian Home, located in the heart of Slovenia's capital, was inaugurated on Friday, with the key of the centre handed over by Ziga Debeljak, the CEO of retailer Mercator, which donated the house. More » Santa Claus left his reindeer in Finland, where they are resting and preparing for the Christmas eve, he told the press after arriving in Slovenia from Zagreb airport on Tuesday. He also arrived without his trusty helpers, the elves, but still plans to visit as many children as he can before returning to Finland on Thursday. More » Slovenian extreme skier Davor Karnicar has completed his "7 Summits" project, becoming the first person to ski down the highest peaks of all the world's seven continents. Last on his checklist was the 4,897m Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, which he conquered on 28 November. More » The Peace Light from Bethlehem, brought to Slovenia from Vienna by the Slovenian Scouts, was received on Sunday at the Ljubljana the City Hall and at the Ljubljana Cathedral where a special service was held to mark the occasion. More » The ski season kicked off last weekend after a drop in temperatures finally allowed some ski resorts to start their snow makers. The resorts are generally well prepared and are hoping for a successful season although the weather conditions so far have not been promising. More » Schedule of Events from 19 to 24 December More »

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