Nearly two years after the last visit, Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his cabinet toured the mid north-east region of Savinjsko-salesko on Tuesday, 22 May, and Wednesday, 23 May. The prime minister said the region could become "one of the most successful in the country". Jansa based his forecasts on his visits in the local companies, which have, according to him, set ambitious development plans. The economy in the region is doing relatively well and unemployment was down by 20% in the past two years, he said.
After Prime Minister Janez Jansa said that SOVA, the security and intelligence agency, had illegally established a company, the parliamentary Commission for Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services visited on Tuesday, 22 May, SOVA headquarters. The commission chair Dusan Kumer said then that things were "not as horrible as interpreted by those who are investigating". More »
The search for the governor of Slovenia's central bank continues as former finance minister Dusan Mramor turned down President Janez Drnovsek's offer to stand for the post of Banka Slovenije governor. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel and George V. Voinovich, Ohio's senator of Slovenian descent, discussed the issue of Kosovo, Slovenian EU presidency in the first half of 2008 and bilateral relations. More »
Slovenia wants to retain the key elements of the EU constitutional treaty, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said in Portoroz on Thursday. Europe is in the middle of a transformation, with discussions on the treaty playing a key role, Rupel said at the opening of the Slovenian days of political sciences. More »
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said on Thursday there was a trend in the EU to preserve as much as possible from the constitutional treaty, but at the same time the solution would have to step back from the original treaty. This is a very difficult task, he told the parliament's Foreign Policy Committee. More »
The government adopted on Thursday three laws dealing with the powers, structure and financing of provinces, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Ivan Zagar told the press. More »
The government confirmed on Thursday a report on preparations for the Slovenian EU presidency in the first half of 2008. The report says the preparations between November and April were carried out in accordance with the time-line and would intensify in June, when the final phase begins. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Wednesday that the government had fulfilled its promises given to the mid north-east region of Savinjsko-salesko when it first visited it two years ago. "We have discovered that all the promises, bar the ones that require a longer completion date, have been met," Jansa told the press in Mozirje. More »
Slovenian protection and rescue agencies staged a sea rescue exercise entitled Morje 2007 on Saturday. The scenario simulated a crack leaking oil in the hull of a ship on fire, with three wounded people on board. Defence Minister Karl Erjavec labelled the exercise as successful. More »
Municipality of Destrnik in northeast Slovenia signed a letter of intent with Austrian companies Health Care Company and HGI Beteiligungs. The companies will acquire a stake in company Terme Gaja, which will build a spa complex, Terme Janezovci. The works on the EUR 60m spa complex are to begin next year, Destrnik Mayor Franc Puksic said on Saturday. More »
Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak came out of Slovenian-Russian trade commission meeting on Friday saying that economic cooperation is increasing through considerable trade growth and mutual investments. The coming years seem even brighter due to Russian investments as part of its clearing debt repayment, he told the press. More »
Pharma company Krka was awarded as the company that employed the highest number of experts in 2006 at a two-day international forum of excellence in Otocec on Friday. More »
The public approval rating for the Janez Jansa centre-right government has hit the lowest point so far, while President Janez Drnovsek enjoys more confidence among the public than the prime minister, a Ninamedia poll has shown. More »
The overwhelming majority of Slovenians (93%) support a ban on smoking in indoor public spaces, including restaurants and bars, according to the results of an Eurobarometer survey on tobacco, published in Brussels on Tuesday, ahead of the World No Tobacco Day. More »
The IEDC - Bled School of Management has established the Slovenian UN Association for Sustainable Development aimed at raising social responsibility of leaders who would in turn promote sustainable development, the IEDC said in a pres release on Tuesday. More »
Austrian Vice Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer and Slovenian officials discussed cooperation in the EU and bilateral ties during Molterer's visit here on Friday. Slovenian preparations for the EU presidency in the first half of 2008 and top issues facing EU finance ministers was the focus of Molterer's meeting with Slovenian counterpart Andrej Bajuk. More »
EU ministers responsible for spatial planning adopted on Friday the EU Territorial Agenda. Slovenia supports the document which brings spatial aspects to European policies, Slovenia's Environment and Spatial Planning Ministry has told STA. More »
The ballet ensemble of the Ljubljana Opera and Ballet House and ballet dancer Tijuana Krizman received on Thursday the Slovenian Association of Ballet Artists' awards for outstanding achievements in 2006. More »
EU member states on Thursday adopted the Leipzig Charter on sustainable European cities, which has been hailed by Slovenian Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Janez Podobnik as an "additional motivation for an integral approach to urban development." More »
Slovenian MEP Romana Jordan Cizelj has been appointed the coordinator of the European People's Party (EPP), the biggest group in the European Parliament, in the parliament's newly-created Climate Change Committee. More »
British Minister of State for Europe Geoff Hoon praised on Wednesday Slovenia's preparations for its upcoming stint as EU president. He said that the country's spell would result in shifts in important EU issues as he met EU Affairs State Secretary Janez Lenarcic. More »
Slovenian MEPs have welcomed the new EU directive aimed at bringing down mobile phone roaming charges, which was adopted by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Major Slovenian mobile operators meanwhile say the directive is strict, but they intend to respect it as it agrees with their business policy. More »
To mark the 90th anniversary of the ceasefire at the Isonzo front, the Tolmin Museum will launch on Saturday the exhibition "Isonzo Front 1915 - 1917" to shed new light on one of the bloodiest battles of the Great War. More »
An exhibition showcasing architects who learnt their art from the best known Slovenian architect Joze Plecnik and then went on to study with Le Corbusier will open in Ljubljana on Tuesday in what is a tribute to both architects in the jubilee year. More »
The 25th anniversary of Nova revija, an intellectual journal that played an instrumental role in Slovenia's struggle for independence, was marked on Monday with the release of the 300th issue. More »
Archaeologists have unearthed a grave containing bronze jewelery and ceramics from the late 7th century B.C. at a site near Novo Mesto in what is deemed one of the most important archaeological finds in Slovenia in recent years. More »
Francesco Frangialli, secretary general of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), said on Thursday that maintaining the competitive ability of tourist destinations required innovation and cooperation on the global and regional levels. More »
Interior ministers of nine Schengen zone candidate countries agreed in Warsaw on Saturday that the preparations of the 2004 EU newcomers for entering the passport-free zone were going according to the plans, Interior Minister Dragutin Mate said. More »