Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk payed on 20 March an official visit to Slovenia, where he met his Slovenian counterpart Janez Jansa. The talks between the two Prime Ministers mainly focussed on EU issues, such as the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and the relations between Russia and the EU. Tusk said he believed that the Lisbon Treaty would most likely be ratified in parliament, despite the gap between the opposition and the coalition, before July. With regards to the relations between Russia and the EU, Tusk said that Poland received sufficient answers as regards the recent trade dispute with Russia. Prime Minister Tusk added that Poland will also refrain from setting new conditions and will not hinder talks between the EU and Russia.
In this issue we also write about Foreign Minister Rupel's visit to Israel, where the current President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council rounded off a three-day tour of the Middle East. The purpose of the visit was to collect information and evaluate the Middle East peace process, which will be one of the issues on the agenda of the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers (Gymnich) which will be hold in Slovenia on 28 and 29 March.
The current President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, rounded off a three-day tour of the Middle East in Israel today. The purpose of the visit was to collect information and evaluate the Middle East peace process, which will be one of the issues on the agenda of the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Slovenia next week. Dr Rupel was accompanied on the tour by the EU Special Representative for the Middle East peace process, Marc Otte. More »
Justice Minister Lovro Sturm and Parliament Speaker France Cukjati met in Ljubljana on Tuesday Cuban Justice Minister Maria Esther Reus, who is paying a working visit to Slovenia. More »
Justice Minister Lovro Sturm presented on Friday a draft bill on WWII restitution, which would allow some 150,000 people to claim compensation for damage to property caused by the occupying forces and collaborators as well as the partisan resistance and the Allied forces. More »
The government adopted on Thursday changes to the minimum wage act, increasing the minimum wage by EUR 28 to EUR 566.53 gross as of 1 March. The changes now need to be endorsed by parliament. More »
Slovenian Defence Minister Karl Erjavec and the visiting Swiss Defence Minister Samuel Schmid expressed a desire to boost cooperation in defence on Tuesday, with Schmid saying that the countries share numerous interests. More »
Grocer Mercator, home appliance maker Gorenje and pharma company Krka were the top three Slovenian multinational corporations in 2007, according to the rankings presented on Tuesday by the Centre for International Relations at the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences. More »
Telekom Slovenije made the first commercial connection to the wireless broadband WiMAX network in Ljubljana at the end last week, marking the launch of commercial service on a network that will cost around EUR 10m. More »
Representatives of European NGOs meeting in Ljubljana urged decision-makers on Thursday to improve the proposed changes the EU Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). The environmental efficiency of the system is the theme of a two-day international conference that kicked off at the parliament building on Thursday. More »
The president of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences Bostjan Zeks and Robert Kaptein, Secretary General and Foreign Secretary of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, signed a letter of intent on Thursday. The document is to promote joint projects and exchange of scientists, Zeks told the press. More »
A group of Slovenian scientists, taking part in the Belle Collaboration, a large-scale experiment at an electron-positron collider in Japan, have published a paper on anti-matter in the latest edition of the prestigious science journal Nature. More »
Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and CEO of power producer Savske elektrarne Drago Polak on Wednesday symbolically launched the Vrhovo solar power plant and a mini hydro plant near Radece in central Slovenia. More »
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met his Slovenian counterpart Janez Jansa in Ljubljana on Thursday, with topical EU issues and relations between the EU and Russia high on the agenda. Talking to the press after the meeting, Tusk said he believed that Poland would ratify the Lisbon Treaty before July. More »
The European Police college (CEPOL) concluded on Wednesday a three-day conference where representatives of the EU and candidate countries agreed that CEPOL expand its activities to Western Balkan countries. More »
The EU is a political dwarf and economic giant; the Lisbon Treaty is offering a framework for the bloc to strengthen its political dimension and take a leading role in the world, Polish MEP Bronislaw Geremek said in Ljubljana on Tuesday. More »
The visiting Montenegrin Parliament Speaker Ranko Krivokapic announced on Thursday that Montengro would apply to become a member of the EU in the coming weeks, counting on Slovenia's support in the matter. More »
The Slovenian government has adopted a plan with which current system of motorway toll stations for personal vehicles will be replaced with a toll sticker as of 1 July. More »
The Ljubljana City Museum is showcasing an exhibition of sculpted dresses by top Italian fashion designer Roberto Capucci. The highlight among some 40 robes on display are dresses that were featured at the Venice Biennial in 1995. More »
The 38th Week of Slovenian Drama will start at the Kranj-based Presernovo gledalisce theatre on Tuesday, featuring 16 plays, eight of which will be competing for the Seligo Award. These will be handed out at the end of the festival on 6 April. More »
Slovenia's Sara Isakovic won the 200-metre freestyle event at the 29th LEN European Championships in Swimming, Diving and Synchronised Swimming in Eindhoven on Sunday, while Peter Mankoc bagged silver in 100-metre butterfly. More »