Slovenia News 22 July 2008

After meeting political group leaders of the government coalition, Prime Minister Jansa described the coalition's work in the last mandate as successful and steady: the coalition partners were free of political turbulence and were able to focus on essential development issues and the needs of Slovene citizens. According to an analysis of the actual implementation of the coalition agreement, out of 706 concrete, measurable actions planned when the document was signed, 80 percent were, objectively speaking, fully carried out, some were partly fulfilled and only five percent were not accomplished, said Prime Minister Jansa. He also pointed out that these measures included events which could not be foreseen upon signing the agreement but were nonetheless dealt with efficiently by the coalition. One of the major achievements of the coalition agreement is the historic rise in the employment rate or the drop in unemployment, noted PM Janša. "After two and a half years of this coalition, unemployment in Slovenia is at a historic low while at the same time employment is at a historic high," said the PM, adding that the number of jobs is surely set to rise. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel welcomed on Tuesday the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader and war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic. More » The Slovenian-run International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) received the 11th donation of the Czech Republic on Thursday, as an agreement on a EUR 84,810 donation was signed by Czech Ambassador Ivana Hlavsova and the fund's international cooperation adviser Iztok Hocevar. More » After meeting political group leaders of the government coalition, Prime Minister Janez Jansa described the coalition's work in the last mandate as successful and steady: the coalition partners were free of political turbulence and were able to focus on essential development issues and the needs of Slovene citizens. More » The government decided on Thursday to earmark EUR 682,000 from the budgetary reserves for the repair of houses damaged or destroyed in Sunday's storm. The funds will be distributed through municipal authorities on the basis of their estimates, Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told the press. More » The Government Development Office presented on Friday the results of a project addressing the challenge of adapting to climate change. The project lays out three possible scenarios for Slovenia's development through 2035, which are entitled "A Green Oasis", "Without Ideas", and "Chameleon". More » Parliament Speaker France Cukjati labelled Tuesday the 2004-2008 term of the National Assembly, which is drawing to a close, as successful. He believes the relationship between the government and the assembly was appropriate and "maybe slightly more consistent and of better quality than in the previous term". More » Deputy Parliament Speaker Saso Pece received on Friday a Japanese parliamentary delegation headed by Deputy Speaker Takahiro Yokomichi. The pair stressed that the cooperation between the countries was good, especially at the parliamentary level, and expressed hope the visit would strengthen tourism ties between the countries. More » Development Minister Ziga Turk believes the proposal of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to lower VAT on fuel should not be entirely discarded. Yet a reduction should be accompanied by higher taxation of other products that contribute to carbon emissions, which in effect means taxing all emissions of greenhouse gases. More » Nearly 24,000 students were enrolled in music and dance classes in the 2007/2008 school year, which is slightly more than last year, according to the National Statistics Office. More » Slovenia welcomes in principle the changes to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposed by the European Commission, Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Branka Tome told the press on Thursday. The Commission suggested changes to direct farm payments, common market organisation and rural development aid. More » President Danilo Tuerk told European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso that it was not good if the choice of the European Council president - a post envisaged by the Lisbon Treaty - was limited to only a few of the member countries, as the pair met in Brussels on Wednesday. More » The latest Eurobarometer survey for Slovenia has shown that support for EU policies has grown among Slovenians during the country's EU presidency. Yet the people are increasingly pessimistic about the country's economic outlook. More » Around 30,000 people have visited an exhibition of Ancient Egyptian art in Cankarjev dom, making it the best visited exhibition of all times at Slovenia's premiere arts centre. More » Hopes for new Slovenian Olympic medals were on everyone's mind as the 62 athletes that make up the Slovenian team for the Olympic Games in Beijing gathered for the first time on Monday. More » Vasilij Zbogar bagged silver at the Laser and Laser Radial European Championships in Newport, Belgium, on Saturday, after the organisers cancelled the last race because of strong wind. More » The Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) has presented its latest three-year strategy for the development of its comprehensive tourist information system, announcing an expansion of the tourist web portal. The STO expect the portal to be visited by more than 20 million people in 2010. More » Calendar of Events for 22 - 27 July More »

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