Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor presented Tuesday the candidates for his new government cabinet. Pahor said the 18-member cabinet, which includes seven non-partisan candidates, a record five women and a few surprise names, would be capable of "surmounting all obstacles".
The four centre-left parties that will lead the next government signed the coalition agreement in Ljubljana on Thursday. Expressing satisfaction about the development, Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor said that all partners were aware of their responsibility and he expected them to do a good job.
Most of those questioned in a survey carried by Monday's issue of daily Delo believe that the ministerial candidates proposed by Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor are good or very good and that the number of women in the proposed line-up is just right.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will close down its office in Ljubljana next week after 16 years of operations. The bank's director for Slovenia Francois Lecavalier told STA in an interview that the EBRD would probably stay active in Slovenia until the end of 2010. More »
Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor on Tuesday met union representatives of half of the 160,000 employees in the public sector for talks about the new wage system. He promised them dialogue on any changes to the system. More »
The four centre-left parties that will lead the next government signed the coalition agreement in Ljubljana on Thursday. Expressing satisfaction about the development, Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor said that all partners were aware of their responsibility and he expected them to do a good job. More »
Slovenia should become more EU-like in terms of the development of NGOs, the Centre for Information Service, Co-operation and Development of NGOs (CNVOS) said on Friday. It added it welcomed the pledges of the new coalition in this area, but noted that all cabinets so far had pledged the same, with none of them making all the necessary steps. More »
Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor, whose cabinet will take office shortly pending a vote of confidence in parliament next week, forecasts tough times ahead as the economic crisis escalates. But he told Saturday's Delo that he had a good team which would take action to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn. More »
The parliament passed on Tuesday in a majority vote amendments to the government act, introducing the minister without portfolio for the relations with Slovenians abroad. MPs also endorsed amendments to the deputies act reducing the number of state officials who can reclaim their deputy posts after their terms expire. More »
The Italian Chamber of Deputies backed on Wednesday a government state budget proposal, which envisages a gradual cutting of funds for the Slovenian minority from the current EUR 5.25m to EUR 3.12m by 2011, the Tieste-based Primorski dnevnik reported on Thursday. The Slovenian Foreign Ministry has expressed regret about the decision. More »
The presidents of two organisations of Slovenian minority in Italy welcomed on Thursday the decision of Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor to introduce the post of the minister responsible for Slovenians abroad. More »
National Assembly Speaker Pavel Gantar and representatives of the Slovenian minority in the Austrian province of Carinthia agreed on Thursday that cooperation between Slovenia and Austria strengthened the position of the minority and that conflicts could be solved with positive projects in economic, cultural and other areas. More »
Slovenia and Austria on Wednesday signed an agreement regulating the exchange and mutual protection of classified information. The agreement was penned by the director of the Government Office for the Protection of Classified Information, Milan Tarman, and Austrian Ambassador Valentin Inzko, the office said in a press release. More »
Visiting Croatia on Wednesday, European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn reiterated his position that Croatia and Slovenia needed to solve their open issues at bilateral level. Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on the other hand pointed out that Slovenia also entered the EU as well as NATO without having resolved the border issue with Croatia. More »
The candidate for new foreign minister, Samuel Zbogar, has suggested that the change in government would not mean a change of policy towards Croatia. "Slovenia needs to protect its interest. The outgoing government has been doing that and we shall continue," he said in a video interview for the online edition of Delo. More »
Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean will visit Slovenia as part of a four-nation Central European tour in early December, the Slovenian Embassy in Canada has announced. More »
Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor presented Tuesday the candidates for his new government cabinet. Pahor said the 18-member cabinet, which includes seven non-partisan candidates, a record five women and a few surprise names, would be capable of "surmounting all obstacles". More »
The Slovenian Armed Forces is to launch a media campaign aimed at recruiting professional soldiers, contractual reserve soldiers and voluntary reserves, and attracting staff through scholarships. The campaign, running under the motto "Proud of Yourself", is expected to attract 300 new soldiers every year. More »
Fuel retailer Petrol and the national postal company Posta Slovenije expanded their cooperation as of 15 October by introducing a new service "Petrol Letter" that allows people to post letters at Petrol's service stations around Slovenia, Petrol vice CEO Igor Irgolic told the press on Tuesday. More »
Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Heavy Industries might invest in a coal-gasification power plant in the central Slovenian town of Trbovlje. Mitsubishi representatives have already visited the Trbovlje coal-fired power plant and looked at the potential location, said Janez Zlak, deputy director of the Trbovlje power plant. More »
Fitch, the credit rating agency, has affirmed Slovenia's issuer default ratings at "AA" with a stable outlook, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday. Fitch however expects Slovenia's GDP growth to halve to 3.1% this year and the current account deficit to rise to 6.3%. More »
Mol, the Hungarian oil company, which also owns Croatia's Ina and Slovakia's Slovnaft, will offer the new Slovenian government a strategic partnership with Petrol, the Slovenian counterpart, according to a report in Wednesday's edition of Dnevnik. More »
The state-run SOD fund published on Wednesday a tender for the sale of 10% of telecoms operator Telekom Slovenije. Bidders may offer to buy at least 3% or the entire stake. The tender is open until 3 December and is non-binding on SOD. More »
Newspaper publisher Delo's purchase of nearly 60% of rival newspaper publisher Vecer has come under fire from various circles in Slovenia, including journalists at Vecer. Newspaper publisher Delo underlined on Thursday its conviction that its recent purchase of an almost 60% stake in rival publisher Vecer was legal and transparent. More »
The National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, hosted a panel on the financial crisis on Wednesday, with participants discussing measures that Slovenia, which is already feeling the impact of the crisis and economic slowdown, should take. More »
The Slovenian economy is still expanding at a brisk pace and GDP growth is projected to top out at about 4% this year. But the outlook is grim - and getting grimmer now that Germany, Slovenia's biggest trading partner, has technically slipped into a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. More »
Slovenia will carry out a EUR 1bn bond issue in the coming months due to the uncertainty in financial markets, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. The proceeds would be deposited in banks to shore up the banking system. More »
The state-run Pension Fund Management (KAD) and DSU Management and Consultancy Company published a call for bids on Friday for the purchase of stakes in seven companies, including Slovenia's biggest poultry producer and the company operating the Ljubljana fairgrounds. More »
The two main Slovenian parties, the senior coalition Social Democrats (SD) and the opposition Slovenian Democrats (SDS), have expressed concern over newspaper publisher Delo's purchase of nearly 60% in its rival Vecer. Delo now holds a 79.25% stake in Vecer. More »
Slovenian hardware wholesaler and retailer Merkur has opened a refurbished steel factory in the Serbian town of Gornji Milanovac. The EUR 10m investment will churn out some of the steel products that are expected to net Merkur EUR 500m in sales this year. More »
The Securities Market Agency has rejected a request by the Vienna Stock Exchange to decide which takeovers act applies in its acquisition of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange Operator, Delo reports Friday. The securities watchdog would not confirm the report for STA, saying this information was confidential. More »
Beverage group Pivovarna Lasko and financial company Infond Holding, Lasko's biggest owner, are drafting the documents for an international public bid for the 48% stake they hold in retailer Mercator, Lasko said on Friday. Lasko expects the documents to be ready by the end of the month. More »
Participants in a panel on the financial crisis agreed on Monday that those who are jeopardised the most by the crisis - workers, students, pensioners and NGOs - should join forces. More »
Most of those questioned in a survey carried by Monday's issue of daily Delo believe that the ministerial candidates proposed by Prime Minister-elect Borut Pahor are good or very good and that the number of women in the proposed line-up is just right. More »
The Slovenian Customs Administration and the Veterinary Administration (VURS) presented on Wednesday their activities related to the European Veterinary Week, which was launched on Monday. The initiative's inaugural programme "Diseases Don't Respect Borders" focuses on bio-security measures in place on EU borders. More »
The Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAZU) marked its 70th anniversary on Wednesday. SAZU president Joze Trontelj addressed the ceremony, stressing the academy's creative and independent position striving for long-term development goals. More »
The New Slovenia (NSi) elected on Saturday Member of the European Parliament Ljudmila Novak to head the party, after Dolenjske Toplice Mayor Franc Vovk withdrew his candidacy before the vote saying that his "time has obviously not come yet". More »
Regional Policy Minister Ivan Zagar and European Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Huebner signed on Tuesday an agreement which secures Slovenia EUR 8.25m in aid from the EU's Solidarity Fund. The country asked for help in the aftermath of devastating floods in September 2007. More »
President Danilo Tuerk visited on Friday the University of Oxford and the Centre for Islamic Studies, where he delivered a lecture on coexistence of religious communities and the integration of Muslim communities into the European society, his office said in a press release. More »
Slovenia's Ziga Turk will be the secretary-general of the EU reflection group, which will try to find answers to the bloc's future challenges, the French presidency of the EU and prime minister's office told STA on Friday. Turk is development minister in the outgoing government. More »
Mitja Gaspari, the candidate for minister without portfolio for development and EU affairs, told Saturday's edition of the daily Vecer that way the drawing of the EU's cohesion funds is organised would be changed. More »
Attending the third edition of European Development Days, Foreign Ministry State Secretary Andrej Ster told STA on Sunday that the current global turmoil cannot be a reason to neglect the Millennium Development Goals. More »
The Slovenian telecoms watchdog wants to extend the regulation of the wholesale mobile market, fearing that Mobitel and Simobil have a dominant position which is used to prevent other mobile operators from accessing existing mobile networks. But the European Commission said today it needed additional information before it approves the move. More »
A mixed Slovenian-Russian commission for international road transport signed a protocol on Tuesday that sets the number of haulier permits for 2009. Bilateral transit transport will have 10,000 permits for lorries without environmental restrictions and 4,500 for environment-friendly lorries. More »
Slovenia should consider introducing short-time motorway toll stickers aside from the existing annual and half-year vignettes, outgoing Transport Minister Radovan Zerjav told public broadcaster TV Slovenija on Wednesday. More »
Acclaimed writer Boris Pahor, a member of the Slovenian minority in Italy, has won a prestigious Italian literary prize, the Premio Napoli, for the best foreign-language novel in Italy. More »
A tasty selection of some of the finest art films of the past year, including by the most acclaimed film makers, and tributes to contemporary Catalan film, Indian director Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Britain's Terence Davies, are the main treats of the 19th Ljubljana International Film Festival, which gets underway on Wednesday. More »
Polonist, translator and author Niko Jez has been decorated with Knight's Cross Order of Polonia Restituta by the Polish president for his work comparing Slovenian and Polish literature and poetry of the 19th and 20th centuries. More »
Boris A. Novak, an author and literature and comparative philosophy lecturer at the Ljubljana Faculty of Arts, has been decorated with France's Ordre des Palmes academiques (Order of Academic Palms) for his devoted efforts for the French language and culture. More »
Almost 600 wines by a total of 220 Slovenian and foreign wine makers and wine cellars will be showcased in Ljubljana as the 11th Slovenian Wine Festival opens its doors for three days on 19 November. More »
Il Silenzio was played in the memory of those killed in the WW I at the top of the Krn mountain on Tuesday, exactly 90 year after Germany and the Entente forces signed the truce. More »
Former US Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Al Gore, is set to visit Slovenia upon an invitation by Diners Club Slovenija. The environmental activist will join holders of DC Exclusive card on 10 December at an event at the Ljubljana fairgrounds, Diners Club Slovenija said on Friday. More »
A campaign aimed at bridging the gap between the Roma and the majority population was launched in Ljubljana on Monday. Parliamentary Speaker Pavel Gantar said on the occasion that he was convinced that the campaign would contribute to better understanding between cultures and eliminate many prejudices. More »
The exhibition "Leon Stukelj 1898-1999-2008" in memory of Slovenia's most famous Olympic medalist will open on Stukelj's birth date in his hometown Novo mesto on Wednesday. The documentary exhibition and booklet outlines Stukelj's life and achievements in sports, Zdenko Picelj, the author of the project told STA. More »
Hammer throw Olympic gold medalist Primoz Kozmus and triple jumper Marija Sestak, who finished sixth in Beijing, were declared Slovenian track and field athletes of the year on Saturday. More »
The 29th World Travel Market, running in London between Monday and Thursday, presents Slovenia as a destination with diverse and unspoiled natural sights attracting tourists who cherish the countryside and clean environment, the Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) director Dimitrij Piciga said at a press conference on Tuesday. More »
he Slovenian health care system is the 20th most user friendly among 31 European countries, according to the latest Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI). Scoring 582 points out of 1000, Slovenia climbed one spot compared to last year. More »
Slovenia's smoking ban protected many people from tobacco smoke, however a number of problems remain, Mihaela Lovse of Slovenian Tobacco Control, an association of anti-tobacco NGOs, told the press in Ljubljana on Thursday. The association would like to see Slovenia introduce a tobacco euro. More »
The Celje region celebrated on Thursday the 430th anniversary since the first pharmacy opened in the region and forty years since the establishment of its public pharmacy chain Celjske lekarne. More »
The government decided at Friday's correspondence session to earmark EUR 40,000 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) for this year. The Slovenian Caritas charity will meanwhile get EUR 18,750 from the government for co-funding of an AIDS project. More »