Schedule of Events from 20 to 26 March

MONDAY, 20 March
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU foreign ministers, including Slovenia's Dimitrij Rupel, are to prepare a platform for an EU summit scheduled for later in the week, and to discuss a number of international issues, such as the Balkans in the aftermath of Slobodan Milosevic's death.
        SKOPJE, Macedonia - Slovenia's fixed-line telco Telekom Slovenije is to sign a contract on the purchase of a 76% stake in Macedonia's second-largest provider of Internet services, On.net.
        LJUBLJANA - The council of the opposition LDS is to discuss several topical issues, including PM Janez Jansa's offer for a government/opposition partnership for development.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU agriculture ministers, including Slovenia's Marija Lukacic, are to discuss economic consequences of a bird flu outbreak in eleven EU nations, including Slovenia.
        VIENNA, Austria - A two-day EU ministerial is to discuss tourism as a key to growth and employment in Europe, to be attended by Economics Ministry State Secretary Andrijana Starina Kosem and the head of the ministry's tourism directorate Marjan Hribar.
        VIENNA, Austria - Development Minister Joze P. Damijan is to outline the experience of transition countries in attracting FDI at an EIB-sponsored meeting of the
Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership.
        LJUBLJANA - Representatives of the government, employers and trade unions are to resume talks on a new social agreement, focusing on taxes, one of the hardest nuts to crack.
        LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Students' Organisation is to present its platform for talks on the government-sponsored structural reforms.
        LJUBLJANA - The 14th Days of Jozef Stefan are to begin. The event, to close on 24 March, is organised by Slovenia's leading research institute, Institut Jozef Stefan, to mark the birth of physicist Jozef Stefan (1835 - 1893).
        MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - A delegation of the parliamentary commission for Slovenians abroad is continuing a several-day visit to Latin America with a stopover in Uruguay.
        LJUBLJANA - The launch of the Slovenian version of Reader's Digest - "Reader's Digest Slovenija", to be published by Mladinska knjiga.
        LJUBLJANA - A "chamame" concert by accordion player Chango Spasiuk is to open the Festival of Argentine Culture at the arts centre Cankarjev dom, through 21 May. Apart from tango, the "chamame" is the most popular traditional dance music in Argentina.

TUESDAY, 21 March
        KOPER - FM Dimitrij Rupel is to attend a Primorsko University-sponsored panel on the European constitution from the aspect of its legal and political consequences.
        LJUBLJANA - Second-largest wireless operator Simobil is to present its business results for 2005 and plans at a news conference.
        MARIBOR - The company Tovarna vozil Maribor and Germany's Neoplan Bus are to sign a contract to jointly develop and design a midi bus for tourists. The event is to be attended by Transport Minister Janez Bozic.
        MARIBOR - Several ministers, including Transport Minister Janez Bozic are to attend a symposium on road infrastructure in the northeast, dubbed "a third development axis". The event is to bring together some 200 experts from Slovenia, Austria and Croatia.
        MARIBOR - Transport Minister Janez Bozic and Maribor Mayor Boris Sovic are to discuss several infrastructure projects, including the construction of motorways in the northeast of the country.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's development potential is to be discussed at a meeting of ministers, managers and researchers as part of the 14th Days of Jozef Stefan; Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Jure Zupan and Development Minister Joze P. Damijan to attend.
        BARILOCHE, Argentina - A delegation of the parliamentary commission for Slovenians abroad is continuing a several-day visit to Latin America with a stopover in Argentina.
        LJUBLJANA - A plaque to composer Vilko Ukmar (1905-1991) is to be unveiled in front of the house where the musician lived between 1937 and 1991. Ukmar received the Preseren Award in 1985.

WEDNESDAY, 22 March
        SLOVENJ GRADEC - Car seat-cover maker Prevent is to hold a news conference to present the reasons behind its streamlining measures.
        LJUBLJANA - A working meting between Defence Minister Karl Erjavec, Interior Minister Dragutin Mate and the top officials of the Slovenian Armed Forces and the police.
        LJUBLJANA - Several government agencies are to organise a conference on the attitude towards water as the world marks Water Day.
        BERLIN, Germany - State Secretary at the Office for Local Government and Regional Policy Franci Rokavec is to begin a three-day visit to Berlin, to meet Volkmar Strauch of the city of Berlin.
        LJUBLJANA - The association of trade unions, Konfederacija sindikatov 90 Slovenije, is to meet for its 4th congress.
        LJUBLJANA - Weekly government session.

THURSDAY, 23 March
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - A two-day EU summit is to begin in a bid to give the economy a fresh impetus and set a new foundation for energy policy. Slovenia's PM Janez Jansa, FM Dimitrij Rupel and Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk to attend.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Prior to an EU summit, PM Janez Jansa is to attend a traditional meeting of leaders of the European People's Party, the largest political faction in Europe.
        NOVO MESTO - Pharma company Krka is to present its business results at a news conference.
        SKOPJE, Macedonia - Environment and Spatial Planning Minister is to begin a three-day working visit to Macedonia.
        VIPAVA - International law expert Danilo Tuerk is to speak about the future of the UN at a panel organised by the Polytechnics of Nova Gorica.
        LJUBLJANA - A monograph on the first Slovenian professional actress Marija Vera (1881-1954) is to be launched following a recent premiere of a documentary on her.

FRIDAY, 24 March
        THE VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI is to call a consistory to make 15 church dignitaries cardinals, among them Slovenia's Archbishop Franc Rode, prefect of one of the Vatican's top offices.
        MARIBOR - The Transport Ministry is to host a press conference on the development to the railway infrastructure, to be attended by several agencies and companies.
        MARAKESH, Morocco - Economics Minister Andrej Vizjak is to attend the 5th Euro-Mediterranean trade conference.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary commission investigating alleged embezzlement in the sell of state property by state-run funds KAD and SOD is to meet.
        SZENTGOTTHART, Hungary - A standing Slovenia-Hungary commission overseeing the implementation of the bilateral minority rights agreement is to meet.

SATURDAY, 25 March
        THE VATICAN - Fifteen church dignitaries, among them Slovenia's Archbishop Franc Rode, are to receive a cardinal ring from Pope Benedict XVI during a Mass.

SUNDAY, 26 March
        LJUBLJANA - Clocks are to be set ahead one hour to run on Daylight Savings Time (DST) at 2 AM.