Schedule of Events for Friday, 8 December

PRISTINA/PEC, Serbia - Defence Minister Karl Erjavec is to visit Kosovo on Friday to meet Slovenian soldiers participating in the NATO-led KFOR peace keeping mission in the province. The current 214-strong Slovenian contingent in Kosovo is to be bolstered to over 700 troops next year. Erjavec is first scheduled to visit soldiers stationed in Pristina, where he will also meet the KFOR Deputy Commander, Major-General Roberto Bernardini. Later in the day Erjavec will meet the members of the infantry and transport units stationed in Pec and the Commander of Multi-National Task Force West, Brigadier-General Attilio Claudio Borreca. Along with Erjavec, Slovenian soldiers in Kosovo are to be visited by a six-strong delegation of the parliamentary defence committee, which is to stay in the province until Saturday.

LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office is to unveil preliminary data on economic growth in the third quarter of the year at a press conference scheduled for 10:30 AM. (STA)

LJUBLJANA - The Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS), Slovenia's largest trade union confederation, is to stage at noon a rally in front of parliament house to mark Human Rights Day. The ZSSS, which will also hold a press conference at 9 AM, wants to highlight that workers' rights are a part of human rights. (STA/PHOTO)

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary foreign policy and EU affairs committees are to hold a joint session at 2 PM at which they will be briefed by government officials about Slovenian preparations for the EU presidency. The two committees are to hold separate sessions prior to that, while their chairs, Jozef Jerovsek and Anton Kokalj, are scheduled to hold a joint press conference at 1:45 PM.

LJUBLJANA - The Economic and Social Council, an industrial relations forum, is to be in session at 10 AM to debate the bill on health care and health insurance, among other issues.

LJUBLJANA - The final conference as part of the "Let's Face Discrimination" campaign, organised by Slovenian Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek, is to feature Hanzek, European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros and Northern Ireland Ombudsman Tom Frawley. At 9 AM. (STA/PHOTO)

LJUBLJANA - Deputies of the ruling Slovenian Democrats (SDS) Eva Irgl and Zvone Cernac are to hold a press conference at 1 PM to speak about the government-sponsored bill on the Roma community.

FLENSBURG, Germay - Slovenian handball champions Celje will be defending a ten-goal lead against Flensburg-Handewitt in the return leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League. Game gets underway at 7:15 PM. (STA)

LJUBLJANA - Press review. (STA)

In case of further queries please contact duty editor at +386 1 241 0109:

8:30 AM to 3:30 PM: Ela Petrovcic
3:30 PM to 10:00 PM: Gregor Zamuda

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