News roundup - Friday, 31 March, until 3pm

Golob in Kyiv to support Ukraine, offer help in post-war recovery

KYIV/BUCHA, Ukraine - Prime Minister Robert Golob paid an unannounced visit to Ukraine. In talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Denys Shmyhal, he said Slovenia wanted to participate in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, especially the Kharkiv province. Golob and Zelensky also talked about Ukraine's progress in the expected accession to the EU and NATO. He attended a ceremony commemorating the civilian victims of the war on the first anniversary of the liberation of Bucha saying that innocent people had been brutalised by Russian forces and that war must not be an excuse for lawlessness and impunity.

President assesses army capable of defending Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar received the army readiness report for 2022. She noted that "there are still certain deviations in terms of the capabilities, operation and endurance of the defence forces," while adding that steps were being taken in a positive direction. Pirc Musar stressed that the SAF had carried out all the required tasks - training and exercises, providing support for other authorities, including the police and protection and rescue teams, while also participating in the planned international missions. The readiness assessment is unchanged compared to 2021. Maj-Gen Robert Glavaš, the chief of the general staff of the SAF, believes "better times" are ahead.

Annual inflation jumps up to 10.5% in March, the highest level since August

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's annual inflation rate jumped to 10.5% in March after standing at 9.3% the month before. Contributing the most to the high inflation were the prices of food and electricity. Higher food prices contributed the most to the annual inflation or 2.9 percentage points, as food was 19.1% costlier, with meat prices rising by 18.2%, bread and cereal products by 20.1% and milk, cheese and eggs by 24.4%. The harmonised index of consumer prices, an EU benchmark, stood at 10.4%, up a point from the month before.

Slovenia's general government deficit drops to 3.9% in 2022

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's general government deficit dropped by 0.7 percentage points year-on-year to 3.9% of the country's GDP in 2022, amounting to EUR 2.3 billion, the Statistics Office reported. In 2022, deficit was generated in all three sub-sectors - the most in the central government (EUR 2.1 billion), followed by local government (EUR 109 million) and social security funds (EUR 104 million). General government debt was down almost five points to 69.9% of GDP despite increasing marginally in nominal terms.

Slovenian economy generates deficit for the first time in 10 years

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's economy generated a deficit in transactions with the rest of the world in 2022 for the first time in ten years, largely due to high prices of energy and other inputs and because of issues in supply chains, the Statistics Office said as it released its early estimate. The deficit stood at EUR 606 million or 1% of GDP. In 2021, the country generated a surplus of EUR 2.14 billion, or 4.1% of GDP.

Households have more disposable income but save less

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian households had more gross income at their disposal in 2022 than in 2021, but their saving rate decreased by nearly ten percentage points to below 10%, the Statistics Office said. Households' gross disposable income grew by 9% nominally last year or by EUR 2.94 billion to EUR 35.59 billion. They saved an average 9.3% of their disposable income, down from 18.7% in 2021.

Industrial output up in January

LJUBLJANA - Industrial output in Slovenia was up by 1.4% in January compared to the month before. It increased the most in the construction sector, by 9.9%. In annual comparison, output rose by 2.7%, the Statistics Office said. At the monthly level, a 1.1% growth was recorded in industry, 1.4% in trade, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles, and 1.8% in services. The biggest jump in annual comparison was also recorded in construction, where output was 26.7% higher.

Slovenia donates mobile water testing lab to Ukraine

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia donated to Ukraine a mobile laboratory for water testing, which enables analysis of water within 24 hours in terms of its suitability for drinking, washing, bathing or other uses by means of standardised analytical methods. The handover ceremony featured Environment, Climate and Energy Minister Bojan Kumer, representatives of the Environment Agency and the Defence Ministry, and representatives of Ukraine.

Slovenian Olympic Committee supports return of Russian athletes

LJUBLJANA - Following the endorsement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of Russian and Belarusian athletes returning to international competitions as neutrals, the Slovenian Olympic Committee said it supported the decision, noting that it was not considering boycotting the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. President Franjo Bobinac said that "sport should bring us together, not divide us. There is no room for politics in sport."