News roundup - Thursday, 18 May

President Pirc Musar to visit Italy and the Vatican

ROME, Italy - President Nataša Pirc Musar will be visiting Italy and the Vatican from Friday to Monday. The talks with her Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella on Friday are expected to focus on bilateral relations, the minorities and the situation in Ukraine. The latter will also be discussed as Pirc Musar meets Pope Francis on Monday. Pirc Musar will also launch an international event at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation to mark World Bee Day, which was declared for 20 May on Slovenia's initiative.

Slovenia, Albania to boost cooperation in defence

LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Marjan Šarec hosted his Albanian counterpart Niko Peleshi in Ljubljana with the pair agreeing that cooperation between Slovenia and Albania in defence should be strengthened. Albania can count on Slovenia's support in its efforts to join the EU, Šarec said after the talks. The pair also called for more aid to Ukraine. Šarec stressed that the Western Balkans is a key foreign and security-political region for Slovenia, and Slovenia's priorities will focus on "addressing the common challenges of hybrid threats, cyber security and military mobility".

Pahor finds revoke of communist violence remembrance day unacceptable

LJUBLJANA - Former President Borut Pahor finds the government's decision to abolish the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communist Violence, declared a year ago by the previous government, "inappropriate and unacceptable". In a Facebook post he urged restraint and wisdom, regretting that Slovenia does not have a day to commemorate victims of communism. "This is not only bad and wrong, but in light of other decisions by this government (the abolishment or merger of the Independence Museum) it is worrying."

Parliamentary inquiry to tackle alleged abuse at anti-money laundering office

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary commission investigating alleged political meddling in the police and other independent state bodies will delve into recent allegations of abuses at the Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering as a matter of priority. "Numerous reactions testify to the awareness that this is one of the biggest scandals in Slovenia's history, perhaps even the gravest abuse of an institution ever," chair Miha Lamut said. He indicated Blaž Brodnjak, the CEO of NLB bank, would be in the spotlight as well, since he gave the bank account information to the Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering.

Constitutional Court to get some discretion in picking its cases

LJUBLJANA - The government put forward an amendment to the Constitution to give the Constitutional Court some discretion in choosing which cases to admit. The bill is designed to provide for faster and more efficient protection of constitutionality and human rights without limiting access to the court. The key goal is to ensure better management of the backlog of cases at the court, Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan told the press after the government session.

Slovenia, Hungary mark 30 years of key ethnic minorities agreement

LENDAVA/SZENTGOTTHARD, Hungary - National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič and her Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Köver visited the border area populated by the Slovenian and Hungarian ethnic minorities, as the two countries marked 30 years since they signed a key agreement to safeguard their ethnic minorities in Slovenia and Hungary. Klakočar Zupančič thanked both communities for dedication to their culture and language and commitment to preserve their national identity and encourage economic development.

Krka's Q1 net profit declines 2% to EUR 89m

NOVO MESTO - Pharma company Krka reported a group net profit of EUR 89 million for the first quarter, down 2% year-on-year. Revenue rose by 6% to EUR 458 million despite a slight drop in the company's key Eastern European sales region. Earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up 9% to EUR 146 million and operating profit (EBIT) rose by 12% to EUR 120 million. CEO Jože Colarič described the figures as good, blaming lower net profit on increased foreign exchange losses and higher income tax.

Petrol sees quarterly net profit fall by 23%

LJUBLJANA - The energy group Petrol generated EUR 1.8 billion in sales revenue in the first quarter of 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 6%. Net profit was down 23% to EUR 24.8 million, but Petrol said the results were on par with plans in the face of regulated energy prices in Slovenia and Croatia, which continue to affect their operations. The shareholders' meeting today approved a dividend of 70 cents gross per share this year, despite the company posting a net loss of EUR 2.7 million last year.

Luka Koper Group sees net sales revenue rise in Q1 y/y, net profit level

KOPER - Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole maritime port, generated net sales revenue of EUR 80.1 million at group level in the first quarter of this year, which is 13% more than in the same period last year and 10% higher than planned, despite a drop in throughput. Net profit stood at EUR 16.5 million, which is the same as in the same period last year and 68% above plans, the group said in an unaudited quarterly report.

Boštjan Napast leaving helm of port operator Luka Koper

KOPER - The supervisory board of Luka Koper took note of what the port operator says is a mutual agreement on early termination of the term of Boštjan Napast as the chairman of the company. Napast will stay in office until the end of June, when board member Nevenka Kržan will temporarily take over. In the meantime, the supervisors of the operator of the port of Koper will look for the new chairman by means of a public call for applications. Luka Koper quoted Napast in a press release in saying that the wish to tackle new business challenges in a different branch of industry had heavily influenced this decision.

Janša reported to prosecution over civil war tweet

LJUBLJANA - Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan said that the Justice Ministry had reported Janez Janša, the head of the Democrats (SDS), to the prosecution over his comments on Twitter on the government's decision to cancel the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Communism. In the wake of Janša's tweet saying the neo-communist government's decision announced a new civil war, certain individuals posted on social media calls for violence and getting armed. The allegations against him, which he rejected, include public inciting to violence and calling for armed rebellion. The SDS will use all parliamentary means available to block the government's decision, he said, as other parliamentary parties called for de-escalating the tensions.

Centrist Democrat International discussing global but also Slovenian situation

BLED - The Democrats (SDS) hosted a session of the executive council and assembly of the Centrist Democrat International (IDC-CDI) in Bled. A total of 13 proposed resolutions related to threats to peace, democracy and security were discussed along with developments in Slovenia. According to SDS head Janez Janša, the event was held in a hybrid form with many leaders, including presidents and former presidents and former prime ministers attending, including Hungarian and Croatian presidents Viktor Orban and Andrej Plenković, respectively.

Vzajemna proposes higher top-up health insurance premium

LJUBLJANA - Mutual health insurer Vzajemna proposed the supervisory board raise the monthly top-up health insurance premium to EUR 44.78. Since it can charge only EUR 35.67 in line with the government-imposed cap, the insurer expects the government to pay the difference, chairman of the management board Aleš Mikeln said. "We only expect to be able to do business, we seek no profits," he told the press after Vzajemna asked a court last week to abolish the government's 14 April decision to cap the premium.

Driving on motorways to get costlier

LJUBLJANA - The national motorway company DARS would like to raise prices of electronic vignettes by 6.8%, hopefully before the main summer season, a proposal that the newspaper Delo reported had been backed by the Infrastructure Ministry, but still needs the government's go-ahead. The cost of a yearly e-vignette for cars would go up to around EUR 117. DARS has been proposing an adjustment in vignette prices every year but prices have remained unchanged since December 2013. Since then inflation accelerated to 22.3%.

Railways given go-ahead to buy EUR 150m passenger trains

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), the custodian of state assets, has given the national railway company the go-ahead to purchase 20 new passenger trains worth EUR 148.3 million, VAT excluded. The trains will be purchased from Polish producer Stadler, and should be delivered by the end of 2024. The rail company completed the first stage of passenger train modernisation in September 2022 when it received the last of a total of 52 new Stadler trains.

Survey: Slovenian startups doing well despite hindrances

MARIBOR - Slovenia is faring well in terms of the speed of development of start-up and scale-up companies despite limited access to funding, lack of workforce and problems attracting talent, found the Slovenian Entrepreneurial Observatory survey conducted by the Maribor Economics and Business Faculty. A demographic analysis of Slovenian companies in 2021 found the number of companies increased by 0.1% from 2020, with the number of large companies up by 6.3%. Micro companies still represent nearly 75% of all companies.

Tax wedge slightly lower in 2022

LJUBLJANA - The tax wedge on earnings in Slovenia in 2022 was 39.7%, 0.7 of a percentage point lower than the year before. For a person earning 67% of the average gross salary, 39.7% of the labour costs went to pay the tax burden, leaving 60.3% as take-home pay, according to the Statistics Office. The tax burden on a single person without children was 86.3% of the additional gross salary in employment, which means their net income increased by only 13.7% of their gross earnings when moving from unemployment to employment.

Studio Moderna sells brands to privatisation tycoon Horvat

LJUBLJANA - A Swiss-based company owned by privatisation tycoon Darko Horvat has bought the brands owned by Studio Moderna, a troubled omnichannel direct-to-consumers retailer. Studio Moderna owner Sandi Češko, who used to top the list of the most wealthy Slovenians, did not disclose the value of the deal when confirming the news for the newspaper Finance. Finance reports that the brands Dormeo, Delimano, Rovus and Top Shop were sold to the newly incorporated company Dormeo AG, owned by Horvat.

Govt withdraws changes to institutes act

LJUBLJANA - The government withdrew from legislative procedure changes it drafted to the Institutes Act on Wednesday. These would have given the government the possibility to dismiss directors of public institutes without the approval of the institute's council and appoint an acting director, which was met with strong criticism from employers and employees. Both expressed concern that the changes would lead to politicisation of public institutions, and trade unions threatened a referendum if the bill went ahead.

Govt adopts changes to Mental Health Act

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted changes to the Mental Health Act to eliminate unconstitutional provisions and ensure the protection of human rights of persons with mental health conditions. The amendments aim to improve access to services and prevent long waiting times for admittance to secure wards at social care facilities. The proposal also addresses the staffing and capacity conditions at secure wards.

Charges pressed over art forgery scandal

LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana crime investigators have referred to prosecution a criminal complaint over a collection containing alleged forgeries of works by some of the world's greatest Modernist artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Miro which caused a major scandal in Slovenia in June last year. The newspaper Dnevnik reported the complaint, alleging copyright infringement, was filed after an appraiser hired by the police had examined the collection. The works were to be exhibited at the National Museum last year.

Internautica boat show back in Portorož after four-year hiatus

LUCIJA - Slovenia's biggest boat show, Internautica, opened at Portorož Marina after a four-year absence, bringing what the organisers said is a "flagship programme" that features premieres of a number of new motor sportsboats, motor yachts, sailing boats and inflatable boats. Running until Monday, Internautica will also feature a display of selected motorhomes and electric vehicles and indoor facilities nautical equipment, services and clothing.

Writers discuss Ukrainian literature at time of war

LJUBLJANA - Ukrainian writers are redefining their perception of culture and literature in a time of war, heard a roundtable discussion, held as part of the 10th Faces of Peace festival on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 55th PEN International Writers' Meeting. The event paid homage to award-winning Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, who was killed in war last year, by reserving an empty seat at the debate for him. The event heard that Ukraine's literature and culture have always been overshadowed by Russia.

Photo exhibition on migration opens in Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana City Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition of photographs by Meta Krese. The exhibition titled Have You Come to Stay? tackles migration through personal stories and is the most extensive presentation to date of Krese, one of the most prominent Slovenian photojournalists. The photographs depict personal stories of migrants and how they form new identities after they lose their environment and their frame of reference.