News roundup - Monday, 17 July, until 3pm

Pahor says border arbitration never "poisoned" Slovenian-Croatian relations

LJUBLJANA - Responding to PM Robert Golob's statements made during a recent visit to Zagreb, Former President Borut Pahor wrote on Facebook that the border arbitration with Croatia never poisoned Slovenian-Croatian relations. On the contrary, it enabled excellent relations all round. The agreement not only enabled the border issue to be resolved peacefully and Croatia to join the EU, but also opened a new, friendly chapter in the relations between the two neighbours after 18 years of major and minor security incidents.

Assisted dying bill gets tabled in parliament

LJUBLJANA - The sponsors of a bill to legalise assisted dying filed the legislation to parliament after having collected the necessary signatures for this move. They count on the coalition's support, but the bill has been a target of much criticism in recent months. Among the opponents to the bill are the Medical Chamber, the Medical Ethics Commission, and the Slovenian Bishops' Conference. The senior coalition Freedom Movement intends to go through the proposal, hold a public discussion on the matter and take some time to clear up any potential dilemmas before making a decision, said deputy group head Borut Sajovic.

Govt green-lights deal with higher education union, but pay disparities still open

LJUBLJANA - While leaving pay disparities in higher education to be resolved as part of ongoing talks on the overhaul of the public sector pay system, the government okayed on Thursday a proposal for a deal addressing strike demands related to issues other than salaries. The agreement, reached with the Higher Education Trade Union away from the spotlight after two strikes held in May and June, deals with things like Saturday work, remote working, compensation for the use of own resources and trade union work, the Higher Education, Science and Innovation Ministry said today.

Petrol prices up on Tuesday

LJUBLJANA - Regulated fuel prices will increase on Tuesday. Off the motorway network, regular petrol will be sold at EUR 1.456 a litre and diesel at EUR 1.504 a litre, up by 1.2 and 2.3 cents, respectively. Heating oil will cost EUR 1.081 a litre, up 2.1 cents, the Economy Ministry announced. The new prices will be in force until 31 July.

Salonit Anhovo to pay out EUR 10m in dividends and change name

ANHOVO - Cement maker Salonit Anhovo, owned by the Austrian Wietersdorfer Alpacem, will pay out EUR 10 million in dividends. The company is changing its name to Alpacem Cement Slovenija to follow industry trends, said board chairman Tomaž Vuk. The shareholders agreed to allocate EUR 10 million out of the EUR 43.3 million in distributable profit for dividends, at EUR 11.35 gross per share. The company operated successfully in 2022, Vuk said, adding that production increased by about a third.

Ever-changing forests in need of regulation change

BLED - Slovenian forests are facing natural disasters, climate change, and a different management than in the past. Changes to regulation are necessary to allow the forestry service to continue its work, said expert Andrej Avsenek, who for years led the regional unit of the Slovenia Forest Service in the richly-wooded north-west of the country. "We have two extreme categories of forest owners," he said. Owners of larger forests see an economic return from their land and work intensively with forests. On the other hand, there are many small owners that have no interest in forest management and often do not even know where their forests are located.