News roundup - Thursday, 20 July, until 3pm

Sandoz planning biosimilars development centre in Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - Generics producer Sandoz, part of which is Slovenian pharmaceutical company Lek, is planning to build a centre for development of biosimilars in Ljubljana. The US$90 million investment is to be completed by 2026, the company announced. "With this centre, Lek's Ljubljana location will become one of the key locations for the development of biosimilars in Sandoz," Sandoz said in a press release. The investment will create around 200 new jobs.

FM says debate on Turkey's EU bid sensible if country's intentions are sincere

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A discussion about Turkey's EU membership bid makes sense if the country shows a sincere interest in this, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said ahead of a session of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council. Pointing to the country's strategic importance, she said cooperation with Turkey was extremely important. "If Turkey itself shows willingness, if it also shows willingness in meeting the conditions, I see no reason why we should not discuss this," Fajon said in Brussels.

Medical Chamber dismisses allegations of illegal euthanasia

LJUBLJANA - The Medical Chamber rejected recent claims by an assisted dying bill sponsor Andrej Pleterski, who said that euthanasia was being performed in Slovenia illegally. No matter the circumstances, it is not performed in healthcare institutions, the chamber said as it condemned attempts to draw media attention with scaremongering and untrue statements. By making such statements in public, Pleterski is putting his own credibility under question, the press release read.

Review Commission rejects audit request for UKC's X-ray tender

LJUBLJANA - The National Review Commission dismissed an audit request for a public tender for X-ray and CT scan devices issued by the UKC Ljubljana hospital in March. Arguing against the view of GH Holding that the procedure had been rigged to favour Siemens Healthcare, the commission said UKC had good grounds for the requested technical specifications.

Wholesale and retail see increase in sales last year

LJUBLJANA - Turnover from the sale of goods in Slovenia was up for the second time in a row in 2022, totalling EUR 35.6 billion, which is a 17.2% increase from the year before, shows fresh data from the Statistics Office. Retail turnover was up by 11.4% year-on-year and amounted to EUR 15.4 billion, with sales of motor fuels increasing the most, by 76.6%.

Ombudsman meets reps of Albanian community

LJUBLJANA - Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina and his deputy Miha Horvat met a delegation of representatives of the Albanian ethnic community living in Slovenia. Topics discussed at the meeting ranged from the community's cultural rights and education issues to integration of immigrant children in schools and media coverage of the Albanian community.

Slovenia reeling from fierce storms

LJUBLJANA - The storms that hit the country on Wednesday afternoon and evening calmed but not without injuries and infrastructure damage around the country. More than 3,000 people are still without electricity, and many people were trapped in mountain lodges, but have been rescued since. Due to strong winds a container ship in the Koper Port broke away from its berth, but has since been tugged back to its mooring. First inspections showed that it did not hit the coast.