News roundup - Tuesday, 5 September, until 3pm

New bank tax to be in place for five years

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob announced on Monday evening a tax on bank assets as a temporary measure to help finance the reconstruction of the country after the devastating early-August floods. "All across Europe, new taxes are being introduced and Slovenia is headed in that direction as well," he said. The new tax will be in place for five years, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday, as it provided more details on what is to be a 0.2% bank assets tax intended to help with flood reconstruction.

Businesses claim EUR 350m in advance flood payments so far

MISLINJA - The Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport announced it had so far received a total of 777 applications from businesses who would like to receive an advance payment of compensation for damage done by the recent floods. Minister Matjaž Han noted that the applications were worth more than EUR 350 million in total. Speaking to the press after meeting the mayors of the Savinja and Koroška regions in Mislinja, the minister noted that some more applications were likely to arrive by mail, and expressed the hope that payments would be made as soon as possible.

Slovenia welcomes debate on new tech to adapt agriculture to climate change

CORDOBA, Spain - Slovenian Minister Irena Šinko took part in a three-day informal meeting of EU agriculture ministers which focussed on new technologies to promote the transition to a more sustainable and productive model adapted to climate change. Slovenia welcomes the debate on new technologies, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday, the last day of the meeting. On the sidelines of the meeting, Šinko also met European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, briefing him on the situation in the agricultural sector in Slovenia after the recent storms and floods.

Volkswagen wants to keep flood-affected KLS Ljubno as supplier

MUNICH/WOLFSBURG, Germany - The Volkswagen Group, which has been forced to stop production in one facility and reduce production in another two due to shortage of components made by its Slovenian supplier KLS Ljubno, which was affected by the August floods, wants to keep KLS Ljubno as a supplier. The group said it had sent some 130 workers to Slovenia to help in the clean-up effort.

Prices of natural gas and electricity for households up in quarterly comparison

LJUBLJANA - The prices of natural gas and electricity for households went up in the second quarter of the year compared to the first, the Statistics Office said. Meanwhile, both gas and electricity were cheaper for non-household users. The prices of natural gas for households increased by 2% in the second quarter of the year, compared to the first, while prices of gas for non-household consumers dropped by 28%. Meanwhile, electricity prices for households increased by 7% and dropped by 4% for non-household users.

Registered jobless up slightly in August

LJUBLJANA - The country's registered unemployment grew by 0.2% in August compared to July to 47,383 jobless registered with the Employment Service. In yearly comparison, registered unemployment was down 12.1%, the Employment Service said. A total of 3,952 jobless were registered anew in August, down 20.7% from July and up 0.1% from August 2022.

Retailer Spar Slovenija posts EUR 17m in net profit for 2022

LJUBLJANA - Retailer Spar Slovenija recorded EUR 1.06 billion in gross turnover in 2022, a 10.8% increase year-on-year. Net sales revenue increased by 11.3% to EUR 963.6 million and net profit rose by 1.4% to EUR 16.9 million. "We are very pleased with our 2022 business results, which were good. Our turnover increased by almost 11%, which is about 2 points higher than the market," Spar Slovenija CEO David Kovačič said at a press conference. Estimates show that the retailer had a 22.8% market share last year, up 0.8 points from 2021. The return on revenue was 1.75%.

Young researcher wins EUR 1.5m ERC grant for heart therapy research

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian researcher Lea Rems has won a EUR 1.5 million grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for Reincarnation, a project looking into the potential of electroporation in heart therapy. The five-year project will focus on acquisition of basic knowledge needed for the development of new therapies based on electroporation, a method using short high-voltage pulses to overcome the barrier of the cell membrane.

Slovenians in Croatia cancel annual gathering to donate money for flood relief

ZAGREB, Croatia - The Union of Slovenian Associations in Croatia has called off its annual gathering that was supposed to be held this Saturday to donate the money that would be spent on the event to help those hit by the disastrous floods in Slovenia. The union will donate between EUR 10,000 and 12,000 for flood relief efforts, and had urged its members to donate the EUR 10 they would otherwise spend on the participation fee.

Border police officer injured in rare assault by migrant

KOPER - A border police officer was injured over the weekend as a group of migrants without valid papers fled during identification procedure, the Koper Police Department said, underlining that assaults by migrants against officers are virtually non-existent. The incident happened as police officers were taking three persons from the train to the police car in order to verify their identities.

STA stepping up fact-checking effort

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Press Agency (STA) is expanding as of this month its fact-checking website Ne/Ja (No/Yes), which aims to debunk myths on socially relevant topics and raise awareness of the importance of recognising misleading information. The goal of the project, backed by the Government Communication Office, is to step up fact-checking effort in the Slovenian public and thus contribute to the battle against spreading of misinformation.

Metelkova counter-culture centre celebrating 30 years

LJUBLJANA - The Metelkova counter-culture centre in Ljubljana will celebrate 30 years with exhibitions, workshops and concerts until Sunday. The festivities will take place in most venues at Metelkova, starting with an exhibition opening tonight showcasing concert photos. The celebration marks 30 years since the former military barracks slated for demolition were occupied by artists and autonomous groups, creating what is now known as Metelkova, a centre featuring eight club venues, five galleries and a hostel in the former military prison.

Krško library shortlisted for best library award

KRŠKO - The Valvasor Library in Krško in estern Slovenia was shortlisted for the Public Library of the Year Award given out at the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress 2023. The Krško library was one of the four finalists alongside public libraries in Sydney, Shanghai and Barcelona. The Gabriel Garcia Marquez library in Barcelona was named library of the year.