News roundup - Thursday, 7 September

Slovenia plans to adjust cohesion policy programme by year's end

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia plans to channel a portion of cohesion policy funds towards post-flood reconstruction and will adjust its national cohesion programme by the end of the year, Regional Development Minister Aleksander Jevšek said after talks with EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira. Slovenia has EUR 3.2 billion in cohesion funds available in 2021-2027. More than EUR 800 million is currently budgeted for the battle against climate change and the government plans to divert a portion of these funds towards reconstruction, he said.

PM Golob urges opening of Bosnia accession talks this year

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob urged European Council President Charles Michel and EU heads of state to be more ambitious when it comes to the EU accession of Bosnia-Herzegovina, saying that the Council "should decide on opening accession negotiations ... by the end of this year". "The arguments for such a decision are, in my view, incomparably stronger than those against," Golob said in an open letter to Michel released by the government.

Slovenia wants to help African countries address climate change

LJUBLJANA - As an EU member, Slovenia wants to be a partner to African countries in efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and to adjust to it faster, the Foreign Ministry said after its climate diplomacy envoy Smiljana Knez attended the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, from Monday to Wednesday. The country's strategic approach to African partners must reflect their specific challenges as well as their social, environmental, economic and cultural diversity, said the ministry.

Croatia wants to improve status of its community in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - President of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, who was on a visit to Slovenia, said that the situation of the Croatian minority, which does not have the status of a minority in Slovenia, was one of the open bilateral issues that Croatia would like to resolve in the spirit of good neighbourly relations. "The status of Croats in Slovenia is important to us, and we believe that the conditions have been met for them to be given the status of an ethnic minority," Jandroković said as he met members of the Croatian community in Slovenia.

Four countries asked to bid for armoured personnel carrier delivery

LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Marjan Šarec revealed that the ministry asked Finland, Poland, Romania and Italy to send final offers after a preliminary round of inquiries for the supply of eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers for the Slovenian army. The US was part of the preliminary inquiry but was not asked to send a final offer, he said. Speaking at a session of the parliamentary Defence Committee, Šarec said the selection of supplier would be announced "very soon".

Jušić appointed police commissioner for a full term

LJUBLJANA - Senad Jušić was appointed police commissioner for a full, five-year term, after serving in the acting capacity since 24 February. The government's decision means that the Slovenian police are getting the commissioner with full powers after more than a year. According to information obtained by the STA, the appointment was not endorsed by all government ministers. The Left abstained and the Social Democrats are said to have raised concerns about whether he was an appropriate candidate for this position.

ECHR says Bavčar entitled to EUR 16,000 due to violated presumption of innocence

STRASBOURG, France - Examining the sentencing of former Istrabenz executive Igor Bavčar to five years in prison over money laundering in 2016, the ECHR found a violation of the right to presumption of innocence but no violation of the principle of no punishment without law. It ordered Slovenia to pay Bavčar, the country's first interior minister, EUR 16,000.

Post-flood reconstruction office established

LJUBLJANA - The government founded the Post-Flood and Landslide Reconstruction Office, which will be headed by Boštjan Šefic, a state secretary in the prime minister's office. The office will provide organisational, technical and other assistance to the government and coordinate the work of a number of institutions involved in post-flood reconstruction.

Defence spending in 2021-2022 reaches over EUR 190 million

LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry spent EUR 192 million on military purchases in 2021 and 2022, or around 25% of the EUR 780 million available under the law on funds for investments in the Slovenian army in the six-year period between 2021 and 2026, heard the parliamentary Defence Committee. Defence Minister Marjan Šarec said that all of the army's key projects were there to stay, and so was a commitment to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP until 2030.

Committee clears controversial animal protection bill

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Agriculture Committee confirmed amendments to the Animal Protection Act that have pitted animal protection groups who argue that animal welfare should improve against farmers who accuse activists of overreach. Some of the most problematic provisions were altered by the committee, but the most hotly contested provision - the introduction of special "qualified reporting persons" that can check on animal welfare at farms - remains in place.

Contributions for religious workers cut to 60% despite legal grievances

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Culture Committee backed changes to the Religious Freedom Act lowering the state's payment of social security contributions for religious workers from 100% to 60%. The bill was backed despite strong criticism by the parliament's legal service and despite opposition by religious communities and both opposition parties. A representative of the legal service said the bill was not in line with the constitution, and violated the principles of trust in law and of division of power.

HSE repays another EUR 142m in state aid

LJUBLJANA - The state-owned power group HSE has repaid EUR 142 million of the EUR 492 million it received as recapitalisation in December 2022. This comes three months after HSE repaid the first EUR 100 million. The recapitalisation was needed due to low hydropower output and coal supply issues and was meant to be repaid from the outset. The state asset custodian SSH and HSE said that they had reached an agreement that the HSE would return EUR 60-100 million euros by the end of the year, depending on its operations.

First hydrogen-powered four-seater makes maiden flight in Maribor

MARIBOR - The first liquid hydrogen-powered four-seater in the world, a product involving the Slovenian aircraft maker Pipistrel, made its maiden flight at Maribor airport in what is considered a major milestone in zero-emission aviation. The H2FLY HY4 aircraft was developed by the German company H2Fly in cooperation with the Ajdovščina-based Pipistrel and the French industrial gas supplier Air Liquide.

Slovenia joins new MA programme on space medicine

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana-based Jožef Stefan Institute has partnered up with two other research and educational institutions from Germany and France to carry out a new international post-graduate studies programme on space medicine, the first of its kind in the world. The programme will focus on physiology and medicine in space and in extreme environments.

Survey: Two-thirds support post-flood solidarity contribution

LJUBLJANA - The government-imposed solidarity contribution from Slovenian residents and companies that will be spent for the post-flood recovery effort is supported by two-thirds of respondents in a survey carried out at the end of August for the newspaper Dnevnik. The survey conducted by Ninamedia between 28 and 31 August on 1,268 adults shows that 65% of them agree that all residents should contribute to the best of their ability to the post-flood effort, Dnevnik reported.

Social Chamber wants better violence prevention in institutions

LJUBLJANA - After an incident at the Trebnje care home in which a resident was harassed by a teenager working a summer job there, the Social Chamber proposed that a coordinator be introduced for the detection and prevention of violence in social institutions. Condemning the incident, it also called on the Education Ministry to draw up a strategy for violence prevention in schools. The incident was also condemned by an intergenerational group comprising youth and pensioner associations and a mental health association.

Jurij Kalan's humorous wooden sculptures on display at Ljubljana City Art Gallery

LJUBLJANA - A retrospective exhibition of painter Jurij Kalan's works opened tonight at the Ljubljana City Art Gallery. Titled Fractions, it features what the artist dubs as "shepherd's woodcarvings" along with his most prominent paintings and sketches depicting motives of everyday life. The largest exhibition of Kalan's creations to date puts on display works created between 1991 and 2023, including paintings of various formats, sketches, photographs and graphic prints, as well as painted stone and wooden heads and totems.

East Asian items from Celje museum's collection put on show

CELJE - The Celje Regional Museum put on show tonight a number of items from Asia that it keeps in its Asia and Latin America collection. Some of the items at the exhibition are displayed for the first time, as the museum tries to establish their exact origin. Visitors will see a number of wooden objects such as coffee tables, small boxes and decorative screens, alongside porcelain and ceramic items, such as vases. Most of the items were made in China and Japan to the taste of Westerners destined for export to the West, and originate from castles or homes of the wealthy, upper middle class.

Slovenia left to battle for 7th place at Basketball World Cup

MANILA, the Philippines - Slovenia conceded to Lithuania 84:100 at the Basketball World Cup and will take on Italy on Saturday in the battle for 7th place at the tournament. While the Slovenian team initially appeared to have left the painful quarter-final defeat against Canada behind them, Lithuanian players were more precise and never lost control of the game.