Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 7-14 September

FRIDAY, 8 September

LJUBLJANA - Anže Logar, Slovenia's former foreign minister and deputy for the Democrats (SDS), said that his Cooperation Platform turned down the invitation by NSi leader Matej Tonin for a joint appearance in the 2024 EU Parliament elections. Responding, Tonin said on 11 September the initiative was meant to enhance the centre right in Slovenia because as a country "we cannot afford another term under a left government".

ČRNA NA KOROŠKEM/KAMNIK/NAZARJE - About half of a total of 14 modular bridges planned in the areas hit by the devastating floods in early August had been installed by 7 September, the latest ones in Črna na Koroškem, at Lašča Vas near Nazarje and at Strahovica near Kamnik. Another two opened on 13 September, in Gornji Grad and Mežica.

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar laid a wreath at a memorial plaque honouring four Basoviza heroes - four Slovenian victims of Fascism from Trieste, Italy, who resisted brutal Italianization under fascist rule and were executed in 1930.

LJUBLJANA - The Ministry of Digital Transformation presented a draft national strategy for a digital decade, introducing 93 measures in digital skills, infrastructure, transformation of the economy and public services.

LJUBLJANA - Sašo Hribar, an award-winning satirist and one of Slovenia's most popular radio personalities, died, aged 63.

LJUBLJANA - Riders (Jezdeca), Dominik Mence's road movie about a couple of small-town friends who embark on a journey of personal discovery with two mopeds, was picked as Slovenia's nominee for the foreign language Oscar.

SATURDAY, 9 September

BREŽICE - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar and Police Commissioner Senad Jušić visited the area around Brežice announcing beefed-up police presence along the border with Croatia after locals pleaded with authorities to do something because they no longer feel safe due to a large number of illegal migrants.

RAB, Croatia - President Nataša Pirc Musar said memory of historical facts and testimonies about the horrors of Fascism and Nazism may not be forgotten as she attended a ceremony on the island of Rab marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Italian concentration camp Kompor.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia welcomed the African Union's entry into the G20 group, with Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon describing it as a step towards a "more just global architecture".

ŠTANJEL - Kosovo author Shpetim Selmani received the Vilenica Crystal, an award the Vilenica International Literary Festival bestows on one of the authors featured in the festival's collection of poems or texts.

MANILA, Philippines - Slovenia defeated Italy 89:85 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup to finish seventh overall at the tournament, in what is the best result for Slovenia at the World Cup and the same result as in Spain in 2014.

KOPER - Slovenian Janja Garnbret won a lead event to claim the record 41st World Cup victory. This being her last competition this year, the 24-year-old climber, who ranks first in women's lead World Cup standings, ended the season on a high after achieving all of the goals she had set.

SUNDAY, 10 September

BASOVIZZA, Italy - A ceremony commemorated Basovizza heroes, four Slovenian victims of Fascism at the memorial site in Basovizza, Italy, where they were executed in 1930. Addressing the event, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said that, despite everything, the will to cooperate always prevailed between Slovenians and Italians.

MONDAY, 11 September

SKOPJE, North Macedonia - A Brdo-Brijuni Process summit, co-hosted by Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar, concluded with the adoption of a joint declaration that stresses the importance of accelerated EU integration of the Western Balkans, as well as the need to adapt to climate change and take measures to keep the young in the region. Pirc Musar said the document would be followed by an action plan.

KLAGENFURT, Austria - Economy Minister Matjaž Han visited Carinthia to discuss economic and tourism cooperation opportunities with Governor Peter Kaiser and Slovenian minority representatives. Kaiser and Han also talked about the possibility of Slovenia and Austria co-hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics.

RIGA, Latvia - Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan expressed Slovenia's support for Ukraine's justice reform and fight against impunity for Russian war crimes as she took part in a ministerial of the Council of Europe (CoE).

LJUBLJANA - ITF Enhancing Human Security, a Slovenian-run international demining fund which has been present in Ukraine since 2015, opened its office in Kyiv in July to enhance demining efforts and assistance to victims of mines in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said.

LJUBLJANA - A Slovenian woman and an Italian couple died in a chain collision on the Ljubljana ring road, as five vehicles, of which two trucks, crashed. The accident was caused by a Slovak truck driver, who started slowing down too late for unknown reasons, hitting a car. Both caught fire. The truck sustained only minor injuries.

LJUBLJANA - The environmental NGO AAG highlighted major risks involving a planned hydrogen plant on the outskirts of the Italian city of Trieste, saying that Slovenia had not even been informed about the risks and urging the government to get involved in relevant procedures and conduct an environmental impact assessment.

MARIBOR - Storyteller Špela Frlic won the 2023 Večernica Prize for the best book for children or youth for her debut Bleščivka, a fantasy novel the jury described as exceptionally multi-layered, addressing both children and adults.

TUESDAY, 12 September

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - PM Robert Golob held talks with his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel to agree that all countries that want to join the EU should be treated equally. The pair also attended a bilateral business forum and signed a memorandum of understanding to boost cooperation in space technologies.

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar called up his Croatian counterpart Davor Božinović to discuss a significant increase in the number of illegal migrants crossing into Slovenia from Croatia, advising him that Croatia step up Schengen border control.

PRISHTINA, Kosovo/LJUBLJANA - Local staff at the Slovenian Embassy in Kosovo accused Ambassador Minca Benedejčič of workplace bullying and intimidation. Based on their complaint, a special commission was sent in and identified "certain shortcomings in management and communication", the Foreign Ministry said.

LJUBLJANA - A government report on the position of the Roma in Slovenia for 2022 shows the country increased the funding for the community considerably from EUR 8.8 million to 15.5 million, but old issues remain, above all in employment and education.

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Stock Exchange said it had joined forces with 13 more stock exchanges active on 25 markets of EU member states to establish EuroCTP, which aims to tender as the consolidated tape provider for equities and exchange-traded funds in the EU. The company was set up on 23 August in the Netherlands.

LJUBLJANA - Women Writers Route, which features early 20th century authors from six Slavic countries, including three from Slovenia, officially received the certificate of the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe (CoE) at a ceremony in the parliament. The route is the first of the CoE's 48 cultural routes that is based in Slovenia.

WEDNESDAY, 13 September

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia issued a new ten-year bond, the first one denominated in US dollars since 2014. Worth a billion dollars, it comes with a coupon rate of 5%.

LJUBLJANA - Macroeconomic forecaster IMAD downgraded its GDP forecast for Slovenia 2023 from 1.8% to 1.6% and upgraded the one for 2024 from 2.5% to 2.8%. The downgrade for this year is largely a result of a significant downgraded estimate of Slovenia's GDP growth in 2022.

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon announced she will set up a five-member team dealing with Slovenia's UN Security Council membership at her office, while more diplomats, including special envoy Samuel Žbogar, will soon be leaving for New York to join the country's permanent mission there.

LJUBLJANA - Responding to the state of the union address by European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, Foreign Ministry officials stressed the importance of preserving the EU's competitiveness and welcomed assurances about EU enlargement. Slovenian MEPs also welcomed the main highlights, but criticised vom der Leyen's failure to offer answers to some key challenges.

STRASBOURG, France - Slovenia will have nine MEPs in the 2024-2029 legislative term, as the European Parliament endorsed a proposal to allocate 15 additional seats, including an extra one to Slovenia. All of the existing Slovenian MEPs are willing to run for re-election next year or are at least considering it.

LJUBLJANA - Following accusations of workplace bullying made against Slovenian Ambassador to Kosovo Minca Benedejčič, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon told RTV Slovenija that no major irregularities had been found in the conduct of the ambassador. Benedejčič was however urged to improve interpersonal relations at work.

LJUBLJANA - Electricity price regulation expires at the end of the year, but could be kept for vulnerable groups yet not for businesses, Energy Minister Bojan Kumer said in an interview with the STA. Gas price regulation will not be extended.

LJUBLJANA - The Health Ministry presented 55 health policy guidelines for 2024 and 2025 in a bid to improve quality, accessibility and efficiency in healthcare, motivate staff and raise awareness among patients. The guidelines will serve as the basis for a 2024 general agreement between healthcare stakeholders.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will participate in the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan, in a joint pavilion rather than independently, a decision which reduces the cost of the presentation to EUR 2 million, down from an estimated EUR 15 million for an independent pavilion.

LJUBLJANA - The Scout Association of Slovenia notified the public of a case involving a suspected sexual offence against minors committed by a troop leader, who was withdrawn from all activities until the circumstances are clarified. The suspect is in detention.

KOPER - Hundreds of litres of red liquid looking like wine was noticed flowing from a drain into the small river Badaševica in the Koper area over the past two days. Environmentalists accused winemaker Vinakoper, which caused similar incidents in the past, but this time denied it was the source of the liquid. An investigations is ongoing.

THURSDAY, 14 September

ČRENŠOVCI - President Nataša Pirc Musar visited areas hit hardest by the early August floods to get briefed on the state of play in reconstruction efforts. Calling for a quicker renovation of levees, she said that Slovenia was not wealthy enough to be able to afford cheap reconstruction.

LJUBLJANA - Extensive testing with samples taken from river basins that suffered the most damage during the August floods has shown the Meža river basin in Koroška to be the most problematic area in terms of pollution, with critical levels of lead, cadmium, and zinc reached or significantly exceeded in both sediment and soil, according to a detailed analysis by the Environment Agency.

STRASBOURG, France - Slovenian MEP Matjaž Nemec (S&D) condemned Tunisia's decision to deny entry to a European Parliament delegation without providing a reason, but reportedly due to recent statements about faltering democracy and the moves by the country's president. The S&D demanded a freeze of the migration deal between the EU and Tunisia.

LJUBLJANA - Freedom Movement MPs Dejan Zavec and Martin Marzidovšek decided to bid farewell to the parliament's benches. Zavec told the press that he was leaving for health reasons and Marzidovšek said he would pursue a new job in artificial intelligence.

LJUBLJANA - National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič received the judges of Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court. The purpose was to exchange experiences and become familiar with the work of the court. The potential formation of a similar court in Slovenia was discussed too.

BRNIK - Luxembourg's national carrier Luxair launched scheduled flights between Ljubljana and Luxembourg. It expects to carry around 12,000 passengers on the route per year. Services will operate twice per week, each Thursday and Sunday, with a 76-seat De Havilland Q400 turboprop aircraft.

RIJEKA, Croatia - Kolektor Construction has been picked to build a container terminal and renovate Warehouse 22 in the port of Rijeka in Croatia. The Slovenian group believes the multimillion deal will significantly contribute to the development and improving of logistics infrastructure in the region.

LJUBLJANA - The country's veterinary authority confirmed highly contagious avian influenza of the subtype H5N1 in two dead swans in the municipality of Ljubljana, and urged poultry farmers to implement strict biosecurity measures.