News roundup - Monday, 11 September

Three killed in traffic accident on Ljubljana ring road

LJUBLJANA - Three people were killed and at least one person was injured in a traffic accident on the southern part of the Ljubljana ring road, the Ljubljana Police Department said. Several vehicles were involved in the crash, including a car towing a camper trailer and two lorries. The accident happened at around 3:30pm near the Rudnik exit on the west-bound section of the motorway, with three vehicles bursting into flames. The section of the ring road is still closed between the Ljubljana South and Rudnik junctions, as is the Ljubljana South sliproad in the same direction.

Co-hosted by Slovenia, Brdo-Brijuni summit ends with declaration

SKOPJE, North Macedonia - A Brdo-Brijuni Process summit, co-hosted by Slovenia, concluded with the adoption of a joint declaration that stresses the importance of accelerated EU integration of the Western Balkans. The declaration, adopted unanimously, also stressed the need to adapt to the implications of climate change and take measures that would make societies vital and thus keep the young in the region. The leaders moreover pledged in the document to boost both strategic dialogue with EU institutions and efforts to implement reforms in the region. The document will be followed by an action plan, Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar said.

ITF opens office in Ukraine

LJUBLJANA - ITF Enhancing Human Security, a Slovenian-run international demining fund which has been present in Ukraine since 2015, this summer opened an office in Kyiv to enhance demining efforts and assistance to victims of mines. The office was inaugurated last week, during the visit to the Ukrainian capital by Aleš Musar, the husband of President Nataša Pirc Musar.

Logar declines NSi leader's offer for joint EU election ticket

LJUBLJANA - The platform started by Anže Logar, Slovenia's former foreign minister and deputy for the opposition Democrats (SDS), has turned down the invitation by Matej Tonin, the leader of Christian democratic party New Slovenia (NSi), for a joint appearance in the 2024 European Parliament elections. Tonin said he respected Logar's decision, noting that the initiative was meant to enhance the centre right because as a country "we cannot afford another term under a left government".

Vetting commission for police chief reports pressure to anti-graft body

LJUBLJANA - The vetting commission established as part of the call for applications for the police commissioner has reported suspicion of unlawful pressure to the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK), in a development that comes after the government recently confirmed acting commissioner Senad Jušić for the post full-time. It is implied that the pressure also came from the legal representative of the other candidate, Boštjan Lindav, who served as the acting police commissioner before Jušić.

Economic and tourism cooperation in focus as Han visits Carinthia

KLAGENFURT, Austria - Economic and tourism cooperation opportunities were discussed as Economy Minister Matjaž Han visited Carinthia, meeting Governor Peter Kaiser and Slovenian minority representatives. Talks with Kaiser focused on economic and touristm cooperation, with the Economy Ministry noting that Austria was one of Slovenia's top trade partners. It added that Han would be visiting Vienna in early October. Kaiser and Han also talked about the possibility of Slovenia and Austria co-hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics.

Slovenia supporting Ukraine's justice reform, fight against impunity

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). Švarc Pipan underlined that Slovenia fully supported Ukraine's efforts in investigating and prosecuting crimes committed during the war, her ministry said. Slovenia will continue to cooperate and provide assistance on the national and EU levels, in the CoE and other multilateral initiatives, It added.

Support for Freedom Movement up in Delo poll

LJUBLJANA - The ruling Freedom Movement is the most popular party again after it briefly lost the top spot to the opposition Democrats (SDS), shows the latest poll commissioned by the newspaper Delo. The Freedom Movement gained 2.3 percentage points compared to August to rank first with 24.3%. The SDS came in second with 21.1%, down 2.5 percentage points from August. The coalition Social Democrats (SD) is third at 6.7%. Respondents are generally satisfied with the work of the government and individual politicians as all approval ratings were higher than in August. President Nataša Pirc Musar remains the best rated politician.

Fuel prices up again on Tuesday

LJUBLJANA - Regulated prices of fuel will increase at midnight with regular petrol off the motorway network being sold at EUR 1.551 a litre, up 0.7 cents, and diesel at EUR 1.60 a litre, up 2.8 cents. Heating oil will cost EUR 1.181 a litre, up by 2.5 cents. The prices will be in force until 25 September, the Environment Ministry announced.

Industrial output down in July

LJUBLJANA - Industrial output in Slovenia was down by 2.5% in July compared to June and down by 6.4% compared to July 2022. Industrial revenue dropped by 8% in monthly comparison, Statistics Office data shows. Industrial output was up in mining and quarrying by 13.9% in July compared to June but was down 1.7% in manufacturing and 1.1% in electricity, gas and steam supply.

Meeting on elder abuse notes workforce shortage in nursing homes

LJUBLJANA - The need for short- and long-term measures, notably to also take on the acute workforce shortage in nursing homes, was highlighted at a forum on the prevention of violence against the elderly, hosted by the Ministry for a Solidarity-based Future. The meeting, coming amid continuing care staff shortages and indignation following an assault on a resident of a nursing home by a secondary school student temp in Trebnje, examined the existing mechanisms, and agreed that a special strategy was needed.

Proalp preserving and building on art of shoemaking in Tržič

TRŽIČ - Paying tribute to its tradition of shoemaking, the northwestern town of Tržič celebrates Cobblers' Sunday every year at the beginning of September. Despite the demise of the once flagship shoe factory Peko, the art of shoemaking has been kept alive in the town, including by Proalp, a company leaning heavily on handwork to make sustainable footwear. Proalp was founded in 1997 by Matej Slapar, who had learned the ropes working in Peko, a manufacturer famous for its high-quality fashion footwear.

Slovenian NGO warns about risks of hydrogen facility in near-by Italian port

LJUBLJANA - The environmental NGO Alps Adriatic Green (AAG) has highlighted major risks involving a planned hydrogen plant on the outskirts of the Italian city of Trieste. Saying that Slovenia has not even been informed about the risks, it urged the government to get involved in relevant procedures and conduct an environmental impact assessment.

Experts talk future of nuclear energy in Portorož

PORTOROŽ - An annual conference of the nuclear energy sector opened in the coastal town of Portorož, bringing together professionals who deal with various aspects of nuclear energy from over 20 countries to debate how to utilise nuclear power to make the green transition a reality and boost nuclear power production. Green transition will not be feasible without nuclear energy, heard some 280 participants of the Nuclear Energy for New Europe conference, a four-day event organised by the Nuclear Society of Slovenia.

Entrepreneur reportedly beaten to death in his workshop

MARIBOR - A 64-year-old entrepreneur active in manufacturing of metal structures, was found dead by his employees in his workshop in Zgornji Duplek near Maribor last Friday, allegedly beaten to death with a blunt object. The crime is still being investigated, with the perpetrator reportedly still at large.

Green transition, digitalisation and staff shortage in focus of trade fair

CELJE - The 55th International Trade Fair (MOS) started in Celje, featuring 650 exhibitors from 25 countries and Ukraine as the partner country. Running until Sunday, the event will highlight the green transition, digitalisation and workforce shortages as the main concerns businesses are dealing with. This year's event will focus on five areas - MOS Home, MOS Tourism, MOS Tech, MOS B2B and MOS Plus.

Popular TV and radio presenter dies

LJUBLJANA/NOVO MESTO - Popular TV and radio presenter Robi Erjavec has died unexpectedly, aged 52, 24ur.com and other media reported on Sunday. Erjavec worked for commercial broadcaster POP TV for more than 25 years, mostly as the weather forecaster in the daily news show 24ur. He also hosted several popular entertainment shows and was known for his humour and kind-heartedness.

Špela Frlic's debut novel wins Večernica Prize

MARIBOR - Storyteller Špela Frlic has won this year's Večernica Prize for best book for children or youth for her debut youth novel Bleščivka. The jury found the fantasy novel to be exceptionally multi-layered, addressing both children and adults. While young readers enjoy a tense, almost detective story in Bleščivka, the story reveals itself through various interlinguistic elements and symbols to adults, said Dragica Haramija, the head of the jury.

Slovenian volleyballers make it to European championship semis

VARNA, Bulgaria - Slovenia made it to the semi-finals of the Men's European Volleyball Championship by defeating Ukraine 3:1, in what is mission accomplished for Slovenia as the medal round in Rome was the goal the team had set before departing for the tournament. The semi-finals, where Slovenia will play the winner of the match between Poland and Serbia, is the third top-4 finish for Slovenia in a row and fourth in the last eight years. They are still looking for gold after winning silver medals in 2015, 2019 and 2021.

Prešeren's poems to be released in German audiobook

LJUBLJANA - The publishing arm of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija is set to release a German audiobook of poems by Slovenian national bard France Prešeren to mark several milestones, including Slovenia's upcoming guest of honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The audiobook is narrated by German actor Urs Remond.

Slovenia tops Euro 2024 qualifying group after win against San Marino

SERRAVALLE, San Marino - Slovenia defeated San Marino 4:0 in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on Sunday to take the top position in Group H alongside Denmark. The scoring opened in the 4th minute when Žan Vipotnik converted a pass from Žan Karničnik from inside the box. Karničnik was also the assist guy for the second goal in the 16th minute as Jan Mlakar scored from a similar position inside the box.

Documentary, books on lynx conservation effort launched

LJUBLJANA - A new documentary on lynx conservation efforts titled Together for Lynx, showing how the EU-backed Life Lynx project is trying to save the Dinaric-SE Alpine lynx population from yet another extinction, premiered at Ljubljana's Kinodvor cinema. The documentary, which took five years to make, traces the project from when the first lynx, Goru, was relocated to Slovenia in 2019 to now. Authors Boštjan Gorenc and Desa Muck meanwhile presented their children's books on the topic, The Livid Lynx and The Brave Max.