News roundup - Tuesday, 12 September

Golob, Bettel agree all EU candidates should be treated equally

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Prime Minister Robert Golob held talks with his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel in Luxembourg to agree that all countries that want to join the EU should be treated equally. They noted the role of the European Commission, which is expected to present an enlargement report in October, in this respect. Enlargement was a technical issue for 20 years, but this has changed somewhat due to the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and the process is becoming an increasingly geopolitical issue, Golob said at a joint press conference. Attending a bilateral business forum, they signed a memorandum of understanding designed to strengthen cooperation in space technologies both at the institutional and the business level.

Slovenia wants Croatia to boost EU external border control

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar called his Croatian counterpart Davor Božinović over the phone due to a significant increase in the number of migrants crossing into Slovenia from Croatia illegally. The Interior Ministry said in a press release Poklukar had advised that Croatia step up the Schengen border control. The increase was detected above all in the area of Brežice and Slovenia has stepped up border control in the area, deploying additional police patrols, a helicopter and other "technical measures".

Support and greater resilience against natural disasters urged in EU Parliament

STRASBOURG, France - In a call echoed by Slovenian MEPs, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič stressed in the European Parliament that the EU must not only strengthen its response capacity but also ensure greater resilience against natural disasters. Romana Tomc (EPP/SDS) said that when faced with natural disasters, the EU relied on one of its fundamental values, solidarity. The European Commission has promised Slovenia up to EUR 400 million from the Solidarity Fund this year and next year. However, as Milan Brglez (S&D/SD) pointed out, Slovenia is not the only country in need of assistance after natural disasters.

Democrats want preservation of border fence, army on the border

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest opposition party wants the government to crack down on migrations by deploying the army on the border with Croatia, keep rather than remove the border fence, and agree joint patrols with Croatia. "The numbers are cause for concern and demand rapid action," Anja Bah Žibert, an MP for the Democrats (SDS), said as she presented a motion for an emergency session of the parliamentary Home Policy Committee.

NSi alarmed over Slovenia's public finances

LJUBLJANA - The opposition New Slovenia (NSi) said it would request an emergency session of the parliamentary public finance oversight commission to discuss what the party says is an alarming state of Slovenia's public finances. Talking to the press, NSi MP and commission chair Jernej Vrtovec pointed to the recent downgrade of the country's GDP estimate, high budget deficit and new taxes. He said that alarming news was coming from elsewhere in Europe that would affect Slovenia's economy.

Slovenian ambassador to Kosovo accused of workplace bullying

PRISHTINA, Kosovo/LJUBLJANA - Staff at the Slovenian embassy in Kosovo have accused ambassador Minca Benedejčič of workplace bullying and intimidation, the N1 news portal reported. The personnel - the embassy employs one diplomat and five local staff - said they could no longer work with the ambassador after a year of bullying. Based on their complaint a special commission was sent in and identified "certain shortcomings in management and communication" with the Foreign Ministry saying it would keep a watch on the situation.

Former police commissioner hits back at vetting commission

LJUBLJANA - Boštjan Lindav, a former police commissioner who applied for the post again but was not selected, has hit back at the vetting commission after it complained to the anti-graft watchdog about unlawful pressure by Lindav. He said this was an "attempt at intimidation" designed to deter him from any subsequent activities aimed at protecting his rights.

Roma report shows improvements for community, but issues remain

LJUBLJANA - A government report on the position of the Roma in Slovenia for last year shows that the country increased the funding for the community considerably, but old issues remain, above all in employment and education. State authorities used EUR 15.5 million for Roma-related activities last year, considerably more than the EUR 8.8 million in 2021 and the EUR 8.6 million in 2020, according to the report drafted by relevant government ministries.

Ljubljana Stock Exchange joins effort for EU's consolidated tape provider

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Stock Exchange has 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. According to a press release by the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, the company was set up on 23 August in the Netherlands. It will have its own board of directors and all participating exchanges will be represented on the supervisory board.

Chain collision that claimed three lives caused by Slovak truck driver

LJUBLJANA - A severe traffic accident that occurred on the Ljubljana ring road on Monday afternoon was caused by a 56-year-old Slovak truck driver. He caused a chain collision of five vehicles, because he started slowing down too late. Two vehicles caught fire and three people died, a Slovenian and two Italians, Ljubljana police said. The accident happened at around 3:30pm near the Rudnik exit on the southern section of the ring road leading towards Koper, leaving the motorway closed for hours, until 1am on Tuesday.

Start of Cankarjev Dom season about globetrotter Alma Karlin

LJUBLJANA - The first part of the new season in Ljubljana's Cankarjev Dom will be about writer and globetrotter Alma Karlin (1889-1950), as a new venue dedicated to her was opened this year in the country's largest cultural institution. The highlights include the Vienna Symphony, the Schauspielhaus Bochum drama theatre with Maxim Gorky's 1905 play Children of the Sun, directed by Mateja Koležnik, the ballet and dance-theatre Faust by Edward Clug, a co-production with the SNG Maribor theatre, and the LIFFe international film festival.

Slovenia-based route of Slavic women writers receives CoE certificate

LJUBLJANA - The Women Writers Route, which features early 20th century authors from six Slavic countries, has officially received the certificate of the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe (CoE). The document was handed to the association Women Writers Route by Stefano Dominioni, director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes, at an event in Ljubljana. The route is the first of the Council of Europe's 48 cultural routes based in Slovenia.

Morigenos contributes data for AI model to recognise whales and dolphins

LJUBLJANA - Morigenos, a Slovenian dolphin research association, has taken part in a global project that developed a new AI tool to identify individual whales and dolphins in the wild in a bid to improve research into these species. A group of 56 researchers from six continents has developed a new AI model based on facial recognition technology for which much photo data was needed. The association contributed a large number of photos of dolphins it has taken over the years.

Number of passengers in public transport down in the last decade

LJUBLJANA - Despite many initiatives and the introduction of different types of tickets improving the accessibility of public transport, the number of passengers in urban transport dropped by 21% last year compared to 2013, by 3% in long-distance transport and by 13% in national railway, shows the latest data from the Statistics Office. Meanwhile, the number of registered cars went up by 14%.