News roundup - Wednesday, 27 September

Police beef up checks on border with Croatia

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian police stepped up activities along the border with Croatia by deploying additional officers along the main corridors where migrants enter the country. Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar said these were not internal border checks, but "compensatory measures". His Croatian counterpart Davorin Božinović said that the increased presence of the Slovenian police along the border did not mean that the Schengen Area was being abolished, while Croatian President Zoran Milanović said there was no Europe without borders. There is a Europe without border controls, and then these get introduced again, he said. Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar commented on the matter for Radio Slovenija, saying that she wished Croatia "would do its job", so there would be no need for debate on the closing of the borders within the Schengen area.

Home Affairs Committee suspends marathon migration session

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee spent five hours discussing migrations yesterday evening before suspending the session to complete the discussion at a later time. The session was called at the request of the Democrats (SDS), with the opposition party demanding better protection of the southern border, especially in the Brežice area, due to a surge in the number of migrants crossing there. The SDS demanded the government not only stop removing the border fence but to erect new sections, and called for stronger police presence.

Fajon stresses need to protect EU's external borders

VIENNA, Austria - Attending a meeting of Central 5 (C5), an informal political group uniting Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon stressed the EU must protect its external borders if the Schengen zone is to be preserved. The ministers agreed the EU should be united in addressing illegal migration. Turning to the Western Balkans, Fajon said that the debate on how to improve the political and economic stability in the region was extremely important.

Economy minister calls for balanced trade with Saudi Arabia

LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Matjaž Han hosted Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim, the minister of economy and planning of Saudi Arabia for talks on cooperation. He said that while cooperation between the countries was improving, the trade in goods is unbalanced and new opportunities to increase exports to Saudi Arabia needed to be created. Han highlighted Slovenia's geostrategic position, security and political stability, as well as a highly educated workforce.

Govt vows to step up post-flood aid in Koroška

PREVALJE/SLOVENJ GRADEC - The government made a number of promises to expedite post-flood reconstruction efforts in the northern region of Koroška, including assistance services, more heavy machinery, accommodation solutions, and free legal aid for those most affected as it visited the region. Authorities continue to deal with the issue of hazardous flood silt.

Damage to economy caused by floods estimated at EUR 380m

LJUBLJANA - The devastating floods in August caused EUR 380.81 million of damage to machinery, equipment and stocks, and loss of revenue to 1,172 businesses that reported the damage to the Economy Ministry. Some EUR 31.77 million of aid will be paid in October in the form of advanced payments, the ministry told the STA. The damage to machinery and equipment is estimated at EUR 168.23 million, damage to stocks at EUR 90.77 million and the loss of revenue at 121.83 million.

Statistics Office director faces dismissal

LJUBLJANA - The head of the Statistics Office, Tomaž Smrekar, likely faces dismissal over an unexpected revision of GDP growth figures for last year after the government yesterday decided to "inform [him] of alleged violations and possible grounds for dismissal" and urged him to respond. The move comes after the Statistics Office surprisingly revised GDP growth figures for 2022 from 5.4% to just 2.5%. It said the wide gap was the result of missing aggregate data at the time that quarterly figures were being prepared.

Upper chamber vetoes a series of legislative changes

LJUBLJANA - The National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, vetoed changes to the Animal Protection Act, changes to the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry Act, and a bill granting amnesty for fines issued during the Covid-19 pandemic. All three sets of legislative changes were passed last week and they are all likely to be passed again in a re-vote by the lower chamber.

Coalition announces changes to three health laws

LJUBLJANA - The coalition announced changes to three umbrella healthcare laws that are expected to enter public consultation by the end of November. The aim is to increase healthcare accessibility and quality, said the coalition's deputy groups, after civil initiative the Voice of the People put forward its own proposal to improve the situation. Not satisfied with the coalition's response, the civil initiative announced a protest and a press conference for Friday.

Judicial Council picks three candidates for ECHR

LJUBLJANA - The Judicial Council has narrowed down the list of candidates who applied for the post of the Slovenian judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to law professors Aleš Galič, Vasilka Sancin and Jure Vidmar. The Judicial Council made the selection at a session on Monday among the eight candidates, all of whom meet the conditions of the call. The term of the current Slovenian judge at the ECHR, Marko Bošnjak, ends in June 2025.

SDS requests committee session due to "staffing tsunami" at RTV Slovenija

LJUBLJANA - The Democrats (SDS) requested a session of the parliamentary Culture Committee to debate recent staffing changes at public broadcaster RTV Slovenija that they claim are "unwarranted purges" that constitute a "staffing tsunami". The party claims the new management unlawfully dismissed two directors, whereas chief news editor Jadranka Rebernik and a series of editors "resigned under tremendous pressure".

GZS urges government to adopt mini business tax reform

LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), which has been warning for months about the decline in economic activity, has come up with a "mini business tax reform" proposal to help companies. It includes a cap on social security contributions, abolition of the highest personal income tax bracket and a lower corporate income tax rate.

New interest expressed in MLM, buyer reportedly wants state aid

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) announced that new interest had been expressed in the state-owned foundry MLM, which hangs in the balance after the latest attempt to find a strategic partner failed. A Chinese investor is interested in MLM, according to unofficial information obtained by the. However, it is reportedly also seeking state aid, which is impossible since the company is no longer entitled to state aid under EU rules.

EBRD sticks with its economic forecast for Slovenia

LONDON, UK - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) retained its economic forecast for Slovenia in its latest forecast. GDP is to grow by 1.5% this year 2.3% next year%, which is in line with the spring forecast. But the forecast for this year is still quite uncertain, given that the early August devastating floods caused a billion euro damage and forced the government to change public financial priorities.

EU Commission urges Slovenia and other countries to boost digital investments

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission urged member states to step up investments in digital skills learning in its first Digital Decade report. Slovenia must boost its efforts in digital skills, digital infrastructure and digitalisation of public services, the report finds. Moreover, Slovenia must continue implementing its business digitalisation policies, the report also says.

Chemistry Institute cooperating in development of next-gen thermal energy storage

LJUBLJANA - The Chemistry Institute announced it would take part in a four-year project aiming to develop a next-generation thermal energy storage system (TESS) that has just received a EUR 3.5 million grant from the European Innovation Centre (EIC). Part of the Muspell project consortium, the institute will develop new thermochemical materials. The project will be launched in October