News roundup - Wednesday, 17 January

Fajon stresses urgency of ending war in Gaza in Davos

DAVOS, Switzerland - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon stressed at the World Economic Forum in Davos the urgency of ending the war in Gaza and protecting its civilians. She also called for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave and called for an agreement on a peace plan for a two-state solution. "There can be no justification for 24,000 civilian casualties in Gaza, including 9,000 children," she said. Fajon added that Slovenia was closely following the ICJ lawsuit against Israel and "will decide on a possible intervention when more information is available based on legal arguments".

Doctors to escalate strike

LJUBLJANA - Doctors and dentists who have been on general strike since Monday will escalate their industrial action after their union failed to make progress in talks with the government. Fides, the country's largest trade union of doctors and dentists, declined to provide any details on what the escalation will entail. The union's key demand is for the government to honour its promise to create a separate pay pillar for everyone employed in public healthcare that will comprehensively define the work conditions, standards, norms, promotions and suitable pay that will reflect the staff's experience and seniority.

Justice minister faces motion of no confidence over controversial building purchase

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) announced a motion of no confidence in Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan over her "objective responsibility" for the alleged irregularities in the purchase of a building for several courts. MP Dejan Kaloh said that the Justice Ministry was embroiled in new wrongdoing every two weeks and this purchase was yet another unfortunate "happy ending" which would be paid by taxpayers. Both ruling coalition partners of the SocDems, of which Švarc Pipan is a member, expect explanations.

PM's meeting with business reps results in two task forces

LJUBLJANA - Government and business representatives agreed at a meeting with PM Robert Golob to establish two working groups to change tax legislation and cut red tape, in what they also expect could revive social dialogue on the Economic and Social Council, which employers left, feeling ignored. One group will analyse tax burdens and prepare measures that would bring about tax legislation enabling businesses to be competitive while preserving the current level of prosperity, Economy Minister Matjaž Han said. The other will review comments on the controversial law on the recording of working time.

Persons under custodianship to be able to exercise their voting right

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee unanimously endorsed legislative changes to lift restrictions on the voting right of persons under custodianship. The MPs merged the proposals put forward by the ruling coalition and the upper chamber of parliament to adopt the bill. Tereza Novak, the chair of the committee, said the idea was to restore the active and passive voting right to some 3,500 persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities in time for this year's elections to the European Parliament.

Prime minister and president meet to exchange views

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob and President Nataša Pirc Musar met to exchange views on topical international and political developments, the prime minister's office said. The pair, who have had different views on certain issues in the past, met as part of what they announced would be their regular meetings to discuss topical issues. Things last got tense last week as Pirc Musar said Golob should resign if the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption detects integrity breaches in its ongoing investigation into whether he exerted undue pressure on former Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar.

Culture and arts are borderless, minister says in Trieste

TRIESTE, Italy - Visiting Trieste, an Italian city with a vibrant Slovenian community, Culture Minister Asta Vrečko said that minorities were a constitutive part of the Slovenian cultural sphere. There are no borders in culture and arts, she said as she visited the Slovenian Consulate General and the minority's theatre in Trieste. Slovenian culture has been alive in the Trieste area for centuries, and the ministry's aim is to make sure this remains the case in the future and strengthen the minority's cultural institutions there.

Controversial open call for NGO funding fully annulled

LJUBLJANA - Public Administration Minister Franc Props has fully annulled the open call on the distribution of EUR 10.6 million in NGO funding that was one of the reasons for the resignation of his predecessor Sanja Ajanović Hovnik. This is because internal and external audits are not expected to be completed any time soon, the ministry announced. The call was indented to support NGO projects and programmes that raise awareness and train people in active citizenship and encourage participation in democratic processes.

Debate notes importance of orderly legal immigration

LJUBLJANA - The panellists at a debate on the government's immigration strategy noted that development cooperation with third countries can be an important tool in limiting illegal migration and help achieve the goal of migration taking place in an orderly and safe manner. The first panel as part of the debates hosted by the Interior Ministry stressed the importance of development cooperation and efforts for orderly, safe and legal migration.

Committee endorses amendments on co-incineration emissions

LJUBLJANA - The Infrastructure Committee unanimously endorsed at second reading amendments to the Environment Protection Act concerning emission standards for co-incineration plants after rewording a bill submitted by NGOs to align it with the government's position. A group of NGOs who tabled the bill sought to make emission standards the same for incineration and co-incineration installations. Their main target is the cement plant Salonit in Anhovo, a town in the Central Soča Valley, which runs the biggest co-incineration installation in the country.

Slovenia somewhat less attractive to Austrian investors

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia remains an attractive investment destination, but the economic situation has worsened over the past year, shows a survey into the investment environment among Austrian companies in Slovenia. The areas where they believe improvements are needed the most have remained the same for years, with the shortage of skilled labour topping the list.

NLB issuing subordinated bonds worth EUR 300 million

LJUBLJANA - NLB announced plans to issue EUR 300 million of subordinated bonds to be included in its additional Tier 2 capital. The bank expects to issue the 10-year bonds on 24 January, according to a post on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. The bonds of the largest Slovenian bank, which issued half a billion euro in green notes with a four-year maturity in mid-2023, are callable early after five years and bear an annual interest rate of 6.875%.

Slovenia's solar power capacity tops 1 GW

LJUBLJANA - Solar power reached a milestone in Slovenia last year, as the total installed solar power capacity in the country reached 1,101.5 megawatts (MW) at the end of last year, the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy said. The number stood at 697.7 MW at the end of 2022, and increased by more than 400 MW last year. The ministry said solar energy production will exceed one Terawatt Hour (TWh) this year.

Legendary actor Jurij Souček dies

LJUBLJANA - Jurij Souček, an award-winning Slovenian theatre and film actor, died aged 94. Souček played around 150 theatre roles and appeared in nearly 600 radio plays, while also dubbing a number of cartoon characters with near-cult status. Among the life-time achievement awards he won the Borštnik Ring, the top accolade for theatre actors, in 1994, the Victor in 2005, and the Ježek Prize for satire in 2018.