News roundup - Monday, 29 January, until 3pm

Slovenia, Germany want to make decision-making on EU enlargement more effective

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia and Germany are presenting at the EU's General Affairs Council an initiative for more effective decision-making on EU enlargement. Unofficial information indicates they favour replacing consensus with qualified majority voting in certain stages of the process. Slovenia and Germany want member states to use qualified majority voting on the opening of individual sets of negotiating chapters as defined by the recently reformed enlargement methodology, according to unofficial sources.

Most administrative units on strike

LJUBLJANA - Clerks at 41 out of the country's 58 administrative units went on strike demanding better pay and more staff to cope with a surging number of cases, especially the processing of foreigners. While 26 units, including in the biggest cities of Ljubljana and Maribor, will be on strike for three days, the remaining 15 will only be in strike one day, mostly Wednesday. As many as 85% of employees at administrative units in Slovenia, which employ nearly 2,340 clerks, will be on strike, said trade union leader Frančišek Verk.

Changes on co-incineration emissions withdrawn from parliament agenda

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly withdrew changes to the Environment Protection Act from the agenda of the January plenary at the proposal of the coalition. The NGOs-sponsored changes concern emission standards for co-incineration plants, and the official reason for the withdrawal is an administrative misunderstanding related to the filing of additional amendments to the bill.

Government, ruling party continue to slide in ratings

LJUBLJANA - The government and the ruling party Freedom Movement continue to lose public support, whereas smaller parties are gaining ground and the bloc of undecided voters continues to grow, showed the latest poll run by POP TV on Sunday. The Freedom Movement polled at 13.7%, down almost two points, but the top-ranked party, the opposition Democrats (SDS), was likewise down, losing 1.5% to 23.4%. The government's approval rating was at 30.8%, down by four points, with the share of those who disapprove of its work rising by more than three points to 54.8%.

Fuel off motorway network dearer as of Tuesday, diesel up 3%

LJUBLJANA - Regulated prices of fuel off Slovenia's motorway network will go up on Tuesday, while excise duties remain unchanged. Regular petrol is to be sold at EUR 1.411 a litre, up by three cents, and diesel will be 4.2 cents more expensive at EUR 1.457 a litre. The retail price of heating oil will also rise, by 4.6 cents to EUR 1.111 a litre. The new prices will be in place until 12 February, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy said.

Retail turnover down 11.5% in 2023

LJUBLJANA - Turnover from retail in Slovenia in 2023 was down by 11.5% in real terms year-on-year. It dropped the most, by 22%, in sales of motor fuels, the Statistics Office said. Turnover was down by 5% in retail trade with non-food products, by 2.9% in retail trade with food products. In December 2023, turnover in retail was down by 3.6% from November, ending a four-month upward trend.

Slovenian composer wins prestigious Austrian award

VIENNA, Austria - Slovenian composer Nina Šenk has won this year's Erste Bank Kompositionspreis. Conferred by the Austrian bank Erste Bank since 1989, it is considered one of the most prestigious awards in contemporary music honouring the winners' creative work to date. It includes a minimum of three performances of the winner's new work by the Klangforum Wien orchestra within 12 months. Šenk's new composition will premiere at the Wien Modern festival on 21 November.