News roundup - Tuesday, 6 February, until 3pm

Justice minister offers to resign but not leaving immediately

LJUBLJANA - Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan met with Prime Minister Robert Golob on Monday and offered her resignation, but they agreed she would stay on for a while to clarify the situation regarding the ministry's purchase of a building in Ljubljana. "The prime minister proposed that I stay on as long as it takes to really clear things up - presumably two or three weeks, but this may change if necessary," she said in an interview for TV Slovenija Monday night.

SD secretary general steps down amid turmoil over justice minister

LJUBLJANA - Secretary general of the junior coalition Social Democrats (SD) Klemen Žibert stepped down. He has been in the spotlight after Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan accused him of meddling in the ministry's operations in connection to the controversial purchase of a building meant to house several courts in Ljubljana. Žibert said that his resignation should relieve the party of the criticism he and his family have been the targets of in recent days. Fajon said she accepted Žibert's resignation and respected his decision, the SD wrote on X.

Left wants MP Kordiš out

LJUBLJANA - The deputy group of the Left, one of the junior coalition parties, proposed that one of its most prominent MPs, Miha Kordiš, be excluded from all parliamentary working bodies for misconduct. It expects him to leave the deputy group on short notice as well. The Left's remaining four MPs unanimously endorsed the move because of Kordiš's "abuse of office, misleading statements, pressure, threats and extortion in the deputy group" during several months that he was on sick leave, the party said.

Major tech companies commit to UNESCO framework for ethical AI at Brdo forum

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Eight tech companies pledged to build more ethical AI in line with UNESCO recommendations as they signed an agreement to this effect at the Global Forum on the Ethics of AI 2024 in Slovenia's Brdo pri Kranju. The agreement, based on the 2021 UNESCO-forged recommendations that are the first international legal instrument and ethical framework for the use of artificial intelligence, was signed with the organisation by Microsoft, Mastercard, Lenovo, GSMA, INNIT, LG, Salesforce and Telefonica.

CoE head Pejčinović Burić hails importance of AI convention at Brdo forum

BRDO PRI KRANJU/LJUBLJANA - Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić paid a visit to Slovenia on Monday to address the participants of a forum on ethics and artificial intelligence at Brdo pri Kranju. She said the new convention on artificial intelligence, being drafted by the CoE in cooperation with numerous international partners, would be "groundbreaking not only for Europe, but for the whole world". She was also received by President Nataša Pirc Musar for an exchange of views on a number of topical issues, including the use of AI.

Minister advocates for simplified EU cohesion policy and power to regions

MONS, Belgium - Cohesion and Regional Development Minister Aleksander Jevšek advocated for a simplification of planning and implementation of EU cohesion policy in the EU's next long-term budget at an informal meeting of relevant ministers in Mons, Belgium. Slovenia believes regions should have more power, his ministry said. "Cohesion policy should not be dependant on reforms," said Jevšek, adding that it should instead serve as a catalyst.

Annual inflation rate drops by almost a percentage point

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's annual inflation rate stood at 3.3% in January, down from 4.2% in the month before, as prices declined by 0.6% at the monthly level. Annual price growth slowed across all major categories of products and services, the latest Statistics Office figures show. The biggest contributors to annual inflation were food and non-alcoholic beverages, which were 3.2% more expensive and added 0.6 percentage points to the annual rate. However, this is much slower than the 4.6% recorded in December.

Slovenia's minimum wage eighth highest in EU

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's minimum wage is the eighth highest among the 22 EU member states that have set a minimum wage, shows data by Eurostat. In January the gross minimum wage in Slovenia increased from EUR 1,203 to EUR 1,254. Slovenia has been high on the list for some time and has had the eighth highest minimum wage since 2021. In January 2024 the minimum wage was the highest in Luxembourg at EUR 2,571 gross, and the lowest gross minimum wages were recorded in Bulgaria (EUR 477).

Monument celebrates Slovenian polymath and ties with China

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's 18th century polymath Ferdinand Avguštin Hallerstein spent more than three decades at the Chinese imperial court and one of the achievements he is best known for is an armillary sphere that he built at the Beijing Observatory. A replica of the sphere has now been erected in Ljubljana as a symbol of Chinese-Slovenian friendship. At 3.7 long, 2.1 metres wide and 3.3 metres high, his armillary sphere was unique in that Hallerstein combined a heliocentric design then used in Europe, and an equatorial placement that had been customary in China at the time.

Late construction baron hid EUR 800,000 in cash from creditors

LJUBLJANA - The late Ivan Zidar, former director and owner of construction giant SCT, stashed some EUR 830,000 in cash in his home, out of reach of creditors, the newspaper Delo reported. Half of the money will end up in Zidar's bankruptcy estate and the rest belongs to his ex-wife Vincencija Lambergar. Both had declared personal bankruptcy. Zidar died in 2021 and did not live to see the end of the proceedings, but the case is still being pursued as a bankruptcy of a deceased person.

Ski jumper Peter Prevc decides to end his career after this season

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's ski jumping champion Peter Prevc decided to end what has been one of the most successful careers in the history of the sport after this season. The 31-year-old is bidding farewell after 15 World Cup seasons, one of which will be hard to ever replicate. He will finish his career with at least 35 World Cup victories, having also contributed to all of the 12 Slovenian wins in team events. Prevc has won seven medals at major events, including an Olympic gold medal in the mixed competition in Beijing 2022.

Newly discovered painting by Ivana Kobilca presented to public

LJUBLJANA - A gallery owner presented to the public a newly discovered painting by Slovenian Realist artist Ivana Kobilca (1861-1926). The painting of a nude woman, believed to be from the 1920s, has been certified by an art historian and will be put on show for the first time on Culture Day on Thursday at Kos Gallery in Ljubljana. Gallery owner Leon Pogelšek said the painting was found by another gallery owner and bought at a ridiculously low price, because it did not occur to the original owner that the painting might be a Kobilca. The painting has been valued at EUR 30,000-60,000 and may be put up for auction.