News roundup - Monday, 12 February

Fajon and Shoukry call for ceasefire in Gaza

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia condemns attacks on civilians and calls for a ceasefire and free access to humanitarian aid in Gaza, said Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon as she spoke to the press alongside her visiting Egyptian counterpart Sameh Hassan Shoukry. Shoukry denounced the forced displacement of Gaza citizens and urged the international community to act. He praised Slovenia's position on the situation in Gaza and called for an early ceasefire and a two-state solution. The pair chaired the second session of the Slovenian-Egyptian economic cooperation commission, while Shoukry also visited the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) to discuss business cooperation and to meet Economy Minister Matjaž Han.

SocDems appoint new sec-gen, decide to hold electoral congress in April

LJUBLJANA - The Social Democrats (SD) will hold an electoral congress in April, likely on 13th, their presidency decided as the party's top bodies held meetings amid a deep crisis in the wake of a court building scandal. Economy Ministry State Secretary Matevž Frangež was appointed interim secretary general. Both decisions were made on SD leader Tanja Fajon's proposal. She said today's discussions showed overwhelming support and were a sign that "social democracy is very much alive". However, she would neither confirm nor deny whether she would run for party leader in April.

Survey: SD's rating plummets due to court building scandal-prompted crisis

LJUBLJANA - The Social Democrats (SD) would struggle to make it to parliament if elections were held now, polling at less than 3%, according to the latest Mediana survey for the newspaper Delo. The drop from 7.5% to 2.6% in a month marks the lowest rating the junior coalition party has received since 2005. However, this does not take into account undecided voters, a bloc that increased to more than a quarter of all respondents. The opposition SDS remains the top rated party, polling at 23.7%, up two points. The government's approval rating is meanwhile the lowest so far this term, with over 55% unhappy with its work.

Contentious court building actually larger than thought

LJUBLJANA - The building bought by the Justice Ministry last December, which has led to a crisis in the Social Democrats (SD) due to allegations of corruption, is over 1,000 square metres larger than stated in the EUR 7.7 million sales agreement. This was found by an independent surveyor hired by the State Attorney's Office on behalf of the ministry and paid by Sebastjan Vežnaver, the businessman who sold the building to the ministry. The building has a surface area of 6,258 square metres.

PM calls on doctors to suspend strike, now Slovenia's longest ever

LJUBLJANA - The strike of doctors and dentists entered its fifth week today, becoming the longest-running strike by doctors in Slovenia. PM Robert Golob called on the Fides trade union to suspend the strike for the duration of public sector pay talks so as to prevent additional distress for patients. He hopes Fides will start attending them instead of insisting on separate talks. Following today's round of talks, Fides leader Damjan Polh said the sides had reached no agreement, but indicated that solutions seemed to be starting to take shape.

AI will affect competitiveness, productivity, debate hears

LJUBLJANA - AI will have a significant impact on the competitiveness and productivity of businesses in the future, the Slovenian-German Forum on AI heard. Participants agreed that the EU's AI Act is a step in the right direction, but will need to be updated due to the rapid development. The forum was organised by the Slovenian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the German Embassy in Ljubljana and the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS).

New Biotech Hub marking start of new era in science, innovation

LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Biology's Biotech Hub was inaugurated with the institute's head Maja Ravnikar describing it as the "start of a new era of scientific exploration, innovation and cooperation with business". The new hub, worth EUR 36 million, brings significantly better conditions for research. Higher Education Minister Igor Papič said the project marked the beginning of a wave of innovation planned for science and research, for which the ministry will allocate around EUR 500 million.

Military vessel Triglav to undergo EUR 14.4m upgrade

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian military patrol ship Triglav will undergo EUR 14.4 million worth of upgrades, excluding VAT, encompassing ship systems upgrade, rearmament and command system overhaul. The changes will be carried out by Turkish and Croatian shipbuilders Desan and Iskra Brodogradilište, and by the Ljubljana-based company Panna Plus.

New chief supervisor appointed at SSH

LJUBLJANA - The supervisory board of Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), the custodian of state assets, appointed one of its members, Suzana Bolčič Agostini, its new chair. She succeeds Karmen Dietner, whose term expired last December. The law on SSH envisages a five-member supervisory board, but since Dietner's term expired there have been only four members. The Finance Ministry is expected to shortly issue a new call for applications for a fifth member.

Regulated fuel prices continue going up

LJUBLJANA - The regulated prices of fuel sold outside the motorway network will further increase on Tuesday, as the price of regular petrol will go up 3.4 cents to EUR 1.445 per litre, and diesel will be 4.1 cents dearer at EUR 1.498 a litre. The price of heating oil will also increase, by 4.8 cents to EUR 1.159 a litre. The new prices will apply through 26 February, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy said.

Remote mountains and daring ascents at Mountain Film Festival

LJUBLJANA - A selection of films about remote mountains, adrenaline-charged ascents and diverse cultures will be on show at the 18th International Mountain Film Festival in Ljubljana, Celje, Radovljica and Domžale from Monday to Saturday. The organisers have selected 35 films from 14 countries to be screened in the competition programme in various sections, from mountaineering and climbing, to adventure, mountain nature and culture sections.