Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 9-15 February

FRIDAY, 9 February

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob, President Nataša Pirc Musar and the Foreign Ministry expressed condolences on the death of French legal expert and politician Robert Badinter, and stressed his important role in international recognition of Slovenia as an independent country.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - President Nataša Pirc Musar concluded her two-day visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina by meeting Borjana Krišto, chair of the council of ministers, Kemal Ademović, chairman of the House of Peoples, and Marinko Čavara, chairman of the House of Representatives. She also visited Slovenian troops serving in EU and NATO missions in Sarajevo.

LJUBLJANA - The Health Ministry said that about 33% of doctors working in hospitals and 17% of those at community health centres had withdrawn consent for overtime work as part of the ongoing strike in what is a move that will largely take effect at the beginning of March.

LJUBLJANA - Industrial output in Slovenia dropped by 5.3% last year compared to 2022, the Statistics Office said. The 10.2% year-on-year drop in output in December largely contributed to this after more favourable autumn trends.

SATURDAY, 10 February

LJUBLJANA - A plurality of those questioned in a poll commissioned by the newspaper Delo (44.3%) said that a motion of no-confidence in the Robert Golob government that has been suggested as one of the options by the opposition leader Janez Janša would be justified.

SUNDAY, 11 February

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry reiterated the importance of a "comprehensive and respectful remembrance and dignity for all the victims" of war and the post-war period as it commented on Italy's National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe.

LJUBLJANA - Emergency dispatchers announced a strike starting on 19 February due to stalled public sector pay talks, after having been warning for months that their pay is too low and vacancies are no longer being filled. Despite the action calls on the 112 emergency number will still be handled, the Defence Ministry Trade Union said.

LJUBLJANA - Uroš Lipušček, a retired TV journalist best known for his work as a foreign correspondent, announced in a Facebook post that he will run at the European Parliament elections in June due to his disappointment with how passive Slovenian MEPs are in the face of profound changes in the EU.

LJUBLJANA - Anže Lanišek, one of Slovenia's top ski jumpers, received the Bloudek Prize for sporting achievements in 2023. He has been honoured not just for his results but also for sportsmanlike conduct.

MONDAY, 12 February

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon and her visiting Egyptian counterpart Sameh Hassan Shoukry called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Shoukry denounced the forced displacement of Gaza citizens and urged the international community to act. He also praised Slovenia's position on the situation in Gaza.

LJUBLJANA - The Social Democrats (SD) decided they will hold an electoral congress in April 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, and outgoing Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan decided to quit the SD.

LJUBLJANA - The SD would struggle to make it to parliament if elections were held now, polling at less than 3%, showed the latest Mediana survey for the newspaper Delo. The drop from 7.5% to 2.6% in a month marked the lowest rating the party has received since 2005. The government's approval rating was the lowest so far this term.

LJUBLJANA - As the strike of doctors and dentists entered its fifth week, 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.

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.

LJUBLJANA - It was announced that the Slovenian military patrol ship Triglav will undergo EUR 14.4 million worth of upgrades 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.

TUESDAY, 13 February

LJUBLJANA - There is no more doubt that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians, said MPs of the junior coalition Left party, Matej Tašner Vatovec and Nataša Sukič. They called on authorities to summon the Israeli ambassador for talks, join South Africa's lawsuit against Israel and impose sanctions against it.

LJUBLJANA - The National Electoral Commission met for its first session after Igor Zorčič took over as its head this month to discuss certain issues ahead of the June EU elections, noting that the national budget is EUR 920,000 short of the funds needed for the elections, and secretaries of 16 electoral commission in Ljubljana have resigned.

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia expressed willingness to help mitigate the consequences of climate change and unreliable food supply in the UN Security Council open debate. Food and water scarcity increase the risk of conflicts that often destroy entire food systems, Foreign Ministry State Secretary Sanja Štiglic said.

LJUBLJANA - Even though a number of medical checks and procedures have been cancelled due to the ongoing doctors' strike, statistics so far show no increase in the number of people waiting for health services, National Institute of Public Health data showed.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded a current account surplus of EUR 2.8 billion in 2023, which is a substantial improvement on 2022, when it posted a deficit of EUR 600 million. Contributing the most of the balance of payments surplus was trade in goods, which moved from a deficit in 2022 to a surplus last year, the central bank said.

LJUBLJANA - Revenue generated by foreign tourists in Slovenia last year exceeded EUR 3 billion for the first time ever, reaching EUR 3.24 billion, or 9% more than in 2022, showed data from the central bank. Last year the figure exceeded the numbers from the pre-Covid year of 2019 by 14%.

WEDNESDAY, 14 February

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's economy expanded by 1.6% last year, driven by gross fixed capital formation and household expenditure, preliminary data released by the Statistics Office showed. This compares to 2.5% GDP growth in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the country's GDP grew by 2.2% over the same period in 2022.

LJUBLJANA - A total of EUR 672.4 million in financial incentives will be available to businesses, tourism and sport this year from the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport's own funds and through collaboration with other institutions. The ministry aims to increase added value, Minister Matjaž Han said.

LJUBLJANA - It was revealed that three of the 27 deputies of the opposition Democrats (SDS) have not signed a statement that the party's executive committee asked them to sign pledging that they will remain members of the party and deputies until the end of this term. Among them is Anže Logar, who founded a platform that many speculate will eventually evolve into a party.

THE HAGUE, the Netherlands - FM Tanja Fajon signed in the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes, and Other International Crimes, a key international criminal law document adopted in Ljubljana last year.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A petition by Slovenian historian Mitja Ferenc that urges the Slovenian authorities to bring back the National Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Communist Violence, which was abolished last year by the Robert Golob government, was debated by the European Parliament's Petitions Committee.

LJUBLJANA - Turkish workers building the Koper-Divača rail track in southwest Slovenia cancelled the one-day strike planned for 15 February, as they have managed to negotiate practically all of their demands with their employers - four Slovenian subsidiaries of Turkish construction companies, the ZSSS confederation of union announced.

THURSDAY, 15 February

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission said in its winter 2024 economic forecast that Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 1.9% this year and by 2.7% in 2025, broadly unchanged compared to the autumn forecast. The Commission expects the weak business sentiment and low exports demand to constrain growth at the beginning of 2024.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia must do its homework in defence and be ready to protect its territory regardless of statements abroad, Defence Minister Marjan Šarec said after a NATO defence ministerial in a reference to recent statements made by Donald Trump, the most likely Republican candidate in the US presidential elections.

THE HAGUE, the Netherlands - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon met with her Dutch counterpart Hanke Bruins Slot. The pair called for the aid for civilians in Gaza and for ensuring Russia's responsibility for crimes in Ukraine.

LJUBLJANA - Igor Šoltes, a state secretary at the Justice Ministry, was dismissed at the proposal of outgoing Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan due to his role in the controversial purchase of a building in Ljubljana meant to house several courts.

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a legal framework meant to facilitate access to compulsory health insurance services. Key measures include easier access to outpatient specialist examinations and to GPs, as well as expanded funding for a selection of services.