News roundup - Tuesday, 20 February

Foreign Ministry summons Russian ambassador

BRUSSELS, Belgium/LJUBLJANA - After the Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Timur Eyvazov for talks over the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny on Monday evening, the meeting with him took place on Tuesday morning. FM Tanja Fajon said today that the ministry did that to express concern and outrage over Navalny's death, and that Slovenia called on Russia to allow an international and independent investigation into the circumstances of his death. State Secretary Marko Štucin said that Slovenia was likely to support additional sanctions against Russia as talks are ongoing on potential measures at EU level in response to Navalny's death.

Fajon and Safadi call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon and her Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza at a press conference during Safadi's visit to Slovenia. The pair expressed support for a draft resolution on immediate ceasefire, which was later vetoed by the US in the UN Security Council. Both ministers expressed concern that the situation in Gaza could escalate after Israel's threat to begin an offensive on Rafah if Hamas does not free all hostages by Ramadan or 10 March. They also discussed bilateral relations, where they see opportunities for further cooperation in business, especially in tourism.

Slovenia calls for action to prevent Rafah offensive after US vetoes Gaza resolution

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia's representative in the UN Security Council Samuel Žbogar called for immediate action to prevent a possible offensive on Rafah, after a draft resolution proposed by Algeria was vetoed in the Security Council by the US. "The killing of Palestinians must be stopped. A possible offensive on Rafah would have severe humanitarian consequences and would push us to the point of no return. We must act before we find ourselves in a nightmare," said Žbogar.

Slovenia believes Bosnia accession talks could begin at March EU summit

BRUSSELS, Belgium - At a meeting of ministers for European affairs Slovenia will recommend that the start of accession talks for Bosnia-Herzegovina be discussed at the EU leaders summit in March, State Secretary Marko Štucin said. He believes Bosnia-Herzegovina will be given a green light to start negotiations at the summit. Slovenia is also actively supporting Montenegro on its way to becoming an EU member state.

Banks post over EUR 1bn in profit in 2023

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian banks had a good year in 2023, having posted some EUR 1.14 billion in pre-tax profit, up 109% year-on-year. Net profit stood at EUR 1.1 billion, an increase of 119%, the central bank said. Net interest income nearly doubled last year. Net interest income totalled EUR 1.44 billion, up 93% on 2022. On the other hand, non-interest income decreased by nearly 6% to EUR 535.4 million. Commissions went down by 2.8% to EUR 387 million.

Major manure spill moving towards Postojna Cave

POSTOJNA - Pollution caused by a manure spill at an agricultural facility in Studenec near Postojna is slowly moving towards the Pivka River and the world-famous Postojna Cave. It is too early to say if the cave system, also home to the unique cave-dwelling olm salamander, is in peril, but the rain forecast for the coming days is expected to provide relief. More than 1,000 cubic metres of cow manure reportedly escaped from a faulty and allegedly illegally built manure lagoon near Postojna in the south-west of the country on Sunday.

Resigned chair of inquiry into pressure on police cleared by parliamentary legal service

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary legal service assessed that Miha Lamut, who has until recently chaired the parliamentary inquiry into suspected political pressure on the police, had not overstepped his powers in granting the intelligence agency access to sensitive testimonies. Lamut presumably resigned due to these allegations, while citing health reasons. It was the new chair, Aleš Rezar, also a member of the ruling Freedom Movement party like Lamut, who has asked for the opinion about the SOVA agency being allowed to listen to the testimonies of ex-Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar and ex-acting Police Commissioner Boštjan Lindav from last October.

Development gap between west and east of Slovenia widens further

LJUBLJANA - The development gap between the west and east of Slovenia grew wider yet again in 2022, shows Eurostat data. Western Slovenia's GDP per capita in purchasing power standards (PPS) was 109% of the EU average, while that of Eastern Slovenia was 73%. The gap, which has for years been either expanding or briefly remaining unchanged, grew from what was 107% and 74% of the EU average respectively in 2021.

Ministry says upgrade to extend life of patrol boat Triglav by 30 years

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian military patrol boat Triglav, which is to undergo EUR 13.1 million worth of upgrades, will be seaworthy for 30 years following the upgrade. It will not require further investments apart from routine maintenance, said the Defence Ministry, adding that a comparable new vessel would cost EUR 50 million before VAT.

Tool that looks for connections between politicians launched

LJUBLJANA - The Oštro centre for investigative journalism has developed an interactive visualisation tool enabling the public to explore the connections between current ministers, state secretaries and members of parliament. The tool is expected to help voters make informed decisions and journalists and NGOs to do independent research.

EuroBasket qualifier with Israel to go ahead, increased security announced

KOPER - The qualifier for the 2025 EuroBasket between Slovenia and Israel will go ahead in Koper on Sunday as planned despite a widely-backed initiative for a cancellation, launched at the end of January by a group called the Solidarity Committee for Free Palestine and endorsed by more than a dozen NGOs and civil society groups in the country. The Slovenian Basketball Federation responded that, while the situation in Israel was tragic and that they sympathised with the victims on both sides, it could not unilaterally cancel the game.

Man who abducted his children in Switzerland convicted again

LJUBLJANA - A man who abducted his children in Switzerland in December 2020 and brought them to Slovenia was sentenced to 11 months in prison in a verdict media reports say was delivered by the Ljubljana District Court on 15 February after a repeat trial. While the original verdict involved prison time in case he refused to reveal the whereabouts of the children within a month, media reports suggest that their location remains unknown. The man will appeal this verdict, meaning it is not final.