Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 23-29 February

FRIDAY, 23 February

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Slovenia stressed the right of Palestinians to self-determination as it appeared in the International Court of Justice to present its stance as part of proceedings the UN General Assembly started in December 2022. The country also highlighted Israel's obligations to respect international law as an occupying force.

NEW YORK, US - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon told the UN General Assembly on the eve of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion that peace will return to Ukraine one day. The international community can contribute to this by supporting the peace process emerging from the Ukrainian peace formula, she said.

LJUBLJANA - Addressing an event for the diplomatic corps ahead of the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine, President Nataša Pirc Musar said that a war outcome in which Ukraine would not have an equal say must not be acceptable to the international community. She pointed out that Ukraine's territorial integrity continues to be violated.

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob urged doctors to immediately end the strike they started on 15 January, and return to the negotiating table as part of talks on the entire healthcare sector in a bid to stop the agony of patients in the public healthcare system. President Nataša Pirc Musar also called for suspension of what has been the longest strike of doctors in the history of the country.

OBERSTDORF, Germany - Slovenian ski jumpers Timi Zajc and Domen Prevc won a World Cup super team event in Oberstdorf in what was the first ski flying event at the super team tournaments.

SATURDAY, 24 February

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob spoke on the second anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine about two years of "complete disregard for the principles of international law," while Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon condemned the Russian aggression and demanded its army withdraw from Ukraine. President Nataša Pirc Musar again strongly condemned the Russian aggression and said Slovenia continues to stand in solidarity with Ukraine.

LJUBLJANA - The European Left hosted a pre-election event where it elected party chairman Walter Baier as its spitzenkandidat for the EU elections. It also adopted its manifesto, which includes strengthening of democracy in Europe and the fight against poverty, climate change and neo-fascism.

OBERTSDORF, Germany - Slovenian ski jumpers scored a double victory in the Ski Flying World Cup event, with Timi Zajc claiming the win and veteran Peter Prevc finishing in the runner-up position.

SUNDAY, 25 February

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon was admitted to hospital due to a kidney infection. The Foreign Ministry said she was is feeling well and would likely remain in hospital for a few days.

CELJE - The 32nd Days of Comedy wrapped up with an awards ceremony where a SLG Celje production of Matteo Spiazzi's Paradise was named the best production by both the jury and the audience. The best actor award went to Branko Šturbej and the best actress award to Polona Juh.

KOPER - Slovenia's basketball team won its home match against Israel with 86:75 for its second win in the qualifiers for the EuroBasket 2025. Team captain Klemen Prepelič was Slovenia's best shooter with 21 points, followed by Mike Tobey with 20.

MONDAY, 26 February

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob put forward Andreja Katič as the candidate for justice minister. Katič, proposed as one of the options by the junior coalition SocDems, already served as justice minister between September 2018 and March 2020.

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted measures in preparation for March, when some doctors will no longer work overtime as part of an ongoing strike. Most notably, emergency care providers will be able to pool resources to set up joint emergency centres and health institutions will be able to switch to shift work. Doctors said this would be bad for patients.

MADRID, Spain - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar highlighted in a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Slovenia's efforts to combat migrant smuggling and noted the need for broad cross-border cooperation in the face of the international nature of the issue.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian journalists staged a rally in support of their Palestinian colleagues on International Day for Palestinian Journalists, calling for an immediate stop to the killing of journalists on an unprecedented scale. "Never before have journalists paid a higher price for their work," said Helena Milinković of RTV Slovenija.

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Football Association imposed a EUR 25,000 fine on Maribor after seven people were injured in a stun grenade explosion believed to be detonated by a fan on 18 February. The match was registered 3:0 in favour of Mura and Maribor will have to play their next four home games in front of empty stands.

TUESDAY, 27 February

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia joined Western countries in distancing itself from French President Emmanuel Macron's suggestion that Western allies could send troops to help Ukraine. There are no preparations under way in Slovenia to deploy troops to Ukraine and no consensus on the issue at EU level, the prime minister's office said, underlining that Slovenia was not preparing for such a step.

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob welcomed the decision by the Hungarian parliament to ratify Sweden's NATO membership, describing it as an important step towards an even more important and stronger alliance. The Foreign Ministry said that Sweden's membership in NATO will strengthen the alliance and the security of its members.

SOFIA, Bulgaria - President Nataša Pirc Musar highlighted the importance of further efforts to strengthen economic cooperation between Slovenia and Bulgaria as she paid an official visit to the country. She hopes Bulgaria will soon meet the criteria to join the euro area.

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia's representative in the UN Security Council Samuel Žbogar said at a session on Gaza that a ceasefire is a prerequisite for all other activities in support of Palestinian civilians, who are facing starvation. A similar opinion was expressed by practically all other speakers, except the US representative.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian farmers plan to stage new protests. They held a meeting with agriculture and finance ministry officials concerning the tax status of direct payments for farming in less favoured areas, but said no progress had been achieved.

LJUBLJANA - One of the key Slovenian representatives of abstract art, painter and philosopher Andraž Šalamun died at age 76. He was best known as a member between 1966 and 1971 of OHO, a conceptual art group that is seen as one of the most important art collectives of that era.

WEDNESDAY, 28 February

WASHINGTON, US - Vojko Volk, state secretary for international affairs and national and international security at the PM's office, concluded a two-day visit to the US dedicated to Ukraine, Gaza and the Western Balkans. On Gaza, he said that "we understood that intervening in negotiations ... with resolutions that are too strong can be problematic and we are going in with some more patience".

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry and the Slovenian Embassy in Tel Aviv were not informed about opposition leader Janez Janša's recent visit to Israel, a senior ministry official told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee. The government has no intention to move the embassy to Jerusalem, which Janša told his Israeli guests he would do if he becomes prime minister again.

LJUBLJANA - The National Council failed to vote on a motion to open a parliamentary inquiry into operations of two energy companies associated with Prime Minister Robert Golob and into allegedly unlawful financing of his party. The session of parliament's upper chamber was suspended due to procedural matters, but could resume next week.

THURSDAY, 29 February

LJUBLJANA - The Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development (IMAD) downgraded Slovenia's economic growth forecast for this year by 0.4 points to 2.4%. The government think tank kept the projection for 2025 unchanged at 2.5%, while forecasting 2.6% growth in 2026.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's annual inflation rate stood at 3.4% in February, up from 3.3% in January, as prices increased by 0.8% at the monthly level. The annual rate is considerably below that from a year ago when inflation hit 9.3%, Statistics Office figures showed.

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a decree listing the additional medical services that doctors will have to provide during their strike, especially in regard to vulnerable groups. The doctors' trade union Fides labelled this as unlawful while Health Minister Valentina Prevolnik Rupel said the measures had been green-lit by the government's legal experts.

NICOSIA, Cyprus - National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič stressed during a meeting with Cypriot counterpart Annita Demetriou in Nicosia that Slovenia supports the UN-led negotiation process for resolving the Cyprus issue. Slovenia is committed to a fair and comprehensive solution that will protect the fundamental rights of all Cypriots.

VRHNIKA - The Slovenian Armed Forces presented their training programme for 2024 in Vrhnika, not too far from their largest exercise grounds, the target of criticism by locals. To limit the noise, nearly two-thirds of exercises planned will be carried out abroad and air exercises will take place during artillery exercises.

LJUBLJANA - The government decided to set up asylum centres in the state-owned buildings at former border crossings of Obrežje and Središče ob Dravi, on the border with Croatia. The cabinet also extended two projects allowing the accommodation and protection of Ukrainian refugees.