News roundup - Wednesday, 20 March, until 3pm

Foreign minister announces security agreement with Ukraine

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon announced at a session of the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee that Slovenia is drafting a bilateral agreement with Ukraine on cooperation in security, similar to the agreements that Ukraine has concluded with several countries.

Tanja Fajon will not run for another term as SocDem head

LJUBLJANA - Tanja Fajon, the president of the Social Democrats (SD), announced she would not be running for another term as the head of the coalition party in the April congress. The foreign minister in the Robert Golob government will head the SD until new leadership is elected, presumably in the April congress.

Parliamentary body calls for several reports on Golob's company

LJUBLJANA - The Commission for Oversight of Public Finances resumed its discussion on the business relationship between the prime minister's company Star Solar and the national electricity exchange Borzen. It urged the Financial Administration to check Star Solar's operations in detail and the government to submit a report. The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption was urged to treat the case as a priority.

Report: Slovenian Mahle subsidiary to lay off 170 workers

ŠEMPETER PRI GORICI - The Šempeter pri Gorici-based company Mahle Electric Drives Slovenija, which is part of the German group Mahle and which employs some 1,800 people in Slovenia, will cut its workforce by 170 this year as part of production optimisation and moving of part of production to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the web portal 24ur reported.

Unions call for industrial relations forum to be restored

LJUBLJANA - Seven trade union confederations called for a revival of dialogue within the Economic and Social Council (ESS), the main industrial relations forum, and for equal treatment of social partners in an open letter to Prime Minister Robert Golob on Tuesday. If they receive no response, they announce "workers' activation".

Govt adopts bill expanding range of services doctors must provide during strike

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted changes to the Medical Services Act expanding the range of services doctors must provide during strikes. The bill largely follows a recent government decree that has expanded the range of medical services during strikes, but the doctors' trade union has challenged it at the Constitutional Court.

Oldest millet found in Slovenia more than 3,000 years old

RAVNE NA KOROŠKEM - The oldest grains of millet found in Slovenia date back to between 1300 to 1200 BC and were discovered in Ravne na Koroškem in the north-eastern Koroška region. The millet is kept at the Archaeology Institute, which hopes to mount an exhibition in the future.

Lynx population saved from extinction thanks to Life Lynx project

LJUBLJANA - In the nearly seven years of the Life Lynx project, the lynx population in Slovenia has been saved from extinction, as a small population of some 20 adult animals mated among themselves. The lynx population now numbers around 50 adult animals, which bodes well for the future of the species in the Slovenian Alps and the Dinaric Alps.

Murska Sobota wins most development-oriented municipality award

LJUBLJANA - Murska Sobota won the 13th Golden Rock Award for the most development-oriented municipality on Tuesday. It earned the accolade for what the organisers say was comprehensive renovation of the city centre, one of the most ambitious examples of revitalisation in Slovenia.