News roundup - Thursday, 4 April, until 3pm

Slovenia calls for humanitarian access to children in war zones

NEW YORK, US - Addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Slovenia's deputy permanent representative Ondina Drobnič Blokar expressed outrage over the fact that children are being denied access to humanitarian aid in conflict zones worldwide. Slovenia finds this to be cruel and inhumane, she said. "Even in wars, there are rules," she underlined.

Resnica alleged to have close ties with expelled Russian diplomat

LJUBLJANA - Two members of Resnica, a non-parliamentary party gearing up for the EU elections in June, have contacts with the Russian diplomat that Slovenia has recently declared persona non grata and expelled, Lt-Col Sergei Lemeshev, according to reports by the newspaper Delo and news portal 24ur. The party has denied being pro-Russian but confirmed contacts with Lemeshev.

List of top-paid doctors during Covid shows hefty earnings

LJUBLJANA - The news portal Necenzurirano released a list of best-paid doctors in UKC Ljubljana in December 2020, a peak of the Covid epidemic. The list, whose release was ordered by the court after lengthy back and forth between Necenzurirano and Slovenia's largest hospital, shows that some doctors earned more than EUR 20,000 that month, among them a top member of the Fides union, which has been on strike since mid-January.

Govt, Fides agree to extend mediation to end doctors strike

LJUBLJANA - After mediation between the government and doctors was launched under the auspices of the Bar Association last week eleven weeks into the longest strike in Slovenian history, the government okayed the extension of the mediation procedures, which was to expire today, by another week. The Fides trade union responded by agreeing to one more meeting.

Pahor urges EU to boost defence capabilities and enlarge

PRAGUE, Czechia - To continue to safeguard and strengthen peace and security, the EU must strengthen its defence capabilities in the face of the current geopolitical situation, Slovenia's former President Borut Pahor said at an event in Prague that marked 20 years since Czechia joined the EU. He urged enlargement to Ukraine, Moldova and the Balkans.

Slovenia's exports down 0.1% y/y in Feb, imports up 28%

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's exports of goods dropped by 0.1% to 4.5 billion in February over February 2023 while imports increased by 28.4% to EUR 5.5 billion, in what is the highest growth of imports since September 2022, the Statistics Office said. The growth was fuelled by imports of goods from non-EU countries, which rose by nearly 83%. But excluding operations involving processing, imports from non-EU countries were down by 8.5%.

Budget deficit widens in Q1

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's budget deficit totalled EUR 379 million in January-March, an 18% increase on the year before. Excluding the direct impact of emergency spending, it totalled EUR 278 million, show data released by the Fiscal Council. Total budget revenue rose by 4% to EUR 3.1 billion on the back of higher income tax receipts. Revenue from EU funds meanwhile declined by more than a quarter on the year before.

Registered unemployment drops below 47,000 in March

LJUBLJANA - Registered unemployment in Slovenia fell to 46,877 at the end of March, which is a 5.7% drop compared to late February and a 6.9% decrease year-on-year, the Employment Service said. In March, 4,292 newly unemployed persons were registered, which is 8.3% less than in February and 0.7% less than in March 2023. Among them, 1,695 registered with the service because their fixed-term contracts expired, which is down 13.5% on February and 10.2% less year-on-year.

Krka proposes 14% increase in dividend payment

NOVO MESTO - The management and supervisory boards of drug maker Krka proposed that shareholders get dividends of EUR 7.5 gross per share, a 13.6% increase on last year. The shareholder vote is scheduled for 11 July. The proposal means the company would allocate just over EUR 231 million for dividends, or 60% of its accumulated profit. EUR 75.4 million would be carried forward and EUR 75.4 million set aside for other profit reserves, the company announced.

Shell plans to stay in Slovenia, looking for new locations

LJUBLJANA - British oil giant Shell is determined to stay in Slovenia for the long term after it took over 39 MOL and OMV service stations last year, increasing its market share to around 12%. The group is now looking to acquire more sites, especially in central Slovenia and Gorenjska region, northwest.