Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 4-11 April

FRIDAY, 5 April

LJUBLJANA - A draft of a new state investment management strategy drawn up by the Finance Ministry and obtained by the STA shows that postal company Pošta Slovenije and insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav are no longer classified as strategic, but as important, meaning they could be sold. Minister Klemen Boštjančič said the sale was not in the works.

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob announced as he met senior judicial officials that the government would implement a June 2023 Constitutional Court ruling to raise judges' pay in an emergency law, in what would be a stop-gap measures before a systemic solution is found as part of a public sector pay reform.

NEW YORK, US/Ljubljana - Samuel Žbogar, the ambassador representing Slovenia on the UN Security Council, condemned attacks on aid workers as the council met for a session after World Central Kitchen workers were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza at the beginning of the week. Slovenian PEN meanwhile urged senior Slovenian politicians to recognise Palestine as an independent state as the only right solution to the war in Gaza.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian State Holding (SSH), the custodian of state assets, filed a petition for receivership of telecommunications operator T-2 to enforce what is said to be EUR 120 million in loans T-2 was granted by state-owned banks more than a decade ago for the construction of its optical network.

LJUBLJANA - The non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS) unveiled its list of candidates for the EU election, which is topped by Peter Gregorčič, former chair of the RTV Slovenija programme council, and tailed by the party's leader Marko Balažic. The SLS's only current MEP, Franc Bogovič, is also on the list.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenian writer Tina Vrščaj received a special mention for her novel Na Klancu (On the Hill) as the EU Prize for Literature was given out in Brussels on 4 April. She was one of the 13 nominees for the prize, which went to Danish writer Theis Oerntoft.

SATURDAY, 6 April

MEDVODE - The ruling Freedom Movement presented Tomaž Vesel, ex-Court of Audit president, as Slovenia's candidate for EU commissioner. The proposal has upset the coalition partners as they only learnt about it from media reports, although the Left considers him a good candidate. The SD believes the proposal should reflect the election outcome.

MEDVODE - The ruling Freedom Movement presented its candidates for the upcoming EU elections at the party's get-together. The slate is expected to be headed by gynaecologist Aleksander Merlo, director of Postojna Maternity Hospital, while also featuring the party's MEP Irena Joveva and Defence Minister Marjan Šarec.

CELJE - The opposition party New Slovenia (NSi) adopted its platform for the EU elections, which spotlights issues such as green transition, agricultural subsidies and illegal migration, and calls for a Europe based on the values of the social market economy that would still remain attractive to investors.

AMMAN, Jordan/LJUBLJANA - Slovenia sent additional food aid to help Palestinian civilians. The country's latest humanitarian aid shipment to Gaza includes some 33 tonnes of baby food, the Defence Ministry said.

SUNDAY, 7 April

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar congratulated Peter Pellegrini on his victory as Slovak president, and thanked outgoing President Zuzana Čaputova for her efforts to maintain and strengthen the friendship between Slovenia and Slovakia.

LJUBLJANA - An estimated 600 people rallied against "Israeli apartheid" in front of the National Assembly to mark six months since the start of the conflict in Gaza. During this time, neither the Slovenian government nor the EU imposed a single sanction, a military embargo or cut diplomatic ties with Israel, the protesters said.

OSILNICA - An Environment Agency weather station recorded 30 degrees Celsius in the village of Osilnica in southern Slovenia, "the earliest 30 degrees on record in Slovenia", the agency said. Before that, the earliest that 30 degrees was recorded in Slovenia was on 23 April in 2018.

MONDAY, 8 April

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia expressed regret in the UN General Assembly that Russia and China vetoed the US proposal on the resolution on Gaza on 22 March as they argued that it does not exert enough pressure on Israel. Slovenian Ambassador to the UN Boštjan Malovrh also expressed concern over the threat of an operation in Rafah.

ATHENS, Greece - President Nataša Pirc Musar started a three-day official visit to Greece by meeting her counterpart Katarina Sakellaropoulou, urging closer bilateral cooperation in politics and economy. The pair also urged close cooperation as part of the UN Security Council, regarding the peace efforts in Gaza and Ukraine, while Pirc Musar was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer for her efforts in strengthening bilateral relations.

BOLOGNA, Italy - Slovenia appeared as the guest of honour at the 61st Bologna Children's Book Fair until 11 April, promoting its children's and youth literature with a major exhibition of illustration and a number of accompanying events. Slovenian publishers have been attending the Bologna fair since its start in 1964.

RIJEKA, Croatia - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon said that Slovenia is considering opening a consulate in Rijeka, as he visited the Slovenian community in this Croatian port city and the nearby town of Lovran. He also outlined plans to help the community face some of its challenges, chiefly a lack of Slovenian language courses.

LJUBLJANA - Vesna, a non-parliamentary green party, presented its manifesto and list of candidates for the June EU elections. The slate will be topped by Kočevje Mayor and defence expert Vladimir Prebilič, with both party leaders, Urša Zgojznik and Uroš Macerl, also on it, but before filing it, the non-parliamentary party must collect 1,000 voter signatures.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Cohesion Commissioner Elisa Ferreira said Slovenia can expect to be paid the remaining funds for post-flood reconstruction from the EU solidarity after the summer, as the European Parliament will be approving the Commission's proposal, under which Slovenia expects up to EUR 300 million, after the EU elections.

LJUBLJANA - Two Slovenian banks, NLB and Addiko, opted to join a scheme offering the socially deprived borrowers who ran into trouble when the Swiss central bank stopped protecting the value of the currency in 2015, a swap of their loan balances to euro-denominated debt at the rate from 31 December 2014, the Bank Association announced.

TUESDAY, 9 April

LJUBLJANA - According to a media report, Viktor Zubkov, a former Russian prime minister and President Vladimir Putin's close ally, visited Slovenia a few days ago. The visit of the long-serving chairman of gas giant Gazprom was reportedly coordinated by the Russian embassy, but no details were revealed. He is not blacklisted in the EU.

LJUBLJANA - The Russian diplomat whom Slovenia expelled in March over a surge in Russian propaganda activities, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Lemeshev, was working with a network of associates in a bid to interfere in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's NATO membership, according to unofficial but reliable sources.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will open its embassy in the Philippines in a matter of days with Foreign Ministry official Dragan Barbutovski to take over as chargé d'affaires, the newspaper Delo reported. Barbutovski is currently head of the ministry's strategic communication service.

LJUBLJANA - Mediation between the government and the Fides trade union launched to stop the longest strike by Slovenian doctors failed. Statements by the government and Fides showed that the government insisting to tackle the doctors' pay demands as part of the public sector-wide pay talks proved to be the biggest obstacle.

LJUBLJANA - The return on capital investments managed by Slovenia Sovereign Holding (SSH) rose to 10.2% in 2023, a record since the state asset custodian was founded in 2014, preliminary data show. The state and SSH received EUR 175.5 million in dividends, while the state's capital investments managed by SSH were valued at EUR 12.2 billion.

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a decree on the framework for the drafting of the general government sector budgets for the next three-year period, in which the general government deficit is planned to remain below the reference value of 3% of GDP, and be reduced to 1.9% of GDP by 2027.

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia was elected to the UNICEF executive board, the UN fund's governing body, for a three-year term starting in January 2025.

WEDNESDAY, 10 April

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's former President Borut Pahor confirmed for the STA that he is interested in becoming the next EU special representative for the Belgrade-Prishtina dialogue, to succeed Miroslav Lajčak, whose term ends in August. PM Robert Golob expressed support for his bid.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia was hit by another DDoS cyberattack, with access blocked to several websites, including that of the Slovenian central bank, after a similar spate of DDoS attacks by a Russian cybercriminal group hit the websites of several government bodies and companies at the end of March and in early April. Vojko Volk, a state secretary for national and international security in the prime minister's office, said on 11 April that the situation is manageable.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Just hours before the vote, the majority of Slovenian MEPs said they would back the New Pact on Migration and Asylum in its entirety in the European Parliament, although not entirely happy with it. Some were critical especially of mandatory solidarity in relocating migrants, announcing a vote against that part of the legislation.

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) announced it would undergo a partial transformation of their structure and organisation, which will take place this and next year. The SAF will transform their air force and air defence organisation and get an unmanned combat aircraft system unit to further boost the military and defence capabilities.

BERN, Switzerland - Economy Minister Matjaž Han met his Swiss counterpart Guy Parmelin to discuss economic cooperation, as he concluded a two-day official visit to Switzerland. He welcomed Switzerland's view of Slovenia as an attractive investment destination for high-tech. Parmelin highlighted the excellent cooperation in the field of space technologies and expressed his full support for Slovenia's planned full membership of the European Space Agency.

THURSDAY, 11 April

LJUBLJANA - Vojko Volk, a state secretary in the prime minister's office said Slovenia together with France and Malta will support a resolution on Palestine's UN membership as the UN Security Council takes a vote on it next week. "Slovenia ... will raise its hand in support of this decision, in which it sincerely believes," said Volk, adding that Palestine belongs in the UN and its voice should be heard there.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia welcomed the endorsement of the Pact on Migration and Asylum by the European Parliament. After years of negotiations, the pact is an important step towards forming a migration and asylum policy in the EU, the Interior Ministry said.

NEW YORK, US - The attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine are a clear violation of international humanitarian law, which Russia is trampling on every day, and systematically destroying Ukraine's cultural heritage, Slovenian Ambassador to the UN Security Council Samuel Žbogar said during a Council debate on the situation in Ukraine.

NEW YORK; US - Slovenia expressed deep regret over Russia's veto of the draft resolution on the extension of the mandate of the panel of experts which monitors the implementation of sanctions against North Korea, Slovenian Ambassador to the UN Boštjan Malovrh said during a debate in the UN General Assembly.

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar ordered a review of police work regarding a shooting threat at Slovenian schools, which was made in an online comment last week and made schools beef up security on 10 April while classes were held as usual. The review will also check the police's communication about the threat with the general public and schools.

LJUBLJANA - Information Commissioner Mojca Prelesnik was appointed new STA director in an unanimous decision of the press agency's supervisory board. She will start her term on 18 July, when her term as information commissioner expires. The supervisory board will soon appoint an interim director to lead the agency from mid-May, when Igor Kadunc, who resigned as director in March, leaves to mid-July.