News roundup - Wednesday, 10 April, until 3pm

Army to partly change structure, organisation in next two years

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) are in for a partial transformation of their structure and organisation, which will take place this and next year. Among other things, the SAF will transform their air force and air defence organisation and get an unmanned combat aircraft system unit. The ministry said on Tuesday that this is a continuation of the strengthening of the military and defence capabilities and transformation of the organisation of the SAF.

General government deficit planned to drop below 2% in 2027

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a decree on Tuesday 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. The Finance Ministry noted that public spending would be maintained at a high level, including for post-flood reconstruction effort.

Slovenian MEPs mostly support migration pact despite shortcomings

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The majority of Slovenian MEPs announced they will vote for the New Pact on Migration and Asylum in its entirety in the European Parliament, although they are not entirely happy with it. Klemen Grošelj (Renew/Freedom) said he will endorse the package, although it does not meet all the expectations. Milan Zver (EPP/SDS) was critical of mandatory solidarity. "I cannot support solutions that introduce mandatory quotas or fines imposed on member states if they do not accept the quotas, so I will vote against this part of the pact," he said.

DHL Express to open new logistics centre in Brnik

BRNIK - The logistics company DHL Express Slovenija has begun building a new centre in the vicinity of Ljubljana Airport in Brnik to step up its capacity. The EUR 21 million investment is expected to be completed next year. The construction, managed by the contractor GIC Gradnje, was launched a week ago. The new centre will be located on a plot of land leased from the airport's operator Fraport Slovenija.

Industrial output up 3.3% in February over January

Ljubljana - Slovenia's industrial output grew by 3.3% in February over January, mainly on the back of mining and quarrying, which increased by 8.1%, the Statistics Office said. Electricity, gas and steam supply grew by 6.8% and processing was up by 2.5%. Year-on-year, industrial output grew by 2.7%.

Muslims in Slovenia celebrating Eid al-Fitr as Ramadan ends

LJUBLJANA - Muslims in Slovenia started three-day celebrations of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. The main ceremony was held at the Muslim Culture Centre in Ljubljana with Nevzet Porić, the mufti of the Islamic Community in Slovenia, calling for peace and respect of dignity of all people regardless of their ethnicity or religious belief. The prayer from the mosque was for the first time broadcast live by public broadcaster TV Sloveija.

Illegitimate Mothers best new play at Slovenian drama festival

KRANJ - Illegitimate Mothers, a play by Iza Strehar exploring the role and position of pregnant women through Slovenian history, is the winner of this year's Grum Prize for the best new, not-yet-staged play. The prize is given out every year as the curtain draws on the Week of Slovenian Drama in Kranj.