News roundup - Wednesday, 10 April

Pahor eyeing Belgrade-Prishtina dialogue representative job

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 meanwhile expressed support for his bid, and he has already held numerous talks with EU stakeholders on the topic in the past month. The special representative is nominated by the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy with the final decision being taken by the Council of the EU.

Cyberattack on major websites resumes

LJUBLJANA - Issues with access to several websites were reported today after a Russian cybercriminal group hit the websites of several government bodies, the president, companies and public broadcaster RTV Slovenija at the end of March and in early April. Today, access was blocked to the websites of the president, the central bank and the government's main portal, with the central bank's still unavailable. The cause of the issues is not known yet, the Government Information Security Office told the STA.

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.

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.

Former PM, FM and speaker discuss Slovenia's EU, NATO accession

LJUBLJANA - An event featuring Anton Rop, Borut Pahor and Dimitrij Rupel, the prime minister, the speaker of parliament and the foreign minister when Slovenia was joining the EU and NATO, discussed the significance of the country's membership in the two organisations and the historical context of the events 20 years ago. Addressing the conference hosted by New University in Ljubljana, Rupel said Slovenia's becoming a member of the EU and NATO was the country's second and third most important foreign policy achievement after independence.

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.

President underlines importance of fair sustainable development

ATHENS, Greece - President Nataša Pirc Musar addressed the Delphi Economic Forum as she wrapped up her three-day official visit to Greece, underlining the importance of sustainable and fair development that follows people- and nature-friendly guidelines. It is key to build peace and dignity for everybody in order to live better.

Han explores economic cooperation opportunities with Switzerland

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. Han also visited pharmaceutical companies Sandoz and Novartis, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the UEFA.

Striking staff at administrative units issue ultimatum to govt

LJUBLJANA - Staff at most Slovenian administrative units executed another one-day strike in what was their fifth consecutive Wednesday of industrial action, and decided to give the government eight days to meet their demands for higher pay and better working conditions, or else they would step up the strike. The option of expanding the strike to Fridays had been mulled.

Committee adopts changes to reform energy bill

LJUBLJANA - Several amendments to the government-sponsored reform energy bill were made by a relevant parliamentary committee, removing the restrictions on the use of solid fuels in new apartment buildings. Despite calls by the opposition, restrictions on the use of gas for heating remain and will apply to buildings with construction permits obtained in 2025 or later. The committee proposed the bill be discussed at the National Assembly plenary starting on 22 April.

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.

No. of real estate transactions down in 2023, price growth slowing

LJUBLJANA - Property prices in Slovenia continued to grow last year, while the number of deals decreased for the second year running. The Surveying and Mapping Authority (GURS) believes the persistent high price growth could slow down this year and prices could even go down in some parts of the country, but a fast drop in prices cannot be expected. The number of apartments sold dropped between 15 and 20%, while the number of houses sold was down between 20 and 25%, GURS said in its 2023 report. Based on provisional data, some 8,000 flats and 5,500 houses changed hands in a total value of EUR 2.2 billion.

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%.

Slovenian alternative fuels projects to receive EU funding

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Two projects from Slovenia, by airport operator Fraport Slovenija and energy company Energetika Ljubljana, will receive EU funding for alternative fuels infrastructure, while a total of 42 will receive EUR 424 million, the European Commission announced. To help Europe meet the goals of the Green Deal, the projects will provide charging stations for electric vehicles and fuelling stations for hydrogen vehicles, and will tackle electrification of airports.

Catholic school hosts exhibition on post-WWII summary killings

LJUBLJANA - An exhibition on victims of post-WWII summary killings at Macesnova Gorica, south, opened at the St Stanislav's Institute in Ljubljana, a Catholic education centre. Titled 3,450 Murdered; Chasm below Macesnova Gorica - Slovenia's Katyn, the exhibition will be open until 10 May. The author of the exhibition is historian Jože Dežman, who wanted to put it up at the Museum of Recent History last year while he was still the museum's director. The victims were excavated between April and September 2022, but have not yet received a proper burial. Their remains are kept at a utility company in the town of Kočevje.

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 in the morning 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 Ljubljana mosque was for the first time broadcast live by TV Sloveija.

Painter Sever's Black on White sentiments on display in Equrna

LJUBLJANA - An exhibition featuring a selection of post-2016 works by Slovenian painter Brane Sever opened at the Equrna Gallery in Ljubljana on Tuesday. The winner of a number of honours in Slovenia and abroad, who has painted almost exclusively using black and white, has titled the show Black on White. Sever, 65, has been featured in about 20 solo exhibitions and over 60 curated national and international group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad. Sever's works will be on display until 10 May.

No panic in schools over online threat, security beefed up

LJUBLJANA - In the wake of a last week's online comment threatening a school shooting would take place on 10 April, classes were held as usual, while some students stayed at home, likely out of precaution, and most schools stepped up security. The police have meanwhile been notified of a few alleged threats to schools since yesterday, immediately looking into them. For some they were able to determine they were not criminal offences, while others are still being investigated.