News roundup - Tuesday, 7 May, until 3 pm

Croatia's Mplus buys 51% stake in Slovenian agri-food leader Panvita

ZAGREB, Croatia/MURSKA SOBOTA - Panvita, Slovenia's leading agri-food company, has been taken over by Croatian services company Mplus. A EUR 50 million capital increase gives Mplus a 51% stake in the group, which generated over EUR 117 million in revenue and EUR 10.3 million in gross operating profit in 2022. "The two groups are partnering up to position the new group as a leader in the food industry in SE Europe," Panvita said in a press release. The takeover is pending regulatory approval.

Judges to get up to 12% pay rise under emergency bill

LJUBLJANA - A draft emergency bill on judicial pay brings a pay rise of up to three pay brackets, or roughly 12%, for judges at courts of first instance, as the most disadvantaged group of judges in terms of pay. Other judges will also get higher pay, which is to kick in as of 2025, the Government Communication Office said. The draft bill is now ready for inter-departmental talks, and once the government has adopted it, it could be debated in parliament in November or December, Delo said.

Freedom Movement swears by young people in EU election

LJUBLJANA - The Freedom Movement noted that it swore by young people who believed in a united and solidarity-based Europe, as the ruling party formally registered its lists of candidates for EU election at the National Electoral Commission. The list was submitted by the party MPs and Prime Minister Robert Golob, who said that after a thorough deliberation, the party had decided to give the chance to young people.

SDS says EU election fight for Europe from 20 years ago

LJUBLJANA - The Democrats (SDS) announced that the 9 June EU election would be a fight for the European Union that Slovenia entered 20 years ago as the opposition party submitted its list of nine MEP candidates to the National Electoral Commission. "We are counting on a fourth consecutive victory in this election," SDS leader Janez Janša told the press on the occasion.

Speaker discusses EU enlargement in Czechia

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič is wrapping up a two-day official visit to the Czech Republic. Accompanied by two MPs, Klakočar Zupančič met her counterpart Marketa Pekarova Adamova and Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky on Monday, stressing the importance of EU enlargement to include Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans.

Controversial building in Litijska in Justice Ministry's hands

LJUBLJANA - The Justice Ministry was handed over a building it bought for EUR 7.7 million. It turned out in the meantime that the dilapidated building is not fit to house several courts, as planned upon the purchase at the end of December. Present at the handover was Nina Zidar Klemenčič, the lawyer of seller Sebastjan Vežnaver, who said the purchase price was in line with the appraisals carried out by experts for both the seller and the buyer. A recent reappraisal suggested the property was worth EUR 6 million.

President's secretary general leaving office

LJUBLJANA - Uroš Krek, the secretary general at the office of President Nataša Pirc Musar, will be leaving his position on 1 July to return to the Slovenian Armed Forces, the president's office confirmed Monday evening after the news was first reported by the news portal Necenzurirano. It is unclear why Krek is leaving his position. The office said that a successor would be appointed in due time.

Registered jobless total down 7% y/y in April to lowest on record

LJUBLJANA - A total of 45,219 people were registered as unemployed at the Employment Service at the end of April, which is 3.5% less than in March and 7% less than in April 2023, and is the lowest number on record, the Employment Service said. The average monthly number of the registered unemployed people in the first four months of the year was 48,356, which is 6.9% less than in the same period last year.