News roundup - Friday, 21 June, until 3pm

Boštjančič says Slovenia could work with potential French far-right govt

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič told Politico that Slovenia could work with a far-right French government if Marine Le Pen's National Rally wins the upcoming general elections. He also feels that the US election is "not that important" compared with developments in Europe. "Everybody in Europe is so much focused [on] the US. We should just focus [on] ourselves and on how to make our decision making process more effective," he said.

Slovenian EU court judge dies

LJUBLJANA - Marko Ilešič, who served as Slovenia's judge at the Court of Justice of the EU since 2004, when Slovenia joined the EU, has died aged 76. Expressing condolences, the Justice Ministry pointed to his achievements and labelled him a great legal expert, and President Nataša Pirc Musar said he gave away his know-how selflessly. Ilešič's latest term, he was re-appointed a year ago, would have expired in October 2027. He was elected president of the panel of judges for two successive terms, from October 2012 to October 2018.

Business sentiment slightly up in June

LJUBLJANA - Business sentiment in Slovenia increased by 0.3 percentage points in June compared to May with the relevant indicator standing at -2.0 percentage points. In annual comparison the sentiment improved by 2.8 points, shows data by the Statistics Office. The monthly increase is the result of the growth of the consumer confidence indicator (+0.5 points) and the sentiment indicator for retail (+0.3 points). Sentiment in services dropped by 0.3% and in construction by 0.2%. Sentiment in manufacturing had no impact on the overall index.

Monthly wages in April higher in both public and private sectors

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's average gross pay in April reached EUR 2,343.89, up 1.3% in nominal terms and 0.3% in real terms compared to March. The average net pay in April totalled EUR 1,487.66, up by 1.2% in nominal terms and 0.2% in real terms, Statistics Office said. In monthly comparison, the average gross salary in the public sector rose by 1.5% to EUR 2,580.50 and in the private sector by 1.3% to EUR 2,236.81.

Slovenia below EU average in GDP per capita and consumption

LJUBLJANA - In 2023, Slovenia reached 91% of the EU average of the GDP per capita expressed in purchasing power standards, while actual individual consumption was 13% lower than the EU average, shows data by Eurostat, which was presented by Slovenia's Statistics Office (SURS). Food prices in Slovenia were lower than in Austria, Italy and Croatia.

Housing prices up 6.3 y/y in first quarter, volume of deals drops

LJUBLJANA - Residential property prices in the first quarter of the year increased by 1.2% on quarter four of 2023 and 6.3% year-on-year, the Statistics Office said. Updated data for 2023 moreover shows that 840 new residential units were sold last year, 515 more than initially reported, while their prices rose by 10.1% and not 8.4%.

Brežice council condemns school violence, calls for more police officers

BREŽICE - The Brežice municipal council strongly condemned all instances of peer violence at a meeting on Thursday, prompted by a recent incident involving an attack by a Roma student on another student in a local primary school. The council also urged the Interior Ministry to allocate additional police officers to the municipality, noting that police officers in the municipality are busy coping with mass illegal migrations, meaning they are unable to deal with other security challenges, including those related to the Roma community.

Ljubljana kindergarten head denies investigation by police, auditors

LJUBLJANA - Barbara Novinec, the head of the Galjevica kindergarten, who is the central figure of an anti-graft probe into deals of several of Ljubljana's public kindergartens, denied that a report by the newspaper Dnevnik that Galjevica is being investigated by the police and the Court of Audit. Dnevnik said the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) has scrutinised alleged favouring of certain service providers associated with Novinec and the related misuse of public funds. Novinec said the KPK had not found irregularities that would fall under its domain.

Exhibition The Flying Man, Stanko Bloudek, receives award in Portugal

LISBON, Portugal - The Portuguese Aviation Museum and the Technical Museum of Slovenia commemorated 100 years since the first air crossing of the South Atlantic with exchange exhibitions. The Slovenian exhibition received an award by the Portuguese Association of Museums in the category International projects. The exhibition The Flying Man, Stanko Bloudek was created in 2009, 50 years after the death of the great Slovenian aviation pioneer and inventor Stanko Bloudek.

Contemporary arts triennial opens in Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - The U3 Triennial of Contemporary Art will kick off at the Moderna Galerija museum of modern and contemporary art today under the title Against the Current of Time. The exhibition features works created in the last five years by some 40 Slovenian artists. It is a direct reflection of today's time, which should not be understood as a linear structure but a cyclical entity, said its curator Tevž Logar.