News roundup - Wednesday, 26 June, until 3pm

PM Golob welcomes Rutte's appointment for NATO sec-gen

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob welcomed the appointment of outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for NATO secretary general and said he was looking forward to working with him and make "the Alliance even stronger". The 57-year-old will take over from outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in October, when the latter's term will expire.

Internal audit questions financing of court building purchase

LJUBLJANA - The purchase of a building in Ljubljana meant to house several courts led to the resignation of the justice minister earlier this year and triggered a police investigation. Now, a leaked internal ministry audit has raised questions about the role of the prime minister, the finance minister and the former justice minister, 24ur.com reported. They dispute the findings.

Slovenian Armed Forces launch air bridge to Kosovo via new Spartan aircraft

PRISHTINA, Kosovo - The Slovenian Armed Forces marked a milestone on Sunday with the first official flight of their C-27J Spartan transport aircraft. The landing in Prishtina inaugurated an air bridge to Kosovo, which will facilitate the transport of troops and equipment. In the future, the aircraft will also be used for managing natural disasters and fighting fires.

Joveva elected a vice-president of Renew

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenian MEP Irena Joveva has been elected one of the eight vice-presidents of the liberal political group Renew in the next European Parliament. She pledged to perform her new duties with full dedication to the common good of all EU citizens. Slovenia will continue to have two members in the Renew group in the next European Parliament as Joveva is joined by Defence Minister Marjan Šarec.

S&D MEP Nemec will not endorse von der Leyen

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenian MEP Matjaž Nemec (S&D/SD) said that he would not support Ursula von der Leyen for another term as European Commission president, after this was agreed by the three largest groups in European Parliament, including S&D, the day before. He believes she failed to address a number of challenges "in the right way". He pointed to the war in Gaza as well as cooperation with the radical right.

Farmers' co-ops warn about dire situation of local producers

LJUBLJANA - Agriculture cooperatives warned about an alarming situation under which local producers of vegetables continue to suffer due to increasing costs, retailers' low purchase prices and third-market imports. They called for state aid and legislative changes that would make selling below cost a prohibited practice.

Slovenia receives EUR 7m for motorway renovation

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has received EUR 6.97 million from the Connecting Europe Facility for the improvement of road infrastructure. The money will be used to reconstruct the Devin viaduct on the A1 motorway near Slovenske Konjice and bridges across the Pivka River near Postojna on the same motorway. The European Commission allocated the money to Slovenia as part of the Sirius project on the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the Infrastructure Ministry announced.

Cultural association of emigrants celebrates 70th birthday

LJUBLJANA - The main cultural association of Slovenian post-WWII emigrants, the Slovenian Cultural Action (SKA), is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, and Slovenska Matica, the cornerstone of the nation's cultural and scientific development, helped mark the occasion, stressing the importance of emigrants' culture-promoting efforts. SKA was founded in Buenos Aires in February 1954 and has been committed to efforts to preserve the identity of Slovenian communities worldwide.

Eight drug trafficking suspects released from detention

LJUBLJANA - An indictment involving dozens suspected of being members of a drug cartel was filed nearly two years ago but the case has been stalled, leaving the Ljubljana District Court no choice but to release eight defendants from detention, Večer and Slovenske Novice reported. The massive case involved 57 defendants at first, of whom 20 pleaded guilty during last year's pre-trial hearings and were convicted.