News roundup - Monday, 8 July

FM says ahead of summit Slovenia will meet NATO obligations

WASHINGTON, DC, US - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said Slovenia will fulfil its obligations to NATO and help Ukraine as she arrived for a three-day NATO summit in Washington, which starts on Tuesday. She said that the "summit is marked by a series of decisions that will be important for security in Europe" and that the "unity of the alliance, its deterrent role and strengthening of defence capabilities" are to be confirmed while further financial and military support for Ukraine will also be very important. PM Robert Golob and Defence Minister Marjan Šarec will also be in the US for the summit.

SDS builds Stojmenova Duh interpellation on watchdog reports

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) filed their second ouster motion against Digital Transformation Minister Emilija Stojmenova Duh this year, citing reports by the Court of Audit and the Competition Protection Agency regarding the purchase of 13,000 laptops and the country's poor progress as per the EU Digital Decade report. Another reason are bullying allegations at the ministry, and a recent appeal by experts for the ministry to suspend its campaign against peer violence and hate speech, which the experts believe might actually encourage violence and hate speech.

PM defends digitalisation minister in wake of audit report

LJUBLJANA - As the opposition Democrats (SDS) filed a second no-confidence motion against Digital Transformation Minister Emilija Stojmenova Duh, PM Robert Golob defended her ministry during questions time in parliament. He said the ouster motion will provide an opportunity to go over the department's achievements. "Slovenia is one of the more respected EU and UN members states when it comes to digitalisation," he said, pointing to the supercomputer centre in Maribor and AI projects.

Golob says courthouse purchase was problematic in many ways

LJUBLJANA - The purchase of a dilapidated building in Ljubljana meant to house a number of courts was problematic in many ways and it already had political ramifications for the government and the coalition, PM Robert Golob told MPs during questions time in parliament after the Court of Audit established that the purchase went through without preparation.

Slovenia condemns Kyiv children's hospital attack

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia condemned a missile attack on a children's hospital in Kyiv by Russia, with President Nataša Pirc Musar saying schools and hospitals must be zones of peace and PM Robert Golob and the Foreign Ministry condemning the extensive attacks on over 40 cities, above all the one targetting the hospital. The ministry said such attacks are a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately".

Delo poll sees SDS, Freedom losing, SD and Vesna gaining ground

LJUBLJANA - The most recent public opinion poll published by the newspaper Delo sees the top two parties, the Democrats (SDS) and the Freedom Movement, losing ground, while the Social Democrats (SD) and the non-parliamentary Vesna in third and fourth place have seen their support increase among the respondents. The SDS enjoys the support of 22.9% of the respondents in July, down 1.5 points over June, while the Freedom Movement lost even more ground, sliding from 19.5% to 15.8%. The SD got 7%, 1.6 points more than in June, followed by Vesna with 4.9%, up 1.5 points.

EIB survey: Slovenians high in EU in knowing climate change consequences

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Slovenia is among the top five EU countries in how much its citizens know about the consequences of climate change, yet Slovenians showed somewhat less knowledge about measures to mitigate climate change, shows the latest Climate Survey of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Slovenian scored 8.12 in climate change consequences, well above the EU average of 7.65 on the 1-to-10 scale, and 6.44 in knowledge about solutions for mitigating climate change, slightly above the EU average of 6.37.

DARS selects builder to complete Šentvid motorway tunnel

LJUBLJANA - The national motorway company DARS has selected the builder to complete the missing entry and exit to the Šentvid tunnel, a key motorway section that links the Gorenjska motorway to the Ljubljana ring road and the rest of the country's motorway network. The EUR 12 million project was awarded to the Kranj-based builder Gorenjska Gradbena Družba (GGD).

Slovenia fielding a record 90-member national team in Paris

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Olympic Committee (OKS) unveiled the list of Slovenian participants in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, fielding a record 90 athletes from 17 sports and disciplines, 11 more than in the previous largest national team of 79 athletes, who competed in Athens in 2004. "It will not only be the largest but also a very gender-balanced team, with 44 female and 46 male athletes," OKS president Franjo Bobinac said. The entire team will be officially presented to public on 11 July in Koper.

Three arrested, reportedly in connection with Kavač Clan

PORTOROŽ - Three persons were apprehended in Portorož on Sunday evening in what the 24ur news portal reports was a raid related to an assassination connected with the Slovenian cell of the Kavač Clan, a Montenegrin drug trafficking cartel. 24ur says that two of the apprehended suspects are senior members of the Kavač Clan, and that one is suspected of having assassinated Igor Mančić in Ljubljana in January 2023 in connection to EUR 1.5 million worth of drugs stolen from the cartel.

President Pirc Musar sells minority stake in Russian Dacha

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar has sold her 14.6% stake in the company that owns and runs Russian Dacha, a renovated dacha-style villa in Zgornje Gameljne, north of Ljubljana, which hosts various events in addition to providing hospitality services. The new owner of her stake and the new full owner of the company is the president's husband Aleš Musar, according to the AJPES agency for public legal records.

SBI TOP cracks 1,600 points for highest mark in 15 years

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Stock Exchange had a positive start of the new trading week, with the SBI TOP benchmark gaining 0.34% to close at 1,601.14 points, the highest mark since August 2008. The insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav was the only big name to lose ground, while the bank NLB (1.54%) accounted for more than a third of total turnover of EUR 2.4 million.

Summer Animateka honouring female creators

LJUBLJANA - Summer Animateka, a festival of animated film, started brining three evenings of free screenings at Ljubljana's Town Square. The 20th iteration of the festival will show films by predominantly female creators, ranging from established names to fresh voices. The opening film is After Apples by Polish filmmaker Marta Pajek, which she made in 2004 while still a student.

Falco's Rock Me Amadeus remade in Carinthian Slovenian

EISENKAPPEL, Austria - Bališ, a rock band bringing together ethnic Slovenians from the Austrian state of Carinthia, has recently released a cover version of Rock Me Amadeus, the 1985 hit by Austrian pop star Falco. Like all their songs, the latest one is in a local dialect. The band, who have been active for almost 25 years, sing in the Ebriach (Obirsko) dialect, which is spoken by only about 500 people in Carinthia today, the band's drummer and songwriter Marko Stern told the STA.

Ljubljana Zoo loses oldest resident

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Zoo has lost its oldest resident, the 50-year-old Western Chimpanzee Mojca, who was mother to six chimpanzees and grandmother to four. Most chimpanzees in zoos live up to around 40 years, with females usually outliving males. Two weeks ago, the staff noticed Mojca had suddenly grown weak. The deterioration was caused by a heart problem and the chimpanzee was put down in late June, the Ljubljana Zoo said in a press release.