Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 26 Jul - 1 Aug

FRIDAY, 26 July

LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed former Court of Audit president Tomaž Vesel as the candidate for Slovenia's next EU commissioner. Before he is formally put forward to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he will present his bid to the parliamentary European Affairs Committee, whose opinion is not binding. Vesel is interested in budget, administration and enlargement portfolios.

NEW YORK, US - Speaking at a session of the UN Security Council on the situation in Gaza, Slovenia's Ambassador Samuel Žbogar called on the Council to demand that Hamas and Israel finalise a ceasefire agreement and cease hostilities until they reach a deal. This, he said, would be an Olympic ceasefire.

LJUBLJANA - The Finance Ministry announced that Slovenia issued its first Distributed Ledger Technology bond the day before as the first EU country. Slovenia issued EUR 30 million of the digital bonds with a coupon rate of 3.65%. They mature on 25 November.

LJUBLJANA - Stress tests conducted by Slovenia's central bank independently and as part of the European Central Bank showed that Slovenian banking system is stable and resilient to shocks. The macro stress test showed capital stability, and a cybersecurity stress test at ECB level showed no major negative impact from a potential cyberattack, the Bank of Slovenia said.

BLED/BRNIK/LJUBLJANA - German Minister for Digital and Transport Volker Wissing met Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek and Digital Transformation Minister Emilija Stojmenova Duh during a working visit. The meetings focused on big investment in railway infrastructure and ways to boost Slovenia's air connectivity links, and cooperation in semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

SATURDAY, 27 July

PARIS, France - President Nataša Pirc Musar officially opened the Slovenia House, to promote the country's sport, economy, culture and tourism at the Paris Olympics. Also present at the ceremony were Prime Minister Robert Golob and Minister of the Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han. All of them attended the opening ceremony for the Games and Pirc Musar and Golob also attended events hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

PODVELKA - Slovenia's former President Milan Kučan expressed understanding for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's self-styled Ukraine "peace mission" at a WWII-related event. He said a similar initiative should perhaps have come earlier from someone else, possibly Slovenia, and possibly with a mandate from the EU.

RUŠE - Between 1,500 and 2,000 fish are believed to have been killed in the Lobnica creek in Smolnik near Maribor as an unknown perpetrator dumped up to 0.75 cubic metres of fresh concrete and cement water into the stream.

SUNDAY, 28 July

ČRNA NA KOROŠKEM - Heavy rains caused disruption in the northern Koroška region and some other parts of the country. Several buildings were flooded and several landslides were triggered in Črna na Koroškem, the epicentre of devastating floods a year ago, and the Logar Valley saw a large amount of gravel roll onto the path leading up the popular Rinka Falls for a second time in just over a week. Some 165 weather-related incidents were reported across the country.

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) further increased their lead ahead of the ruling Freedom Movement in a poll released by the commercial broadcaster POP TV. The SDS polled at 22.7%, 0.9 percentage points up from June, as the party of PM Robert Golob added 0.4% points to 18%. President Nataša Pirc Musar replaced Vesna MEP Vladimir Prebilič as the most popular politician. The poll also showed that 72% believe post-flood reconstruction has been inefficient.

LJUBLJANA - After the Culture Ministry drafted a reform bill on the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) to overhaul public financing provisions, the remarks submitted during the month-long public consultation period show there are concerns that the bill may not preclude potential political abuse. One issue is the lack of calculations to show the level of funding involved and another that the price list of media services is to be set by the government.

MONDAY, 29 July

BRNIK - The Spanish flag carrier launched scheduled flights between Madrid and Ljubljana. The route, the fourth to receive airport fee subsidies from the Slovenian government to boost air connectivity, will be operated twice a week until 5 September by the airline's regional carrier Iberia Regional Air Nostrum. A recent study by the international airport association ACI Europe showed Slovenia is at Europe's tail-end in terms of direct air links.

CELJE - It transpired that the German financial giant Allianz acquired a 5.32% stake in the chemical company Cinkarna Celje through its Croatian pension fund manager Allianz ZB the week before when a EUR 8.1 million block deal on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange was carried through. It is now the third largest shareholder of the majority state-owned company, whose main product is titanium oxide pigment.

PARIS, France - Slovenia's canoeist Benjamin Savšek, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo in the canoe slalom event, placed 11th at the Paris Games after receiving a 50-second penalty for touching the gates. If it were not for the penalty, which he said was unfair, he would have finished third.

TUESDAY, 30 July

PARIS, France - Judoka Andreja Leški won gold in the women's under 63 kg category to secure the first medal for Slovenia at the Paris Olympics after defeating Prisca Awiti Alcaraz of Mexico in the finals with an ippon. Slovenia has won a medal in judo in six consecutive Olympic Games.

LJUBLJANA - An Interior Ministry review of the police response to an anonymous fake online announcement of a school shooting incident in April revealed a series of flaws and irregularities, including the stating of false information in official records, a criminal offence.

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Foreign Ministry called on Venezuela to ensure transparency of the electoral process and respect the will of people after President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the 28 July election, which provoked protests that claimed lives.

BRNIK - Caritas Slovenia and several partners held a press conference to announce a dispatch of a container of material aid worth more than EUR 100,000 to Lebanon in early August. Slovenia has provided a total of EUR 3.5 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon over the past five years.

LJUBLJANA - A study on gender equality in European elections conducted in Slovenia showed that visibility, experience and investing in the campaign have a stronger influence on women getting elected than preferential vote. The authors, the Slovenian Women's Lobby and the advocacy group for fair European elections for women, proposed several changes to legislation to reach gender parity, including a mandatory zipper system.

VELENJE - Gorenje, the Chinese-owned household appliances and consumer electronics maker, posted EUR 2.53 billion in net sales revenue in 2023, up 16% from 2022. The net profit was up by 468% to EUR 21 million, shows the annual report.

MARIBOR - Roma Holocaust Memorial Day was marked in Maribor with a lecture on the opportunities regarding the Roma cultural heritage in Slovenia, a concert and an address by Jožek Horvat Muc, the head of the Slovenian Roma Association, who took the occasion to warn against various forms of extremism. Horvat Muc said that it is very important to remember the tragic events of eight decades ago, referring to the Romani genocide, or Porajmos, during World War II.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - Slovenian football champions Celje were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League qualifying after a 0:5 defeat at the hands of the Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava in the second round with an aggregate score of 1:6. This was their first match under the watch of Albert Riera after the Spanish coach returned to the club following a short stint in Bordeaux.

WEDNESDAY, 31 July

LJUBLJANA - The Russian couple who were arrested in Slovenia in December 2022 on spying charges pleaded guilty in a secret trial at the Ljubljana District Court and were sentenced to one year and seven months in prison each. Slovenia handed them over the following day as part of the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War. A senior government official said that the role Slovenia played in the exchange reaffirmed the country's trustworthiness in collective security efforts.

LJUBLJANA - Karl Erjavec, the former long-serving head of the Pensioners Party (DeSUS) who retired from politics in 2021, announced an attempt at a comeback. The 64-year-old, who served as minister of foreign affairs, defence and the environment as DeSUS acted as kingmaker in several governments, wants to build a new centrist party, but has not revealed names of any partners.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's annual inflation rate dropped to 1.3% in July, the second lowest rate after March 2021, according to the Statistics Office said. The rate decreased for the fourth month in a row.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's general government deficit reached EUR 275 million in the first half of the year, down 37% on the same period a year ago. Revenue was up by 11% to EUR 13.4 billion and expenditure rose by 9.5% to EUR 13.6 billion, according to the Statistics Office.

MARIBOR - After the newspaper Večer started laying off journalists in line with the plans announced in June, the Association of Journalists (DNS) expressed its concern, calling for the Media Act to be adopted soon, as otherwise the support systems might come to life only once those that need the help are already gone.

LJUBLJANA - The Fides trade union of doctors and dentists, who have been on strike since 15 January, petitioned the Constitutional Court to review legislative changes that were adopted in April to expand the range of services doctors must provide during strikes, which they say gravely encroach on their right to strike.

LJUBLJANA - Insurance companies paid out EUR 335 million in natural disasters claims for 2023, including EUR 150 million for the damage caused by the August 2023 floods, the highest compensation paid out for a single weather event in the country, showed data by the Insurance Supervision Agency.

THURSDAY, 1 August

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest gas supplier Geoplin concluded the first gas supply deal with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan based on the memorandum of understanding the companies signed in July. Geoplin said the agreement was the first step towards potential long-term cooperation. Happy that Slovenia was able to further diversify its gas supply, Energy Minister Bojan Kumer told the STA: "With this we literally saved and secured Slovenia's gas supply in the coming winter."

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest banking group, NLB, reported EUR 292 million in net profit for the first half of the year, an increase of 20% year-on-year that is attributed mainly to the favourable economic situation and high interest rates. Net interest income was up by 21% to EUR 460.4 million.

LJUBLJANA - A Slovenian Armed Forces helicopter with a crew was deployed to North Macedonia for up to five days to help fight wildfires. This was after two Slovenian crewed helicopters helped in the firefighting effort in the country for three days in July.

LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council was critical of fiscal planning by governments in the 2020-2023 period, highlighting in a report the trend of excessive projections of expenditure, which increase the risks of inefficient spending of the excess funds.

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry condemned a recent incident involving vandalised Slovenian inscriptions on a bilingual sign post on the Italian side of Mt Matajur. The mountain, which is located on the border between Slovenia and Italy, holds a special significance for members of the Slovenian minority there. The disgraceful incident shows a lack of respect for linguistic and cultural diversity in the area, the ministry said.