News roundup - Thursday, 8 August, until 3pm

EU Affairs Committee gives nod to Commission candidate Vesel

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary EU Affairs Committee endorsed Slovenia's EU commissioner candidate Tomaž Vesel. In his presentation, the former Court of Audit president stressed the need for cooperation with MEPs and MPs. He feels there are no insignificant portfolios in the European Commission, which he sees facing major challenges solvable through compromise. Vesel, who was put forward by the senior coalition Freedom Movement, was backed by nine committee members, while six opposition members abstained.

Report says Celjske Mesnine sale delayed

LJUBLJANA - The sale of Celjske Mesnine, a Slovenian meat processing company, to Croatian group Braća Pivac has fallen through for now. The deal will not be possible at least in the next few months as courts imposed restrictions on stakes that would be part of the sale, the news portal Necenzurirano reported. In early July, the Klagenfurt registry court banned the majority owner and CEO of the company Izidor Krivec from disposing of his stake in the Austrian company CM Invest, through which he controls the Celje-based meat processing company.

Pharmacy and mechanical engineering faculties to get new facilities

LJUBLJANA - The University of Ljubljana announced that the faculties of pharmacy and mechanical engineering, which have been grappling with serious space constraints in the city centre for years, has been granted construction permits to build new facilities. By 2030 they are expected to become part of the Brdo Campus, one of four campuses in the capital. The construction of the two new buildings is slated to start in 2025. The estimated total cost was EUR 106 million in 2020. However, as prices have risen significantly since, the actual investment value is likely to be higher, the newspaper Delo said.

Slovenian handball team makes it to Paris Olympics semifinal

LILLE, France - Slovenia defeated Norway 33:28 in the Olympic men's handball tournament in Lille late on Wednesday to advance to the semifinal where they will face Denmark on Friday evening. This is the best result the team has so far achieved at the Olympic Games and one of the best performances in the history of Slovenia's team sports. The team's previous best result was sixth place at Rio 2016. They are proud of their win but also aware that it is not over yet.

Dozen mines found at bottom of Lake Bled

BLED - After a foreign diver found a mine at the bottom of Lake Bled, a total of 12 WWII mines were detected in the lake at the depth of around seven metres, and were removed and destroyed by the unexploded ordnance protection unit, the Kranj Police Department said. They were Italian-made brixia mines from WWII. In 2010 more than 100 mines from World War I were discovered in Lake Bohinj.