Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 9-15 August

FRIDAY, 9 August

MARSEILLE, France - Sailor Toni Vodišek won the silver medal in the men's Formula Kite event in Marseille to earn the second medal for Slovenia at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The 24-year-old won the fourth Olympic medal for Slovenia so far in sailing as the Formula Kite class debuted at the Olympics.

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob and the Foreign Ministry welcomed the latest effort of the US, Egypt and Qatar to resume the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest gas trader Geoplin said potential disruptions at Russia's Sudzha connection point for transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe, a territory into which Ukraine has made incursions, would likely significantly affect the price volatility of less liquid trading hubs, such as Austria's VTP, from where Slovenia receives most of its gas.

LJUBLJANA - The government officially named the country's former chief auditor Tomaž Vesel as Slovenia's candidate for European commissioner after he received a nod from the parliamentary EU Affairs Committee.

SATURDAY, 10 August

PARIS, France - Slovenia's climbing superstar Janja Garnbret defended her Olympic title, finishing first in the women's boulder & lead final. This put Slovenia's final tally of medals in Paris at three, the country's athlethes also having a gold medal in judo and a silver in Formula Kite sailing.

KOPER - The newspaper Delo reported that Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole maritime port, had obtained a building permit for a new passenger terminal. The project is estimated at EUR 3.65 million including VAT. The new facility is expected to open next spring, as the port operator would like to have it ready by the start of the next cruise ship season.

LJUBLJANA - Delo reported that businessman Otmar Zorn and the companies Zorn Plus and GIC Gradnje had published a takeover bid for Hranilnica Lon, a small savings bank.

SUNDAY, 11 August

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob drew attention to the horrific situation in Gaza as he joined an appeal by Irish PM Simon Harris to the European Commission to review the EU's association agreement with Israel, which governs trade and is pegged to Israel's respect for human rights.

LILLE/PARIS, France - The Slovenian man's handball team lost to Spain 22:23 in the bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics in Lille, failing to win what would be the first Olympic medal in any team sport for Slovenia to date.

MARIBOR - The two Slovenia-based subsidiaries of German chemical group Henkel reported a combined EUR 91 million in revenue and over EUR 9 million in net profit for 2023. Revenue as well as profit were up for both the production company Henkel Maribor and the wholesale company Henkel Slovenija.

MONDAY, 12 August

LJUBLJANA - On International Youth Day, the Youth Council of Slovenia (MSS), an umbrella association of youth organisations, voiced discontent over what it says is the government's failure to honour commitments. The youth trade union Mladi Plus urged measures for more job and housing security and mental health support.

LJUBLJANA - The latest ratings poll published by the newspaper Delo showed that the opposition Democrats (SDS) remain the highest-rated party. Some 49% of respondents said they were unhappy or very unhappy with the government's performance, an increase of roughly four percentage points on the previous month.

NAZARJE - Home appliance maker BSH Hišni Aparati, one of the companies worst hit in the August 2023 floods, posted EUR 364 million in net revenue in 2023, 25% less than the previous year. The disaster also affected the company's net profit, which dropped by 19% to EUR 9.6 million.

LJUBLJANA - Delays and replacement transportation for rail passengers, which have become endemic in Slovenia due to extensive renovation and maintenance work, are likely to get worse in August as an effort will be made to get key work done before the end of the summer holidays, representatives of the Slovenian Railways indicated.

TUESDAY, 13 August

LJUBLJANA - Banks in Slovenia generated EUR 496.2 million in net profit in the first half of 2024, a 6.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Their pre-tax profits rose by 6.8%, reaching EUR 569.4 million.

LJUBLJANA - Industrial output in Slovenia was down 2.9% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period a year ago. Total turnover in industry was down by 1%, while the total value of stock was up by 1.4%, the Statistics Office said.

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia categorically condemned a recent Israeli strike on a school in Gaza at a session of the UN Security Council. At the same time Ambassador Samuel Žbogar accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields and sacrificing fellow Palestinian citizens.

ŽIRI - Alpina, the Slovenian-based sports footwear maker in Czech ownership, said it plans to lay off 60 out of its 230 employees at its main location in Žiri by the end of the year, the decision coming after one of its two production units in Bosnia-Herzegovina was shut down in July. The group employs nearly 1,000 people and will move part of production to the remaining plant in Bosnia.

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Paralympic Committee announced Slovenia will field 14 athletes in four disciplines at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, which will take place from 28 August to 8 September.

LJUBLJANA - The hottest day recorded in Slovenia so far this year was recorded with temperatures hitting 38 degrees Celsius in a village near Črnomelj in the south-east. This exceeds the previous record of 37.8 degrees Celsius, recorded just the day before.

WEDNESDAY, 14 August

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's GDP slowed down considerably in the second quarter of the year, posting 0.7% annual growth in real terms, which compares to 2.1% in quarter one. Economic growth was largely hindered by foreign trade. Annual growth in the first six months meanwhile reached 1.4%, the Statistics office said.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) said it had reached an agreement with the telecommunications companies T-2 and Telemach Slovenija on the repayment of the debt owed by T-2 to SSH. As part of the EUR 90 million settlement, Telemach Slovenija, which is taking over T-2, will pay EUR 37 million to SSH now, and the rest by the end of July 2027.

MADRID, Spain - Slovenian canoeist Simon Oven won the classic race at the ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in Sabero, Spain. This is his second world champion title after 2018.
        
THURSDAY, 15 August

BREZJE/PTUJ - Marking the Feast of the Assumption, Archbishop of Ljubljana Stanislav Zore highlighted during the main mass held at Brezje the significance of faith in contrast to atheism and the endless search for oneself. The religious holiday, a work-free day, was honoured around the country, including by at Ptujska Gora by Maribor Archbishop Alojzij Cvikl, who also stressed the importance of faith.

NEW YORK, US - Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Žbogar reiterated at a UN Security Council session the call for the immediate, safe and unconditional release of the UN personnel arbitrarily detained by the Houthis in June.