News roundup - Tuesday, 27 August, until 3pm

Slovenia to get EUR 328 million more from EU Solidarity Fund

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia is to get a further EUR 328 million from the EU Solidarity Fund for post-flood reconstruction after receiving an advance payment of EUR 100 million at the end of last year. Such a proposal was put forward by the European Commission to help Slovenia deal with the consequences of the August 2023 floods. The country will receive the funds once the European Parliament and the Council of the EU have endorsed the proposal.

Ambassador Žbogar says Slovenia ready for UN Security Council presidency

NEW YORK, US - Assuming a one-month presidency on Sunday, Slovenia will chair the UN Security Council in September during the high-level debate at the General Assembly. Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Žbogar singled out a 25 September open debate at the highest level, titled Leadership for Peace and chaired by PM Robert Golob, as the central event. There will also be at least three discussions on the Middle East. The monthly work programme will be presented on 3 September, he told the STA.

PM meets Novartis execs to discuss investment, EU legislation

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob met the management of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis and its Slovenian subsidiary on Monday. They talked about the group's operations, with an emphasis on Novartis Slovenija, and the importance of investment in advanced sectors, such as the pharmaceutical industry, the PM's office said. The Novartis management let Golob know about its position on the EU pharmaceutical legislation and its efforts to maintain basic data protection for medicines. They also discussed the European directive on urban wastewater treatment.

Compensation for damage from natural disasters at EUR 1bn in last 20 years, says minister

GORNJA RADGONA - Slovenia has paid out EUR 1 billion in damages due to natural disasters over the past 20 years, of which EUR 600 million due to drought alone, Agriculture Minister Mateja Čalušić said at a roundtable discussion on climate change and availability of water at the Agra fair of agriculture and food in Gornja Radgona. Čalušić also said that irrigation is currently used on 6,500 hectares of land while it could be available on 220,000 hectares.

Regulated fuel prices down a bit today

LJUBLJANA - The price of regular petrol sold at service stations outside the Slovenian motorway network fell by 2.8 cents to EUR 1.486 per litre today and the price of diesel by 0.9 cents to EUR 1.519. Heating oil is also cheaper, by 2.1 cents to cost EUR 1.125 per litre. The prices fell as excise duties remain unchanged, and they will apply until 9 September, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy said.

EUR 4.4m available to make sport attractive to inactive adults

LJUBLJANA - The Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport and the Slovenian Olympic Committee signed a contract to implement a four-year project designed to encourage physically inactive adults to start working out free of charge. A total of EUR 4.4 million will be available. The target group are the 25% of adults who are not physically active; the project aims to cut the figure by 2.8 percentage points.

Slovenian student reaches for the stars

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian secondary school student Peter Andolšek has achieved a remarkable feat that no other student in the world has achieved before. He has won his fourth consecutive gold at an International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, and emerged as the overall winner for the second time in a row. To top it off, he received a special prize for the best achievement in the theoretical part of the competition.