News roundup - Tuesday, 27 August

Speaker refuses to call session to set up opposition-sponsored inquiry

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly president will not currently call a session of parliament to launch an opposition inquiry into the energy sector, including PM Robert Golob when he was still the boss of energy trader GEN-I. She believes the flaws in the inquiry proposal should be addressed first since the launch of an inquiry in its current form would create legal uncertainty, interfere in the principle of division of power, and overlap with an existing parliamentary probe. Her action has prompted the SDS to consider a criminal complaint.

Civil initiatives request meeting with govt to discuss Roma issues

KOČEVJE - Representatives of seven civil initiatives from Roma-populated municipalities of Brežice, Grosuplje, Ivančna Gorica, Kočevje, Novo Mesto, Škocjan and Šentjernej spoke up about the issues they face with the Roma community and called for a meeting with government representatives to present the situation and possible solutions. The civil initiatives said that they are not intolerant to the Roma community and that not all Roma are the same, but they still want the country to start addressing some issues which have piled up over the last few years.

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.

Judicial Council highlights systemic issues in annual report

LJUBLJANA - The Judicial Council highlighted several systemic issues of the judiciary system in its annual report, including staff shortages, low salaries, political appointments of supreme court judges, long duration of criminal trials, and the importance of digitalisation. "Salaries and remuneration of judges and support staff remain a fundamental problem of the judiciary," it said, noting that this was also one of the reasons for the staff shortages.

Business opposed to proposed tax changes

LJUBLJANA - Business associations dismissed tax changes that the government plans to adopt this week as bad for the economy. The proposed legislation does not address challenges such as high taxation of labour, inadequate investments in R&D and Slovenia being uncompetitive when it comes to retaining and attracting key staff, the GZS said. The OZS said the tax changes come at a bad time, when the German economy is cooling off and company order books are shrinking.

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.

Foreign Ministry partners with Catholic charity to deliver emergency aid

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry signed a strategic partnership agreement with Caritas Slovenia under which the Catholic charity will provide emergency humanitarian aid in foreign countries. The first such partnership was signed in 2021 and the new accord extends cooperation until 2028. It is financed by the ministry to the tune of at least EUR 1.3 million and Caritas will provide emergency humanitarian aid in countries affected by natural and other large-scale disasters.

Regulated fuel prices down a bit

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.

Poet Denis Škofic wins Veronika Prize, Boris A. Novak Poetry Coin

CELJE - Denis Škofič has been honoured with the Veronika Prize for his collection of poems Tuskulum. The jury said that in Tuskulum the line between the social and the natural, the human and the animal, the secular and the profane collapses, to the point where the world grows out of language, where language is the shelter to which we return again and again. Boris A. Novak has received the Poetry Coin, a lifetime achievement award.

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.

Young Slovenian climber double world champion

BEIJING - Jennifer Eucharia Buckley, a 17-year-old Slovenian climber, has become double world champion. After winning the lead at the U-18 World Championships last week, she also won the title in bouldering on Tuesday. An Irish Slovenian who lives in Switzerland but competes for Slovenia, Buckley managed all six tops in the qualifying and was the only competitor to finish all four in the semifinal and the final.

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.