Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 23-29 August

FRIDAY, 23 August

LJUBLJANA - Several events were held to mark the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes. Bishop Anton Jamnik stressed the role of values for democracy and former President Borut Pahor urged the government to reverse its "unacceptable" decision to no longer formally celebrate the remembrance day in Slovenia.

MARIBOR - Agriculture, Forestry and Food Minister Mateja Čalušić signed a cooperation memorandum with her Albanian counterpart Anila Denajin on the margins of a meeting she hosted for representatives from SE European countries on organic farming and sustainable agricultural production. The accord aims to boost collaboration and joint initiatives.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest energy group Petrol reported a net profit of EUR 52.1 million for the first half of the year, a 1% decrease year-on-year, as sales revenue fell by 14% to EUR 2.9 billion. Petrol said the decrease in revenue was mainly due to the lower prices of energy commodities on spot and futures markets.

SATURDAY, 24 August

LJUBLJANA - Goran Dragić, one of the greatest Slovenian basketball players ever, bid his sporting career farewell on Saturday with an all-star exhibition match. In the match Team Gogi, led by Dragić, defeated Team Luka, led by Luka Dončić, with 108:86. Dragić described the night, which was full of surprise music performances and mini events, as very beautiful and a true spectacle.

SUNDAY, 25 August

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) have gained ground on the ruling Freedom Movement party, shows a survey conducted by Mediana for the commercial broadcaster POP TV. 23.6% of the respondents would vote for the SDS, up 0.9 percentage points from July. The Freedom Movement would have the support of 17.7% voters, down 0.3 points.

NOVA GORICA - A 226-kilogramme WWII bomb found at the Nova Gorica train station was successfully deactivated after all nearby residents were evacuated. The authorities said the bomb deactivation process was quick and praised good cross-border cooperation.

MONDAY, 26 August

TIRANA, Albania - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon visited Albania expressing Slovenia's support for the country's EU integration and the hope that Albania will join the EU as soon as possible. Her talks with her counterpart Igli Hasani, Albanian President Bajram Begaj, PM Edi Rama and Speaker Elisa Spiropali focussed on EU enlargement and ways of strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation.

LJUBLJANA - The Movement for the Rights of Palestinians and the Solidarity Committee for a Free Palestine called on the government to disinvite Tzipi Livni, a former Israeli foreign minister, from the upcoming Bled Strategic Forum. The organisers rejected the call saying the event is designed to confront different opinions.

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob met the management of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis and its Slovenian subsidiary. They talked about the group's operations, with an emphasis on Novartis Slovenija, and the importance of investments in advanced sectors, the PM's office said. The Novartis management let Golob know about its position on several key EU laws.

LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of DARS Workers, which has been dissatisfied with the situation at the national motorway company DARS for months, accused the management of using intimidation tactics against workers' representatives. The management denied the allegations, saying it had been holding social dialogue with all social partners.

TUESDAY, 27 August

LJUBLJANA - National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič announced she will not 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.

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.

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 under a proposal put forward by the European Commission to help Slovenia deal with the consequences of the August 2023 floods.

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.

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.

WEDNESDAY, 28 August

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia's candidate for EU commissioner Tomaž Vesel met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as part of preparations for the appointment of a new Commission. The details of the introductory meeting have not been disclosed, but the pair are expected to speak again soon.

NEW YORK, US - Slovenian Ambassador to the UN Security Council Samuel Žbogar called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine at a session convened by Slovenia and the US. He said Russia's continued attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure "are in clear violation of international humanitarian law and must be stopped immediately".

LJUBLJANA - The junior coalition party Left joined an appeal by a couple of civil society organisations to disinvite Tzipi Livni, a former Israeli foreign minister, from next week's Bled Strategic Forum (BSF). If she attends nevertheless, they call for the boycott of the event.

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian government said that Austrian power utility Verbund, believed to be responsible for the Drava River flooding that occurred in Slovenia in 2012 south of the Austrian border, had paid EUR 14.9 million in damages to Slovenia at the beginning of 2024.

LJUBLJANA - Following beefed up security measures in response to endemic crime involving members of the Roma community in the southeast of Slovenia, the government announced a number of measures designed to help with integration. Several multi-purpose Roma centres will open, individual social work centres will hire new staff, and three day centres for children from the Roma community will open.

RIBNICA - Local officials held talks with representatives of the Roma in Ribnica to discuss the demands for water supply of the Roma living in Otavice and Goriča Vas, agreeing that the municipality will connect them to the public supply system when the Roma meet certain obligations and join the integration process. Ribnica Mayor Samo Pogorelc received death threats after the meeting, which he reported to the police.

LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije saw group net profit rise by 25% in the first six months of the year to EUR 29.6 million as sales revenue increased by 4% to EUR 346.6 million on the back of user growth and higher sales of IT merchandise and services, show unaudited results.

LJUBLJANA - Come 2025, the compulsory monthly license fee for the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, which has stood at EUR 12.75 since 2012, will increase by 10% to EUR 14.02 per household, the government decided as it endorsed a proposal by the Culture Ministry.
        
THURSDAY, 29 August

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon called for sanctions against Israeli political leaders who violate international law at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels after EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell proposed such a move. She also called for a consideration on stricter trade or economic sanctions against Israel as well as for the continuation of sanctions against the leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia issued its first senior notes denominated in Japanese yen, known as Samurai bonds, on Thursday. The treasury issued 50 billion yen or roughly EUR 311 million worth of three- and five-year bonds. The coupon rate of the three-year bonds is 0.75% and that of the five-year ones 0.89%, the Finance Ministry said.

LJUBLJANA - The Democrats (SDS) called for an emergency session of parliament to discuss what the largest opposition party says is a lack progress in post-flood reconstruction and a worrying state of affairs on the ground despite over a year having passed since one of the worst natural disasters in Slovenian history.

CELJE - The chemical company Cinkarna Celje posted EUR 7.4 million in net profit in the first half of the year, up 5.2% year-on-year, an unaudited report showed. The company recorded a 4.1% increase in sales revenue, which totalled EUR 100.3 million.

LJUBLJANA - The shareholders of the steel group SIJ, nearly three-quarters owned by the Dilon company belonging to Russian oligarch Andrey Zubitsky, decided to leave the distributable profit of EUR 101.1 million undistributed.