News roundup - Wednesday, 18 September

Commissioner candidate Kos gets committee green light

LJUBLJANA - Marta Kos, Slovenia's candidate for EU commissioner, received the green light in parliament as the EU Affairs Committee voted 9:5 in favour in issuing its non-binding opinion. Kos assured the committee that she meets the three key requirements for European commissioner. She describe herself as a "dedicated European" and said the assignment of such an important portfolio to her was a significant vote of confidence in Slovenia.

Fajon chairs UN Security Council session on Afghan women

NEW YORK, US - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon chaired her first UN Security Council session under Slovenia's one-month presidency of the UN's top body. The session focused on gender discrimination in Afghanistan, with Fajon stressing the importance of speaking up in the face of such oppression. Slovenia and other UN Security Council signatories of the statement condemned the policy of the Taliban authorities towards women in Afghanistan and demanded the end of discrimination against them in a joint appeal before the session.

Staffing, teacher pay top challenges for education minister candidate

LJUBLJANA - Education Institute director Vinko Logaj, who has been named candidate for education minister after the surprise resignation of Darjo Felda, remains tight-lipped about his priorities, but he told the STA that teacher shortages and low pay were among the most pressing challenges. "Staffing cannot be solved overnight, there is a need for broader systemic measures," he said, adding that there were many different things that needed to be sorted out to improve the situation.

Slovenia sending flood aid to Czech Republic

LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry said Slovenia will send material aid to the flood-stricken Czech Republic today through the EU civil protection mechanism to help with post-flood recovery. Slovenia is sending 260 dehumidifiers to the Czech Republic, including 250 small ones for rooms up to 20 m2 and ten large ones for rooms up to 100 m2. The Slovenian Red Cross is meanwhile collecting financial aid to help all countries affected by Storm Boris. It already sent EUR 25,000 to the Red Cross organisations in Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania from its solidarity fund.

Persisting issues in judiciary discussed by Parliamentary Justice Committee

LJUBLJANA - The Parliamentary Justice Committee reviewed the 2023 annual reports on the performance of the courts and the Judicial Council, noting ongoing challenges such as judge shortages, insufficient support staff, mounting delays in administrative cases, and space constraint issues. The issue of judges' salaries was raised as well. Presenting the report, Supreme Court President Miodrag Đorđević highlighted the overall case-handling rate of 101% and an average resolution period of nine months. He also warned that the number of support staff has been insufficient for years.

President stresses importance of education as she visits Roma settlement

MURSKA SOBOTA - President Nataša Pirc Musar visited Pušča, a Roma village on the outskirts of Murska Sobota, saying that the Roma in the Dolenjska region could learn from the Roma in Pušča how to coexist with the majority population. She also stressed the importance of education, as she visited the Pušča kindergarten, attended by both Roma and non-Roma children.

Slovenia has lowest material and social deprivation rate in EU

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Slovenia has the lowest rate of severe material and social deprivation among the EU member states, shows data published by Eurostat. In Slovenia the rate is at 2% while the EU average is at 6.8%. Slovenia is showing that with good social policy and strong political will the worst forms of poverty and deprivation can be prevented, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities said.

Parliamentary committee briefed on STA's report for 2023

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Culture Committee got acquainted with the Slovenian Press Agency's (STA) annual report for 2023. Happy about the agency's development, Igor Kadunc, the STA's director until earlier this year, noted some of the highlights of last year, including the introduction of the STA's video service and additional hires. Kadunc said that the public funding the agency receives for its public service journalism had been practically stuck at the same level since 2012. The annual figure had totalled some EUR 2 million, which was not a sufficient amount already in 2022, he said. The STA then received additional public funding in 2023, but the state still does not fully cover the agency's net operating cost.

MyCol first to receive Vesna venture capital fund investment

LJUBLJANA - MyCol, a company creating temperature-sensitive labels, will be the first recipient of investment funds by the Vesna venture capital fund, a joint effort of Slovenian and Croatian development banks aiming to promote deep tech projects from both countries. The parties did not disclose the amount as they signed the contract.

Two-hour work stoppage staged at car part maker Cimos

SENOŽEČE/VUZENICA - Workers at two plants of car industry supplier Cimos staged a two-hour work stoppage after the trade union and the management had failed to reach a deal on a wage raise and a new wage model. The trade union wants the lowest base pay to be equalised with minimum wage and for other wages to increase proportionally. They are concerned about the future of the company following reports that the owner, German private equity fund Mutares, is planning to move part of the production to Serbia and sell one of the plants.

German-Slovenian Chamber examines challenges in infrastructure

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has been increasing investment in infrastructure, but much remains to be done, especially in rail infrastructure, which, neglected for decades, poses a bottleneck, heard a forum hosted by the German-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which also noted good cooperation between the two countries. Andrej Rajh, state secretary at the Slovenian Infrastructure Ministry, said that investments in roads and railways were at record levels and talked about the importance of good cooperation between Slovenia and Germany.

Helena Koder wins award for best essay collection

LJUBLJANA - Helena Koder was named the winner of this year's Rožanc Prize for the best essay collection. She will be honoured for her work Krošnja z Neznanimi Sadeži (Tree Crown Bearing Unknown Fruit), a collection of Rousseau-like ruminations, at the award ceremony on Saturday. Koder's essayistic debut is a work produced in the autumn of life, the jury said. It is "a tree crown full of fruit that bear the names of endless things: writing, mother tongue, memory; everything that keeps maturing into literature".

Slovenian sports association in Austria celebrates 75th anniversary

KLAGENFURT, Austria - A sport association of the Slovenian minority in the Austrian state of Carinthia, which brings together 33 clubs with about 3,000 athletes across various sports, is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Based in Klagenfurt, the Slovenian Sports Union is the umbrella organisation for the Slovenian and bilingual sports clubs in Austria. The anniversary ceremony on Tuesday saw the launch of a book on the associations's milestones, notable figures, clubs and competitions.

Zagreb collection of old masters on show in Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - The National Gallery in Ljubljana launched an exhibition of selected artworks from the Zagreb Museum of Arts and Crafts, which is currently closed for renovation following the 2020 earthquake. Entitled Old Masters from the Collections of the Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb, it features paintings, sculptures and prints by famous authors, their workshops or followers from the second half of the 14th century to the 18th century.