News roundup - Tuesday, 24 September, until 3pm

Golob and Guterres discuss Slovenia's job at UN Security Council

NEW YORK, US - Prime Minister Robert Golob met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of the general debate of world leaders in New York on Monday with Golob's office reporting that Guterres thanked Slovenia for its consistent foreign policy, in particular on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Golob also appeared as the keynote speaker at an event organised by the charity Save the Children and co-sponsored by Slovenia, Belgium and Jordan.

Golob at UN: You sometimes feel like Don Quixote

NEW YORK, US - Prime Minister Robert Golob finds the most important task of the UN and the Security Council is to reach a ceasefire in all conflicts and ensure an uninterrupted supply of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan. Talking with the STA in New York, Golob said you sometimes felt like Don Quixote. "If we mustered this political will, it would produce results, end the suffering immediately and give hope." He also expressed support for security council reform.

Fajon hosts Green Group, meets Middle East FMs

NEW YORK US - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon hosted a ministerial meeting of the Green Group on the sidelines of the UN Summit of the Future on Monday to discuss climate and environmental challenges, fair green transition and the protection of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. She also held several meetings discussing the growing tensions in the Middle East, among them a meeting with her counterparts from Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates ahead of chairing an informal meeting of Security Council members with Arab League members on Thursday.

Govt, unions hammer out deal on nearly all public sector pay reform issues

LJUBLJANA - After more than ten hours of talks, the government and the public sector trade unions announced that they had succeeded to come to solutions on nearly all points of a public sector pay bill. Unions will go over the document today and expectedly sign it tomorrow. No details were revealed, but government and union representatives all expressed satisfaction with the headway they had made. The government is expected to adopt the bill on Thursday.

Price caps on electricity will likely not be extended in 2025

LJUBLJANA - The Environment, Climate, and Energy Ministry announced that it does not plan to extend the current price caps on electricity beyond the new year, as the electricity prices on wholesale markets have stabilised. Slovenia introduced price regulation for electricity in September 2022 in response to the sharp rise in energy prices caused by the global energy crisis, which was exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine. The ministry is meanwhile considering delaying the reintroduction of the renewable energy contribution.

NSi alerts EU to "erosion" of parliamentary democracy

LJUBLJANA - New Slovenia (NSi) addressed a letter to the European Parliament to alert it to the "erosion of parliamentary democracy in Slovenia". The smaller of the two opposition parties argues that the rules of procedure are being violated to undermine the opposition's oversight role and protect PM Robert Golob and his Freedom Movement. NSi asked European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to send a fact-finding mission to Slovenia.

KGZS pushes for state intervention to safeguard agricultural land

LJUBLJANA The Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry (KGZS) urged the state to stop the continuing conversion of vast areas of prime agricultural land into building plots. Arable land and permanent crops owned by the state should be given the status of permanently protected agricultural land, prohibiting any construction, the chamber said. KGZS president Roman Žveglič told the press today that agricultural land in Slovenia was halved between 1971 and 2011.

Treasury expanding on ten-year euro bond issue

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has mandated Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group and J. P. Morgan to manage a tap issue of the ten-year euro bond due on 10 March 2034, the Finance Ministry announced. In the previous two issues of the bond, Slovenia has borrowed a total of EUR 2 billion. The transaction is expected to be executed today, subject to market conditions.

Contractor for central part of Ljubljana Passenger Centre selected

LJUBLJANA - The national Infrastructure Agency said it had selected the contractor to build the central part of the emerging Ljubljana Passenger Centre. The consortium of Slovenian construction companies led by SŽ-ŽGP will build it for EUR 243.9 million, VAT included, or EUR 199.9 million, VAT excluded.

Govt secures EUR 50m for sports infrastructure in 2024-2025

LJUBLJANA - The Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport has secured EUR 50.3 million for the co-financing of municipal sports infrastructure this year and next. A total of 141 projects worth EUR 176 million will be co-financed. The investments include 77 outdoor facilities and 64 buildings, either renovations or new builds, ranging from sports halls to pools, ice rinks and stadiums. Several investments are worth in excess of EUR 10 million each.

September business sentiment down over August, up y/y

LJUBLJANA - Business sentiment in Slovenia has decreased somewhat in September after an uptick in August, according to data released by the Statistics Office. The index is at -2.2 percentage points, which is 0.5 points lower than in August but still 2.6 points higher than in September 2023. The index remains on the level of the 2010-2020 average, used for comparison purposes.

Film inspired by Facebook-streamed violence hitting cinemas

LJUBLJANA - Janez Burger's award-winning Observing, a psychological thriller exploring violence in contemporary society and on social media, is out on general release at Cineplexx Rudnik in Ljubljana. It was inspired by an event in 2017 when two men in their 20s beat another young man to death in Slovenia while streaming it on Facebook.