News roundup - Friday, 4 October

Police powers likely to be expanded

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar revealed that efforts are under way to expand certain police powers. Minor changes are planned to the Act on Police Organisation and Work, while police want additional powers in the Criminal Procedure Act, in particular when it comes to online crime. He announced a discussion on the topic in the coming months and said the changes must be constitution-proof and agreed in collaboration will all stakeholders, including the judiciary.

Court: Performance bonus cannot be lowered due to sickness

LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court has ruled that it is not justifiable to pay an employee who was absent from work due to sickness a lower Christmas bonus than they would receive if at work all the time. It said all employees must receive the same bonus, which is different than individual merit-based performance bonus. The court deliberated on a case where a woman claimed from her former employer the difference in her Christmas bonus for 2020 and 2021.

Slovenia drafts first medium-term fiscal-structural plan

LJUBLJANA - The Finance Committee took note of the draft medium-term fiscal-structural plan for 2025-2028, which Slovenia needs to send to Brussels this year. Finance Ministry State Secretary Saša Jazbec said that average annual growth of core expenditure of 4.5% will be allowed in the 2025-2028 period. This ceiling will enable a gradual reduction of the deficit and debt and an ambitious amount of investment.

Slovenia sending emergency aid to Lebanon

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will dispatch emergency aid worth half a million euros to Lebanon. The aid is intended for the most vulnerable internally displaced persons and will be delivered in collaboration with two domestic organisations, Slovenian Caritas and Enhancing Human Security - ITF. The shipment will include mattresses, blankets, food packages and vouchers that displaced persons can cash in at stores, the Foreign Ministry said.

Slovenia's exports up 19% in August, imports flat

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's merchandise exports increased by 19% year-on-year to EUR 4.29 billion in August, the Statistics Office said. Like in July the rise was fuelled by trade with third countries involving processing operations in the pharmaceutical industry. Imports on the other hand grew by just 0.2% to EUR 4.78 billion.

Slovenia to become full member of CERN in second half of 2025

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is expected to become a full member of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in the second half of 2025, Jure Gašparič, state secretary at the Higher Education, Science and Innovation Ministry, announced. The CERN council gave a positive assessment of Slovenia's preparedness for full membership based on the report of a group of experts that visited Slovenia at the start of the year.

Expansion of conflict condemned at debate on Middle East

LJUBLJANA - A debate on the Middle East featuring FM Tanja Fajon heard Fajon note that the situation in the region is escalating, and that some even say that a war of wider proportions is inevitable. She and other participants assessed that a ceasefire in Gaza is still far away and condemned the expansion of the conflict. "Dialogue and political solutions must replace weapons," Fajon said in light of the conflict in the region at the event hosted by Social Democrat MEP Matjaž Nemec.

Telco Telekom Slovenije aims at higher revenue in 2025

LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije, the majority state-owned telecoms incumbent, aims to improve business results in 2025, upgrade and modernise its network and increase market shares, shows the business plan approved by the group's supervisory board on Thursday. Operating revenue in 2025 is expected to reach almost EUR 730 million and net profit EUR 53.6 million.

Slovenian minority holds business conference in Zagreb

ZAGREB, Croatia - The Slovenian minority's economic coordinating committee held its first ever business conference, organised by the SLO CRO business club and the Economy Ministry and aimed at strengthening cooperation between Slovenian companies and companies owned by members of the Slovenian minority there. The economies of Slovenia and Croatia are complementary so the next step will be to look for synergies and to present jointly in third markets, said head of the SLO CRO Business Club Saša Muminović.

Slovenia attends CRI annual meeting discussing cyber security

LJUBLJANA - Government Information Security Office director Uroš Svete took part in the annual gathering of the International Counter-Ransomware Initiative (CRI) in Washington, DC, this week. The initiative discussed for the first time the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the fight against ransomware attacks, the office said. "The visit to the US strengthens cyber cooperation between Slovenia and the US and opens up new opportunities for cooperation in an international environment that is faced with growing cyber threats," the office said.

Police investigating alleged attack on Poljčane mayor

POLJČANE/MARIBOR - Poljčane Mayor Petra Vrhovnik was allegedly attacked last week as she was walking her dog at the side of the road and a car swerved dangerously towards her, according to multiple media reports. Maribor police confirmed they received a report related to an injury in a car accident but could not reveal more information because of personal data protection. They are still collecting information related to the event.

Thousands of waste cans collected for bivouac shelters

LJUBLJANA - Some 117,000 cans were collected in less than four months as part of a project to collect waste cans in Slovenian mountains. The cans, amounting to 2 tons of aluminium, will be used to construct two bivouac shelters in the coming months. Dedicated bins for waste cans were set up at 14 mountain descent sites around the country.