News roundup - Monday, 7 October

Pirc Musar says both Hamas and Israel must be held accountable

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar said on the first anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel that the attack by the Palestinian militant group on Israel and those by Israel on Gaza caused tragedy on both sides and both must be held accountable for their actions. "Sadly, one year on, we are watching helplessly a much worse tragedy that the Palestinians, in Gaza and elsewhere, have been experiencing for decades, and which has escalated to incomprehensible proportions this year," Pirc Musar said.

Golob calls for decisiveness in Middle East ceasefire efforts

LJUBLJANA - The international community has to respond more decisively to the expanding conflict in the Middle East and do more to reach an immediate ceasefire, said Prime Minister Robert Golob on the anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel, and called on Israel to stop the violence. He believes the extent of the killing of civil population in Gaza is completely disproportionate to the right to self-defence.

Addressing root causes key to Middle East peace, Fajon says

LJUBLJANA - Addressing the root causes of the conflict is a prerequisite for lasting peace in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said on the anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel that triggered an Israeli offensive on Gaza. The situation in Gaza is not calming down - on the contrary, there is no end in sight to the war and the intensification of the conflict." People on both sides deserve peace and security, she said, and action must be taken now as the conflict in the region is spreading dangerously.

Parliament appoints new defence and education ministers

LJUBLJANA - Borut Sajovic was appointed as defence minister and Vinko Logaj as education minister, both in a 46:26 vote in parliament. Before the vote, PM Robert Golob described Sajovic as a very experienced politician, while saying that Logaj had not only a vast range of experience in education but also organisational skills. Sajovic and Logaj were backed by the coalition Freedom Movement, Social Democrats and Left MPs bar Miha Kordiš, and by the two minority MPs. Opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) MPs voted against.

New public sector wages bill passes first reading

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly conducted the first reading of the new public sector wages bill to decide in a 46:2 vote that it is fit for further consideration. The majority of the opposition abstained, expressing the hope that their proposals will be considered further along the way. The draft bill on the common foundations of the public sector pay system, adopted by the government on 26 September, puts into law the agreement to spread a pay increase in six instalments over three years, from 1 January 2025 to 1 January 2028.

FinMin takes over as interim digital transformation minister

LJUBLJANA - Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič will take over as interim minister of digital transformation until a permanent replacement is found for Emilija Stojmenova Duh, who resigned in late September in the face of mounting allegations against her. Announcing his decision, Prime Minister Robert Golob said he was talking to potential ministerial candidates. The reason why he picked Boštjančič is "relatively simple", said Golob, explaining that Slovenia was in the final stages of talks about EU funds for a new supercomputer and data centre in Maribor and Boštjančič has been involved in the talks so far.

MP Avšič Bogovič to take over as Freedom Movement deputy head

LJUBLJANA - The head of the council of the Freedom Movement, Nataša Avšič Bogovič, took over as the party's deputy group leader after the National Assembly appointed Borut Sajovic defence minister. She told the STA that she would have big shoes to fill and believed herself to be an acceptable choice for all. Avšič Bogovič has served as Sajovic's deputy and believes she has learned a lot from him. She does not intend to change the workings of what is the largest group of MPs in the National Assembly.

Deputy mayor Košir elected Kočevje mayor

KOČEVJE - Gregor Košir, Kočevje deputy mayor, has been elected mayor as the municipality held a by-election on Sunday after Vladimir Prebilič became a member of the European Parliament earlier this year. Košir, who stepped in as mayor when Prebilič assumed his new job, has won just over 69% of the vote on a good 35% turnout. The 41-year-old economist, who is a former director of the Kočevje community health centre, said he would like to continue Prebilič's work. He also vowed efforts to tackle Roma-related issues.

Slovenia says Adriatic-Ionian cooperation key to preventing crises

VENICE, Italy/LJUBLJANA - Defence Ministry State Secretary Damir Črnčec took part in a meeting to mark the 20th anniversary of the ADRION initiative, which promotes international cooperation in areas such as tourism, nature protection and defence. He said that such cooperation remains key to solving current and preventing future crises and that intensive cooperation in maritime defence enables training, joint exercises, exchange of know-how and capacity building of navies, the Defence Ministry said.

Delo poll: Only 19% see govt performance as positive

LJUBLJANA - Should elections be held now, the opposition Democrats (SDS) would win with 22.4%, down 0.5% from September, followed by the ruling Freedom Movement with 16.6%, up 1.1%, shows the latest opinion poll run by the newspaper Delo. Government approval ratings have further decreased with only 19% saying it was doing a good job. The coalition Social Democrats (SD) placed third at 6.6%, down 0.1%, followed by the opposition New Slovenia (NSi), which would receive 4.9% of the vote, same as last month.

Govt urged to introduce computer science classes in school

LJUBLJANA - The business association Business Circle urged future new ministers of education and digital transformation to push for making computer science a mandatory subject from primary school on, arguing modern society is based on knowledge, innovation and sustainable development, which can only be attained through ambitious systemic changes in education.

Minister thinks Slovenian mountain rescue model should change

KOBARID - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar said the system of providing mountain rescue services free of charge will have to change as he visited the western region of Posočje. He said that Slovenia will have to learn from other Alpine countries and that it is "unacceptable that poorly equipped hikers endanger mountain rescuers and helicopter crews". Poklukar said the security situation in the municipalities is good and that the border checks on the border with Italy are not affecting the lives of the locals too much.

Grid operator partners with Siemens Energy on advanced tech

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian power grid operator Eles signed a memorandum of understanding with Siemens Energy, a German energy giant, under which the two companies will forge a strategic partnership in the development of digital and sustainable solutions for the international energy market. The two companies will develop augmented reality and virtual reality solutions, devise robots for inspections of substations, and create digital twins of high-voltage transmission lines and substations.

Slovenian rescuers arrive in flood-stricken Bosnia, get down to work

MOSTAR - A team of 46 Slovenian rescuers and six dogs arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and have already joined the rescue efforts, including the search for the missing persons, while Slovenian Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Damijan Sedar was scheduled to visit the flood-stricken area in the afternoon. The convoy of 16 vehicles left for Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday around midday, just hours after the government responded to the country's request for aid through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Builder CGP takes over Croatian Aquaterm

NOVO MESTO - The Novo Mesto-based construction company CGP has taken over Aquaterm, a Croatian sewerage construction and microtunnelling company, to expand its development potential and reduce risks linked to an over-dependency on the local market. "With this takeover the CGP group is becoming a more important part of the construction industry also in Croatia, which creates new opportunities to expand business on the Croatian market," CGP wrote. According to an analysis by the business portal Finance, CGP is Slovenia's largest construction company by various criteria.

TAM-Europe continues to post loss despite growing revenue

MARIBOR - The Chinese-owned and Maribor-based bus and commercial vehicle manufacturer TAM-Europe saw its revenue more than double last year as it produced 33 buses, but posted a loss of more than EUR 6 million. The loss is nevertheless much lower than in 2022, when the company was almost EUR 10 million in the red. TAM-Europe underwent an ownership restructuring last year, as the company Tam Auto, whose founder is TAM-Europe director Ma Fuxiong, became the owner of a 75% stake, while China Hi-Tech New Energy Auto retained a 25% stake.

Systemic solution urged for PV plants in net metering scheme

LJUBLJANA - A major Slovenian supplier of solar power has urged the state to put in place systemic solutions after it encountered major problems due to a change in how rooftop solar installations included in the net metering scheme pay electricity in times when they do not produce it. Under the net metering scheme, put in place as a way to incentivise investments in solar, those with rooftop solar are capable of "storing" the electricity they produce and take it from the network when their panels do not produce power at price parity. The balancing is done on an annual basis.

Regulated fuel prices up on Tuesday

LJUBLJANA - The prices of fuel sold outside Slovenia's motorway network will increase on Tuesday. The price of regular petrol will go up by 1.2 cents to EUR 1.469 a litre, while diesel will be 1.4 cents dearer at EUR 1.499 a litre, the Environment, Climate and Energy Ministry announced. Heating oil will go up by 1.3 cents to EUR 1.105 a litre. The prices will be in effect until 21 October.

Comics festival celebrates female authors

LJUBLJANA - The Tinta Comics Festival will open in Ljubljana on Wednesday, featuring some 50 comic book authors at more than 20 events across eight venues. Running until Sunday, this year's rendition will celebrate original female voices in the world of comics. Part of the programme is the WOMCOM project, centred on the Balkan region, which creates a reflection on the representation of women in comics and on the position of female authors.

Ljubljana Fashion Week to feature record number of designers

LJUBLJANA - The 15th Ljubljana Fashion Week, starting today, celebrates its 10th anniversary by featuring a record number of designers whose creation will be presented on the runway at Centre Rog. Slovenia's premier fashion event will bring 46 fashion shows in the next five days. The biggest Ljubljana Fashion Week so far will feature Slovenian as well as Hungarian, Austrian, Macedonian, Croatian and Serbian designers and will wrap up on Friday with an award ceremony.

First Slovenian nano-satellite ends space mission early

MARIBOR - The first Slovenian nano-satellite Trisat, developed by experts at the Maribor Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the company SkyLabs, ended its mission last week, the Maribor University said, adding that despite ending its mission prematurely the satellite had made a great contribution to science. According to the calculations of its electronic and information systems lab, the satellite burned up somewhere above Africa on 29 September.

Letter of intent signed for new national R&D centre

PIRAN - Representatives of the Piran municipality, the University of Ljubljana and the University of Primorska signed a letter of intent to found an interdisciplinary national research and development centre for sustainability. The centre will be set up in a former monastery. The universities committed to draft in the coming months an action plan, including all the different opportunities to fund the renovation of the building and the activities.

Freediver Artnik Burghardt claims fifth world champ title

KALAMATA - Slovenian freediving sensation Alenka Artnik Burghardt claimed her fifth consecutive world champion title at the CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth in Kalamata on Sunday. The 42-year-old performed an impressive dive to 116 metres in the constant weight apnea (CWS) category using a monofin. In a post on Facebook, Artnik Burghardt said she was very happy about her result, saying the dive had not been easy, as she did not get to train as much as she would have wanted due to injury.

Philosopher Alenka Zupančič to receive award in Italy's Udine

UDINE, Italy - Acclaimed Slovenian philosopher Alenka Zupančič is one of the two winners of this year's Udine Filosofia award, which is conferred by the Italian cultural association Territori delle Idee in cooperation with the publisher Mimesis. The awards will be presented at the end of the October as part of the Mimesis Festival in Udine. Zupančič will receive the award alongside Italian mathematician Paolo Zellini, the Italian press agency Ansa has reported, noting that the two are leading scientists and international reference figures of contemporary thought between science and humanism.

Veteran actor Boris Cavazza honoured with Ježek Award

NOVA GORICA - The public broadcaster RTV Slovenija handed out its annual Ježek Award for excellence in radio and television, especially comedy, honouring Boris Cavazza, an 85-year-old versatile and award-winning actor and one of the most popular Slovenian celebrities. Cavazza's career of actor, director, screenwriter and musician has spanned over more than 50 years, a seven-member jury chaired by fellow actor Ivo Ban stressed.