Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 4-10 October

FRIDAY, 4 October

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar revealed that efforts are under way to expand certain police powers, in particular when it comes to online crime. He announced a discussion on the topic, which will include all stakeholders will be held in the coming months.

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. Average annual growth of core expenditure of 4.5% will be allowed in this, and this ceiling will enable a gradual reduction of the deficit and debt and an ambitious amount of investment.

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry announced that Slovenia will dispatch emergency aid worth half a million euros to Lebanon, intended for the most vulnerable internally displaced persons. The shipment includes mattresses, blankets, food packages and vouchers that people can cash in at stores.

LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court issued the ruling saying 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.

LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office reported that Slovenia's merchandise exports increased by 19% year-on-year to EUR 4.29 billion in August. 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.

SATURDAY, 5 October

MARIBOR - A memorial was unveiled for all victims killed by communist authorities after WWII and thrown into caves in the Pohorje mountains in an effort spearheaded by locals and financed by private donations. The monument is located just under St Areh's Church on Mt Areh on Pohorje, where 23 mass graves have so far been found.

LJUBLJANA - Anti-abortion activists held their third Rally for Life in three weeks, while a rally was also held stressing women's right to a free choice. The March for Life was to "give voice to unborn children", while the pro-choice activists stressed that "every woman has the right to a free, accessible and safe abortion".

LJUBLJANA - An employee at the psychiatric clinic of the UKC Ljubljana hospital is suspected of unauthorised access to medical records of a patient who was treated at the clinic a while ago, the web portal N1 reported. This was determined in an inquiry conducted based on a report from the patient. The employee was reported to the law enforcement.

Ljubljana - Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the Giro dell'Emilia, a one-day classic taking place in and around Bologna, which took place in cold and rainy weather. This was his fourth appearance in the race, where he finished second in 2022 and 2023, and was forced to quit due to health issues in 2021.

SUNDAY, 6 October

LJUBLJANA - A Slovenian convoy of 16 vehicles and 46 rescuers with six dogs departed from Bosnia-Herzegovina to help the country deal with the devastating floods. The government decided to send a rescue unit trained for urban areas and a rescue dog unit. They will be there until 13 October, and if necessary, they will be replaced by another team.

KOČEVJE - Gregor Košir, Kočevje deputy mayor, was elected mayor in by-election held after Vladimir Prebilič became a member of the European Parliament earlier this year. Winning just over 69% of the vote on a good 35% turnout, the 41-year-old economist and former director of the Kočevje community health centre vowed efforts to tackle Roma-related issues, among other things.

TEHARJE - Addressing the annual commemoration for an estimated 5,000 victims of war and post-war summary executions at the Teharje Memorial Park near Celje, Former National Assembly President France Cukjati said that the "post-war murderous hysteria has left a fatal mark on the Slovenian nation".

VATICAN CITY, Vatican - Vinko Bokalič Iglič, an Argentinean-born bishop of Slovenian descent, is to become a cardinal when 21 new cardinals are appointed in December, Pope Frances announced during mass at the Vatican. He was born in 1952 in Buenos Aires, Bokalič Iglič heads the Archdiocese of Santiago del Estero in Argentina.

MONDAY, 7 October

LJUBLJANA - Borut Sajovic was appointed as defence minister and Vinko Logaj as education minister in the National Assembly, both in a 46:26 vote, in parliament. Sajovic and Logaj were backed by the coalition Freedom Movement, Social Democrats (SD) and Left MPs bar Miha Kordiš, and by the two minority MPs. The opposition SDS and NSi deputies voted against.

LJUBLJANA - On the first anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel, President Nataša Pirc Musar said that the attack and the subsequent attacks by Israel on Gaza caused tragedy on both sides and both sides must be held accountable for their actions. Prime Minister Robert Golob said that the international community must respond more decisively to the expanding conflict in the Middle East, while FM Tanja Fajon said addressing the root causes of the conflict is a prerequisite for lasting peace.

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob announced that 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 allegations against her.

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 does not intend to change the workings of what is the largest group of MPs in the National Assembly.

LJUBLJANA - The latest opinion poll run by the newspaper Delo saw the opposition Democrats (SDS) in lead with 22.4% of the respondent support, followed by the ruling Freedom Movement with 16.6%. The government approval rating has further decreased with only 19% saying it was doing a good job.

TUESDAY, 8 October

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court dismissed a request by the two opposition parties, the Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi), to review Slovenia's recognition of Palestine, which the parliament finalised on 4 June. The court decided in a 5:3 vote that it has no jurisdiction to review a decision on the country's recognition of a state.

TIVAT, Montenegro - President Nataša Pirc Musar stressed at the Brdo-Brijuni Summit that the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans should be sped up. This is why Slovenia is working with Germany on the "extremely important project" of qualified majority voting, she said.

LJUBLJANA - State Secretary Danijel Levičar and chair of the parliamentary infrastructure committee Nataša Avšič Bogovič have been reported to the anti-graft watchdog over alleged conflict of interest and unlawful lobbying about a referendum on a second nuclear reactor. The report notes that both had previously held jobs in the energy group GEN, which are awaiting them.

STRASBOURG, France - The European Parliament gave the final go-ahead for the allocation of EUR 428 million from the EU Solidarity Fund to Slovenia for reconstruction efforts in the wake of the August 2023 floods. The disbursement of EUR 328 million is due by the end of the year, while Slovenia received an advance payment of EUR 100 million already last December.

ROGATEC - Home appliances manufacturer Gorenje announced the closure of a refrigerator components factory in Rogatec. All 120 employees will be offered work at the group's main Slovenian production hub in Velenje. Output at Rogatec will be scaled down at the end of 2024 before the facility closes at the end of August 2025.

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Community Health Centre opened a new mental health centre for children and youth, which will offer in one place the services that were previously available across different units. A new multidisciplinary team is expected to improve the quality of care as team treatment of a patient in one location takes less time, and is more personal.

WEDNESDAY, 9 October

DUBROVNIK, Croatia - President Nataša Pirc Musar said Slovenia strongly supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine as she attended the Ukraine-South East Europe Summit. She also held a bilateral meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, once again assuring Slovenia's continued support for the war-torn country.

LJUBLJANA - MP Anže Logar, a former foreign minister, left the opposition Democratic Party (SDS). He later announced he will continue to work in the National Assembly as an unaffiliated MP and establish a new party by the end of the year. SDS leader Janez Janša called on Logar to step down as MP.

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Infrastructure Committee unanimously endorsed changes to the legislation on a new railway track between the port of Koper and the inland hub Divača, allowing the project to go from single to double track. Construction is to start in 2026 and will increase the project cost by EUR 400 million to some EUR 1.5 billion.

LJUBLJANA - The central bank said in its latest financial stability report that Slovenia's banking system and the entire financial system remain stable with the level of systemic risks to financial stability further decreasing and being assessed as low to moderate. Risks to cybersecurity are meanwhile intensifying due to geopolitical tensions.

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Agriculture Committee endorsed legislative changes that introduce tougher rules on the handling of pesticides amidst warnings by farmers and the opposition that the requirements are too strict. The changes are in line with a 2023 Constitutional Court decision requiring that buffer zones around water intake zones must be defined.

THURSDAY, 10 October

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly voted in a 65:7 vote in favour of the referendum on the project to construct a new unit at the Krško nuclear plant being held on 24 November. The vote was preceded by several environmental groups and other NGOs and experts gathering in front of the parliament building to urge MPs to vote down the proposal, which they see as a manipulation. A digital platform of nuclear energy supporters meanwhile said that anti-nuclear activists are spreading disinformation.

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob presented the 2025 and 2026 budget documents to the National Assembly, saying that they continue to follow the government's priorities, including healthcare, knowledge, innovation, economy, security and resilience. Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič noted that the deficit would be at EUR 1.9 billion or 2.6% of GDP next year.

ŠEMPETER PRI GORICI - Mahle Electric Drives Slovenija, a Šempeter pri Gorici-based company which is part of the German group Mahle, announced plans to lay off 340 workers in 2025 due to optimisation and another 270 after it moves parts of its production to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary.

LJUBLJANA - Prompted by a call from the Prison Administration, the government declared a prison emergency due to overcrowding and set in motion measures including optional suspension of prison sentences, Justice Minister Andreja Katič said. Both criteria for the measures have been met as prison occupancy is above 140% and the prisoner-to-prison officer ratio is 3.5.

TRIESTE - Six Slovenian online shops have come under scrutiny of the Italian law enforcement authorities and will have to defend themselves in court for allegedly failing to report EUR 200 million in earnings on the Italian market, thus avoiding paying more than EUR 14 million in corporate tax, the Trieste-based Slovenian newspaper Primorski Dnevnik reported.