News roundup - Monday, 14 October

President urges enhanced EU integration of W Balkans

BERLIN, Germany - President Nataša Pirc Musar stressed the importance of full EU integration of candidate countries from the Western Balkans as she spoke to the press after attending the 10th Berlin Process summit in the German capital. She also pointed to the important role of cooperation of EU member states. "We need results that will send a message to the people of the candidate countries that the EU wants to accept them," Pirc Musar said.

Middle East situation worse than in 2023, says minister

ZAGREB, Croatia - The situation in the Middle East is now worse than it was last year when the interior ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Italy first met to discuss it post-Hamas's attack, Slovenia's Boštjan Poklukar said at the trio's meeting. The ministers expressed support for an upcoming agreement between Bosnia and Frontex to better manage migrtaion. Slovenia re-introduced checks on its borders with Croatia and Hungary in October 2023 in an effort to prevent acts of terrorism and extremism and cross-border crimes.

Chemistry engineer and psychologist win top science prizes

LJUBLJANA - This year's recipients of the Zois Prizes for lifetime achievement in science are chemistry engineer Željko Knez and developmental psychologist Ljubica Marjanovič Umek. Knez, a professor at the Maribor Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, is a leading expert in separation processes and product engineering involving sub- and supercritical fluids at high pressure, said the prize committee. Professor emeritus at the Ljubljana Faculty of Arts, Marjanovič Umek is an internationally acclaimed researcher in developmental psychology, her speciality being cognitive and language development in children. Igor Akrapovič, the owner of the eponymous exhaust maker, was meanwhile honoured with the Puh Prize for lifetime achievement in innovation.

Another SDS deputy leaves party

LJUBLJANA - Eva Irgl, a prominent member of the Democrats (SDS), announced she is leaving the party after being a member and an MP for twenty years. In a Facebook post, Irgl, 47, said she was grateful for all the experiences and all the people she has met on her political path. "The decision was not easy, but I feel it is necessary." While not specifying her plans, she indicated she might join forces with another former SDS deputy, Anže Logar. She said Slovenian society was "trapped in an abusive and hostile atmosphere" and the only way to escape it is "political breadth," a phrase Logar used last week when he announced he was leaving the SDS to start his own party.

Fajon says Israeli attack on UNIFIL grave violation of intl law

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon strongly condemned a recent Israeli attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), describing it as a "grave violation of international law, an appalling atrocity". Arriving at a meeting of EU foreign ministers dedicated to the latest escalation of tensions in the Middle East, she announced she would urge the ministers to introduce sanctions against Israeli political leaders who violate international law, and call for stronger sanctions against Israeli settlers who perpetrate violence in the occupied West Bank.

MEP urges Golob to act against Israel

LJUBLJANA - As the situation in the Middle East is escalating, Slovenian MEP Matjaž Nemec called in an open letter on PM Robert Golob to demand that the EU freeze its association agreement with Israel and to push for a ban on arms exports to Israel. In response, Golob's office said that Golob supports both proposals. The MEP from the coalition Social Democrats (SD) also urged Golob to impose a ban on trade in products from illegal settlements in the West Bank.

NGOs urge govt to impose sanctions on Israel

LJUBLJANA - A number of human rights NGOs and pro-Palestinian groups addressed a petition to the government to impose military, economic, political and diplomatic sanctions on Israel to stop genocide in Palestine. The groups, including the PIC Legal Centre for Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, noted that this is not the first such petition, but "entails the most comprehensive set of measures the government can take".

Long-awaited reform of public sector pay system ready for adoption

LJUBLJANA - After years of disgruntlement over pay discrepancies and repeated unsuccessful attempts at comprehensive change, parliament is set to adopt the most far-reaching reform of the pay system for public sector workers in 15 years. Valued at EUR 1.3 billion, it involves higher pay for both the lowest and top earners and regular adjustments for inflation.

Economy at large not to blame for Mahle layoffs, says minister

ŠEMPETER PRI GORICI/LJUBLJANA - It is not the Slovenian economic environment but issues faced by Europe's car industry that are to blame for the upcoming layoffs at the Slovenian subsidiary of the German automotive supplier Mahle, Economy Minister Matjaž Han said after meeting the company's management and trade unions. Business representatives disagree with him, saying that the layoffs of more than 600 Mahle employees, planned due to lower demand, are the biggest symptom of the issues plaguing the Slovenian business landscape.

Energy sector boosts performance of state assets in 2023

LJUBLJANA - The total book value of state capital investments managed by Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) at the end of 2023 amounted to EUR 12.2 billion, up 8.9% from the end of 2022, shows the annual report on the management of state investments, which the state asset custodian submitted to the National Assembly. The return on state and SSH investments last year was 10.1%, 2.8 percentage points higher than the target in the annual management plan for 2023 and 7.3 points higher than in 2022.

National postal company reports lower 2023 profit

MARIBOR - The state-run postal group Pošta Slovenije, which also includes logistics company Intereuropa, saw its net profit decline by 18% to EUR 8 million last year as revenue edged down 1% to EUR 485 million. According to the annual report released with the AJPES agency for public legal records, the core postal company generated EUR 278 million in revenue, up 2%, and EUR 1.3 million in net profit, down from over EUR 4 million in 2022.

Companies affected by floods to get EUR 125.9m

LJUBLJANA - The Economy Ministry announced it had issued the sixth and final package of compensation decisions sent to companies affected by the devastating August 2023 floods. The EUR 13.85 million aid package completes the EUR 125.9 million to be paid out in total in line with a programme adopted after the floods. The ministry received evidence of damage from 1,040 claimants, 958 of whom received a 10% advance payment totalling EUR 35.42 million last autumn. To date, 647 claimants have received their full allocated aid.

Slovenian ice caves disappearing at a fast pace

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has a number of ice caves, but due to climate change ice volumes in the caves are dwindling fast. "In the past 10 to 20 years, we have seen exponential rate of ice loss," said Jure Tičar, whose team of researchers at the Anton Melik Institute of Geography visits several of what are more than 230 ice caves in Slovenia twice a year. Ice caves at lower altitudes have virtually lost their ice and as ice disappears, so does the information that accumulated for thousands of years. Researchers hope to extract as much knowledge as possible before it is too late.

Islamic community celebrates 30th anniversary of Meshihat

LJUBLJANA - The Islamic community in Slovenia is celebrating 30 years since the establishment of Meshihat, a governing body of the community. Mufti Nevzet Porić said that the community is doing well spiritually and financially, adding that the Ljubljana mosque, built in 2020, gave the community the place in society it deserves. The Meshihat in Slovenia brought administrative independence, while the spiritual and symbolic connections to the Islamic community in Bosnia-Herzegovina were preserved, Porić said, adding that 90% of the community members were of Bosnian descent.