News roundup - Tuesday, 15 October

Criminal complaint filed against Golob over meddling in police

LJUBLJANA - Police have initiated a criminal complaint against Prime Minister Robert Golob related to allegations by a former interior minister that he interfered in the work of the police, POP TV and TV Slovenija reported. It remains unclear for now what exactly Golob is charged with other than it is connected with claims by Tatjana Bobnar, the first interior minister in the Golob government. Golob's attorney Stojan Zdolšek told POP TV that this was "a clear example of an attack by a politician who used to be a cop and an interior minister," which is why the prosecution must be careful in how it handles the complaint.

Serbian FM happy Slovenian to be in charge of EU enlargement

LJUBLJANA - Serbia is happy that the EU commissioner for enlargement is to come from Slovenia, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić said as he visited Ljubljana. Slovenia knows the region very well and has been supporting Serbia on its EU path for a long time, he said. Đurić and his Slovenian host Tanja Fajon reaffirmed good bilateral relations. He also met met Prime Minister Robert Golob and National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič.

Slovenia provides aid as expression of solidarity, responsibility, Fajon says

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is a tiny donor of development aid and emergency humanitarian aid in global terms, yet its contribution, which is an expression of solidarity and responsibility, is invaluable, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said in her address to the Slovenian Development Days. The country currently spends 0.24% of GNI for this purpose. Ahead of UN Security Council elections last year, Fajon met representatives of several developing countries, building a long list of proposals how Slovenia could help - from education, scholarships and transfer of knowledge to investment in education, healthcare and agriculture, she said.

Pirc Musar visits Slovenian community in Slavia Friulana

CIVIDALE, Italy - President Nataša Pirc Musar visited the Slavia Friulana region in Italy to meet with representatives of the local Slovenian community and the mayors of 18 municipalities populated by Slovenians. She addressed the ceremony for the 40th anniversary of a local bilingual school to note the importance of preserving the Slovenian language.

ECB boss checks out prices at Ljubljana central market

LJUBLJANA - Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), checked out prices at Ljubljana central market, visiting Slovenia on a courtesy visit ahead of the ECB Governing Council meeting at Brdo estate on Thursday. Lagarde walked through the centre of Ljubljana accompanied by Bank of Slovenia Governor Boštjan Vasle before she was due to meet Prime Minister Robert Golob later on Tuesday. She came to the market "because it shows the fabrics of a country, it shows the local production and I always look at prices. That tells me a lot about how the situation is going," she said.

Economy Ministry budget clears committee

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Economy Committee examined the Economy Ministry's budgets for 2025 and 2026. While government officials said there is enough money to promote competitiveness and development, opposition MPs worried that the revenue projections may be overly optimistic. The Economy Ministry will have EUR 279 million available next year and EUR 209 million in 2026. The figures are lower, but that is largely because of significant one-off outlays in 2023 and 2024, State Secretary Matevž Frangež said.

More money for home affairs in 2025, 2026 budgets

LJUBLJANA - The Interior Ministry will have more money available in the next two years, mostly as a result of deferred investments, the Home Policy Committee heard as it examined the 2025 and 2026 budget documents. The ministry's 2025 budget is at EUR 570 million, EUR 30 million more than originally planned in the two-year budget framework, rising to EUR 612 million in 2026. Meanwhile, the government allocated in a correspondence session EUR 37.5 million for the purchase of two medevac helicopters.

Public sector pay reform bill sees minor tweaks in second reading

LJUBLJANA - Parliament's Interior Affairs Committee conducted the second reading of the public sector pay reform bill on Monday in a debate that saw the opposition note the absence of an agreement with 16 of the sector's 46 trade unions. The committee passed several amendments in response to criticism by the National Assembly's legal service. A key change is the setting of 1 January 2025 as the clear date of the enforcement.

Sole Slovenian UNTSO observer in Lebanon alive and well

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A Slovenian soldier is present in southern Lebanon as part of the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), but his life was not at risk in the recent attacks by Israeli forces on the UN peacekeeping mission in the country. However, the situation in the area is very serious and the Slovenian army is in constant touch with the soldier.

New EUR 13m outdoor military shooting range to be built near Ptuj

KIDRIČEVO - A new outdoor shooting range of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) is being built near the village of Apače, southwest of Ptuj. The EUR 13 million project is expected to be completed in two years, the head of the Logistics Directorate at the Defence Ministry Željko Kralj said. The project has been met with a negative response from the some local communities.

Property prices continue to grow

LJUBLJANA - Property prices in Slovenia continued to grow in the first half of this year. While sales volumes contracted, prices were driven by constrained supply, shows a report by the Surveying and Mapping Authority (GURS). The volume of all real estate transactions - involving commercial and residential buildings, land and farmland - totalled EUR 1.1 billion, with 11,400 transactions completed. The value was down by 20% year-on-year and the number of transactions by 25%.

SDS wants state to buy foreign-owned agri-food companies

LJUBLJANA - The Democratic Party (SDS) has proposed that the state start buying key foreign-owned companies in the agri-food sector as a way of safeguarding food security and preventing foreigners from getting their hands on Slovenian farmland. The SDS said that recent sales of Slovenian food companies to foreign owners formed part of a "worrying trend" not just because these companies are key to Slovenia's food security, but also because foreigners get top quality farmland these companies own or lease from the state.

RTV Slovenija head wants modern, well-funded public broadcaster

LJUBLJANA - Natalija Gorščak, who was appointed chairwoman of RTV Slovenija with full powers in September, has told the STA she aims to transform the public broadcaster into a modern public service that keeps up with contemporary trends. She expressed her desire to see more high-quality Slovenian programmes, even if this leads to fewer shows overall. Gorščak also highlighted the need to improve promotion and distribution of programmes while raising their quality. RTV Slovenija, despite being an organisation heavily reliant on technology, has lacked a strategic approach to digitalisation, she added.

Janša thinks Logar party will chip away at SDS

LJUBLJANA - Janez Janša, the president of the Democrats (SDS) sees his former MP Anže Logar, who plans to start a new party, as a threat. "This new party wants to chip away at the SDS's support," he said. Moreover, the timing is surprising given that Logar had talked about starting a party six months before the next election, which implies that preparations are under way for a snap election in autumn, he said after already questioning Logar's true motives in a post on X on Monday.

Upper chamber president endorses Krško 2

KRŠKO - President of the National Council Marko Lotrič endorsed Krško 2, a second nuclear reactor in Krško, as he visited the region of Posavje. He believes its construction would be important for the country's self-sufficiency in electricity and for the sustainability of electricity prices. Lotrič supports Krško 2 because electricity needs are increasing while the reactor could produce the missing electricity and thus ensure moderate prices for both households and businesses.

Greenpeace raises issue of radwaste storage in Slovenia

BLED - Greenpeace Slovenia activists staged a rally on Lake Bled to draw attention to the unresolved disposal of radioactive waste in Slovenia. They noted the delays in the construction of a repository for low-level and medium-level waste, and the lack of a final solution for storing high-level waste. It added that the construction of a repository for low-level and medium-level waste in Vrbina near Krško, the location of Slovenia's sole nuclear power plant, is facing delays and increased costs.

University of Primorska no longer co-founder of Russian uni's branch

KOPER - The University of Primorska is no longer a co-founder of Lomonosov Moscow State University's branch in Koper, which was founded in 2017, as the Koper District Court granted its request to be deleted from all legal records as co-founder last week. The university withdrew from the project, the Russian university's only subsidiary in Europe, two years ago after creditors pointed to Lomonosov's controversial financial practices.

Cross-border evacuation for bomb deactivation planned on Sunday

NOVA GORICA - The residents of parts of Nova Gorica in Slovenia and Gorizia in Italy will be evacuated for three hours starting at 8am on Sunday as a WWII bomb found on a construction site close to the border is deactivated. Local authorities from both cities agreed at a meeting that the evacuation zone will be imposed within a 400-metre radius from the site.