News roundup - Wednesday, 23 October

President nominates ex-PM Anton Rop for central bank governor

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar sent to parliament a proposal for former finance minister and PM Anton Rop to be appointed the next governor of Bank of Slovenia to succeed Boštjan Vasle in January. Rop has the most experience of all the candidates and is the most suitable candidate, her office said. This comes after PM Robert Golob said at the beginning of the month that he would like a woman to head the Slovenian central bank. Coalition parties expressed surprise after they had backed Finance Ministry State Secretary Saša Jazbec as the candidate.

PM says SDS had forced nuclear referendum

WASHINGTON, US - PM Robert Golob said on Tuesday that the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) had forced the consultative referendum on a second unit at the Krško nuclear power plant, which has now been called off. The final decision on another nuclear reactor will not be made before 2027 or 2028, he told the press. "As far as I understand, the referendum has now been called off by all deputy groups, that is, a motion to call it off has been submitted," Golob said as he addressed the press after his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington.

Commissioner candidate says addressing blockages in EU enlargement priority

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Marta Kos, the candidate for the European commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, says that tackling blockages in EU enlargement will be one of her main tasks during her five-year term if appointed. "Resolving blockages in the enlargement process is a central task of my mandate." She also says in her answers to questions by MEPs before the November hearing, released on Tuesday, that bilateral issues, whether between candidate countries themselves or with EU member states, that have caused significant delays in the past should be addressed swiftly.

Slovenia advocates stronger intl cooperation on waters

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is an advocate of stronger international cooperation on waters, due to its experience with natural disasters and because such cooperation is instrumental to peace, Minister of Natural Resources Jože Novak said as parties to the UN Waters Convention started a multi-day meeting, featuring around 600 participants from 100 countries. Novak said this cooperation is "more than just words, it results in tangible action."

Slovenia ratifies ESA membership documents

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly ratified the agreement under which Slovenia will become a full member of the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as the establishment of ESA, and an agreement between parties to the ESA Convention and the ESA about protection and exchange of classified information. This was the final hurdle on the country's way to becoming member on 1 January 2025. All three documents were ratified without a vote against.

MPs nod to expansion of new rail link to Koper with extra track

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly backed with no votes against changes to the legislation on the emerging new railway link 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 investment value by EUR 400 million to some EUR 1.5 billion.

Committee endorses cancellation of Krško 2 referendum

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Infrastructure Committee unanimously endorsed a draft regulation to cancel a consultative referendum on a second nuclear reactor in Krško scheduled for next month. The National Assembly will vote on the regulation, submitted on Tuesday, at an emergency plenary session tomorrow.

Parliament confirms stricter rules for pesticides

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed amendments to the Act on Plant Protection Products that introduce tougher rules on the handling of pesticides. The amendments are in line with a March 2023 decision by the Constitutional Court requiring that buffer zones around water intake zones must be defined to protect water sources from pesticide contamination. The buffer zone will be set at five metres from the fenced area of the water pumping station.

Study shows minors can still easily buy alcohol and tobacco

LJUBLJANA - Although the sale of alcohol and tobacco to minors is illegal in Slovenia, the latest No Excuse Slovenia study by the Youth Association has found that most minors can still purchase these products without difficulty. A test showed 62.5% were able to successfully buy alcohol, while 44% were able to purchase tobacco.

Bill on crypto asset markets passed

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a bill on markets in crypto-assets which transposes an EU regulation adopted last year that aims to protect investors by improving transparency. The regulation sets out to protect investors by creating a framework for service providers in line with money laundering prevention rules.

Pension insurance fund to build 220 flats for elderly

LJUBLJANA - The public Pension and Disability Insurance Property Fund plans to build some 220 rental flats for pensioners across the country in a EUR 40 million project that is due for completion by the end of 2027. The flats will be built in the municipalities of Ajdovščina, Kranj, Maribor, Novo Mesto, Ptuj and Ribnica. Some of these housing developments are already under construction and the first of them will be built by late 2025, the fund's director Andrej Hudoklin told the STA.

Consumer confidence index remains unchanged in October

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's consumer confidence indicator remained unchanged in October after dropping last month. As most of the sub-indicators deteriorated on a monthly basis, the indicator was kept at the September level by the more optimistic expectations regarding large purchases, the Statistics Office reported. Since last October, the consumer confidence indicator increased by five percentage points, but is still five percentage points below the long-term average.

Chamber says majority of doctors oppose dual practice restrictions

LJUBLJANA - The Medical Chamber has conducted a poll among 3,522 doctors and dentists to learn that 83% of them do not believe that the planned strict line between public and private healthcare envisaged by the proposed changes to the Health Services Act would improve the quality and amount of services in public health institutions. Nearly 70% believe that the proposed amendments will have a negative impact on the way they work. In fact, 16% plan to leave the public institution they currently work in if the changes are implemented.

Minority MPs allowed to hold dual office

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed amendments to the Act on Members of Parliament that will allow the two minority MPs representing the Italian and Hungarian minorities to also hold posts in local and umbrella minority organisations. The changes were backed by the ruling Freedom Movement, and the opposition Democrats, while the coalition Left and opposition New Slovenia (NSi) voted against, and the coalition Social Democrats (SD) abstained.

Veto on renaming of Primorska holiday overridden

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly overrode the veto the upper chamber of parliament had imposed on its decision to rename the Return of Primorska to the Motherland Day. This public holiday, observed on 15 September, will from now on be known as the Incorporation of Primorska into the Motherland Day.

New bill on detectives passed

LJUBLJANA - A new bill on private detectives was passed in parliament with 52 votes and none against. The bill defines the types of activities detectives can carry out, security clearance, greater oversight, and a set of records detectives can access to get information. It also restricts dynamic monitoring of persons, or tailing.

Major tourism company struggling, to lay off dozens of employees

LJUBLJANA - Facing financial difficulties, Slovenia's largest travel agency Kompas is to lay off several dozen employees, the newspaper Dnevnik reported. What is more, a number of senior staff have left the agency in recent months. The company's financial situation is poor and shows sings of long-term insolvency, and so the management has adopted restructuring measures. At the end of 2023, Kompas had 131 employees in Slovenia, and according to Dnevnik's information, the number has dropped to around 80.

Oncology Institute joins University of Ljubljana as associated member

LJUBLJANA - The Oncology Institute in Ljubljana, the country's largest cancer treatment centre, has become an associated member of the University of Ljubljana, with the idea being to accelerate cooperation in science and research, and improve instruction at university and cancer treatment.

Retail workers want govt to crack down on Roma shoplifting

LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Retail Workers called on the government to crack down on shoplifting by the Roma, the latest problem highlighted in areas with sizeable Roma communities, saying that workers and other shoppers feel unsafe. Responding to the appeal, the Interior Ministry said that they are active in addressing these issues in cooperation with the police, which had stepped up activities in problem areas in June.

UNRWA head Lazzarini says Gaza has become post-apocalyptic environment

LJUBLJANA - The Gaza Strip has become a "kind of post-apocalyptic type of environment where people are primarily living in a kind of an automatic survival mode", Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has told the STA in an interview. The UNRWA is under tremendous pressure, said Lazzarini, who was in Ljubljana for the 2nd Slovenian Humanitarian Forum, an event wrapping up the 12th Slovenian Development Days.

Holec re-elected head of Slovenian minority umbrella organisation in Hungary

SZENTGOTTHARD, Hungary - Karel Holec was re-elected president of one of the two umbrella organisations representing the Slovenian ethnic minority in Hungary as the Slovenian Self-Governing Community met for a session in Szentgotthard last Thursday. Holec identified education, language and cultural heritage as the minority's main challenges. One of the key tasks in the next five years will be ensuring an adequate teaching of Slovenian among young members of the minority to preserve the language.