Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 18-24 October

FRIDAY, 18 October

LJUBLJANA - The government sent into public consultation a draft emergency bill under which heating would be provided for the Šalek Valley with operational changes at the TEŠ power station until a substitute district heating source is found before TEŠ closes because of losses. TEŠ will receive EUR 833 million in compensation from the state until 2029.

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar discussed migration with his Luxembourg counterpart Leon Gloden, with the pair agreeing that certain procedures regarding the EU pact on migration should be sped up. Poklukar said it was not clear yet whether Slovenia would extend checks on its borders with Croatia and Hungary.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - At his first NATO ministerial, Defence Minister Borut Sajovic stressed the importance of discussing NATO's international missions and operations, in particular the KFOR mission in Kosovo, which has some critical shortcomings. He also stressed the need for a more coordinated and comprehensive approach to the Western Balkans region, both within the alliance and through cooperation with the EU.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - MEP Matjaž Nemec (S&D/SD), backed by a group of 29 MEPs, called for a ban on trade in products from illegal Israeli settlements in an initiative addressed to the European Commission. The MEPs warned that by importing these products the EU not only supports these settlements but also violates its international commitments.

LJUBLJANA - Meeting in Ljubljana, government and car industry representatives agreed on measures to help the sector weather a potential crisis and achieve the necessary innovation breakthrough. They plan to come up with a way to double the EUR 200 million funds intended for a green mobility initiative, and work on geographical diversification measures, so that the sector would be less dependent on European car manufacturers.

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon meet with the representatives of the Slovenian minority in Italy as part of preparations for an upcoming Slovenian-Italian ministerial. They discussed the issues of the minority's political representation at national and regional levels in Italy, and some education issues.

LJUBLJANA - A good week after MP Anže Logar, a former foreign minister, left the opposition Democratic Party (SDS), he also quit the SDS deputy group. He plans to serve as an unaffiliated MP until he founds his new party, which he plans to do by the end of the year, and possibly a new deputy group.
        
SATURDAY, 19 October

ŠKOFJA LOKA - Matej Tonin was re-elected for his fourth consecutive term at the helm of the opposition party New Slovenia (NSi) at a party congress. NSi also expressed support for a new reactor at the Krško power plant and called for an early election that would result in a stable centre-right government to take over from what it sees as an ineffective and incompetent government.

LJUBLJANA - Dejan Kaloh, an MP for the opposition Democrats (SDS), announced he was leaving the party. Coming on the heels of resignations by MPs Anže Logar and Eva Irgl, the move was not unexpected. Kaloh said that the final straw was the fact that the Maribor local committee, which he had previously chaired, had recently discussed ousting him from the party.

SUNDAY, 20 October

LJUBLJANA - Democrat (SDS) leader Janez Janša responded to a call by New Slovenia (NSi) leader Matej Tonin for uniting a fragmented right bloc to form the country's next government by telling him that he and his party "blew it irreversibly" by aiding and abetting the Robert Golob government. Janša made the comments in response to a speech Tonin delivered after he was re-elected party leader.

LJUBLJANA - Kenyan runner Joyce Chepkemoi Tele won the 28th Ljubljana Marathon by setting a new women's record of the event in two hours, 20 minutes and 17 seconds, while Tamire Getaneh Molla from Ethiopia reigned victorious among male athletes with 2:06:29. Chepkemoi Tele improved the event record set by Ethiopian Zinash Gerado Senbeta last year by 48 seconds.

MONDAY, 21 October

LJUBLJANA - In a surprise move, the coalition Freedom Movement, SocDems and the Left agreed to cancel the 24 November referendum on a second unit at the Krško nuclear power station after the opposition Democrats (SDS) proposed calling off the vote. The Freedom Movement labelled the SDS's move on this as "misleading" because the party had been the one to propose the vote in the first place.

LJUBLJANA - In his first comments on the financing of Krško 2, Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič said that Slovenia is capable of financing the second unit at the Krško nuclear power station with a combination of equity and debt financing. He warned, however, that clear rules would have to be laid down and relations between the majority and minority equity partners clearly defined. The comment came just as Gen Energija, the state-owned power utility, submitted a motion for a national spatial plan for Krško 2, kicking off a multi-stage siting process that will take several years.

LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council has assessed that the 2025 and 2026 draft national budgets, which are currently being debated in parliament, anticipate unrealistically high expenditure and as such enable further uneconomical spending. It also says that additional measures will be needed to meet the commitments from the medium-term fiscal-structural plan.

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob visited a group of children from Gaza who are being treated at the Soča University Rehabilitation Institute, describing their stories as upsetting, while pointing out to the continued killing in Gaza. "It's hard to find an answer how to move forward, but that doesn't mean we are not trying all the time," he said.

LJUBLJANA - Lebanese chemist Michael Stephan, who is serving an eight-year prison sentence for incitement to murder, was found guilty of the same crime by the Ljubljana District Court for trying to order another murder from prison. He received an additional 16 years for a total sentence of 23 years and eight months in prison, but the verdict is not yet final and his lawyer announced an appeal.

LJUBLJANA - The Golden Gazelle Award for high-growth companies conferred by the publisher Dnevnik went to Hyla, a maker of high-quality water vacuum cleaners that both suck and clean the air. Last year, its 75 employees generated an added value of over EUR 156,000, while sales doubled in five years and exceeded EUR 33 million.

MURSKA SOBOTA - Erika Fürst, the last Jewish Holocaust survivor from Prekmurje, died aged 93 this weekend, the Maribor Synagogue said on Sunday. She had been deported to Auschwitz at the age of 13 along with her mother and sister. All three survived, but most of the other members of her broader family died.

LJUBLJANA - Edit Andras, a Hungarian art historian, critic, curator and senior researcher at the Institute of Art History of the Centre for the Humanities of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, was announced as the winner of the biennial EUR 85,000 Igor Zabel Prize for Culture and Theory. She was honoured for achievements of culture workers whose work supports, develops or investigates visual art and culture in Central, Eastern and SE Europe.

TUESDAY, 22 October

WASHINGTON, US - Prime Minister Robert Golob met US President Joe Biden as the first Slovenian leader to visit the White House in 18 Years. They touched on a number of topics in what Golob described as a long and honest meeting, including the Middle East and the possible cooperation of US company Westinghouse in Slovenia's nuclear expansion. Biden once again thanked Slovenia for its contribution to a large prisoner swap between Russia and the West this summer, and for its aid to Ukraine.

LJUBLJANA - The world would be a perfect place if every UN country respected the UN Charter, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon told the 2nd Slovenian Humanitarian Forum, an event wrapping up the 12th Slovenian Development Days. In such a world, Slovenia wants to be a voice of reason, said Fajon. Through its action in the UN Security Council, it wants to show that multilateralism can play a role in ensuring security.

LJUBLJANA - As part of the ongoing talks on EUR 1.4 billion worth public sector wage reform, representatives of the government and trade unions initialled a collective bargaining agreement for the public sector before they plan to sign it by 15 November alongside a general wage agreement and sectoral collective agreements. The bill was passed by the National Assembly on 24 October and should kick in on 1 January 2025.

LJUBLJANA - The deputies of the Democrats (SDS) said they will no longer attend sessions of the college of deputy group leaders, which are chaired by National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič. She has been accused of disregarding the rules of procedure and abusing her office. A dismissal motion is also a possibility, the party said.

WEDNESDAY, 23 October

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. Rop has the most experience of all the candidates and is the most suitable candidate, her office said. Coalition parties expressed surprise after they had backed Finance Ministry State Secretary Saša Jazbec as the candidate.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Marta Kos, the candidate for the European commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, said in her answers to questions by MEPs before the November hearing that tackling blockages in EU enlargement will be one of her main tasks if appointed. Bilateral issues, whether between candidate countries themselves or with EU member states, that have caused significant delays in the past should be addressed swiftly as well.

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly unanimously 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.

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.

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.
        
THURSDAY, 24 October

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly adopted the most far-reaching reform of the pay system for public sector workers in 15 years. Valued at EUR 1.4 billion, it involves higher pay for both the lowest and top earners and regular adjustments for inflation. The changes affect around 190,000 workers.

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly backed in a nearly unanimous vote a motion to cancel the nuclear expansion referendum scheduled for 24 November. The parties decided to scrap the consultative referendum on a second nuclear reactor in Krško in the aftermath of media reports about controversies related to the project and the referendum.

LJUBLJANA - Judge Rok Čeferin was elected president of the Constitutional Court for a three-year term. He will take office on 16 December, when the term of the current president Matej Accetto ends. A member of a prominent family of lawyers and brother of UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, he started his nine-year term on the court in September 2019 and has been a vice-president since 2021.

LJUBLJANA - Amid accusations that a truly informed debate was stifled before the now cancelled referendum on a new nuclear reactor in Krško, the Environment, Climate and Energy Ministry declassified a study indicating that phasing out nuclear energy would be Slovenia's cheapest option. The analysis was conducted by the director of the national grid operator ELES.

STRASBOURG, France - Slovenian MEP Marjan Šarec (Renew/Freedom) has become the European Parliament's rapporteur for Montenegro. He will be in charge of monitoring the country's progress in EU integration and report on it annually while collaborating with all key stakeholders. Šarec pointed out that Montenegro's EU accession is of strategic importance.

LJUBLJANA - The supervisory board of the national motorway operator DARS appointed Andrej Ribič, a member of the management board, as CEO. He will start his five-year term on 7 November to succeed David Skornšek, who took over as acting CEO last November after Valentin Hajdinjak resigned following media revelations of alleged irregularities.

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Delegates of the Slovenian Football Federation (NZS) elected incumbent president Radenko Mijatović for another four-year term. Mijatović ran unopposed for what will be his third consecutive term.