News roundup - Monday, 4 November

Business ties in focus of Pirc Musar visit to UAE

ABU DHABI, UAE - President Nataša Pirc Musar concluded the first visit by a Slovenian president to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying that the most important part of her two-day trip was a memorandum between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS) and the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry to establish a Slovenian-Arab business council. The president met her counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday for an in-depth discussion about the workings of the UN and the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, in addition to business cooperation.

Slovenia condemns North Korea's missile launch

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia strongly condemns North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on 31 October, which violates a number of resolutions, Ambassador Samuel Žbogar said at a meeting of the UN Security Council, which was convened by seven UN Security Council members, including Slovenia. Žbogar expressed concern that North Korea was increasingly disregarding rules and resolutions, that its missiles were being used in Ukraine and that there were reports of its troops being deployed in Europe. He also urged bringing North Korea to the negotiating table.

Exports in September up 13%, imports up 4% y/y

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia exported EUR 5.3 billion worth of goods in September, 12.8% more than in September 2023, while imports reached EUR 5.7 billion, up 3.9% year-on-year, the Statistics Office reported. Data for September shows a pronounced, 24% increase in exports with non-EU countries. Excluding re-exports, exports to non-EU countries were up by 7.1% to EUR 888.2 million. In the first three quarters of the year, exports were up by 11% and imports by 13.5%.

Pirc Musar congratulates Sandu on her re-election

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar congratulated her Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu on her re-election. Underlining the friendship that the two have been cultivating since Pirc Musar's election, the Slovenian president said she looked forward to further cooperation. "Over the last two years, I have greatly appreciated the friendship that has blossomed between us, rooted in our shared values and hopes for a stronger, united Europe," Pirc Musar wrote on X. The presidents met on several occasions in the past two years, with Pirc Musar visiting Chisinau a year ago.

Minister Han starts working visit to Shanghai

LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Matjaž Han started a three-day working visit to Shanghai accompanied by a business delegation. The purpose of the visit is to strengthen business ties between Slovenia and China, seek new opportunities, and present the Slovenian business and investment environment, the ministry said. The Slovenian business environment and investment opportunities will be presented at a business and investment conference hosted by the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, the Spirit agency, the Slovenian Embassy in Beijing and the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Slovenian delegation discusses financing of supercomputer in Brussels

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A Digital Transformation Ministry delegation met representatives of the Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology with the directorate's head Roberto Viola welcoming Slovenia's decision to apply for funds for a supercomputer and an AI factory as part of two EU open calls. The Slovenian delegation, led by Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič, who temporarily heads the Digital Transformation Ministry, presented the country's plans for the setting up of the second supercomputer in Maribor and an AI factory, as well as the cooperation with Italy's supercomputer centre Cineca HPC in a tender of the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, in which Slovenia plans to invest EUR 5 million.

SDS says situation in public education alarming

LJUBLJANA - The deputy group of the opposition Democrats (SDS) requested an emergency session of the parliamentary Education Committee, calling on the government to improve the quality of teaching, teacher training and pay, SDS MP Alenka Helbl said. The SDS believes the situation in public education is alarming, arguing that the government has not been successful in addressing the issues, and recalling the resignation of Darjo Felda as education minister in September. Helbl also stressed that primary and secondary schools are still waiting for a curriculum overhaul, while vocational schools are in need of a functional dual system for the teachers who also work in their respective industries.

Postal workers threaten strike for holiday shopping rush

LJUBLJANA - The Postal Workers' Trade Union announced a strike starting on 22 November, just before the peak of holiday shopping period, as it accused the management of Pošta Slovenije of not honouring a strike-averting deal the two sides reached in May. Six months ago, the two sides agreed that the postal company will hire more staff and raise wages. But in October, the union issued a statement saying the work conditions were becoming more unbearable by the day and underlining the need for more staff.

Celje hospital launches cardiac surgery department

CELJE - The Celje General Hospital has joined UKC Ljubljana and UKC Maribor as the third Slovenian hospital with a cardiac surgery department. Led by Tomislav Klokočovnik, the surgical team plans to perform 100 open-heart surgeries a year and 50 by the end of this year, with the first one scheduled this weekend. The open-heart surgery programme will be carried out by hospital staff in collaboration with external specialists. The hospital has recruited staff who have previous experience with such procedures at other institutions. The cardiac surgery programme in Celje will serve the whole country, especially the neighbouring regions of Dolenjska, Koroška, Posavje and Zasavje, meaning around 350,000 people.

Teacher shortage analysis will be basis for tackling crisis in education

LJUBLJANA - Education Minister Vinko Logaj and trade union leader Branimir Štrukelj agreed that an analysis will be made to determine the teacher shortage at primary and secondary schools, so that adequate measures could be introduced. They agreed that raising teachers' pay will not be enough. Logaj mentioned offering teachers a non-profit apartment as one way to attract staff. He also believes teachers should be trained to teach two or perhaps even three subjects. Logaj and Štrukelj also believe that a minimum education spending should be set by law.

Janša ordered to repay EUR 30,000 in court fees in Patria damages suit

LJUBLJANA - The Maribor Higher Court upheld a first-instance ruling that opposition leader Janez Janša has to pay EUR 30,000 in court fees to the prosecutor and judges against whom he filed a damages suit for allegedly acting unlawfully in the Patria defence corruption case. Janša was initially sentenced to prison but the verdict was later quashed. In 2018 he thus filed a damages suit against the state, ex-prosecutor Branka Zobec Hrastar and four judges, holding them responsible for having acted unlawfully in the Patria case. The lawsuit against the state is still ongoing but the case against the ex-prosecutor and the judges ended last year with a verdict against Janša and Kranj District Court deciding that Janša had to reimburse the defendants over EUR 22,000 in court fees. The higher court now raised the amount of costs he has to reimburse.

Regulated fuel prices down on Tuesday

LJUBLJANA - The prices of fuel sold outside Slovenia's motorway network will decrease on Tuesday. The price of regular petrol will drop by 2.4 cents to EUR 1.486 a litre and the price of diesel will be one cent lower at EUR 1.518 a litre. Heating oil will also be cheaper, down 1.2 cents to EUR 1.115 a litre. The prices will be in effect until 18 November, the Environment, Climate and Energy Ministry said as it announced the biweekly price change.

Municipalities in SW Slovenia join forces for drinking water supply

KOPER - The largest drinking water supply project in Slovenia to date was agreed by the mayors of 12 municipalities in the south-west of Slovenia, as they approved a EUR 118 million draft plan envisaging new water networks and reduced water losses. The project is meant to be completed by the end of 2029. It will be predominantly financed by EU funds, with the government already confirming EUR 92 million in support, mostly from cohesion funds. The rest will be contributed by the municipalities.

New owner to renovate Nama, drop retail business

LJUBLJANA - Nama, a company owning the department store of the same name in Ljubljana's city centre, is planing an extensive renovation of the building next year while phasing out its retail business. German private equity fund Katera, which took over Nama this spring, intends to turn Nama into "a modern shopping centre" which is to open in autumn 2026. At the same time, Nama will close its retail subsidiary Nama IN and lay off the workers. At the end of 2023, Nama IN had 63 workers.

Marijana Brecelj wins film acting lifetime achievement award

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Directors' Guild picked film and theatre actress Marijana Brecelj as the winner of this year's Bert Award for lifetime achievement in film acting. "Brecelj possesses a strong presence. If we were casting right now, we could list her lovely characteristics at length: vibrant, sunny, lucid, cheerful, warm, strong, sincere, witty, modern," the guild wrote. Brecelj, 78, who belongs to a generation that has experienced various phases of Slovenian cinema, flourished mostly when creative relationships in film became more relaxed, bringing an unforced, realistic approach to her performances.

Festival promoting tolerance kicks off at Mini Teater

LJUBLJANA - The 10th House of Tolerance, a festival promoting diversity and tolerance, got under way in Ljubljana's Mini Teater. Organised by the theatre and the Ljubljana Jewish Cultural Centre, the international festival will feature film screenings, theatre performances and an exhibition. It opened with The Books He Didn't Burn, a documentary by Claus Bredenbrock and Jascha Hannover which delves into the remains of Adolf Hitler's private library and shows the influence racist and anti-Semitic thinkers and writers have had on far-right extremists until this day.

Temperatures dip below zero first time this autumn

LJUBLJANA - After temperatures were higher than average in the last week of October, some parts of Slovenia recorded temperatures below freezing for the first time this autumn this morning. The lowest temperature of -5.1 degrees Celsius was recorded in Babno Polje in the south, while temperatures below zero were also measured at other weather stations in southern and eastern Slovenia. First frost of the autumn came relatively late as it usually hits in the second half of October, ARSO said.