News roundup - Monday, 13 January

Ljubljana, 13 January - Below is a roundup of major events on Monday, 13 January:

National Council president launching new party this week

LJUBLJANA - Marko Lotrič, president of the upper chamber of parliament, will launch a new political party, Focus, at a congress this Saturday. In an invitation to the congress, Lotrič said the new party would be "pragmatic, not ideological. Fewer words, more action. Solutions, not divisions. The future, not the past." A businessman who entered politics in late 2022 when he was elected to the upper chamber of parliament, Lotrič has been working on the party for months while criticising the existing political culture, arguing in favour of a more pragmatic approach focused on economic development. The STA learnt that he will be the sole candidate for Focus leader while Monika Kirbiš Rojs, a secretary at the National Council, is to become secretary general.

President Pirc Musar congratulates Milanović on re-election

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar congratulated her Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanović on being re-elected in Sunday's presidential run-off, saying she believes that they will continue to maintain good relations and seek solutions for the good of their countries. "I am confident that in our capacities as presidents of the neighbouring countries we will continue to maintain friendly relations between Slovenia and Croatia," Pirc Musar said in a post on X. Milanović won in a landslide, defeating Dragan Primorac of the ruling HDZ party.

SocDems demand new call for police commissioner

LJUBLJANA - The junior coalition Social Democrats (SD) demand that the selection procedure for police commissioner be repeated, after the Administrative Court found flaws in how Police Commissioner Senad Jušić had been appointed. The party demands this before a vote on the motion to oust Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar, which was demanded by the opposition in November. SD leader Matjaž Han said a repeat of the call for applications was the "minimum standard that police deserves". He said Poklular will visit the SD deputy group on Tuesday. Poklukar and Jušić have been insisting the appointment was lawful.

Foreign minister in Turkey for economic commission session

ANKARA, Turkey - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon is in Turkey on Monday and Tuesday co-chairing a session of the Slovenian-Turkish joint economic commission, while a business delegation is taking part in a bilateral business meeting. The commission is reviewing bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, transport and other key areas of business cooperation, while identifying opportunities for future cooperation. Fajon will also meet her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.

SocDems sell villa in Ljubljana to get out of the red

LJUBLJANA - The junior coalition Social Democrats (SD), which have been struggling with a debt of EUR 1.8 million, have sold a villa in Ljubljana, which used to be the party's headquarters, for EUR 1.6 million and thus paid off most of its debt, SD leader Matjaž Han said. After eight months at the helm of the party, Han said he had done his "homework of putting the party's finance in order". The SD has also cut its monthly costs and adjusted them to the revenue.

EUR 83m allocated for coal region restructuring projects

ZAGORJE OB SAVI - The SPIRIT investment promotion agency has approved 24 applications for the restructuring of two coal regions, nine for the central Zasavje region with a total of EUR 30.5 million in co-funding, and 15 in the northern Savinja-Šalek region, for which the agency will chip in EUR 52.5 million. The regions are being restructured as Slovenia plans to phase out coal in the coming years. While coal mining in Zasavje stopped a decade ago, it continues in the Šalek Valley. Only EUR 160,000 for Zasavje out of the available EUR 83.1 million of cohesion funds remain unallocated.

Distributors say network charge change cannot be quick

LJUBLJANA - The power grid operator ELES and electricity distributors denied claims by GZS director Vesna Nahtigal that the new network charge system could be reverted to the old one in a matter of days. The statement is misleading, they said. "A transition back to the old system in a short time is not possible, especially not in a few days, as the director claimed. In the last few months we stressed this publicly several times," their statement reads.

Budget of office for migrants tops EUR 50m

LJUBLJANA - The country's Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants has seen its budget rise in recent years, largely due to provide, based on EU and Slovenian legislation, temporary protection of Ukrainian refugees after the start of war in Ukraine. For this year, it has EUR 54.5 million at its disposal, the office said providing the figures after misleading stories about its use of taxpayer money appeared in the media and on social networks. EUR 22 million were planned to be allocated for the office six months to assist refugees from Ukraine in 2022, EUR 38 million in 2023 and almost EUR 37 million in 2024, which means, the office said, that most of its funds went to implement temporary protection of Ukrainian refugees.

Municipality wants constitutional review of wind farm plans

DRAVOGRAD - After the government decided to push ahead with plans for a wind farm near Dravograd in the north despite opposition from locals, the municipality has decided late last year to seek a constitutional review of the zoning plans, Mayor Anton Preksavec said. During the public consultation for the Ojstrica three-turbine wind farm, Dravograd submitted comments that were not taken into account, the mayor said, adding that it mostly concerned about its water sources.

Fireworks legislation to be tightened

LJUBLJANA - Despite awareness campaigns and stricter control, fireworks are still the cause of too many injuries, which has promoted the Interior Ministry to decide to revise the relevant legislation, which will likely be tightened, State Secretary Tina Heferle said as the ministry hosted a discussion on the issue. The Explosives and Pyrotechnic Articles Act was last amended in 2015. Today's round table found that most serious injuries occur with the use of banned, modified or home-made pyrotechnics.

Hungarian minority MP says new IDs unconstitutional

LENDAVA - Ferenc Horvath, the MP representing the Hungarian minority in Slovenia, believes that the new ID cards violate the constitutional right to language equality of minorities in Slovenia, putting the Hungarian language in third place, after Slovenian and English. Moreover, Hungarian designations are in smaller print than Slovenian. The Interior Ministry does not intend to change the IDs, as this would cost EUR 15 million, said Horvath. But he intends to persist until the end.

Luka Koper revenue up 6% last year, first estimates show

KOPER - First estimates show that port operator Luka Koper recorded EUR 326.9 million in net revenue in 2024, up 6% from 2023. Transshipment grew by 3% to 23 million tons, the company said in a statement. In the maritime industry 2024 started with a lot of uncertainty and delays but logistics operators were able to adjust quickly and the situation stabilised by April, said Luka Koper. Container throughput surpassed 1.13 million TEU, above the estimated figures and a new absolute record. A full report on the business results in 2024 will be released on 20 February.

Passenger numbers at nearly 18 million on Slovenian railways

LJUBLJANA - Passenger numbers on Slovenian railways increased by nearly 14% in 2024 to reach 17.9 million despite extensive works on railway infrastructure, the national rail operator said, adding that a further modernisation of the fleet is planned this year. The increase can be in part attributed to the additional connections the rail operator has been able to offer with the new trains it obtained in the last years, Slovenian Railways said. This year the works on railway infrastructure will continue, with a new Ljubljana passenger centre expected to be completed in 2026.

Regulated fuel prices up on Tuesday

LJUBLJANA - The prices of fuel sold outside Slovenia's motorway network will increase on Tuesday. The price of regular petrol will go up by 2.8 cents to EUR 1.523 a litre, while diesel will be 2.7 cents dearer at EUR 1.581 a litre. Heating oil will cost EUR 1.180 a litre, up by 2.7 cents. The new prices will stay in effect until 27 January, the Environment, Climate and Energy Ministry announced. If the prices of fuel sold off motorways were not regulated, a litre of regular petrol would have cost EUR 1.603, diesel EUR 1.662 per litre and heating oil EUR 1.284 per litre.

European prosecutors investing subsidy fraud

LJUBLJANA - The European Public Prosecutor's Office announced that it had launched an investigation into attempted EU funds fraud involving two companies from the Celje area that separately applied for subsidies for the same solar installation. Investigators have found that two companies attempted to get EUR 340,000 by submitting applications for two solar installations, while in fact both applications referred to the same installation. House searches were conducted on 7 and 8 January. European prosecutors are involved because a portion of the subsidies would have come from EU cohesion funds.

Maribor Synagogue desecrated with antisemitic graffiti

MARIBOR - Police have launched an investigation after the Maribor Synagogue, a medieval building that serves not as an active place of worship but as a Jewish cultural centre, was desecrated with antisemitic graffiti over the weekend. Pictures released on Facebook show graffiti reading "Jews are the evil of the world," "Death to Jews, glory to Slovenia" and "Read the Talmud". The government condemned the graffiti, saying that "such outbursts of hatred have no place in our society and are in utter opposition to the principles and values of tolerance and coexistence".

Minority in Hungary developing another tourism project in Filo Mill

FELSOSZOLONOK, Hungary - An umbrella organisation of the Slovenian ethnic minority in Hungary is renovating what was the only Slovenian mill in Porabje (Raba Valley), an area just beyond the border that is home to the Slovenian community. The long abandoned Filo Mill will be renovated with EUR 100,000 in Interreg Slovenia-Hungary EU funds and another EUR 500,000 from the Muraba joint fund, set up by Slovenia and Hungary for the support of their respective minorities. The mill is expected to become one of the key tourist attractions in the area, Karel Holec of the Slovenian Self-Governing Community has told the STA.

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