Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 10-16 January

Ljubljana, 17 January - Below is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia from 10 to 16 January.

FRIDAY, 10 January

RIMSKE TOPLICE/VITANJE - A Slovenia-European Space Agency (ESA) summit was held to celebrate Slovenia becoming a full ESA member. Full membership is a significant milestone, Economy Minister Matjaž Han said, while ESA director-general Josef Aschbacher said Slovenia was an important and equal partner.

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob and President Nataša Pirc Musar met for a working breakfast to discuss topical issues with a focus on representation of Slovenia at international events. Golob's office said that the meeting was held at Golob's initiative and at his office but presented no other details.

LJUBLJANA - Aleš Musar, the spouse of President Nataša Pirc Musar, was reported having visited Palestine and Israel, including the kibbutz and the venue of the festival that Hamas attacked on 7 October 2023, and the Harmala Hospital in Bethlehem.

LJUBLJANA - The Economic and Social Council (ESS), Slovenia's main industrial relations forum, found consensus on all but five articles in the amendments to the Health Services Act, which aim to create a separation between public and private healthcare. The government plans to confirm the bill next week.

LJUBLJANA - The Animal Enterprise Transparency Project (AETP) released on 9 January alarming footage from a poultry farm supplying a great number of public institutions. Taken in secret, the video shows hens laying eggs on top of cadavers and dead rodents in the isle between batteries of cages stacked on top of each other. The report triggered a veterinary inspection, which found several violations but none so grave that emergency measures would be required.

SUNDAY, 12 January

DRAŽGOŠE - A large crowd gathered in the village of Dražgoše in the northwest of the country to mark the 83rd anniversary of a WWII battle. The keynote speaker, National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič, described the Battle of Dražgoše as a symbol resistance against terror, drawing parallels to the challenges today.

MONDAY, 13 January

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar called for a firm EU stance in relations with the US, telling TV Slovenija that "it is necessary to talk, but we also have to tell the US loud and clear things that we do not agree with." US President-elect Donald Trump "will have as much direct influence on European politics as the EU lets him," she said.

ANKARA, Turkey - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon reiterated Slovenia's support for a peaceful and inclusive transition in Syria and its territorial integrity as she held talks with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. "Syria has a historic opportunity that can have positive knock-on effects on the entire region," she said on the outset of her two-day visit to Turkey.

LJUBLJANA - Marko Lotrič, president of the upper chamber of parliament, announced the launch of a new political party, Focus, for 17 February. Lotrič said the new party would be "pragmatic, not ideological. Fewer words, more action. Solutions, not divisions. The future, not the past."

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. Economy Minister Matjaž Han ordered an audit of the selection after it transpired that some of the biggest recipients were tiny firms with a few employees.

MARIBOR - Police 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 reading "Jews are the evil of the world," "Death to Jews, glory to Slovenia" and "Read the Talmud".

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.

TUESDAY, 14 January

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian police reported handling 46,192 illegal border crossings in 2024, a decrease of nearly 14,500 compared to 2023. Syrian nationals accounted for the largest share, with their numbers quadrupling year-on-year, making up a quarter of all cases. Afghans ranked second, but their numbers halved compared to 2023.

ANKARA, Turkey - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon wrapped up a two-day visit to Turkey, with the Foreign Ministry saying that great interest in boosting economic cooperation was expressed by both sides. ICT, agriculture, tourism, high-tech products and transport have been identified as the areas where the interest to boost cooperation is highest.

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Foreign Ministry underlined the importance of territorial integrity after the new ruling coalition in the Austrian state of Styria included in its list of priorities the enshrinement in the state constitution of the provincial anthem that contains verses about territories that are a part of modern-day Slovenia. Styrian Governor Mario Kunasek meanwhile called on Slovenia to grant official minority status to the German community in the country.

LJUBLJANA - Grid operator ELES analysed the effects of the old and new grid charges system for different businesses and rejected claims by business associations that the new methodology was catastrophic for the economy. The analysis showed that even for the largest businesses on the medium voltage network grid charges represented only 11% of all electricity costs.

WEDNESDAY, 15 January

LJUBLJANA - Police Commissioner Senad Jušić resigned two months after the Administrative Court found that the procedure in which he was appointed was flawed. The move came shortly before the National Assembly is set to discuss an ouster motion against Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar, with junior coalition partners indicating earlier this week that their support for the minister would depend on whether the commissioner would step down. The government immediately appointed Damjan Petrič, hitherto the head of the Criminal Police Directorate, as acting commissioner.

BRUSSELS, Belgium/LJUBLJANA - The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) confirmed it had informed the European Commission of potential political pressures on Slovenia's Energy Agency over the recently implemented network charge charge system, which caused public and political uproar. ACER noted that the methodology used in the new system confirmed to its guidelines.

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Prime Minister Robert Golob and President Nataša Pirc Musar addressed foreign diplomats an at annual reception, highlighting the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and EU enlargement among the global challenges ahead. Pirc Musar took the opportunity to call for inclusive policies and a forward-looking vision for development.

LJUBLJANA - The Pirate Party filed a criminal complaint against Environment Minister Bojan Kumer claiming that he abused his office in relation to the National Assembly's cancellation of a consultative referendum on a new reactor at the Krško Nuclear Power Plant last October. They also suspect Kumer of dereliction of duty. He dismissed the charges as populism.

THURSDAY, 16 January

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted changes to the Health Services Act which prohibit healthcare staff employed at public organisations from also working for private providers, with very narrow exemptions. Such staff will, however, be able to work for private providers who have a concession. Organisations representing doctors said the legislation is misguided and does not address key problems in healthcare.

LJUBLJANA - Contrary to last week's announcement, the government decided against proposing that the National Assembly dismiss members of the Energy Agency council over the body's insistence on a new grid charge system. The decision was delayed after the European Commission threatened with an infringement procedure should the regulator's independence be impaired.

LJUBLJANA - Following indications from NATO that allies will have to increase the defence spending benchmark from the current 2% of GDP to over 3%, a Defence Ministry State Secretary Damir Črnčec told the STA Slovenia will focus on honouring its commitment of increasing spending to 2% of GDP by 2030. Črnčec would not want to prejudge "any future increases".

LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed a bill on temporary protection of displaced persons. Under the proposal, Slovenia will no longer need to adopt a special decision to introduce temporary protection, but instead the decision of the Council of the EU introducing temporary protection to displaced persons in all member states will apply.

LJUBLJANA - Environment Agency figures showed last year was a landmark year for climate globally. Slovenia mirrored this global trend, experiencing its warmest year on record, with unusually high rainfall and limited snowfall. The average temperature in the country was 11.3 degrees Celsius, 1.8 degrees above the 1991-2020 average.

sm/mab/aaz/sm
© STA, 2025