Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 24-30 January

Ljubljana, 31 January - Below is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia from 24 to 30 January.

FRIDAY, 24 January

VELENJE - The three miners who died in a 20 January accident in the Velenje coal mine were commemorated on a national day of mourning with a minute of silence at a monument to miners in Velenje and at a commemoration at the Velenje Community Centre. Flags at all state institutions across the country were at half mast. Local and state authorities pledged to help the families of the killed miners.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded the highest ever number of tourist arrivals and nights in 2024. Visitor numbers rose by 6.3% to 6.6 million, with the guests generating 16.9 million nights, an increase of 4.5%, the Statistics Office said. The increase was driven by foreign tourists, whose numbers surged by 8.5% to just over 5 million, with Ljubljana standing out among the regions with the biggest increase in visitor numbers.

LJUBLJANA - The Labour Ministry announced Slovenia's gross minimum wage will be raised by 1.9% to EUR 1,277.72 this year, the minimum indexation required under the law, as the increase will adjust minimum wage only to annual inflation recorded at the end of 2024. Unions had been pushing for a much higher increase.

LJUBLJANA - The Infrastructure Ministry published another open call, the seventh in a row and worth EUR 15.6 million in subsidies, to entice additional airline companies to run flights to and from Slovenia. The scheme prioritises ten routes for the 2023-2025 period - four to serve final destinations - Brussels, Skopje, Prague and Berlin - and six to hubs airports for onward flights.

SATURDAY, 25 January

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon believes the EU must focus on its resilience and the recovery of its economy as it faces challenges brought on by the return of US President Donald Trump. The US is an important strategic partner and Slovenia must strengthen dialogue and cooperation with it, she told the STA in an interview. She also said that Slovenia alongside the rest of the EU will have to increase defence spending.

LJUBLJANA - Several hundred people gathered in front of the Serbian embassy in Ljubljana in support for the anti-government protests in Serbia prompted by the collapse of a part of the Novi Sad train station that killed 15 people last year. The protest was organised by SviĆe, a youth group organising civil disobedience campaigns around the world.

MONDAY, 26 January

LJUBLJANA - Almost 230 schools and kindergartens across Slovenia received bomb threats by email and 18 cancelled classes in what turned out to be a hoax. The schools received a generic message similar to the ones recorded in some other countries in recent weeks. The authorities said schools reacted appropriately despite this being described as a low-risk event.

OSWIECIM, Poland - President Nataša Pirc Musar attended a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. She used the opportunity to call for respecting the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrants against those accused of war crimes, a reference to the warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia does not agree with forced displacement of the Palestinian nation, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said following a statement by US President Donald Trump that Palestinians should leave Gaza and that he would like to "clean out" the entire strip. She said this could amount to grave violations of international humanitarian law.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Parliament's Committee on Petitions resumed a debate on a Slovenian petition for preservation of the memory of Slovenian victims of communism, drawn up by a historian and promoted by the Democratic Party (SDS) whose MEP Romana Tomc called on Parliament to urge the Slovenian government to condemn communist crimes. The committee decided to draw up "a resolution on preserving the memory of the victims of post-WWII communist period in Slovenia".

TUESDAY, 27 January

STRASBOURG, France - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) appointed Vasilka Sancin, a professor at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law, the new Slovenian judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Sancin, who was endorsed by 125 members of the assembly, will start her term on 30 May.

GENEVA, Switzerland - With the exception of two recommendations, Slovenia has fully or partly implemented all of the 182 recommendations it received during the third universal periodic review of the UN Human Rights Council, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said at a fourth review meeting. The council's latest recommendations apply to hate speech and prison overcrowding.

WEDNESDAY, 28 January

VIENNA, Austria - Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar met her Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen while visiting Vienna. The presidents stressed the commitment to the continued strengthening of relations between Slovenia and Austria, especially in areas where there is a shared interest. In an interview for APA, she said Slovenia was observing coalition talks between the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and People's Party (ÖVP) "with apprehension".

LJUBLJANA - Dejan Kaloh, a former member of the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) who is now an unaffiliated MP, announced he will start his own party ahead of next year's general election. Promoting traditional values, the new party will be founded on Statehood Day, 25 June.

LJUBLJANA - The Energy Agency revealed it is thinking about tweaking the new system of electricity network charges in the aftermath of harsh criticism about the system being too complex and causing some people's bills to skyrocket. It is analysing the option of reducing the number of time bands and changing the way billed capacity is calculated.

LJUBLJANA - The Agriculture Ministry unveiled an extensive legislative package aimed at modernising farming practices, boosting food security, and protecting agricultural land. The provisions notably increase the costs of building on farm land and strip the Agricultural and Forestry Chamber (KGZS) of its advisory service and part of its funding.

VIENNA, Austria - The World in Colours, an exhibition showcasing masterpieces of Slovenian painting from 1848 to 1918, opened at Vienna's Belvedere Museum in collaboration with the National Gallery of Slovenia. Running until 26 May, it will feature 132 works in a concept focusing on colour composition and dialogue between Vienna and Ljubljana.

THURSDAY, 29 January

LJUBLJANA - Three people were injured, one of them with severe burns all over their body, as a fire broke out in a dormitory for secondary school students in the early morning hours. Eleven people needed medical assistance, many of them because they jumped from the first floor to escape the fire. The government announced legislative changes to improve fire safety after it turned out the dorm had neither a fire escape nor fire alarms.

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly confirmed an interim report of an inquiry looking into political meddling in police work, clearing Prime Minister Robert Golob of allegations he interfered in the timing of the 2022 arrests of two Russian spies. The MPs also called on the authorities to investigate abuse of classified information and strip former Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar and former Police Commissioner Boštjan Lindav, witnesses that testified against Golob, of access to classified information.

LJUBLJANA - The government gave the go-ahead for a continuation of the procurement of eight-wheeled armoured vehicles from Finland's Patria. Estimated at roughly EUR 700 million, the deal includes 106 vehicles as part of the country's effort to set up two battalion battlegroups. The vehicles will be purchased directly by the government from the Finnish government.

LJUBLJANA - The Freedom Movement announced its deputy Tine Novak has left the party's deputy group to join independent MPs Anže Logar and Eva Irgl, who split away from the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) last year, to form a new parliamentary faction. The party expressed surprise about the decision.

LJUBLJANA - Korean nuclear reactor maker KHNP is no longer in contention to build the second unit at the Krško nuclear power station, narrowing the selection to EDF of France and US provider Westinghouse, power station owner Gen Energija revealed. This leaves Slovenia with a choice of three reactor types, but Gen Energija is confident the estimated price will not change as a result.

LJUBLJANA - Parliament passed changes to the Exercise of Public Interest in Culture Act introducing minimum hourly rates for freelance artists when they collaborate with public cultural institutions and agencies. It also confirmed a a bill granting top artists a special pension allowance after it was vetoed by the upper chamber of parliament.

sm/aaz/zm
© STA, 2025