Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 31 Jan-6 Feb

FRIDAY, 31 January

BELGRADE, Serbia/LJUBLJANA - A letter of support by Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković to besieged Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić triggered a response from the Foreign Ministry, which said that the letter is not an expression of Slovenia's official stance, and drew criticism among some politicians and intellectuals, including President Nataša Pirc Musar. PM Robert Golob was more reserved, saying on 3 February that everyone was entitled to their opinions.

BRUSSELS, Belgium/LJUBLJANA - Slovenia and eleven other EU countries, including France and Germany, sent a letter to the European Commission, warning of a growing threat of foreign interfering in election processes in European countries. They called for firm action to protect the integrity of election processes.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's general government revenue increased by 11.5% to EUR 27.91 billion in 2024 from 2023 and expenditure rose by 5.7% to EUR 28.87 billion. This puts deficit at EUR 951 million or 1.4% of GDP, which is EUR 1.32 billion below that in 2023, shows preliminary figures from the Finance Ministry.

LJUBLJANA - Austrian builder Strabag has been selected to build the northern part of Emonika, a new commercial development adjacent to the emerging passenger hub in Ljubljana. The deal with the investor, Mendota Invest, a member of the Hungarian OTP banking group, exceeds EUR 80 million.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia launched a seven-year, EUR 27 million project to boost its resilience in the face of climate change. The EU-funded project dubbed Life4Adapt will see the Environment Agency set up a national centre for climate analysis and forecast providing detailed guidelines for adapting to climate change, among other things.

SATURDAY, 1 February

LOS ANGELES, US - Slovenian NBA star Luka Dončić was traded by his Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in a surprise three-way deal with the Utah Jazz. US sports media have labelled the move as a shock that will change the NBA.

KOPER - Peter Štumpf was installed as the new bishop of Koper two months after he was appointed to the post by Pope Francis, completing his transition from the Murska Sobota Diocese, where he served as bishop from 2009.

LJUBLJANA - Klemen Slakonja, a popular actor, was picked as Slovenia's entrant for the Eurovision song contest. He will perform How Much Time Do We Have Left, an ode to his wife and her bravery in the battle against cancer.

SUNDAY, 2 February

AMMAN, Jordan - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon started a Middle East tour in Amman by meeting her host, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, to discus the situation in the region. They agreed that forced displacement of Palestinians and the illegal annexation of the West Bank are inadmissible.

MONDAY, 3 February

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia is not considering changing its plan to increase its defence spending to 2% of GDP by 2030, Prime Minister Robert Golob said as he arrived for an EU summit dedicated to the strengthening and financing of defence capabilities, and the EU-US partnership.

AMMAN, Jordan - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon met Jordanian King Abdullah II. The pair agreed on the need for a stable Middle East and continued supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza. She also met Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), stressing Slovenia remains committed to the efforts of the UN for stability, peace and humanitarian aid.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian MEP Romana Tomc, a vice-president of the European People's Party (EPP) group, the largest faction in the legislature, announced that the European Parliament will send a fact-finding mission to Slovenia. The EPP is worried about media freedom, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law in the country and will take several other measures.

LJUBLJANA - Top athletes and sports officials were honoured as the Bloudek Prizes, the highest national accolades for sporting achievements and lifetime contributions to sports, were handed out. One team, five athletes and two sports officials were among the recipients. The Bloudek Prize for special sporting achievement went to whitewater kayakers Nejc Žnidarčič, Anže Urankar and Simon Oven, who have dominated the 3 x K1 category for years.

LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption will look into cooperation between MPs Anže Logar and Tine Novak, who left the ruling Freedom Movement's deputy group last week to join independents Logar and Eva Irgl, both former members of the opposition SDS. This comes after Logar said he and Novak started cooperating in a delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and that he helped him get the post of OSCE special envoy for AI.

TUESDAY, 4 February

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's exports increased by 11.8% to EUR 61.5 billion and imports were up 21.1% to EUR 69.1 billion in 2024. Trade with both EU and non-EU countries increased. A trade deficit of EUR 7.6 billion was recorded and the export-import ratio was 89%, the Statistics Office said.

LJUBLJANA - PEN Slovenia and PEN International associations of writers expressed support to protesters in Serbia in their fight for justice and fairness, while urging the government there to protect them. The writers' associations emphasized that freedom of speech and democracy are guarantees of peace in the region.

LJUBLJANA - Following a widespread backlash against his letter of support to embattled Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković stressed the importance of stability in Serbia as he insisted on everyone having the right to their own opinion. He said he spoke solely on his own behalf in the letter and without authorisation from anyone.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon started a two-day visit to Lebanon, during which she met her counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib, President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam, as well as Parliament President Nabih Berri. In her meetings, she reiterated the support to the country in a time of political transition and stressed that maintaining peace is key for Lebanon and the region.

LJUBLJANA - An international police investigation has led to five arrests in Sarajevo in relation to the mafia-style murder of a criminal gang member that took place in Ljubljana in late November. All suspects are being treated as accomplices to the murder, the head of National Bureau of Investigation said. Three other suspects were arrested in Ljubljana a week after the murder. The next day, the suspects in Sarajevo were released.

WEDNESDAY, 5 February

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon assessed that the announcements by US President Donald Trump on the takeover of the Gaza Strip and resettlement of the Palestinians from the enclave show a serious lack of knowledge of the history of the Palestinian people and regional geopolitical facts. She said forced displacement of Palestinians is an unacceptable move that violates international law and would only exacerbate tensions in the Middle East.

LJUBLJANA - Following two rounds of talks with deputy groups, President Nataša Pirc Musar has realised that another round will be needed to agree on a candidate for human rights ombudsman. This week she expanded the talks to other appointments, of a judge at the EU court and a deputy president of the Court of Audit. In the coming week, will she consult deputy groups on ombudsman candidates again.

LJUBLJANA - Following a mass shooting incident at an education centre in central Sweden that killed 10 people, Prime Minister Robert Golob said this was an "awful and very sad day for Sweden". The Foreign Ministry also expressed solidarity with the victims and their relatives.

LJUBLJANA - Following a meeting with Agricultural and Forestry Chamber (KGZS) head Jože Podgoršek, Agriculture Minister Mateja Čalušić announced a withdrawal of the most contentious provision in the proposed agricultural reform, the transfer of the public agricultural advisory service from the KGZS to a new body at the ministry.

MENGEŠ - Swiss pharma company Novartis launched a new viral vector production facility, its first of this kind in Europe, in an investment valued at EUR 40 million. VIFA One brings new technology in support of production of breakthrough cell and gene therapies to Slovenia.

THURSDAY, 6 February

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar called for a resolute stand against the proposal by US President Donald Trump for forced deportation of Palestinians. "I am appalled that despite such forced deportations being recognised as crimes against humanity, these actions are not only tolerated today, but even proposed as solutions," she said.

LJUBLJANA - The coalition majority at the National Assembly passed a bill reducing the electricity network charge for households for January and February. The coalition parties, which proposed the bill, argued that households that invested into the green transition should be protected from disproportionate energy price hikes.

LJUBLJANA - The annual inflation rate in Slovenia hit 2% in January, while deflation of 0.4% was recorded at monthly level, the Statistics Office (SURS) said. While consumer prices increased by 2% from January 2024, SURS said that a year ago the inflation rate was as high as 3.3%. Annual inflation was mostly driven by 3% higher prices of transport and by 2.3% higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

DAMASCUS, Syria - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon wrapped up her tour of the Middle East in Syria, meeting President Ahmed al-Sharaa and her Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani. Posting on X, she said the visit to Damascus was a show of support to the people of Syria, who want a new start. She underlined the importance of inclusive-state building.