Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 7-13 February

FRIDAY, 7 February

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's top officials condemned the sanctions imposed by the US against the International Criminal Court (ICC). President Nataša Pirc Musar said that they constituted a complete denial of history and ignored law as a foundation of international relations. PM Robert Golob said Slovenia would continue to support the independence of the ICC.

LJUBLJANA - Yapi Merkezi, a Turkish partner building a 27km rail track between Divača and Koper, has withdrawn from the project, the news portal Necenzurirano reported, adding that the price of the EUR 1.1 billion project would also increase by some EUR 20 million. The company managing the construction 2TDK denied the report, adding that the cost of the project remained in the scope of the amended investment plan.

LJUBLJANA - The government-sponsored constitutional amendments concerning the work of the Constitutional Court fell short of the required two-thirds majority support of the parliamentary Constitutional Commission. The amendments would give discretionary power to the court in choosing the matters it would take on and transfer some of the Constitutional Courts's powers onto other courts.

LJUBLJANA - Prosecutor Mateja Gončin, who has exposed a number of issues at the Security and Protection Centre, a special police unit in charge of protecting senior officials, filed criminal charges against former Police Commissioner Senad Jušić and former heads of the centre relating to irregularities in how she was protected as a person under police protection.

LJUBLJANA - The Interior Ministry announced it rejected the only bid received in the public call for the purchase and maintenance of two new medical service helicopters valued at EUR 30.74 million, having established that the submitted financial collateral does not comply with its requirements. The helicopters have thus not been ordered.

LJUBLJANA - This year's Prešeren Prize winners sculptor Dragica Čadež and theatre director Dragan Živadinov received the top national accolades for lifetime achievement in culture and arts at the annual ceremony on the eve of Culture Day.

SATURDAY, 8 February

GORIZIA, Italy/NOVA GORICA, Slovenia - The first-ever transnational European Capital of Culture officially opened with a day-long series of events highlighting the unique collaboration and the power of culture to connect. Thousands of people joined a two-hour parade between the train stations in Gorizia and Nova Gorica, and thousands more enjoyed a series of cultural performances, official ceremony and an artistic spectacle.

NOVA GORICA - President Nataša Pirc Musar was awarded Italy's highest state honour, the Knight Grand Cross with Collar for Merits of the Italian Republic, by Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella in Vipolže as the pair met ahead of the ceremonial opening of the European Capital of Culture project Nova Gorica-Gorizia.

LJUBLJANA - The European Public Prosecutor's Office has reportedly launched an investigation into suspected irregularities in an EUR 82 million public call for restructuring Slovenia's Savinja-Šalek and Zasavje coal regions. The Economy Ministry said it was Spirit itself that reported the case to the EPPO.

LAKE PLACID, US - Slovenian ski jumper Nika Prevc claimed her second victory in as many events as part of the women's World Cup meet, bagging it only 20 hours after the first one. With what was her seventh World Cup victory this season, Prevc significantly extended her overall lead in the World Cup. Anže Lanišek meanwhile finished third in today's event for men, scoring his second podium finish this season.

MARIBOR - A large fire broke out on Saturday evening in a warehouse storing plastic materials in the Tezno borough of Maribor, but was put out during the night. While no one was injured, the fire consumed 9,000 pallets of plastic products, causing damage that has been estimated at millions of euros.

SUNDAY, 9 February

VIPOLŽE - Culture Minister Asta Vrečko hosted a meeting of the culture ministers from the Western Balkans to discuss future cooperation in culture and the adoption of good practices of the European Capital of Culture project by other countries, as well as joint projects in film, audiovisual culture and exhibitions, digitisation, UNESCO projects and national or regional nominations.

BASOVIZZA, Italy - The Slovenian Community, the political party of the Slovenian minority in Italy, and the anti-Fascist association TIGR Primorske condemned the desecration of a memorial site in Italy's Basovizza dedicated to the Italian victims of summary post-war executions that happened on 7 February.

LJUBLJANA - Energy Minister Bojan Kumer announced that the full electricity price regulation for households, which was introduced last November and expires at the end of this month, would not be extended. He called on suppliers to reduce their prices by adjusting them to real market conditions.

MONDAY, 10 February

LJUBLJANA - Prosecutor Mateja Gončin said that the Security and Protection Centre had taken security detail away from her and other prosecutors in the high-profile Kavač Clan drugs and murder trials, which she sees as retaliation after she filed criminal complaints against a former police commissioner and the centre's two former heads over alleged irregularities at the centre. The police denied the claims.

PARIS, France - Digital Transformation Minister Ksenija Klampfer stressed Slovenia's commitment to an ethical and sustainable digital transformation as she attended the informal ministerial of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence in Paris and held talks with representatives of the US Chamber of Commerce, the International Telecommunication Union and International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence.

STRASBOURG, France - Two Slovenian MEPs from the EPP attended the opening of an exhibition on the post-WWII foibe executions organised at the European Parliament. Nine Slovenian and Croatian centre-left MEPs meanwhile urged in a January letter the parliament's President Roberta Metsola (EPP) and the MEP in charge of exhibitions not to allow it. They argued it was not in line with the EU's fundamental values and featured maps that may hint at Italy's territorial claims.
        
TUESDAY, 11 February

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian steel and aluminium producers agreed that the US's plan to impose a 25% tax on steel and aluminium imports next month, including on imports from the EU, would mean an even greater pressure from the competition. In 2024 Slovenian exports of aluminium and steel products to the US increased significantly from 2023, preliminary statistics show.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has achieved a score of 60 out of 100 on the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, improving by four points to regain the level seen in 2018-2020. Slovenia ranks 36th among 180 countries, after it placed 42nd last year. Transparency International (TI) Slovenia welcomed the progress, particularly given last year's historic low.

LJUBLJANA - National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič decided that the conditions for three unaffiliated MPs who had not been elected on the same list to establish a deputy group have been met, but that the group cannot be called the Democrats, the name of the party recently established by Anže Logar, one of the unaffiliated MPs.

WEDNESDAY, 12 February

ŠKOFJA LOKA/LJUBLJANA - The general assembly of CSS annulled its decision to send the state-owned sheltered workshop into liquidation after Labour Minister Luka Mesec ordered the annulment in line with the legislation on the employment of disabled people. Mesec welcomed the decision, saying "it's a very good sign that there is a will to save the company".

NEW YORK, US - As the UN Security Council held a session on Syria, Slovenia's Ambassador Samuel Žbogar said the transitional authorities have a historic opportunity and responsibility to realise the aspirations of the population. He warned, though, that this would not happen without progress in inclusion, security and accountability for past crimes.

LJUBLJANA - Supreme Court President Miodrag Đorđević said Slovenian courts worked well last year, as he addressed an event marking the start of a new judicial year. He is hopeful that the concept of a universal first-instance judge will be introduced this year. The courts received 5% more cases than in 2023 and resolved 1% more cases.

ŠKOFLJICA/ZUG, Switzerland - The Škofljica-based EV charging stations maker, formerly known as Etrel and considered a leader in its field, will very likely be liquidated, media reports suggest after its current owner, the Swiss group Landis+Gyr, announced that it was withdrawing from EV charging infrastructure and would liquidate that part of the group.
        
THURSDAY, 13 February

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Defence Minister Borut Sajovic signed a letter of intent with his Finnish counterpart Antti Hakkanen based on which the Finnish Defence Ministry will provide support to Slovenia in a planned purchase of eight-wheeled armoured vehicles from the Finnish company Patria.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Peace talks cannot take place without Ukraine and all NATO members that support the country in its fight against the Russian aggression, Defence Minister Borut Sajovic said after a meeting of NATO ministers. He echoed the view of a number of EU officials that the EU and Ukraine should be part of the talks as well.

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a new fiscal rule bill that determines a new manner in which state budgets are balanced in the medium term. The fiscal rule would be determined in the form of a limit on the growth of core expenditure, and the government would be preparing a medium-term fiscal plan every four years.

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a decree by which household electricity consumers will be fully exempt from paying the contribution to support renewable energy production at least until July. The decree also eliminates the negative consequences of the new network charge system on certain seasonal consumers.

LJUBLJANA - The Economy Ministry expressed regret over the additional steel and aluminium tariffs announced by the US. It argued the tariffs are inconsistent with international trade rules and economically counterproductive, especially given the deeply integrated supply chains the EU and the US have established through transatlantic trade and investment.

SALZBURG, Austria - Minister of the Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han met tourism and business representatives in Salzburg to discuss efforts to strengthen economic cooperation between Slovenia and Austria. The talks focused on efforts to boost business ties and investment and cooperation opportunities in logistics, retail and tourism.

LJUBLJANA/DOB - Prison guards staged a one-hour protest urging the government to immediately address severe overcrowdedness at prisons, low pay and a severe shortage of staff. Justice Minister Andreja Katič said she regretted the protest, adding that she understood it.