News roundup - Monday, 24 February

PM expresses solidarity with Ukraine on 3rd anniversary of war

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob reiterated that Slovenia stands with the Ukrainian people, who are defending Europe's shared values of freedom, democracy and human dignity as he addressed via video call the Defence and Security Strategy of Unity: Action Plan summit in Kyiv, hosted by President Volodymyr Zelensky. He stressed Slovenia's commitment to international law and confirmed that, especially as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the country will continue its efforts to bring an end to the fighting and achieve a just peace in Ukraine in an effort that needs to involve Ukraine and the EU.

FM says Europe must stand united on war in Ukraine

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Europe has very clear positions on the war in Ukraine and it will not deviate from them, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers. She believes Europe should stand together in the votes scheduled for today on UN resolutions at the anniversary of the start of Russian aggression. Europe will not make concessions when it comes to UN Charter principles and the peace in Ukraine being lasting and just. Any agreement on Ukraine should be acceptable for Ukraine, she said.

President says Ukraine must be equal participant in peace talks

LJUBLJANA - The war in Ukraine must end as soon as possible, President Nataša Pirc Musar said as the world marked three years since the start of the Russian aggression. The two countries have to reach an agreement on their future relations, the president said, adding that Ukraine must be an equal participant in the talks. Enforcing peace under conditions that Ukraine could not accept would send a negative message for the resolution of conflicts elsewhere in the world, she believes.

Fajon says Israel-Hamas ceasefire must be sustained

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said ahead of an EU-Israel Association Council meeting that she would tell her Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip must be sustained. She noted that Israel must hold its end of the bargain, expressing concern over the Israeli authorities not having released Palestinian political prisoners on Saturday, which is not in line with the ceasefire agreement. She said she would also stress that any kind of annexation of the West Bank by Israel is unacceptable.

PM congratulates Merz, wishes him smooth government formation

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob congratulated on Sunday evening the most likely next German chancellor Friedrich Merz and the Christian CDU/CSU alliance after it became clear that they won the early general election in Germany. Golob also wished him smooth government formation and said that the EU needed a strong Germany.

SDS files motion to dismiss National Assembly vice president

LJUBLJANA - The deputy group of the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) filed a motion to dismiss National Assembly Vice President Nataša Sukič following her claims about the lowering of the pension base rate during the term of an SDS-led government in 2012. The SDS accused her of knowingly spreading lies, while the public pension insurance fund ZPIZ also refuted her claims. Responding to the motion, Sukič's party, the Left, doubled down on what the SDS said was a cynical response to its request for apology last week.

Organisation calls for guarantee of Slovenian minority MP in Austria

KLAGENFURT, Austria - An umbrella organisation of the Slovenian minority in Austria called on the future Austrian government coalition to follow Germany's example and commit to a guaranteed MP seat for ethnic minorities in the federal legislature and a guarantee of a Slovenian minority MP in the Carinthia state parliament. The National Council of Carinthian Slovenians (NSKS) made the appeal a day after Germany's general election, where minority representation is better regulated than in Austria.

Support for government down to 28.4%

LJUBLJANA - Support for the government remains low, with fewer than 29% of the respondents backing it in the latest Mediana survey for the commercial broadcaster POP TV. The opposition Democratic Party (SDS) remains in the lead (21.3%), followed by the ruling Freedom Movement (13%) and the coalition SocDems (7.5%). 28.4% of those polled expressed support for the government, while 59% don't support it. The National Assembly is supported by 21.7%, opposed by 61.3%, with 17% undecided.

Business sentiment up in February

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's business sentiment rose by 0.3 percentage points in February to stand at -2.2 percentage points, shows data published by the Statistics Office. Business sentiment increased by 0.7 points compared to February 2024 but stayed level with the long-term average. The index was boosted by sentiment in manufacturing, which contributed 0.5 points to the growth, services (0.2 points) and construction (0.1 points).

Constitutional Court annuls one provision of contentious animal welfare law

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court has annulled one of several provisions of the Animal Protection Act that were challenged in December 2023 by the upper chamber of parliament, acting on behalf of farmers, amid a controversy over the role of animal rights groups in inspection procedures at farms. According to the newspaper Dnevnik, the court annulled a provision under which qualified reporting persons (activists) could demand that the findings of veterinary inspection be reassessed if they did not agree with them. Branko Tomažič of the National Council regretted that the court had not also annulled some other provisions, arguing that giving state administration powers to NGOs would create a foundation for a parallel control mechanism to emerge.

Fuel prices to go up slightly at midnight

LJUBLJANA - Regulated fuel prices for the next two-week period will increase slightly at midnight. Regular petrol sold off motorways will be 0.3 cents dearer at EUR 1.538 per litre and diesel will come 1.2 cents dearer at EUR 1.598 per litre. The retail price of heating oil will also go up, by 1.4 cents to EUR 1.198 per litre.

SDS wants Tito Square in Velenje be renamed to honour miners

VELENJE - At the initiative of the Democratic Party (SDS), eleven of 33 municipal councillors in Velenje recently proposed that Tito Square be renamed Mining Square in a move that the proponents argue would honour the city's mining heritage. The majority of the council does not support the proposal, which is yet to be formally discussed. They believe the proposal is merely aimed at getting rid of the name of former Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito.