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This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenia elected to UN Economic and Social Council
NEW YORK, US - The UN General Assembly elected Slovenia to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the six principal bodies of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social policies of the organisation. Slovenia announced its candidacy for the ECOSOC for the 2023-2025 period five years ago, in what was the country's first candidacy for the rotating membership of 54 UN member states. Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon responded to the election on Twitter, declaring it "an important victory for Slovenia" and expression her "congratulations and thanks to the colleagues at the Foreign Ministry for the work they have done".
Pahor endorses Ukraine and W Balkans' EU future at SEECP forum
THESSALONIKI, Greece - President Borut Pahor stressed that "we must not leave Ukraine in the lurch" and urged EU enlargement to the Western Balkans as he addressed the annual summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), which he attended upon the invitation of Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He repeated his idea to give Bosnia-Herzegovina EU candidate status as soon as possible and only then expect the country to carry out certain reforms to get it out of the vicious circle. He will discuss this with European Council President Charles Michel next week, saying one should take advantage of the EU summit at the end of June to "accelerate the process of obtaining status for Ukraine, and bring the Western Balkans into this context".
FM Fajon notes importance of credible EU enlargement policy
THESSALONIKI, Greece - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon attended a ministerial of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Thessaloniki, noting the importance of a credible EU enlargement policy for the reform efforts of the Western Balkans. She said that enlargement policy was the EU's most effective geostrategic policy, which was also important in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the EU's future relations with Georgia and Moldova. She also had several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event.
SAF contingent deployed in Slovakia
LJUBLJANA - A 101-strong contingent of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) has arrived in Slovakia as part of NATO's international Enhanced Vigilance Activities, the SAF said. The first days are dedicated to creating the conditions for the operation and to integrating it into the international battalion battle group as soon as possible. The first phase will be followed by operational deployment. The Slovenian soldiers will operate within the framework of the international battle group command with a light infantry company. The government took a decision for Slovenia to take part in the Enhanced Vigilance Activities mission with up to 200 troops on 23 March.
Slovenia opts out of voluntary solidarity mechanism for now
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The Slovenian Interior Ministry said that for the time being, Slovenia does not intend to participate in the voluntary solidarity mechanism for the transfer of asylum seekers from the countries of their first entry, which has been unofficially joined by 12 EU member states so far. The statement comes as EU interior ministers reached progress in talks on the solidarity mechanism for the transfer of asylum seekers and strengthening of the EU border protection. French press agency AFP said the political statement discussed by the ministers provides for the establishment of a one-year solidarity mechanism that could be renewed.
Slovenian minister supports tighter rules on internal border checks
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - EU interior ministers reached agreement on a negotiating basis to reform the Schengen Borders Code as part of which the rules when a Schengen member state wants to reintroduce internal border controls would be tightened. Slovenian Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar stressed these checks must be temporary, and introduced only when other alternative measures have been exhausted. Austria has been controlling its border with Slovenia ever since the 2015 refugee crisis, with Slovenia arguing that there is no need for such checks any longer.
Media reveal deals with Covid ventilators included kickbacks
LJUBLJANA - Parts of the criminal complaint filed against former Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek over purchases of ventilators at the start of the Covid-19 epidemic were revealed on the Tarča current affairs news show on TV Slovenija on Thursday. Investigators are said to have found proof of deals for the payment of kickbacks and of notification of suspects about upcoming house searches. According to Tarča, documents from the police investigation show that there was an agreement between the Economy Ministry, company Geneplanet and communication agency Pristop regarding Geneplanet supplying ventilators to the state.
CoE sees progress in Slovenia's fight against money laundering
STRASBOURG, France - Slovenia has moderately improved its measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. However, there are still significant legislative deficiencies as regards the criminalisation of terrorism financing, suggests a report by MONEYVAL, the Council of Europe's (CoE) anti-money laundering body. Slovenia has demonstrated some progress at the level of compliance with the Financial Action Task Force standards, it noted.
Intelligence agency denies overstepping powers
LJUBLJANA - The SOVA intelligence and security agency said it did not breach its powers in recommending to former government officials right after the April election to destroy their work mobile phones and laptops before the transfer of power. Responding to a report on the matter by the investigative outlet Necenzurirano, which broke the story on Thursday, SOVA said this is a legitimate counter-intelligence measure.
Melamin promised full state support in renovation
KOČEVJE - New Economy Minister Matjaž Han promised Melamin the government's full support in reconstruction as he visited the Kočevje-based chemical company nearly a month after it was destroyed by a deadly explosion. As talks are under way to move the most hazardous part of Melamin's production to a different location, the minister said the key was for the company and the local community to agree on the location. Han expects opposition to relocation plans.
EU urged to act to stop anti-Roma sentiment
MURSKA SOBOTA - An international conference in Murska Sobota heard of the worsening situation of the Roma in Europe as genocide, hate speech and anti-Roma activities spread in some countries and Roma refugees from Ukraine were mistreated. The conference sent out a message to European institutions what Roma want and propose for the situation to improve. Jožek Horvat Muc, who heads the Slovenian Roma Association and the European Roma Union, said the EU had many declarations and levers to help threatened groups but more should be done in practice.
Anti-graft watchdog joins European network for public sector transparency
PARIS, France - Slovenia's Commission for the Prevention of Corruption joined the new European network for ethics in the public sector at an international conference hosted in Paris by the French High Authority for Transparency in Public Life. The network brings together akin bodies from another eleven EU countries. Although there are networks bringing together corruption prevention authorities at European level, this is the first one focusing exclusively on integrity in the public sector.
Koper port completes south quayside extension
KOPER - Luka Koper, Slovenia's sole maritime port, has completed a EUR 45.6 million investment by acquiring an operating permit for the last section of the new extension of Quay 1 of the container terminal, a release from the company said. The expansion of the container terminal will continue to the north "in what will be a much bigger investment", Luka Koper chairman Boštjan Napast said.
Industrial output up in April
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's industrial production rose by 2.1% in April year-on-year, mostly on the back of the increase in mining, as manufacturing drove a 0.4% month-on-month growth, the Statistics Office said. Industrial revenue rose by 2.3% month-on-month and by 18.9% at the annual level, with inventories in April 2022 up 1% on March and 23.2% on April 2021.
AmCham declares Top Potentials for 2022
LJUBLJANA - Aljaž Dobnikar, a software development engineer at Plume Design, and Matej Duraković, a talent acquisition partner at IBM Slovenija, were declared Top Potentials of the Year by AmCham Slovenia on Thursday evening. Dobnikar and Duraković were selected among the five superfinalists in the 12th generation of the AmCham Young Professionals programme.
Bode Miller partners with Elan in production of own ski brand
BEGUNJE NA GORENJSKEM - Former US skiing star Bode Miller has paid a visit to Slovenia as part of a partnership with sports goods maker Elan in the production of Miller's own ski brand. Miller was in Slovenia with his wife Morgan Beck, who published a series of Instagram photos, including a one of Miller in what appears to be an Elan production hall. Elan meanwhile confirmed a collaboration with Miller, saying that Peak Ski Company's skis would mostly be manufactured by Elan.
Slovenia pull off a point in Norway
OSLO, Norway - Slovenia pulled off a goalless draw with Norway in Oslo on Thursday evening to come away with their first point in this year's UEFA Nations League after previously losing to Sweden at home and Serbia away in group 4 of league B. Despite failing to score, the Slovenian side displayed much more fighting spirit than they did in Belgrade last Sunday.
