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A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here
This summary is provided by the STA:
Next EU Council president Michel optimistic about Brexit deal
LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel, the next president of the European Council, were optimistic the UK and the EU could still reach an agreement on Brexit as Michel visited Slovenia as he prepares to assume the new EU top job. Michel hopes London and Brussels could reach a Brexit deal, saying it would take willingness to find a solution in the coming weeks. Šarec agreed, saying he was convinced that as the new president of the EU Council, Michel would respect the rule of law, including in Schengen zone enlargement.
Bilateral ties, Schengen zone expansion in focus of Dutch FM visit
LJUBLJANA - Bilateral ties and Schengen zone expansion topped the agenda as Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok met his counterpart Miro Cerar, with the pair urging respect for international law and dedication to multilateralism. As for Schengen zone expansion, with Croatia tipped as the next country to enter, the ministers stressed new members needed to meet all conditions. Asked whether Croatia met all the conditions, Cerar only said "we're still waiting for a report" from the European Commission, and that it was a question for the Interior Ministry. Blok said the Netherlands wanted to be fair in deciding on any expansion of the Schengen zone and wanted to assess whether the border control procedures were adequate.
Foreign and EU affairs committees discuss Schengen expansion
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary foreign policy and EU affairs committees met for a joint session behind closed doors late today to discuss Slovenia's position on the expansion of the Schengen area. No formal decisions were expected to be taken, with the idea being to notify the committees and invite them to help form a position. The session followed reports that the European Commission is about to give Croatia the go-ahead to join the passport-free area. However, Foreign Policy Committee chair Matjaž Nemec said yesterday the debate on the committees would go beyond the expansion to Croatia.
Concerned about leaks, intel agency not yielding staffing info
LJUBLJANA - The national intelligence agency SOVA, declined to give the parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Commission information on the agency's staffing, requested in the wake of allegations that PM Marjan Šarec had intervened to secure a job to his female friend. The main reason is that SOVA is concerned the information would not be kept secret. In a letter to the commission, SOVA said that after the commission conducted oversight at the agency last week, one of the MPs leaked information obtained during the visit to the media.
Austria and Slovenia entering year of dialogue with music
VIENNA, Austria/LJUBLJANA - Austria and Slovenia launched a year of dialogue between neighbours, as part of which some 120 cultural, scientific, educational and other events are planned in the two countries until the autumn of 2020. The year of neighbourly dialogue opened simultaneously as the capitals of Ljubljana and Vienna hosted two jazz concerts. The year of dialogue is an initiative of Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and his former Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl to deepen cooperation. Austria has had similar campaigns with Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Ukraine.
Minority reps concerned about parliament reform in Italy
LJUBLJANA - Representatives of the Slovenian minority in Italy expressed concern over the law that will drastically reduce the number of seats in the Italian parliament as of next election, and believe that the urgent next move should be to secure parliamentary representation of the minority with a relevant law. The law, passed yesterday, would affect representation from Friuli Venezia Giulia, the north-easternmost region of Italy which is home to a sizeable Slovenian minority.
Central bank pulls brake on consumer loans
LJUBLJANA - After issuing a set of recommendations last November to warn against imprudent consumer lending practices, Banka Slovenije will introduce binding restrictions in November as it also stiffens a set of conditions for consumer loans. One of the main restrictions is the maximum 84-month maturity for consumer loans, down from 120 months recommended last year. Some changes will also apply to housing loans. "This is also to let the public know where the limits of healthy borrowing lie," Vice-Governor Primož Dolenc told the press.
Deal emerging to protect Slovenian Mercator suppliers
LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek expects that a draft agreement creating safeguards for Slovenian suppliers of retailer Mercator after its transfer to Fortenova will be ready soon. Počivalšek spoke to the press after meeting representatives of Mercator suppliers, its bankrupt Croatian owner Agrokor, Agrokor's successor Fortenova, and its key creditor, Russian Sberbank, following reports that Fortenova was planning to cut off the Slovenia-based core company from its subsidiaries in Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. He was assured the retail group would not be cut up into pieces.
Slovenian industry showcased in visiting CERN
GENEVA, Switzerland - Representatives of the government and Slovenian companies are visiting the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva until Thursday as part of efforts to boost the country's cooperation with this top research facility. Day of Slovenian Industry features representatives of 24 Slovenian companies active in various fields. Around 20 Slovenian scientists currently cooperate with CERN. Martin Steinacher, CERN director for finance and human resources, said there was no doubt that Slovenian companies could successfully cooperate with CERN as well.
Slovenia remains 35th in global competitiveness rankings
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia remained 35th in the 2019 World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report, scoring 70.2 points on a scale from 0 to 100, up from 69.6 points in 2018. It received the maximum 100 points for its macroeconomic stability and 90 points for the situation in the health sector, but fared the worst in the size of its market (48 points). The country improved its overall performance calculated from 12 pillars, by 0.6 points compared to 2018, when it climbed 13 spots due to changes in the methodology. Singapore overtook the US to claim the first place among 141 countries.
Koper port reports higher Q3 revenue
KOPER - Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole maritime port, saw its net sales revenue grow at an annual rate of 3% in the first three quarters of the year to EUR 170 million, mainly due to a growth in liquid cargo throughput. Overall cargo throughput increased minimally, by 78,000 to 17.74 million tonnes, show figures posted by the company on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.
Panel hears govt dares not to embark on serious tax reform
PORTOROŽ - Experts who gathered for a panel on taxes in Portorož believe that the government-proposed tweaks to tax legislation are only "cosmetic changes" and that no finance minister in Slovenia dares to embark on a serious reform because of the fear from a temporary loss of tax-related revenue. The participants pointed to the need to reduce the tax burden on entrepreneurs to stimulate higher wages and expenditure. The panel was the concluding event of a two-day tax and finance conference hosted by the training and networking company Planet GV in cooperation with several partners.
Show chronicles 15th-century Ljubljana, first bishop
LJUBLJANA - The National Gallery launched an exhibition on the 15th-century Ljubljana, vivid yet little known times when the town was promoted to diocese and got its first bishop. "The Great City of Ljubljana and its First Bishop Sigismund Lamberg (1420-1488)" brings a number of objects and documents related to the establishment of the diocese and the appointment of the bishop. Ljubljana was made a diocese and Lamberg appointed bishop by Emperor Frederick III in 1461. A year later, the pope confirmed Ljubljana as the diocese and gave the Church of St Nicholas the status of cathedral.
Exhibition honours Slovenians in US
LJUBLJANA - An exhibition entitled Slovenians in the US Today was opened in the park in front of the Slovenian parliament. The show was put up in cooperation with Joe Valenčič, an American with Slovenian roots, who prepared 10 boards showing how Slovenian culture and language continue to be nurtured by the Slovenian community in the US. Valenčič, a lecturer of Slovenian-US history, said there were over 500,000 Slovenian emigrants living in the US. Most of them had settled in large industrial or mining towns, while some had formed farming communities that continue to thrive.
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