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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:
Record amount of Hungary-bound heroin seized at Koper port
LJUBLJANA/KOPER - Slovenian customs officers and police seized 730 kilos of heroin at the port of Koper in October, the largest heroin bust in the history of modern Slovenia. The shipment from Iran, the street value of which is estimated at up to EUR 87 million, was bound for a company in Budapest. The police and the Financial Administration (FURS) said a container shipment containing 437 rolls of polyethylene foil had been evaluated as risky at the port. Upon close inspection, it was discovered that 42 of the rolls contained 1,421 packs of heroin. The Slovenian authorities contacted colleagues in Hungary only to discover that they had already been conducting an investigation against known suspects.
Two-day postal strike ends with deal on pay rise
MARIBOR - After a two-day strike, postal services in the country were back to normal today as the management of national postal company Pošta Slovenije and the Trade Union of Postal Workers reached a deal late on Tuesday. The union, one of two in the company, had made several demands in late October, with all but one - a 10% pay rise - resolved before the strike, the first ever at Pošta Slovenije. It was agreed the wage bill for workers handling mail would increase to EUR 7.5 million, which is less than the EUR 12 million initially estimated. Wages are to rise over a period of two years, with the lowest ones rising by EUR 60-100 gross.
National Security Council wants tougher laws against militias
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian National Security Council has called on the government to table legislation that would allow law enforcement to prosecute paramilitary militias, which have recently sprung up and started to patrol the border to keep illegal migrants out. Changes to the penal code and misdemeanour regulations are needed to "appropriately sanction association and activities by various organisations that encroach on the powers of state authorities", the National Security Council said after today's session. The appeal comes in the aftermath of increased activity by militias including the Štajerska Guard, whose leader Andrej Šiško was sentenced to eight months in prison earlier this year for attempting to subvert the constitutional order.
EU court to start oral hearings in Teran case on 3 December
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The General Court of the EU will start with oral hearings related to Slovenia's legal action against the European Commission for granting Croatia a derogation enabling it to use Teran, the name of red wine protected by Slovenia, on 3 December, shows the court's calendar. Although the word at the beginning of 2018 was that the court could issue a verdict by the end of 2019, the oral hearings will be held only at the beginning of this December. Slovenia brought the legal action in September 2017, protesting against the Commission's decision to enable Croatia to use the name Teran for a grape variety for the designated Hrvatska Istra (Croatian Istra) wine label under certain terms.
Kangler inquiry now unable to interview prosecutors
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court has imposed another temporary injunction on the law and rules governing parliamentary inquiry. This means that, pending the court's final decision, the inquiry into prosecution of former Maribor Mayor Franc Kangler will not be able to interview prosecutors after the same restriction was imposed last month in relation to judges. The Supreme State Prosecution requested a review of the Kangler inquiry arguing it represents an encroachment on the judiciary's independence. The inquiry into the allegedly politically-motivated prosecution of Kangler was endorsed by the lower chamber of parliament in July on request of the upper chamber of parliament, a member of which is also former Mayor Kangler.
Slovenia supports collaboration among W Balkan countries, FM says
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia supports the cooperation of Balkan countries, such as in the case the mini-Schengen collaboration between North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania, Foreign Minister Miro Cerar told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee, arguing such actions also benefitted Slovenia. However, the key to these countries' better cooperation and success in the future will be their joining the EU, said Cerar, reiterating Slovenia's official position on EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans. He was also quizzed about response to a number of hotspots around the globe, including Turkey's intervention in Syria and drilling for oil off the coast of Cyprus, while the Committee also discussed, yet behind closed doors, the expansion of Slovenia's diplomatic and consular network.
High reps for succession broach all open issues
ZAGREB, Croatia - High representatives for succession to former Yugoslavia held their first meeting in four years to review the implementation of the 2001 succession agreement. Slovenia's High Representative for Succession Mateja Vraničar Erman said it was important that all successor countries agreed on the need to discuss all open issues. Aside from the need to digitise Yugoslav archives, Slovenia said it was necessary to come to an agreement on the use of the Yugoslav pavilion for the Venice Bienale, which Slovenia thinks should be used by all successor countries. Slovenia and Serbia also initiated a debate on the maintenance of war memorials and grave sites, Vraničar Erman said after the meeting. The next meeting is to be held in North Macedonia in June 2020.
Unhappy with imminent increase in minimum wage, employers urge new pay model
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian employers agreed at their annual get-together that the latest changes to the minimum wage called for a new pay model, which should be professional and fair and which should be a result of social dialogue. Opening the Day of Employers, the director general of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), Sonja Šmuc, said employers had been "hit by the Sword of Damocles" against their will with last year's legislative changes which raise the minimum wage. In what is another expression of grievance over the 2020 minimum wage raise, the employers called on the ministries of labour and economy to help them come up with measures to mitigate the expected consequences, as they fear that many companies will be affected, especially in the light of the expected economic slowdown.
State-owned postal operator acquires logistics company Intereuropa
LJUBLJANA - Pošta Slovenije, the state-owned postal operator, completed the acquisition of a 72% stake in logistics company Intereuropa, which cost it EUR 28.75 million. The company will now publish a takeover bid for the outstanding Intereuropa stock and for its subsidiaries in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosna-Herzegovina. Pošta's director general Boris Novak said the acquisition was one of the most important steps in the company's history and its biggest investment to date, announced Intereuropa's integration into the Pošta Slovenije group would create one of the biggest logistics companies in the country. "Our goal is to become the leading provider of comprehensive logistics solutions in the wider SE European region," he said.
Slovenian life expectancy above OECD average, cancer mortality worse
LJUBLJANA - A recent OECD report on health indicators shows that life expectancy in Slovenia of 81.1 years is slightly above the OECD countries' average of 81 years. Slovenians also eat more fruit and vegetables than the average, while the country's cancer mortality and suicide rates are above it; 243 persons die from cancer out of 100,000 citizens in Slovenia, while the OECD average stands at 201. As for suicide, Slovenia ranks third among OECD countries with 18.1 persons committing suicide out of 100,000 citizens, placing behind Lithuania and South Korea. Slovenians, however, exercise more than residents of the other OECD countries on average, but they also consume more alcohol and cigarettes.
Hungarian driver dies as his truck plummets from viaduct
LJUBLJANA - A 53-year-old Hungarian truck driver died as his tank truck came crashing off one of the viaducts on Ljubljana's ring road, plummeting some 20 metres, during this morning's rush hour. The Ljubljana Police Department said the accident happened when a 40-year Slovenian car driver crashed into the truck due to speeding. The driver was not driving under the influence, and was not injured. The tank truck did not carry hazardous cargo. The police investigation is continuing on suspicion that the car driver caused a car crash out of negligence, which carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.
LIFFe gets under way with acclaimed US filmmaker
LJUBLJANA - The 30th Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe) will get under way this evening with Tommaso, the latest film by acclaimed US filmmaker Abel Ferrara, a personal tale portraying the struggles of a recovering addict and ageing artist. Ferrara is also this year's honorary guest of the festival and will be honoured with a retrospective. The festival, running until 24 November, will feature almost 100 feature films and 25 shorts, also bringing acclaimed and experimental productions to Maribor, Celje and Novo Mesto.
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