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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:
President Pahor urges de-escalation in Middle East
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor called for a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East as he made an appeal for a peaceful resolution of disputes following the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by the US. He acknowledged that the order by US President Donald Trump to kill Soleimani had "caused tensions across the Middle East and in the entire international community". Meanwhile, defence expert Vladimir Prebilič said the Soleimani killing had been poorly thought through and that the move was made keeping only US interests in mind.
Pahor congratulates new Croatian president, happy with pledge to improve ties
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor congratulated Croatia's newly elected President Zoran Milanović, telling the press that he was happy that Milanović had made improving relations with Slovenia a priority. Although Milanović was Croatia's prime minister when the country unilaterally withdrew from the border arbitration procedure, Pahor hopes dialogue will lead to the implementation of the border arbitration decision. He is to attend Milanović's inauguration in early February.
Analyst reserved about Milanović's pledge to improve relations with Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian political analyst Borut Šuklje said one should be reserved about the announcement of the Croatian presidential election winner Zoran Milanović that he would improve relations with Slovenia, and pointed to his past actions and statements. He believes close tabs should be kept on what will be going on in the coming months. Šuklje noted that Milanović as prime minister signed the so-called Mokrice agreement in 2013 with then Slovenian PM Janez Janša, which included several commitments, none of which had been met by Croatia. Milanović was also against the border arbitration agreement in 2009.
Former Hypo execs sentenced to prison
LJUBLJANA - Four former top executives of Hypo Alpe Adria were sentenced to between six and eight years in prison for defrauding the now defunct financial group of EUR 22 million through property transactions. The Ljubljana District Court found former Hypo Alpe Adria CEOs Anton Romih and Božidar Špan, former Hypo Leasing director general Andrej Potočnik and former Hypo Alpe Adria Consultance director Andrej Oblak guilty of abuse of office and money laundering. The highest sentence, eight years in prison, was given to Oblak, the former CEO of Hypo Alpe Adria Consultance. Romih was given six years, Špan six years and six months and Potočnik six. The judging panel also imposed fines of EUR 37,000 on Oblak and EUR 35,000 on each of the other three defendants. The defence will appeal the ruling.
Slovenia gearing up for 10-year bond issue
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia plans to issue a ten-year bond and has mandated Barclays, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC, J.P. Morgan and Unicredit Banka Slovenija to manage the new euro benchmark, the Finance Ministry says on its web site. "The deal is expected to be launched in the near future, subject to market conditions," the treasury said about the bond with a stated maturity date in 2030. According to the debt financing programme, Slovenia will issue fresh bonds worth a maximum of EUR 1.58 billion this year. The country issued fresh debt worth EUR 1.5 billion in January 2019 and also in January 2018.
Melania Trump continues to top Reporter's list of most influential Slovenians
LJUBLJANA - US First Lady Melania Trump remains the most influential Slovenian, according to a list compiled by the right-leaning magazine Reporter, ahead of PM Marjan Šarec and UEFA boss Aleksander Čeferin. The Reporter Top 100 list takes into account formal influence associated with the person's post or job, as well as their informal influence. PM Šarec this year replaced Aleksander Čeferin in second spot, with Reporter commenting that along with the powers associated with the executive post, Šarec has also gained informal influence.
Slovenian judge Nina Betetto new CCJE head
STRASBOURG, France - Slovenian Supreme Court judge Nina Betetto took over on 1 January as the head of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE), a Council of Europe advisory body. Betetto, born in 1962, was elected the new president at the CCJE's plenary last November and UK judge Kim Lewison was elected vice president, a two-year office Betetto held previously. Betetto graduated in law in Ljubljana in 1985 and earned her master's degree in 1994. In 2006, she became a Supreme Court judge and has been a CCJE member since 2009.
SocDems want Slovenia, EU to help Australia fight fire
LJUBLJANA - The coalition Social Democrats (SD) want Slovenia and the EU to help Australia fight bushfires by offering civil protection resources and other forms of assistance to save lives. The party formally asked the government to offer assistance to Australia given that Slovenia has one of the best civil protection systems in the world and a broad network of voluntary firefighters. Slovenia should also offer secondary assistance by supporting NGOs that want to help Australia with activities such as reforestation and protection of animal and plant species.
Science Council backs umbrella research bill
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia seems to be a step closer to a new umbrella science and research law, as the Science and Technology Council, a body advising the government, backed a bill on science and research and on innovation. The bill aims to introduce stable funding at 1% of GDP after science and research suffered severe cuts during the recession, and consequently raise the autonomy and responsibility of research organisations. The bill will now be sent into inter-departmental harmonisation and then to the government. Jernej Pikalo, the minister in charge of science, expects it to be on the parliament's agenda in spring.
Humanitarian worker Kozorog named Slovenian Woman of the Year
LJUBLJANA - Physician and humanitarian worker Ninna Kozorog, the head of Humanitarček, an NGO which has campaigned for assistance to retirees living in poverty, was on Sunday declared the Slovenian Woman of the Year 2019 by the women's magazine Jana/Zarja. The association's activities include a project called Vida, which aims at highlighting the difficulties faced by the elderly in remote areas. According to Jana/Zarja, Kozorog always makes sure that people keep their dignity.
Pahor, Šarec thank carollers for bringing message of peace
LJUBLJANA - On Epiphany, child carollers dressed up as the biblical Magi visited President Borut Pahor, PM Marjan Šarec and Speaker Dejan Židan, who thanked them for bringing a message of peace, cooperation, respect and help to fellow human beings. The president said that, as messengers of peace, carollers had an important and noble mission, as not every part of the world enjoyed peace, with the world entering the new year with some concerns regarding international peace.
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