20 Feb 2020, 11:34 AM

Corruption Watchdog to Examine Staffing at Cultural Institutions

STA, 20 February 2020 - The parliamentary Culture Committee called on the corruption watchdog last night to look into appointments of heads of culture institutions made by the Culture Ministry due to suspicions of politically-motivated staffing. Culture Minister Zoran Poznič denies the allegations.

The committee session was called by the Left, which claims that Poznič, a member of the Social Democrats (SD), has been appointing people linked to the party to top positions in some of the main public institutions.

The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) will thus look into appointments and attempts to replace heads at the Technical Museum, the Slovenian Philharmonic and the Modern Gallery museum.

Poznič defended the decision to appoint a translator to the helm of the Technical Museum late last year despite the fact that the museum's council and expert board found that director Nataša Polenec was the only candidate to meet the conditions from the call for applications.

Poznič said Polenec was replaced because he was unhappy with the way she led the museum. However, Polenec challenged the appointment of Barbara Juršič in administrative court. She achieved a temporary suspension and took over from Juršič after only ten days.

Luka Mesec of the Left said in the debate that the head of the Book Agency was facing dismissal by the ministry and criticised the situation in the Ljubljana Opera House after the appointment of Staš Ravter, who was allegedly responsible for the closure of the Kinodvor cinema years ago.

Poznič on the other hand, denied the allegations of political staffing and expressed anger over "half-truths and lies" reported by the media.

According to these reports, his predecessor Dejan Prešiček is a candidate for several jobs, Poznič said, while one of the employees in his office was reportedly to replace Zdenka Badovinac at the helm of the Modern Gallery, which Poznič said was absurd.

Poznič wants, according to the Left, to appoint Prešiček head of the Philharmonics. Indeed, the minister has launched the procedure to dismiss Philharmonic director Marjetka Mahne, citing poor business results.

Mahne, in response, said that she had complete control over the use of public funds. Most of the ensemble wants Mahne to stay, while the Philharmonics' two governing bodies have called on her to resign.

20 Feb 2020, 09:36 AM

Row Over Spying, Police, Hungary & Slovenian Politics Heats Up

STA, 19 February 2020 - Tensions are running high as the police and the Democrats (SDS) clashed over the jurisdiction of the parliamentary Commission for Intelligence and Security Services Oversight (KNOVS), which wanted to investigate on Tuesday allegations that police had been spying on coalition party heads on behalf of outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec.

Three KNOVS members made an unannounced visit to the police headquarters yesterday, investigating the suspicion that Šarec and his state secretary Damir Črnčec abused the police to gain information to extort party leaders in coalition-building talks with the SDS.

Šarec and Črnčec - the latter ran both national intelligence agencies under Janša's rule - both denied the allegations, with Šarec saying that the media "close to the SDS...are obviously describing their own methods".

He believes the SDS, whose MP Žan Mahnič led Tuesday's visit by KNOVS, is abusing the commission for political purposes.

"Independent institutions are investigating Hungarian funds which are flowing we all know where and attention has to be diverted," he said in reference to alleged by-bass funding of the SDS or the media associated with the party through circles close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Črnčec denied the allegation through his lawyer, and posted a lengthy post on Facebook this morning, criticising Janša. He also wondered why and for how much Janša had "sold Slovenia's national interests to Hungary".

He said in a post that Janša's and him parted ways parted when he had realised that "the SDS apparatus operates on the principles of a mafia business, where all paths lead to its leader and his inner circle".

Meanwhile, the police force also issued a determined response, underlining it is not "a dislocated unit of any politician or of any political organisation."

Police Commissioner Tatjana Bobnar said in a statement that the three members of KNOVS had tried to gain access to information that were beyond the scope of their legal powers.

The police said they wanted the names of police officers who potentially accessed records of certain MPs and information about ongoing investigations, including in cases without covert methods, the latter being in the domain of KNOVS.

Bobnar said the police would not give in to pressure from anybody and called for an election campaign built on arguments and not made-up stories at the expense of the police force and threats to its leadership. She vowed that the police would do everything in its power to prevent the spread of fake news within the force.

She also noted KNOVS deputy chair Žan Mahnič warned her she might want to think about her future because she would face criminal charges if the commission finds out that she was covering up political abuse of the police force. The statement interpreted as a threat was witnessed by Bobnar's deputy, as well as the boss of the criminal police departments.

Mahnič later tried to downplay this, announcing that a different parliamentary commission that is already looking into alleged politically-motivated prosecution would look into the spying allegations and demand the material that was denied to KNOVS.

The commission demands that the police provide within 10 days a list of all interventions into police records for any of the 90 MPs, all the cabinet ministers and the outgoing prime minister.

The General Police Administration said that the police had started checking the allegations and that the state prosecution would be kept informed.

Most parliamentary parties have expressed concern over the allegations. They believe that the matter should be investigated and all suspicions clarified.

According to reports by news portal Požareport, the alleged mission by Črnčec and Šarec targeted friends of Zdravko Počivalšek, the outgoing minister of economy and the head of the Modern Centre Party (SMC) and MPs of the SMC, as well as MPs of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and of the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB).

Meanwhile, the Left's MP Miha Kordiš labelled the developments as usual political scandaling, and took aim at the SDS.

The party and Janša have abused state institutions many times, he said, adding that Črnčec also belonged to that school of thought. It would not be surprising if the prime minister "has developed this bad habit too", he said.

20 Feb 2020, 04:02 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 20 February 2020

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here

This summary is provided by the STA:

Police, SDS at barricades over KNOVS investigation of police

LJUBLJANA - Tensions ran high after the parliamentary Commission for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services (KNOVS) visited the police headquarters on Tuesday over allegation police were spying on party leaders in coalition-building talks with Democrats (SDS) head Janez Janša. PM Marjan Šarec and his State Secretary Damir Črnčec, who headed both national intelligence agencies under Janša, categorically rejected the accusations as fake news propagated by the SDS. A major clash also ensued between the head of KNOVS's police visit, the SDS's Žan Mahnič, and Commissioner Police Commissioner Tatjana Bobnar. The latter denied any police spying and accused Manhič of threatening her as she refused to hand over documentation she says exceeds the jurisdiction of KNOVS. Mahnič downplayed this, while announcing the activation of another parliamentary commission to obtain the documents. Most parliamentary parties expressed concern over the allegations. They believe that the matter should be investigated and all suspicions clarified.

NGOs claim win in push for impact assessment of Krško N-plant life extension

LJUBLJANA - A group of NGOs has successfully challenged the decision of the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) that no environmental impact assessment is necessary for the 20-year life-span extension for Slovenia's sole nuclear power plant. PIC, Focus and Umanotera took ARSO's 2017 preliminary assessment decision to the Administrative Court, which leaned on a decision of the EU Court of Justice in a similar case involving a Belgian nuclear power plant. While the extension of NEK, launched in 1983, until 2043 seemed certain, ARSO will now have to conduct another preliminary assessment and later possibly also an impact assessment, which would also involved cross-border impact assessment.

Tourism and hospitality workers secure higher pay

LJUBLJANA - Representatives of tourism companies and of tourism and hospitality trade unions signed an agreement involving a two-stage increase of the lowest basic wages by a total of 10.25%. The annexe to the collective bargaining agreement for the sector envisages a 5% increase as of 1 March and 5.25% more as of 1 July, as well as a EUR 100 increase in the holiday allowance compared to 2019 to EUR 1,150. The Tourism Chamber noted that a 4% pay increase had already been agreed in 2019.

Prime timber auction fetches EUR 2 million

SLOVENJ GRADEC - The 14th annual auction of valuable timber in the northern town of Slovenj Gradec saw roughly EUR 2 million worth of logs change hands. More than half of the wood was sold abroad with the biggest buyer coming from China. Like in the previous years the sycamore maple attracted the highest bids. A 100-year old log cut in the woods below Mount Snežnik in the south of the country was sold to a German buyer for EUR 29,160 or EUR 14,414 per cubic metre, which the organizers described as an absolute record.

Slovenian companies finally can do business on Amazon Europe

LJUBLJANA - As of Wednesday, Slovenian companies are able to do business on Amazon Europe, which comes with a delay as the US tech company had to make technical adjustments to include Slovenia among supported countries, the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Development and Technology has announced. The start of operations for Slovenian companies on Amazon Europe had been announced for last year, but the ministry said that the deadline has been moved forward in order to provide better user experience.

Filmmaker Kugler to be honoured with lifetime achievement award

LJUBLJANA - Film director Ema Kugler is the winner of this year's Štiglic lifetime achievement award in film and theatre directing. She will receive the accolade given out by the Association of Slovenian Directors at an award ceremony on 27 February. The association said Kugler, whose work bridges the gap between experimental and conventionally narrated films, was a multidisciplinary artist who had worked in film as director, screenwriter, editor, set designer and costume designer, while in theatre, she had authored performances and designed sets.

Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

19 Feb 2020, 20:02 PM

Add to the Atmosphere & Take Great Pictures at Ljubljana’s Dragon Carnival, Saturday 22/02/20

Many places are celebrating Pust this Saturday (22/02), with the Shrovetide/pagan carnival giving people an excuse to dress up and take part in, or watch and thus enhance, a variety of ethnographic spectacles and traditions. Not least of these will be the parades featuring characters such as the UNESCO recognised kurenti – the hairy guys with bells – along with witches, idiots, whip-crackers and more, as seen in the following photographs and which you can read more about here.

Wherever you are in Slovenia you shouldn't be too far somewhere doing something like this, if not on Saturday then in the days after, and if you're lucky enough to be around some of the bigger celebrations then it's a good idea to make sure your phone and / or camera battery is fully charged. I took the pictures shown above at last year’s Dragon Parade in Ljubljana, to be held again this Saturday, starting at 11:00 in Prešeren Square, but also making its way through the streets to end up with an entertainment programme in Kongresni trg / Zvezda Park.

19 Feb 2020, 15:42 PM

Slovenian Firms Can Now Operate on Amazon Europe

STA, 19 February 2020 - As of today, Slovenian companies are able to do business on Amazon Europe, which comes after a delay as the US tech company had to make technical adjustments to include Slovenia among supported countries, the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Development and Technology has announced.

The start of operations for Slovenian companies on Amazon Europe had been announced for last year, but the ministry said that the deadline has been moved forward in order to provide better user experience.

Last year the ministry worked intensively with Amazon to enable Slovenian firms to do business on Amazon Europe's e-commerce platform as soon as possible, it added.

The ministry said last April that the Amazon Europe platform would be enabled for Slovenian companies soon, but then said at the end of August that the operations would start in November 2019.

"Amazon had envisaged that all required technical solutions will be implemented in the third quarter of last year, but there was a delay in order to establish a better user experience for the participating companies."

The ministry has called on all interested companies to utilise the new e-commerce channel to place their products on the market, labelling Amazon the largest such channel in the world and an exceptional opportunity for Slovenian companies.

19 Feb 2020, 13:48 PM

PM Denies Abusing Police to End Coalition Talks

STA, 19 February 2020 - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec has denied allegations that he and his State Secretary Damir Črnčec demanded information from the police about party officials in coalition-building talks with the Democrats (SDS) so as to pressure them to withdraw from the talks.

"When various portals close to the SDS report that I ordered lists and whatever else about parties in government negotiations it is clear that they are describing their own methods," Šarec tweeted last night.

Ko razni portali, ki so blizu SDS poročajo, da sem naročil sezname in ne vem kaj še vse o strankah, ki se pogajajo za vstop v vlado, je jasno, da opisujejo svoje metode. To je napad na policijo brez primere. Verjamem, da bi pri njih tako delovalo. In verjetno kdaj tudi je.
— Marjan Šarec (@sarecmarjan) February 18, 2020

"This is an attack on the police force without comparison. I believe that things would work that way with [SDS]. Maybe they already did in the past," he also said in the tweet posted after it was reported that the parliamentary Commission for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services (KNOVS) had visited the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) [that story is here].

On Facebook this morning Šarec said: "This is the same scenario all over again; a few KNOVS members make an unannounced visit to the NBI and the police. Because the NBI is allegedly being abused to persecute political opponents.

"But in truth, KNOVS is the one being abused and nobody else. Independent institutions are investigating Hungarian funds which are flowing we all know where and attention has to be diverted."

Yesterday's inspection was headed by KNOVS vice president Žan Mahnič, a member of the SDS, the party associated with media that have allegedly received funding from circles close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

It was reported last week that the NBI was investigating alleged funding from Hungary to two media outlets close to the SDS, which the SDS has no denied. However, the police said yesterday in relation to this that they were not investigating illegal funding of political parties but a criminal act investigated ex officio.

Šarec's State Secretary Črnčec issued a statement through his lawyer last night denying reports by the right-leaning Demokracija that he had spun a web of spies.

This morning, he also took to Facebook, posting a strong-worded criticism of SDS leader Janez Janša. Črnčec used to be an associate of Janša's and was appointed the head of the Intelligence and Security Agency at the Ministry of Defence in 2005 when Janša was first prime minister and became the head of the National Intelligence and Security Agency SOVA in 2012 when Janša was prime minister a second time.

Today, he said that Janša's modus operandi was harmful to democracy and right-wing political parties. He said that their ways parted when he realised that "the SDS apparatus operates on the principles of a mafia business, where all paths lead to its leader and his inner circle".

He said he needed a while to realise the ramifications of Janša's modus operandi, which, he says entails submissiveness to foreigners while systemically undermining vital social subsystems, like freedom of speech and other constitutional values, in Slovenia.

"Yesterday's fake news about alleged mass espionage, the abuse of KNOVS by MPs of the SDS, and the attack on the police show how close Slovenia is to slipping into Janševist authoritarianism, funded with no-good money from abroad."

In his post, Črnčec also wonders "why and for how many Judas silver coins or millions did [Janša] sell Slovenia's national interests to its eastern neighbour".

19 Feb 2020, 12:44 PM

Parliamentary Commission Examines NBI on Suspicion of Political Influence

STA, 18 February 2020 - The parliamentary Commission for Intelligence and Security Services Oversight performed an unannounced inspection at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI; Nacionalnega preiskovalnega urada – NPU; “Slovenia’s FBI”) on Tuesday, investigating suspicion that pressure was being exerted on political officials participating in coalition-building talks conducted by the Democrats. The police strongly rejected this.

Commission vice president Žan Mahnič, a member of the Democrats (SDS), told the STA that three commission members visited the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on suspicion that outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and his state secretary Damir Črnčec had abused intelligence and security services to "influence, threaten and extort MPs and leaderships of parties of the potential future coalition".

Mahnič was accompanies to the NBI by his party colleague Zvonko Černač, and Branko Simonovič of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), which is also in talks for the potential new coalition.

This comes after newsportal Požareport reported that Črnčec has delivered to certain criminal police officers "a list of people who had to be processed for information".

This alleged mission reportedly targetted friends of Zdravko Počivalšek, the outgoing minister of economy and the head of the Modern centre Party (SMC) and MPs of the SMC, as well as MPs of DeSUS and of the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), the portal said.

It added that criminal police had also been looking into privatisation of spa operator Terme Olimija, where Počivalšek served as CEO for a long period before becoming economy minister.

Commercial broadcaster Kanal A reported that KNOVS members spent an hour and a half talking to Police Commissioner Tatjana Bobnar. Mahnič told the STA the group could not perform the inspection in its entirety because Bobnar had blocked them.

"We wanted to see who of the employees might have gone through records of certain MPs and politicians in the past days and weeks, but she would not permit it," Mahnič said.

The police, meanwhile, released a strong-worded response, rejecting the reports that criminal police officers were looking into party officials at the order of the prime minister's office. "We are not a dislocated unit of any politician or of any political organisation."

"Background checks of people for political reasons are not a part of the police job description, legally defined or otherwise. The police does not investigate a list of politicians and their families based on an order.

"There are no confidants in the police to carry out such operations on the orders of any politician, and the collecting of useful information is not the police force's job."

The police sees the developments as a result of "mutual accusations in different media among different sides, who show a distorted image of the police force's work".

"In order to get the police force to engage in the debate, and operating under the principle of the goal justifying the means, they are discrediting certain units, the leadership and individuals within the force."

The General Police Administration believes that the goal is to destabilise the criminal police force, reduce its effectiveness and indirectly influence its work in concrete investigations. However, the police force will not give in, the statement says.

The statement also touched on the recent reports about alleged funding of the SDS from Hungary being investigated by the NBI, saying that the NBI "is not investigating illegal funding of political parties, but has been investigating since March 2018 suspicions that a criminal act had been committed for which the perpetrator must be persecuted ex officio.

"Irrespective of the suspect in this case, the police will, now and in the future, carry out the investigation with expertise and in line with the law, no matter the pressure exerted."

Črnčec meanwhile issued a statement through his lawyer, denying a report posted on the website of the right-leaning Demokracij that he had established a network of spies to exert pressure on party officials.

He also said that he had not subjected to himself the police or intelligence services and abused his previous positions. Črnčec served as director general of the Intelligence and Security Agency at the Ministry of Defence between 2005 and 2012, after which he was appointed director of the intelligence and security service SOVA.

19 Feb 2020, 11:19 AM

Petrol Buys E3 from Elektro Primorska

STA, 18 February 2020 - The business newspaper Finance has reported that the energy company Petrol will acquire E3, the subsidiary of the power distributor Elektro Primorska which is one of the largest electricity sellers in the country. The acquisition would bring Petrol's share on the electricity retail market up to 20%.

According to Tuesday's report in Finance, the sale has been approved by the supervisors of Elektro Primorska, and the contract is expected to be signed by the end of February.

Petrol responded with a posting on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange saying it had been chosen as the most favourable bidder to buy E3 and was continuing talks on the company's acquisition.

Finance reported in its online edition that Petrol would pay roughly EUR 15 million for E3. The value of the deal is not known officially.

Elektro Primorska distributes electricity in south-western, western and north-western Slovenia, covering around 22% of the country's territory.

It had decided to sell the electricity retailer E3 because Elektro Primorska provides a public utility service and must not finance commercial activities, Finance explained.

The buyer of the subsidiary will have to meet certain conditions, including preserving the brand, the current number of employees and the seat in Nova Gorica, and further developing the company.

By selling E3, Elektro Primorska will get out of the electricity retail business, and meet one of the formal criteria for obtaining concession for a system operator for the distribution network in the region of Primorska.

In the past, the plan was to merge the energy distributor ECE and E3 under the wing of the state-owned power utility HSE, but it failed as the market regulator said this would violate market concentration rules.

Elektro Primorska continued with the procedure to offload E3, with Gen-I, Petrol and HSE submitting bids, and the fuel retailer being selected as the most favourable bidder.

E3 has a 11% market share in Slovenia, and an even higher, 15% share, in the sale of electricity to households. This makes it the fourth largest electricity retailer in the country.

According to Finance, the acquisition brings Petrol's share on the electricity retail market up to 20%, while its market share in the supply of households will reach almost 25%.

19 Feb 2020, 09:21 AM

Slovenia Ready for COVID-19 Diagnosis, Not Outbreak

STA, 18 February 2020 - Slovenia is well prepared for early diagnosis in the case of an outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, but its hospitals could not handle a great number of patients, experts told the parliamentary Health Committee on Tuesday. Slovenia's hospitals have been neglected for too long and are ill-equipped for a big epidemic, the body heard.

The committee convened to discuss the country's preparedness for COVID-19 on the demand of the Democratic Party (SDS), with its MPs Jelka Godec saying today that the government and health institutions had failed to provide concrete information.

Health Ministry state secretary Simona Repar Bornšek said that instructions to passengers entering the country have been put up on all entry points, as well as hospitals and health centres.

"Health care personnel have been given concrete information. All institutions have their own pandemic plans in place," she said, adding that there is a very clear course of procedure for COVID-19 and that there is currently no need for additional measures in schools and kindergartens.

Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of the UKC Ljubljana infectious disease clinic told the committee that the hospital had performed an extensive training for its health care staff, while UKC Maribor has also included its cleaning staff in the training.

Lejko Zupanc, as well as Aleš Rozman, the head of the Golnik hospital, both expressed concern about hospitals being outdated and too small to handle a great number of patients.

"In Slovenia, we must work on hospital infrastructure. Improvisation cannot be our default work mode," Rozman stated.

19 Feb 2020, 04:10 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Wednesday, 19 February 2020

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here

This summary is provided by the STA:

Tusk pleads with Slovenian EPP members to form coalition

LJUBLJANA - Donald Tusk, the head of the European People's Party (EPP), pleaded with the Slovenian members of the EPP not to waste the chance to take "leadership in both the parliament and the government", after meeting New Slovenia (NSi) head Matej Tonin in Brussels. NSi is in talks to form a government headed by the fellow EPP member Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and also involving the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and the Modern Centre Party (SMC) after PM Marjan Šarec stepped down.

Intelligence services commission investigating suspicion of abuse of NBI

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Commission for Intelligence and Security Services Oversight (KNOVS) performed an unannounced inspection at the National Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, investigating suspicion that that outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and his state secretary Damir Črnčec had abused intelligence and security services to "influence, threaten and extort MPs and leaderships of parties of the potential future coalition," said KNOS vice president Žan Mahnič, a member of the Democratic Party (SDS), which is trying to form the coalition. The police released a strong-worded response, denying the media reports that raised these suspicions.

Slovenians quarantined on cruise ship due home by weekend

LJUBLJANA - The three Slovenian couples quarantined on the cruise ship Diamond Princess in the Japanese port of Yokohama are expected to return home by the end of the week. The Foreign Ministry, which is organising their return home in cooperation with other European countries, said all six of them were feeling fine. Two of them have tested negative for the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, while the results for the other four passengers are not yet available. They will be tested again upon their return home. Discussing the outbreak today, the government said no infection had been detected in Slovenia this far.

Slovenia well equipped for COVID-19 diagnosis, less for outbreak, experts say

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is well prepared for early diagnosis in the case of an outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, but its hospitals could not handle a great number of patients, experts told the parliamentary Health Committee. Slovenia's hospitals have been neglected for too long and are ill-equipped for a big epidemic, the body heard. "In Slovenia, we must work on hospital infrastructure. Improvisation cannot be our default work mode," Aleš Rozman, the head of Golnik hospital, said.

Petition urges Šarec to take more decisive climate action

LJUBLJANA - A petition addressed to PM Marjan Šarec and backed by 12,700 individuals and 255 organisations called for the government to take more resolute measures to fight climate change in response to the latest warnings from experts. The call for timely decarbonisation of the energy, transport and agriculture sectors comes as the caretaker government is to adopt the national energy and climate plan, which sets out the course of action until 2030.

Culture Ministry condemns attacks on journalists

LJUBLJANA - The Culture Ministry joined the condemnation of different forms of attacks on journalists reporting about alleged funding from circles around Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of media with ties to the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS). Echoing last week's reaction by the Journalists' Association (DNS), the ministry said the recent outburst of public stigmatisation and even street assaults on journalists was a worrying indication of an escalation of pressure.

Illegal migration almost doubled in January

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian police recorded 595 cases of illegal crossing of the border in January, or 84.8% more than in the same month last year. As many as 30% of these involved Moroccans, followed by Afghans and Egyptians. The number of asylum applications rose by 48.6% compared to 235. Only 12 persons were granted asylum, while procedures were suspended in 180 cases, mostly because the applicants left the county. Slovenian authorities returned to 362 migrants to Croatia.

Slovenia fully meets aid commitment for Iraq

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry said that Slovenia had recently donated EUR 40,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross for immediate humanitarian aid to Iraq, thus fully meeting the commitment it gave as part of the international conference for reconstruction of Iraq, held in Kuwait in February 2018. At the conference, Slovenia promised EUR 100,000 in aid for the 2018-2020 period. It had already transferred two EUR 30,000 instalments earlier.

SDS questions Petrol deal with Russian company under US sanctions

LJUBLJANA - The Democrats (SDS) called for an emergency session of the parliamentary Public Finance Oversight Commission to examine a cooperation memorandum signed last September by the state-controlled energy company Petrol with a Russian company subject to US sanctions. The memorandum with T Plus was signed as part of a visit to Moscow by outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and envisages cooperation with the T Plus Group and Schneider Electric Russia in the field of energy efficiency.

Pensioners to benefit from 3.2% rise

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian pensioners can look forward to 3.2% higher pensions at the end of the month as part of a regular annual adjustment with wages and consumer prices. Pensions will be adjusted as of January at the annual cost of EUR 172 million to The Pension and Disability Insurance Institute (ZPIZ), director-general Marijan Papež said as the rise was endorsed by the ZPIZ council. Provided that the economic growth exceeds 2.5%, pensions will rise again at the end of the year.

Cancelled bidder for Koper-Divača bridge tender gets another chance

LJUBLJANA - The bidder that won the public tender for the first of several bridges on the planned new railway between the port of Koper and Divača but was later dismissed over flawed documentation has been successful with its appeal. 2TDK, the state company managing the construction, announced it would ask Markomark Nival to change its subcontractor. This was after the National Review Commission said 2TDK had been right to doubt one of the references listed by the bidder but should not have annulled the tender.

Journalist organisations protest against layoffs at Delo

LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Journalists and Journalists' Association (DNS) issued a protest against the ongoing layoffs at Delo, the largest newspaper publisher in the country. The two organisations say the management is abusing social dialogue and demolishing the newspaper and Slovenian journalism by shedding a quarter of its workforce within three years. Delo confirmed laying off seven journalists and photographers today as part of a reorganisation, but denied any violations.

Cinkarna Celje's main product classified as suspected carcinogen

CELJE - Cinkarna Celje, one of the biggest chemical companies in the country and one of the few makers of titanium dioxide, a substance used in pigments, is facing a challenge after its main product was declared as suspected of causing cancer by the European Commission. Cinkarna Celje said it had been introducing measures to reduce potential risks since 2006. The company regretted that the classification wording was unclear and allowed various interpretations.

Petrol acquiring power retailer for western Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - The energy company Petrol confirmed that it had been chosen as the best bidder to acquire E3, the subsidiary of the power distributor Elektro Primorska which is one of the largest electricity sellers in the country. The newspaper Finance reported that Petrol would pay EUR 15 million for E3 and that the agreement was to be signed by the end of February. The acquisition would raise Petrol's share in the electricity retail market to 20% and the share in power supply to households to almost 25%.

Postal company plans further expansion in SE Europe

MARIBOR - Having finalised the acquisition of the logistics company Intereuropa, the national postal operator Pošta Slovenije plans to further expand in the markets of the Southeast Europe and make EUR 195 million in investment over the next six years. The company expects to generate EUR 457 million in revenue this year. Its strategic development plan by 2025 has recently been endorsed by Slovenian Sovereign Holding. Pošta Slovenije and Intereuropa employ a combined 8,000 people.

Israir Airlines to connect Ljubljana and Tel Aviv

BRNIK - The Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) announced that Israeli airline Israir Airlines would start flying between Tel Aviv and the Slovenian capital in April. The STO said that the link was a result of presentations to business and individuals in Israel at the IMTM tourism conference in Tel Aviv. The scheduled link will be launched with three flights in April, and continued with two flights a week between 23 May and 13 October.

Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here

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