STA, 19 November 2019 - A 38-year old man from Morocco who came out of prison at the end of September after serving a two-year prison sentence for robbery, is suspected of raping two students in Ljubljana, the newspaper Dnevnik reported on Tuesday.

He was brought before an investigating judge at the end of October, and was remanded in custody.

According to the Ljubljana police department, one crime was committed at a student dorm in the Bežigrad borough and the other about ten days later in the city centre.

The man was arrested based on a suspect description immediately after the second rape in the second half of October, the police told the paper. Both victims, a 22-year-old and a 23-year-old, positively identified the man, Dnevnik reported.

The 38-year-old already had a criminal record, having served two years for a robbery committed in June 2016 and receiving suspended sentences for theft. He had also been sentenced to three months for another case of theft.

According to Dnevnik's unofficial information, the man requested international protection in Slovenia a few years ago but his motion was denied.

After he was convicted he could have been ordered to leave the country, but was obviously not and also spent some time in one of northern European countries, according to the paper.

The Christmas lights are being turned on in many places around Slovenia next Friday, 29 November (see here), but things are already moving in a festive direction, and one seasonal treat for those who like to glide on blades of glory is the ice skating rink in Bled.

As usual this will be set up on the terrace of the Hotel Park, where from 22 November to 1 March 2020 a trip to this must-visit scenic area can be further enhanced by putting on some skates and either sliding with the elegance of swan or holding onto the side rails with wobbly legs, a bruised behind and wondering how soon you can get off for some mulled wine without losing face in front of the cool kids.

Related - How to spend from 4 to 48 hours in Bled

The rink is open from 09:00 to 20:00, Sunday to Thursday, 09:00 to 21:00 Friday and Saturday (as well as from 21 December to 5 January). Skates and helmets can be hired for €3 and €2, respectively. For children who require a little more stability a seal can be hired for 30 minutes for €3, and note that this a plastic device and not a friendly aquatic mammal. Entry to the ice rink itself is free for children under 12, and €5 for anyone older.

Moreover, in addition to regular skating the rink also offers curling, ice dances, children’s events and more, as outlined on the official website. The Hotel Park can be found at Cesta svobode 15, 4260 Bled.

STA, 20 November 2019 - Slovenia's draft budgetary plans for next year contain risks that could lead to non-compliance with EU budget rules, the European Commission said on Wednesday, adding the country might still end up complying with the rules considering the high degree of uncertainty in output gap estimates.

Today marks the first time since 2002 that none of the eurozone countries is subjected to excessive public finance deficit procedure, which means that all of them managed to contain their deficit under 3% of GDP.

The Commission found that the budgetary plans of Germany, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Austria are compliant with the 2020 requirements under the Stability and Growth Pact, Estonia and Latvia are broadly compliant, while the plans of Slovenia and seven other countries contain risks of non-compliance.

The budgetary plans of Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia and Finland "might result in a significant deviation from the adjustment path towards their respective medium-term budgetary objective," the Commission said.

Slovenia is expected to soon bring its general government debt below 60% of GDP and with its surplus in nominal terms the country is far from the deficit limit of 3% of GDP.

However, the country is not making progress fast enough, said Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, who is in charge of financial stability.

Taking into account the country's surplus of 0.5% of GDP and the uncertainties in the output gap calculations, Slovenia may come closer than expected to its medium-term budgetary objective, Dombrovskis said, adding that this may be confirmed in spring.

Slovenia's medium-term budgetary objective is a structural deficit of less than 0.25% of GDP, however, the Commission's autumn forecast for the country in 2020 puts the deficit at 0.9% of GDP.

According to unofficial sources, the Commission is not too worried about Slovenia and the country could become broadly compliant with the Stability and Growth Pact in the spring.

In a response, the Finance Ministry pointed to the differences in certain calculations in Brussels and Ljubljana which result, among other things, from different projections of economic growth and the output gap.

The Commission has estimated that Slovenia will record a nominal surplus of the general government sector of 0.5% of GDP this year and keep it at this level in 2020. The ministry has meanwhile assessed that the surplus will be at 0.8% this year and at 0.9% next year.

The ministry added that the assessments of the draft budgetary plans were based on the Commission's autumn projection of 2.6% GDP growth for this year and 2.7% growth for 2020.

This is a downgrade compared to the Commission's spring forecast and to the autumn forecast by the government macroeconomic think tank IMAD, which was used to draft the budgetary plan for 2020, it said.

"Since the Commission's projection is more pessimistic, its assessments of revenue and nominal balance are consequently somewhat lower."

STA, 20 November 2019 - Chemical company Cinkarna Celje generated a net profit of EUR 15.9 million by the end of the third quarter. Although 91% above plans, the figure was also 43% lower year-on-year. Net revenue stood at EUR 134.8 million, 1% more than in the same period the previous year.

"The management believes that the business results are very good in objective terms," says a business report published on Wednesday, which also notes that the company expected to see a net profit of EUR 8.3 million for the first nine months.

Last year, the company posted a record profit of EUR 30.6 million and by the end of the third quarter, profit had already soared to EUR 27.9 million.

Operating profit dropped by 44% over the same period last year to EUR 18.7 million. Exports reached EUR 119.4 million, 3% more than in the first three quarters of last year.

Cinkarna had no financial debt and recorded a total of EUR 27.7 million in deposits, which was 20% less than at the end of September 2018 and 17% less than at the end of 2018.

Its main product is titanium dioxide pigment, whose price has been falling in Europe and Asia due to the US-China trade wars, the company says in the report.

Protectionist measures by the US allow US producers to set higher prices, thus the price of the pigment on the US market has grown by about 5%. As a result, Chinese-made pigment is uncompetitive in the US and is therefore channelled to the European markets, pushing down prices.

STA, 19 November 2019 - Timur Rafailovic Eyvazov was appointed Russia's new ambassador to Slovenia by President Vladimir Putin on Monday, the Russian press agency Tass reports.

Eyvazov will take over from the long-serving Ambassador Doku Zavgayev, who came to Ljubljana in 2009.

There is no information as to when Eyvazov will take over.

Eyvazov has so far served as a counsellor at the Russian Embassy in France, according to the portal Russia Beyond.

The appointment of Zavgayev, the first pro-Russian leader of Chechnya, raised a lot of dust ten years ago over alleged human rights violations.

Zavgayev became the first pro-Russian leader of Chechnya in 1994 after Russian troops were sent to the restless republic. He had to leave his office in 1996 when the capital Grozny was taken by Chechen rebels, his stint marked by serious human rights violations in Chechnya.

He entered the Russian diplomatic service after leaving Grozny, and served as Russian ambassador to Tanzania from 1997 to 2004. He came to Slovenia from the post of Russian deputy foreign minister.

All our stories about Russia and Slovenia are here

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:

Slovenia's budgetary plans show risk of non-compliance, EU Commission says

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia's draft budgetary plans for 2020 contain risks that could lead to non-compliance with EU budget rules, the European Commission said, noting the country might still end up complying with the rules considering the high degree of uncertainty in output gap estimates. Slovenia is expected to soon bring its public finance debt below 60% of GDP and with its surplus in nominal terms, it is far from the deficit limit of 3% of GDP. However, it is not making progress fast enough, Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on the day when the state budgets for 2020 and 2021 are debated in Slovenian parliament. In a response, the Finance Ministry attributed the Commission's view to differences in calculations in Brussels and Ljubljana which result from their different projections of economic growth and the output gap.

EUR 1bn public pharma tender annulled over price

LJUBLJANA - The National Review Commission annulled a public call to procure EUR 1.1 billion worth of drugs for Slovenian public pharmacies in four years because the call did not allow bidding based on the lowest price. The call was published by the Chamber of Pharmacies in July 2019 for 23 public pharmacies and the rehabilitation institute URI Soča. In the call the highest wholesale price of prescription drugs set by the Slovenian Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices was given as the fixed price. In the wake of the decision, the Chamber of Pharmacies has requested a meeting with Health Minister Aleš Šabeder, saying it wanted to prevent a shortage of medications in the market and ensure the population equal access to medications across the country. Its head Miran Golub said the regulated highest price was set in the call in order to ensure a diversity of medications on offer in pharmacies.

Coalition determined to save budget bills

LJUBLJANA - Statements by coalition party leaders after a crunch meeting on the budget debate in parliament indicate that the coalition are determined to push the budget documents through within the expenditure caps set by the Finance Ministry and in this way preserve the minority government. Prime Minister Marjan Šarec described the discussion at the meeting as frank and constructive, saying the coalition leaders were agreed in their determination to continue their work together. "Above all, we agreed that it's in no one's interest for this government to fall," Šarec told reporters on the sidelines of a business summit after hosting other coalition leaders over working lunch earlier.

Cerar supports seeking experts' opinion on NATO reform

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia's Foreign Minister Miro Cerar endorsed Germany's proposal to form a group of experts to work out proposals to reform NATO, while he called French President Emmanuel Macron's NATO "brain death" comment unproductive. Speaking in Brussels where he attended a ministerial in preparation for the NATO summit in London on 3-4 December, Cerar said that everyone agreed today that unity, solidarity and joint commitment to common goals were crucial to the alliance's preserving its role. "We have ascertained that NATO is very much alive," Cerar said.

GZS summit sees companies progressing, but challenges remain

LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) hosted its annual summit, expressing satisfaction with the achievements of companies in recent years but also hearing calls for cooperation in the search for answers to the remaining developmental challenges. GZS chairman Boštjan Gorjup said open development issues and challenges could only be solved by all social partners together, adding that the GZS was investing effort to draft an acceptable, but also an ambitious social pact. The summit was attended by PM Marjan Šarec, who said that the government wanted to cooperate with businesses, adding that the real sector and the public sector were equally important.

Slovenian EPP members urge repairing injustice done to N Macedonia

ZAGREB, Croatia - As the European People's Party (EPP) met for a two-day congress in Zagreb to install former EU Council President Donald Tusk as its new leader, two Slovenian parties attending the event argued for repairing the injustice done to North Macedonia through the EU's failure to open accession talks with the country. The host, Croatian PM Andrej Plenković said that one of the declarations to be adopted by the congress would repair the injustice done to North Macedonia and Albania, but Janez Janša, the leader of the Democratics (SDS), opined that when it came to the matter the two countries were likely to be set apart. Another Slovenian representative, the head of New Slovenia (NSi), Matej Tonin, described the EPP declaration on the Western Balkans as terribly important.

Employing foreign workers entails certain responsibilities, debate hears

LJUBLJANA - The labour shortage Slovenian companies are faced with due to demographic changes and technological development is most frequently solved with foreign workers, but the concern for those people must not stop there, heard a debate hosted by the government's macroeconomic forecaster, IMAD. An IMAD analysis meanwhile showed the pool of Slovenian labour force could be expanded if citizens entered the labour market sooner and continued working for longer, and if the unemployed and the inactive population are activated. Brain drain also remains a problem, so in order for the country to maintain a sufficient number of potential staff it is important that more people move into the country than leave it, which however calls for an efficient migration and integration policy.

Healthcare debate hears calls for partnership with decision-makers

LJUBLJANA - A debate on Slovenian healthcare hosted by AmCham Slovenija heard calls for more cooperation between health institutions and decision-makers, and with the pharmaceutical industry. Insurer Vzajemna boss Aleš Mikeln said the term public healthcare was often understood as state healthcare. "If we are to make any long-term and serious changes, we must abandon the idea of state healthcare." He believes in public healthcare, it does not matter who provides the service, what matters is that "I do not go bankrupt if I get sick". He also believes competition is needed among both those who provide funding and those who provide services.

Calls to better protect children heard on Universal Children's Day

LJUBLJANA - A young UNICEF ambassador urged MPs to think of their children and grandchildren when building a world for the future, as the National Assembly marked the Universal Children's Day remembering the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 30 years ago. Arja Ela Hvala said Slovenia placed high on rankings evaluating the quality of life of children, but 45,000 children still lived under the poverty threshold. Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina called on state bodies to work together to mitigate the problems of children, noting not enough was being done in practice to ensure the full protection of children's rights in Slovenia. President Borut Pahor hosted a reception for children at the Presidential Palace, announcing he could establish a permanent committee for climate policy in Slovenia as the firts permanent, consultative body at the president's office.

Tourism holding Sava completes financial restructuring

LJUBLJANA - Tourism holding Sava has sold off its non-strategic assets, consolidated strategic investments and reduced debt as part of a court-mandated financial restructuring, expecting to post record results this year, Sava CEO Gregor Rovanšek told the STA. Sava has thus become Slovenia's largest tourism group. Its creditors, which have been also its owners since a debt-to-equity swap three years ago (state-run SSH and KAD, and the York fund)), are now expected to decide whether it would be preserved, or liquidated and the assets sold. It will also be up to the owners to decide whether Sava should play a key role in the emerging hospitality holding which will pool state-owned tourism companies.

Slovenia gets first official translation of Geneva Conventions

LJUBLJANA - The first official translation of the Geneva Conventions and the accompanying protocols into Slovenian was presented to mark the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the latest versions of the documents. The translation was presented at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law by the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, which had commissioned and financed the translation issued by the publishing company of the Faculty of Social Sciences. State Secretary Simona Leskovar said the official translation of the four treaties and three protocols would "contribute to expanding the knowledge of international humanitarian law".

Cinkarna Celje profit in first three quarters drops 43%

CELJE - Chemical company Cinkarna Celje generated a net profit of EUR 15.9 million by the end of the third quarter of 2019. Although 91% above plans, the figure was also 43% lower year on year. Net revenue rose more than 1% to EUR 134.8 million. The management is nevertheless happy with the results, noting Cinkarna had expected to see a net profit of EUR 8.3 million for the first nine months. In 2018, the company posted a record profit of EUR 30.6 million.

Jurist, mathematician honoured for contribution to science

LJUBLJANA - Jurist Alenka Šelih and mathematician Josip Globevnik were honoured for their contributions to science as the Zois Prizes for lifetime achievements in science and research were handed out. Professor emeritus at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law, Šelih has been one of the foremost criminology experts in Slovenia for five decades and has lead more than twenty studies that are considered as groundbreaking in the field. Globevnik, retired professor at the Ljubljana Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, was long the leading Slovenian expert on complex analysis, a special branch of mathematics. Globevnik's work also had a strong international dimension, the jury said.

Slovenian electronic archives emerging

LJUBLJANA - The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia, the national archives, announced it was working on an all-encompassing Slovenian electronic archive, meant to emerge in the coming years. A collaboration with the other public archives in the country, the e-ARH.si platform is being developed with the help of EU funds that expire next year. The plan, which is being presented in detail at a two-day international conference in Ljubljana, is to digitalise the entire archive process and provide the material to users at home in a friendly and simple form.

Govt launches slovenia.si

LJUBLJANA - A new website, slovenia.si, was launched this month to "present Slovenia through written and video stories and the national brand I Feel Slovenia", the Government Communication Office said. Designed for the foreign public, the government's new website is in English, providing information about Slovenia and Slovenians ranging from special features and things the nation is proud of to outstanding Slovenians who have taken the word about the country beyond its borders. While slovenia.si is a novelty, Slovenia as a tourist destination has long been promoted at slovenia.info.

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

STA, 20 November 2019 - Previously unknown photos of Melania Trump have been published in a book in Slovenia that sheds light on the US first lady's early modelling career.

First Lady Melania Trump - As She Once Was, brings a series of photos taken in 1991 and 1992, when she was 21 and 22 years of age and already a budding fashion model.

The 13 photos released for the first time are by fashion scout Nino Mihalek, who ran into Melania in the centre of Ljubljana in 1991 and then spent several hours photographing her, according to the book's author Igor Omerza.

Ljubljana: 25 Things to Know about Slovenia's Green City of Dragons

A second photo series in the book are screenshots from a one-minute video taken in 1992 at a beauty pageant in the coastal city of Portorož.

The 80-page paperback, which features Melania's photos interspersed with biographical notes and more or less random photographs of places of interest in Slovenia, is now on sale in Slovenia.

An abbreviated version has been translated into English, but Omerza said he is yet to find a publisher.

More of the images © Nino Mihalek and hosted by Delo can be seen here: one, two, three, four - while all our stories on Melania Trump are here

Ex-Yu Aviation reports that Joc Pečečnik – the founder of Interblock Gaming, which manufactures products for lottery games – has plans to establish a new airline based in Ljubljana. The businessman has made a bid for what remains of Adria Airways, along with an unnamed foreign partner with experience in aviation.

Mr Pečečnik is quoted as saying: “We decided to do this because we would like to establish a successful business and because we would like to be able to fly to European cities again from Ljubljana, and not go to neighbouring airports three or four hours before our flights, which are typically [just] an hour long.”.

The report goes on to say that the new airline would draw on the expertise of Adria’s former CEO Mark Anžur, who ran the company from late 2012 until its privatisation in March 2016, going on to work as the CEO of the Irish regional carrier Stobart Air for eight months.

Moreover, the Slovenian banana and real estate tycoon Izet Rastoder has reportedly founded a new carrier called Air Adriatic and is currently looking to acquire two private jets. On the state side of things, the government is said to still be considering setting up a new national carrier with a foreign partner, although a decision on this is not expected until the end of the month.

All our stories on Adria can be found here

STA, 19 November 2019 - The Slovenian and Hungarian automotive clusters signed an agreement to develop cutting-edge technologies which they hope would make them leaders in the transition to e-mobility. A technology and development business event held in Maribor on Tuesday was also attended by the Slovenian economy minister and Hungarian innovation minister.

The event was organised by the Chamber of Commerce from the Štajerska region in collaboration with the Hungarian Embassy in Ljubljana and the University of Maribor.

Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said Slovenian companies were already taking part in the development of Hungary's test track for conventional and autonomous cars.

Slovenia's automotive industry generates around 10% of the country's GDP and 20% of its entire exports, so he deems technological solutions in this area a basis enabling companies from both sides of the border to become an important player in the global car industry.

He said today's meeting with Hungarian Minster for Innovation and Technology Laszlo Palkovics further "enhances our excellent bilateral cooperation", noting trade in 2018 totalled EUR 2.4 billion.

[GOSPODARSTVO] Minister za gospodarski razvoj in tehnologijo Zdravko Počivalšek in madžarski minister za inovacije in tehnologijo Laszlo Palkovics sta bila danes v Lendavi. #vestnik #nicsenezgodibreznas #slovenija #madzarska https://t.co/wFPA1Yw3yd

— Vestnik (@Vestnik_si) November 19, 2019

Palkovics added that this was one of the most exciting technological periods which would result in major technology changes to radically change people's lives. "Even if we are both small countries, we have to find our places in the development of high technologies," he said.

Zoran Ren of the University of Maribor said the university had worked with the universities in Austria's Graz and Hungary's Budapest on developing some components for Hungary's ZalaZone test track.

Od besed k dejanjem. V Mariboru pravkar podpisan sporazum o sodelovanju med Združenjem madžarskih proizvajalcev avtomobilskih delov in Slovenskim avtomobilskim grozdom. Skupaj z ?? ministrom dr. Palkovicsem dajeva razvoju avtonomne in brezogljične mobilnosti nov zagon. pic.twitter.com/IUqpS8h4pj

— Zdravko Počivalšek (@PocivalsekZ) November 19, 2019

"Today's event is important because it defines the future. New ties are being forged which will help design an orderly and safer mobility in the future," said Rem, the vice-chancellor in charge of scientific and research projects.

He said the first stage of the test track project, worth EUR 150 million, had already been completed, with the second one, worth EUR 50 million, now continuing.

Iztok Seljak of Hidria Holding, a supplier of car parts for many leading car producers, said the Slovenian Automotive Cluster was looking for breakthrough solutions to tap in the potential offered by the transition to a society based on e-mobility.

One such solution is wireless electric car charging, for which a special consortium has already won some start-up funds, he explained.

"We are first partnering up with Hungarians, then we will also with Austrians and other European partners to receive more development funds and to make sure this becomes a priority European project which will enable us to become a leader in e-mobility," Seljak said.

Meanwhile, the two ministers continued the meeting in the Slovenian border town of Lendava, where the topics included a revitalisation of the abandoned Nafta industrial complex, the use of local geothermal sources and innovative zero carbon energy generation.

Commenting on the industrial complex, Počivalšek announced the state was ready to provide a 20% investment subsidy to investments in Lendava.

"We agreed that we need to encourage cooperation of the Porabje and Prekmurje border regions, along with the Austrian border area - the building of the test track for electrical and autonomous vehicles in Zalaegerszeg is a very good basis for this," Počivalšek moreover said.

Palkovics said the two countries also wanted to strengthen cooperation in the phasing of EU funds.

He proposed that funding for research cooperation be upped to EUR 1 million and moreover argued that the situation of young people living near the border could be improved with cooperation among universities and secondary schools in both countries.

All our stories about Hungary and Slovenia are here

STA, 19 November 2019 - The Ljubljana-based energy equipment maker Kolektor Etra has acquired the Polish company Weltech for EUR 7 million in what the company's management sees as a key acquisition in terms of market share, with Kolektor Etra outbidding two rival companies and two financial funds, the business newspaper Finance reports.

Based in Myslowice near Katowice and employing 180 people, Weltech last year generated EUR 9.6 million in revenue and operated at a profit.

It produces power tanks and traction tanks, with its key clients including Germany's Siemens and France's JST Transformateurs, the latter being its previous majority owner.

Peter Novak, the commercial director of the Slovenian manufacturer of power transformers and power generator transformers, has told Finance that four more bidders had been in play to acquire Weltech.

It has outbid two industry rivals - Siemens and SGB - and two financial funds, Novak said, adding that the interest had been high as it was hard to find good and reliable suppliers of power tanks as one of the key components of power transformers.

According to Kolektor Etra director Tomaž Kmecl, producers of tanks are actually dictating the market, while Novak added that Weltech was punctual and reliable and was one of the best power tank producers in Europe.

The acquisition cost EUR 7 million, with a 51% stake going to Kolektor Etra and the remaining shares to three companies from the Kolektor group.

Asked whether there was concern about Siemens ceasing to order tanks from Weltech now that the rival company had acquired it, Novak said that nothing implied that Siemens had "something against us becoming owners of the Polish plant."

Even if Siemens indeed reduced its orders from Weltech, Kolektor Etra's "demand for tanks is higher than planned, so they will be supplied by our new Polish factory."

Kolektor Etra generated 90% of its revenue on foreign markets, with the Nordic countries accounting for almost half of the exports or 40% of total sales.

Last year it surpassed the EUR 100m mark in revenue and posted a EUR 4.5 million net profit, while plans for this year is to reach EUR 110 million in revenue.

In the summer, Kolektor Etra signed a deal to produce, supply and install seven 400 kW power transformers to the Finnish national grid operator Fingrid by 2023. Worth EUR 20 million, it is the largest in the company's history.