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:

Šarec and Orban call for closer economic ties, regret stuck EU enlargement

BUDAPEST, Hungary - PM Marjan Šarec and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban called for strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. Also commenting on the Koper rail track project, Orban said Hungary had decided to invest in the rival port Trieste but was still willing to consider participating in the Koper-Divača rail track "if the situation in Slovenia changes". The pair meanwhile urged a continuation of EU enlargement, while also touching on migration. Orban said Hungary had the back of the Visegrad Group should Turkey trigger a migration wave, while Šarec argued migration needed to be addressed at its root.

Bill providing legal recourse for 2013 bank bail-in vetoed

LJUBLJANA - The National Council unanimously vetoed the government-sponsored bill designed to provide legal recourse for holders of subordinated bank liabilities wiped out on instruction of the EU in the 2013 bank bailout. The interest group that proposed the suspensive veto argued the bill does not regulate the issue appropriately. Involving up to EUR 963 million in damages to 100,000 potential plaintiffs and demanded by the Constitutional Court, the bill has been a controversial topic. It was passed in a 46:34 vote in the National Assembly last week. It will again need at least 46 votes in the revote.

Czech PPF mounts EUR 1.89bn takeover of Pro Plus owner CME

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The Czech investment group PPF, owned by Czech billionaire Petr Kellner, has signed an agreement on the takeover of CME, which also owns Slovenia's leading television network group Pro Plus. Media reports put the value of the deal, which still needs nods from CME shareholders as well as from the European Commission and individual national regulators, at EUR 1.89 billion. The CME fund, in majority ownership of US giant AT&T which has already announced support for the deal, has broadcast operations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Pro Plus's portfolio includes the popular TV channels POP TV and Kanal A, as well as 24ur.com, a leading news portals.

Cerar meets Expo 2020 director general in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar is paying a working visit to the United Arab Emirates, with the first stop being the site of the Expo 2020 in Dubai, where he met Expo Director General Reem Al Hashimi.
Meeting Al Hashimi, who is also the minister of state for international cooperation of the UEA, he presented the concept of Slovenia's participation in the Expo, whose wooden pavilion will be themed with sustainable development.
The two also discussed how to better connect the two countries and the possibility to establish a scheduled airline link from the UAE to Slovenia.

Top court suspends house searches in residents' absence

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court has suspended, pending a final decision, the implementation of a criminal procedure act provision allowing house searches without the presence of the resident or their representative. This rule had been enacted as part of the most recent changes to the act, passed earlier this year and also including the use of contentious IMSI catchers. This stipulation has also already been suspended by the Constitutional Court. The changes have been referred to the Constitutional Court by the opposition Left and the Democrats (SDS).

Banks say new lending restrictions could have major consequences

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Bank Association said that the pending new consumer lending restrictions would have wide ramifications if the state failed to provide alternative financing sources. Assessing lending will drop by EUR 70m a month, it said more that 300,000 people, in particular pensioners and low-income workers, would be left without access to loans and that growth would suffer too. Banka Slovenije announced restrictions to consumer and housing loans for 1 November as a result of what the central bank assessed to be unsustainable lending growth.

Raise of student work hourly rate vetoed in upper chamber

LJUBLJANA - The upper chamber of parliament vetoed the legislative motion raising the minimum net hourly rate for student work from EUR 4.13 to EUR 4.56. The veto had been proposed by the group representing employers, which argues the raise was adopted without the involvement of social partners and was excessive. The changes to the fiscal balance act had been proposed by the opposition Left and confirmed by the National Assembly last week.

Slovenia up three spots to 37th in World Bank's Doing Business report

WASHINGTON, US - Slovenia gained three spots in the World Bank's most recent Doing Business report compared to last year, ranking 37th. The top three spots went to New Zealand, Singapore, and Denmark. Slovenia ranks 1st, alongside several other countries, in the category trading across borders. It ranks 8th among 190 countries in resolving insolvency and 23rd in getting electricity. The problem areas include the enforcing contracts, where it ranks 112th, as well as obtaining credit and dealing with construction permits - in both categories it ranks 119th.

Trade union: Posted worker exploitation reported to EU agency

LJUBLJANA - The ZSSS trade union confedaration warned about labour exploitation occurring within Slovenia's system of temporarily posting workers to other EU countries. The cases of such exploitation have been reported to the European Labour Authority (ELA), with the ZSSS expecting the state to step up their efforts in tackling the issue as well. The ELA, which was launched this month, aims to oversee implementation of employment regulations in the EU.

Sava Re issues EUR 75m in subordinated bonds

LJUBLJANA - The reinsurer Sava Re, the parent company of the insurance group Sava, has issued 20-year subordinated bonds worth a total of EUR 75 million. It intends to spend the raised funds for the general needs of the group and optimisation of its capital structure. Sava Re said that the first call date is 7 November 2029, with the annual interest rate fixed at 3.75%. Coupon payments will be made annually.

No Title Yet declared theatre piece of the year in Maribor

MARIBOR - No Title Yet (Še ni naslova), directed by Tomi Janežič and produced by the Slovensko mladinsko gledališče theatre, won the award for best play as the curtain fell on the 54th Maribor Theatre Festival on Sunday. Earning a special jury mention was Ali: Feat Eats the Soul (Ali: Strah ti poje dušo) by Sebastijan Horvat and Ljubljana's SNG Drama. The jury of the biggest theatre festival in the country described Janežič's ten-hour take on the myth of Don Juan as "a theatre miracle, an experience in the full sense of the word".

Symposium honouring 90th anniversary of poet Zajc's birth

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts held a symposium on internationally acclaimed poet and playwright Dane Zajc (1929-2005), marking the 90th anniversary of his birth. Zajc is considered one of the greats of Slovenian literature in the second half of the 20th century. Zajc's works have been translated into numerous languages and he won many awards, including the most prestigious awards for poetry and playwriting, the Jenko Prize and Grum Prize, respectively, and the top national accolade in arts, the Prešeren Award for lifetime achievement.

Two WWII bombs found in Maribor, to be defused this week

MARIBOR - A couple of unexploded aerial bombs, relics from the Second World War, were unearthed in two locations in Maribor over the weekend and are expected to be defused on Thursday and Sunday, respectively. This will prompt the evacuation of thousands of people in the vicinity of the defusing sites. The evacuation will cover the area spanning 300 or 600 metres away from the sites, partly including the nearby UKC Maribor hospital. The first bomb, weighing 250 kg, was found on Saturday at a construction site close by the biggest Maribor shopping centre Europark. The second, 500kg bomb was discovered on Sunday at a railway construction site.

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

In the wake of the collapse of Adria Airways, which at one point cut 60% of Slovenia’s international seat capacity, Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport has sets out its priorities when it comes to rebuilding its network. As reported on Ex-Yu Aviation, the airport’s General Manager, Zmago Skobir, said that efforts are now focused on those routes that are more important to the Slovenian economy and tourism industry, namely Frankfurt, Zurich, Munich, and Brussels, with Vienna seen as important but more difficult to arrange. Destinations in the former Yugoslavia are less likely to be resumed.

Looking to new markets, Mr Skobir continued to express hopes that direct flights to the Arabian Peninsula would be launched, although noted that efforts in this regard have already lasted six years.

Dobrodošli v Sloveniji! Lufthansa’s first time ever to fly to Ljubljana. With @FlySWISS & @FlyingBrussels we open 34 weekly connections to the beautiful capital of Slovenia. Discover unspoiled landscapes with mountains, lakes & Adriatic coast. ⛰? @visitljubljana @SloveniaVisit pic.twitter.com/T9sSehP564

— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) October 28, 2019

All our stories on Adria are here

STA, 28 October 2019 - The Slovenian Bank Association said on Monday that the pending new consumer lending restrictions would have wide ramifications if the state failed to provide alternative financing sources. Assessing lending will drop by EUR 70m a month, it said more than 300,000 people would be left without access to loans and that growth would suffer too.

According to the Bank Association's calculations, the restrictions mean the end of access to credit for 213,000 pensioners with pensions of under 700 euro, meaning 57% of all pensioners, for 114,000 or 20% of all workers, who have net wages lower than EUR 928 and have a dependent child, as well for between 10-25% of workers with higher wages.

The restrictions, announced by Banka Slovenije for 1 November as a result of what the central bank assessed as unsustainable consumer lending growth, introduce maximum 84-month maturity for consumer loans.

They moreover include loan-to-value ratios (loan payments relative to the client's annual income) of under 50% for clients with monthly income of up to twice the gross minimum wage and of under 67% for those making more than that.

What is more, the borrower will have to be left with at least 76% of the gross minimum wage after paying the monthly instalment or more if they have a dependent family member.

The same loan-to-value ratios will also become obligatory for housing loans.

The Bank Association argues the restrictions will have wide consequence if the state fails to provide alternative financing sources.

"We asses that lending will drop by EUR 50-70 million a month or EUR 600-740 million a year, which also entails lower retail consumption as well as the purchases primarily of 'used' flats, which in turn is also reflected in lower VAT revenue for the state," the association wrote, adding GDP growth would probably be affected too.

"It is hard to assess the effect precisely, since some of the consumers will likely also opt for borrowing on the 'grey' or unregulated market, which is not transparent. This could also mean them paying much higher costs, while at the same time being exposed to risks and different kinds of debt collection rules," the press release also says.

The association especially took issue with the inclusion of costs related to the clients' dependent family members. While agreeing this also needed to be considered, it disagrees with the explicit nature of this cost in the restrictions, arguing banks had already been factoring this into living expenses.

Listing a few examples from its calculations, the association for instance said that a couple with two dependent children, an average wage and without any existing credit liabilities would be able to take out a consumer loan of no more than EUR 11,500 for a maximum period of seven years and a 20-year housing loan of no more than EUR 30,000 each. No additional borrowing would be possible after that.

In 1892 Celje got a monument to Emperor Franz Joseph I, one of a series of 3D depictions the man that was being erected across the Empire.

Prussian, Imperial and Styrian flags were displayed around the city, eight of them hanging from the just bell tower of St. Mary's Church. The unveiling of the statue was accompanied by drums, speeches and wreath laying. The Emperor was being celebrated, they said, because “he ruled liberally and centralised as well as Germanised the peoples”.

After the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy, the Emperor’s statue was already missing his nose, wearing an old torn raincoat and a helmet on his head in November 1918. A month later the statue “lost its balance and fell on the ground”. On the same day the statue was taken away and sold as scrap.

Similar things happened with monuments to Franz Joseph across the country. The full life-sized bronze Emperor that was standing in Maribor since 1899 was removed in 1918, while the pedestal that bore Franz Joseph’s bust remained where it was in Ljubljana, in Miklošič Park in front of the court palace, although the Emperor was replaced by the Slovenian linguist Franc Miklošič.

SURS (Statistični urad Republike Slovenije - the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia) runs one of the best government websites in the country, producing a regular stream of interesting and informative reports drawn from the numbers it receives, presented in clear, easy to understand formats, and with the raw data just a few clicks away if you want to dig deeper.

Screenshot of the mean age data around Ljubljana. Source: SURS

Mean age in detail, with a focus on Logatec. Source: SURS

One tool that’s a lot of fun to play around with, and a fresh way to explore the country, is STAGE II – “an interactive cartographic application for displaying statistical data about Slovenia. It provides interactive web map viewer as well as provides powerful analytical tools for spatial querying.”

Poverty in broad terms Source: SURS

Where the Novaks are. Source: SURS

With this you can check the data is 15 broad headings: population, the labour market, earnings, poverty, education, health, crime, enterprises, industry, dwellings, construction, environment, agriculture, R&D, and national accounts. Within each of these you can dig deeper in a series of nested categories, in some cases going into incredible detail. For example, the most densely populated square kilometre in Slovenia is located in the Štepanjsko naselje in Ljubljana with 11,217 residents.

Population density by 1km2, Source: SURS

If you want to find out where the most statins are prescribed or which place sees the most binge drinking, then you can, along with where the most old homes are, where the highest mean age is, where there are more men than women, and so on. Available in Slovene and English, you can explore Slovenia in dozens of ways here.

During the reconstruction work on railway tracks an unexploded WWII bomb was found by Railway Bridge on Sunday.

This is the second WWII bomb found in Maribor in the last two days. The first, 250 kg bomb was discovered at the construction site near Europark shopping mall this Saturday.

Both sites have been closed to the public and secured while representatives of the municipality, intervention agencies and other parties involved in the formulation of measures that are to be taken when removing bombs are to meet later today. 

STA, 25 October 2019 - The entire management board of energy group Petrol resigned Thursday night "by mutual agreement", capping a day of intense speculation about its fate amidst what media reports describe as a politically-motivated struggle to control one of Slovenia's largest companies.

Long-serving chief executive Tomaž Berločnik stepped down alongside board members Rok Vodnik and Igor Stebrnak, over what Berločnik told the press were "differences in views on strategy" with the supervisory board.

This was today confirmed by chief supervisor Nada Drobne Popović, who said in a release "the management and the supervisors had a significantly different view on the implementation of the adopted strategy".

The company will be led in the interim period by Drobne Popović along with director of strategic cost management Denijela Ribarič Selaković. Also saysing on is the board member representing workers.

The move came after a supervisory board session that had not even been announced; when first speculation appeared yesterday morning, Petrol even went as far as issuing a press release saying the management had no knowledge of a supervisory board session taking place.

Drobne Popović later said the session had been an extension of a previous supervisory board session.

Media were abuzz with speculation about the true reasons for the overhaul at the top of Petrol.

Public broadcaster TV Slovenija thus reported the management and supervisors clashed over a bond issue necessary for the takeover of three energy firms in the Balkans.

And the business daily Finance reported "problems with a project that would significantly alter the image of Petrol" as the cause, though it also suggested this was a cover for what was in fact a politically motivated replacement.

This possibility was also raised by the Manager Association, which issued a statement prior to the resignation warning against replacing a successful board.

"By bringing down a successful management team, those who want to replace them - politicians in power - would send the indirect message that they do not care about social prosperity and the fate of Slovenia's largest company."

It said it was "strongly against a political replacement of the management board as well as political games which all too often damage the economy and society".

It also pointed to the importance of stability and predictability of the business environment and of good corporate management for companies.

The association moreover believes yesterday's decision made no sense in particular in the light of Petrol positive results.

Meanwhile, the Slovenian Directors' Association expressed surprise over the management overhaul, saying that such an extreme step was usually justified.

"A justified reason must exist; if it does not, then this is careless actions," Irena Prijović, the association's executive director, told the STA on Friday.

She could not comment on whether the move was political, but added that if indeed it was, that would be unacceptable.

Chief supervisor Drobne Popović rejected claims she had acted on behalf of political actors and said she had not consulted any politicians.

Prime Minister Marjan Šarec wrote on Twitter yesterday afternoon, before the resignation was announced, that the notion his party wanted to replace the Petrol management was "one of the biggest pieces of disinformation recently".

The government discussed the step at today's correspondence session and called on Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), the state asset custodian, to provide detailed clarification of the circumstances of the resignation by 4 November.

Earlier today, the opposition New Slovenia (NSi) requested an emergency session of the parliamentary commission on public finances to discuss corporate management at state-owned companies and political staffing.

The party also proposes that the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption investigate possible corruptive means in resignation or appointment of state companies' management and supervisory boards.

Berločnik was named chief executive in February 2011, when Petrol was reeling from a financially disastrous attempt to take over rival Istrabenz, and his second five-year term would have ended in 2021.

He is credited with transforming a traditional fuel retailer into an all-round energy group with a strong electricity division and increasing clout in retail.

Less than a month ago, the Manager Association named him the manager of the year.

Petrol has been going strong. It saw its sales revenue rise by 15% to EUR 2.73 billion in the first six months of the year, with net profit up by 4% to EUR 40.7 million from the same period in 2018.

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:

Ethiopia's Woldaregay wins men's Ljubljana marathon race, Kenya's Kitur sets new women's record

LJUBLJANA - Ethiopian runner Kelkile Gezahegn Woldaregay won the men's marathon race in Ljubljana, clocking in at 2:07:29, the second fastest time in the history of the Ljubljana course. The women's race was won by Bornes Chepkirui Kitur from Kenya, who set a new women's record with a finish time of 2:21:26. Second and third place in the men's race went to Kenyans Anthony Maritim (2:07:52) and Vincent Rono (2:08:06), and in the women's competition to Eshete Shitaye from Bahrain (2:21:33) and Kenyan Dina Chemtai Kipoyogei (2:22:07). The best Slovenian runners at the race and thereby the Slovenian national marathon champions were Primož Kobe (2:29:53), who finished ninth, and Saša Pisk (2:56:50), who was 12th. This year's Ljubljana Marathon had 19,612 runners, including over 7,000 youngsters who participated in Saturday's junior races.

Pekarna Pečjak profit down in 2018

ŠKOFLJICA - Pekarna Pečjak, a maker of bread, pasta, pastry and frozen baked goods, generated EUR 35.54 million in net sales revenue last year or 7% more than in 2017. Nevertheless, net profit dropped by 49% to EUR 723,000. The company attributes this to a rise in the prices of raw materials, energy, services and higher costs of labour. Pekarna Pečjak produced 9,300 tonnes of products last year, which is 500 tonnes more than in 2017, according to a business report published on the web site of the AJPES agency for public records. The sales on the domestic market increased by 5.8% year-on-year and exports jumped by 20%.

Žan Kranjec bags podium finish in Sölden giant slalom

SÖLDEN, Austria - Slovenian alpine skier Žan Kranjec picked up where he left off at the end of last season on Sunday, finishing third in the season opening giant slalom World Cup race in Austria's Sölden. This is the fourth World Cup podium finish in the career of the 26-year-old. The race was won by Alexis Pinturault from France, while second place went to his compatriot Mathieu Faivre.

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, 27 October 2019 - Ethiopian runner Kelkile Gezahegn Woldaregay won the men's marathon race in Ljubljana on Sunday, clocking in at 2:07:29, the second fastest time in the history of the Ljubljana course. The women's race was won by Bornes Chepkirui Kitur from Kenya, who set a new women's record with a finish time of 2:21:26.

Woldaregay's time comes second only to that of his fellow countryman Sisay Lemma Kasaye, who managed a splendid 2:04:58 last year but was not in Ljubljana this year, while Kitur improved on the women's record of 2:22:58 set in 2018 by Kenyan Visiline Jepkesho.

Kelkile Gezahegn Woldaregay. Source: LJ Marathon Facebook

Second and third place in the men's race went to Kenyans Anthony Maritim (2:07:52) and Vincent Rono (2:08:06), and in the women's competition to Eshete Shitaye from Bahrain (2:21:33) and Kenyan Dina Chemtai Kipoyogei (2:22:07).

The best Slovenian runners at the race and thereby the Slovenian national marathon champions were Primož Kobe (2:29:53), who finished ninth, and Saša Pisk (2:56:50), who was 12th.

This year's Ljubljana Marathon, a two-day event, had 19,612 runners, including over 7,000 youngsters who participated in Saturday's junior races. Today's 10 km, 21 km and 42 km events had 12,440 participants.

The head of the organising committee Gojko Zalokar was happy with the event, including the results, noting that two fast Ethiopian pacemakers had not been able to attend after to obtain visas.

The budget of this year's marathon was EUR 1.4 million, while it exceeded EUR 1.6 million last year as a result of bonuses for new records both in the men's and women's competition. Zalokar explained that last year's winner got a total of 90,000 for his victory and bonuses.

A 250 kg unexploded WWII bomb was found yesterday on a construction site near Europark, Maribor, where a new Lidl store is being built. Whether and in what scope any evacuation will be necessary will be decided on Monday.

Meanwhile, the bomb is being guarded by the Maribor police.

Apparently, this is not the first WWII bomb found in the area. During the construction of the Europark shopping complex itself four such bombs were found.

Occupied Maribor was quite heavily bombed by the allies. The first bombing took place on January 7th, 1944, with 276 bombs dropped on the city, which killed 55 people. Bombings continued on October 13th and lasted until April 12, 1945, when the city was bombed for the last time. The worst bombing occurred on October 14, 1944, when around 560 bombs were dropped on the city, killing 76 people.