STA, 31 July 2019 - Slovenia's government budget posted a surplus of EUR 208.2 million for the first half of the year, which compares to a surplus of EUR 184.2 million in the same period a year ago, data from the Finance Ministry show.

The revised budget for 2019, passed in March, projects a revenue of EUR 10.35 billion and EUR 10.16 billion in expenditure with a surplus of EUR 193.6 million.

Compared to the first half of 2018, budget revenue this year increased by 6.8% to EUR 5.08 billion and expenditure was boosted by 6.5% to EUR 4.87 billion.

Tax revenue in the first half of 2019 stood at EUR 4.33 billion, up 4.6% year-on-year.

Receipts from personal income tax decreased by 1.3% to EUR 728.8 million due to a cut on tax on holiday allowance.

Meanwhile, corporate income tax revenue rose by 22.6% to EUR 555.6 million, and income from VAT rose by 4.2% to EUR 1.83 billion. But receipts from excise duties decreased by 3.5% to EUR 729 million.

On the expenditure side, the cost of debt servicing was reduced by EUR 81 million to EUR 523.4 million due to active management of government debt.

The outlays for public sector pay rose by 9% to EUR 677 million as a result of the agreed pay rises and promotions.

Expenditure on goods and services increased by EUR 30.5 million or 9.6%, mainly due to the cost of modernisation of the Slovenian Armed Forces and maintenance of road and rail infrastructure.

Social transfers were up by 12.6% to EUR 742.1 million.

Consolidated general government balance of payments, comprising the government budget, pension and health insurance funds and local government budgets, posted EUR 9.45 billion in revenue and EUR 9.19 billion in expenditure in the first half of 2019.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenia's annual inflation hits 2% in July

LJUBLJANA - Consumer prices in Slovenia grew at an annual rate of 2% in July, up from 1.8% in June and the highest level since the end of last year, even as prices declined by 0.7% at the monthly level due to summer clearance sales. Prices in the group housing were the biggest drivers of inflation, accounting for 0.6 percentage points of the annual growth rate on the back of much higher water and electricity prices. Dearer food contributed another 0.5 percentage points.

Govt budget EUR 200m in surplus

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's government budget posted a surplus of EUR 208.2 million for the first half of the year, which compares to a surplus of EUR 184.2 million in the same period a year ago, data from the Finance Ministry show. The revised budget for 2019, passed in March, projects a revenue of EUR 10.35 billion and EUR 10.16 billion in expenditure with a surplus of EUR 193.6 million.

Pahor certain that border with Croatia will be implemented

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor posted a series of tweets, noting that an agreement was reached ten years ago today that led to the 2017 border arbitration award by the International Court of Arbitration. Despite Croatia's refusal to acknowledge the award, he believes that the award will be implemented sooner or later. "Some European leaders have stated clearly that Slovenia is right and that the award needs to be respected. At the same time, many hint that we should do this in a way that would allow Croatia to save face. To them I say that the only right and honest thing to do is to treat Croatia like any other responsible contracting party, liable to meet all of its obligations, and not treat it like a spoilt child who only does what it wants."

Ex-minister sees Lenarčič candidacy as sign of deeper problems

LJUBLJANA - Dimitrij Rupel, the long-serving former foreign minister, took issue with the candidacy of Janez Lenarčič for the commissioner job in an op-ed in Delo, saying he was not the best fit for the job. Indeed, he sees the candidacy as a sign of deeper problems for the political class. Lenarčič is "a capable and decent diplomat, but he is neither a former prime minister or deputy prime minister, neither foreign or finance minister, and neither MEP, which means he has never contested an election," Rupel says.

Career diplomat Suhadolnik appointed ambassador to China

LJUBLJANA - Career diplomat Alenka Suhadolnik has been appointed Slovenia's ambassador to China. She is currently serving as the director general of the Foreign Ministry's Directorate for Economic and Public Diplomacy and has previously served as Slovenia's ambassador to Israel. President Borut Pahor signed the order appointing her the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to China on 12 July, the Foreign Ministry said in today's press release.

Cinkarna Celje's half-year revenue, profit down

CELJE - The chemical company Cinkarna Celje saw its sales revenue drop by 5.6% year-on-year to EUR 92.7 million in the first half of the year. Net profit meanwhile plummeted by 57% to EUR 9.7 million, the company said on the web site of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. The management said in the half-year report that the poorer results were a consequence of a changed balance in the supply and demand for the titanium dioxide, its main product.

Slovenia's beer exports up by almost 20% last year

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian beer exports grew by almost 20% in 2018 year-on-year, while hop exports increased by 17%, showed the Statistics Office data released ahead of International Beer Day, which is observed on the first Friday in August. The country's beer exports exceeded imports last year - exports topped EUR 34 million, while imports reached EUR 28.5 million. Slovenia exported most of its beer to Croatia (30%), while most of Slovenian beer imports, which decreased slightly last year (by 3%), came from Austria (40%).

Slovenia starts brewing zero-alcohol Heineken

LJUBLJANA - Pivovarna Laško Union, the Slovenian subsidiary of the Dutch brewer Heineken, got the green light in July to start brewing and bottling non-alcoholic Heineken beer. The EUR 2 million investment will consolidate the Slovenian company's role as one of the major exporters within the Dutch group. The first batch of zero-alcohol Heineken beer produced in Slovenia proved satisfactory in May, meeting all the global Heineken requirements. Regular production has been launched this month.

Protesters rally for affordable housing

LJUBLJANA - A few dozen people, mostly young, protested against what they believe will be a recapitalisation of the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC), the bad bank, through the national Housing Fund. Dubbed Where Will We Sleep Tomorrow?, the civil initiative believes that the Housing Fund should not have to pay for the plots it is to receive from the bad bank. "The Housing Fund has not been recapitalised since 2009. Now, the government decided to recapitalise the fund to the tune of the value of the plots that are to be transferred from BAMC. This means that the entire sum will immediately be forwarded to BAMC," said Klemen Ploštajner.

Retailer Jagros ventures into bakery business

ROGAŠKA SLATINA - Jagros, a family-run business operating a chain of retail stores in the north-east of the country, has acquired the Ptuj-based bakery Ptujske Pekarne in Slaščičarne as part of its expansion drive. Jagros acquired the bakery and its debts from Bank Assets Management Company, taken over from the liquidated bank Probanka. The newspaper Delo values the deal at half a million euro.

Slovenian tourism bullish in first half of year

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian tourism continued to boom in the first half of the year. Arrivals were up by over 6% compared to the same period last year to 2.6 million, with accommodation facilities recording 6.3 million nights, an increase of 10%, fresh statistics show. While domestic arrivals increased just 4% to 733,000, foreign arrivals surged by 8% to 1.8 million, mostly due to increases in arrivals from the most important source countries.

Govt to allocate EUR 1.7m to towns affected by army activities

LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed a programme of financing of local infrastructural projects this year and in 2020 in three municipalities that are affected by activities and training of the Slovenian armed forces. In line with the decision, the Defence Ministry will allocate EUR 1.7 million for infrastructure projects in the municipalities of Pivka, Ilirska Bistrica and Brežice. The three municipalities are home to the army's main training grounds Poček, shooting ground Bač and the Cerklje ob Krki airbase.

Prime suspect from prostitution ring sought by Interpol

LJUBLJANA - Interpol has issued an arrest warrant against Slovenian businessmen Sergej Racman, the former owner of the cinema chain operator Kolosej, who is being sought by the Slovenian police in connection with a prostitution ring that was allegedly operating near Nova Gorica. Racman has recently been indicted as the prime suspect together with 17 persons after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) completed in January a four-year investigation into prostitution, human trafficking and drug abuse in the areas of Nova Gorica and Maribor.

Police apprehend trafficker of illegals after traffic accident

ORMOŽ - The police apprehended on Tuesday a Serbian citizen who was transporting six Turkish Kurds who had entered Slovenia illegally. He was caught only after a chase, during which he caused a traffic accident in Ormož (NE). As the initial attempt by the police to stop the vehicle failed, the police started following it, with the chase lasting some ten minutes.

Modern photography on display in Novo Mesto

NOVO MESTO - The 6th international festival of contemporary photography Fotopub started in Novo Mesto in south-east. Until Sunday, 27 artists from ten European countries and China will be presented at six exhibitions. The exhibitions will explore the difference between reality and fiction, which "can become a tool for constructing collective and individual identities through visual and popular culture and information technologies".

Four-days music festival starts in Fara

KOSTEL - A four-day music festival started in the idyllic village of Fara in the south, including camping on the Kolpa river. The long list of bands that will entertain the crowd includes Asian Dub Foundation, Soulfly, Skindred and Inner Circle. The organisers have also prepared a variety of activities to keep visitors entertained during the day.

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

The latest edition of the Henley Passport Index has come out, based on the number of destinations a particular passport holder can access without a prior visa (either visa free or on landing). The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

In first place are Japan and Singapore, which can freely access an incredible 189 of the world’s 195 countries (including the Holy See and the State of Palestine, with 197 if you count Taiwan and Kosovo). In second place are Germany, Finland and South Korea (187), and in third Denmark, Italy and Luxembourg.

Slovenia comes a little further down the list, in 10^th place, along with Latvia and Slovakia.

Picking out a few other countries of interest to our readers, both the United States and United Kingdom are in 6^th place, with access to 183 destinations. Croatia is 20^th, with 167 visa free options, Serbia 41^st (31), North Macedonia 46^th (123), and Bosnia and Herzegovina 51^st (116).

A PDF of the full report can be found here

STA, 31 July 2019 - Slovenian tourism continued to boom in the first half of the year. Arrivals were up by over 6% compared to the same period last year to 2.6 million, with accommodation facilities recording 6.3 million nights, an increase of 10%, fresh statistics show.

While domestic arrivals increased just 3% to 733,000, foreign arrivals increased by almost 8% to 1.8 million, mostly due to increases in arrivals from the most important source countries.

There was a 13.5% increase in the number of guests from Germany, with arrivals from Austria and Italy rising by almost 6% and 3%, respectively, the Statistics Office said on Wednesday.

The picture for nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments is similar: foreigners spent 4.3 million nights in Slovenia, a rise of over 6%, while nights by domestic visitors were roughly flat at just over two million.

Among the largest source countries, the biggest increases were recorded for guests from Germany, Austria and Italy.

More details on this data can be found here

STA, 31 July 2019 - Slovenian beer exports grew by almost 20% in 2018 year-on-year, while hop exports increased by 17%, showed the Statistics Office data released on Wednesday, ahead of International Beer Day, which is observed on the first Friday in August.

The country's beer exports exceeded imports last year - exports topped EUR 34 million, while imports reached EUR 28.5 million.

Slovenia exported most of its beer to Croatia (30%), Italy (21%) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (19%), while most of Slovenian beer imports, which decreased slightly last year (by 3%), came from Austria (40%), Croatia (19%) and the Czech Republic (10%).

The number of Slovenian beer makers is on the rise - there were 61 registered in Slovenia last year, which is quite an increase compared to 2010 when there were only 13 of them.

Beer lovers paid some 2.8 euro on average for half a litre of pale ale in pubs or some 90 cents in stores in 2018.

Slovenian hop growers produced more than 3,000 tonnes of hop, which is a record amount since 1998 and a 43% increase on 2017.

Slovenia ranks third in hop production among EU countries, following Germany and the Czech Republic. The country's hop exports outweighed imports by far, amounting to EUR 26 million. On the other hand, hop imports totalled EUR 2.1 million.

Almost half of Slovenian exported hop went to Germany last year, with China (16%) and the UK (10%) being target markets as well.

STA, 30 July 2019 - Slovenian researchers have discovered a new molecular mechanism of action in ketamine that they say opens up new potential for development of fast-acting antidepressants.

Ketamine, a medication used primarily for starting and maintaining anaesthesia, is already applied to treat depression in the US but not yet in Europe.

However, the discovery, made by researchers at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine, the biomedical centre Celica and the National Institute of Chemistry, could accelerate making the drug available as an antidepressant soon in Europe as well.

"Before a medication can be placed on the market and starts being prescribed by doctors, it's necessary to obtain appropriate clearances, and these also depend on knowing the mechanism of action," Robert Zorec, a co-author of the study told a press conference at the Faculty of Medicine on Tuesday.

The difference between ketamine and other medications used in treating depression is in its mechanism of action. While other antidepressants take weeks to take effect, ketamine provides relief within hours and a single dosage may have beneficial and long-lasting effects in treating depressive disorders.

The Slovenian researchers' discovery has sparked major interest in psychiatry due to a lack of effective, fast-acting antidepressants. The mechanism of action in ketamine, which is also abused recreationally as an illicit drug, had not been known so far.

Matjaž Stenovec of the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine said that depression is on the rise in Slovenia with one in nine adults affected. The rate in the US is lower, at 7.1%.

The abstract and a (paid) link the the full paper, titled "Astroglial Mechanisms of Ketamine Action Include Reduced Mobility of Kir4.1-Carrying Vesicles", can be found here.

STA, 31 July 2019 - A four-day music festival will start in the idyllic village of Fara in the south on Wednesday, including camping on the Kolpa river. The long list of bands that will entertain the crowd includes Asian Dub Foundation, Soulfly, Skindred and Inner Circle.

The first evening of the Castle Kolpa Music Festival will be dominated by Slovenian bands performing on only one stage, while in the following three days, fans will be able to choose from a variety of music genres playing on three stages.

On Thursday, Dub Fx from Austria, Skindred from the UK and Slovenia's Elvis Jackson will take the main Dragon Stage in prime time.

The stars of Friday night will be Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle from Jamaica, Slovenia's rock band Siddharta and Croatia's pop punk band Psihomodo Pop.

Photo: http://www.castlefestival.si/

American heavy metal band Soulfly and English electronica band that combines rapcore, dub, dancehall, ragga and South Asian music, Asian Dub Foundation, will take the main stage on Saturday.

The Beach Stage will offer Acroyoga and impro shows during the day, and DJs in the evenings, while the Arena Experience stage will be the place to go for electronic music fans. The stars there will be Dutch musicians Jay Hardway and Sander van Doorn, and Slovenia's Umek.

The organisers have also prepared a variety of activities to keep visitors entertained during the day. Apart from Acroyoga and impro shows, they will be able to enjoy in an outdoor cinema, take part in various workshops or play football or volleyball.

The festival’s website is here

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also ollow 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:

Watchdog says Dnevnik-Večer merger does not decrease competition

LJUBLJANA - The Competition Protection Agency (AVK) has published its decision to approve the tie-up of Dnevnik and Večer, in which it says that the merger of the publishers of the second and third largest daily newspapers in the country does not decrease or prevent effective competition on the relevant markets. The AVK said it had examined exclusively the economic impact of the merger, while media plurality aspects had been in the jurisdiction of the Culture Ministry, which approved the merger, expected to have a 40% share on the printed media market, last December. Journalists and pundits have mostly criticised the development and the Trade Union of Journalists protested today against a planned dismissal of seven employees of Večer as part of the merger.

Fiscal Council demands projections of planned pension legislation changes

LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council has warned that some of the measures included in the changes to the pension legislation, which have been put up for public debate, could jeopardise the long-term sustainability of the country's public finances. Under the changes, the pensionable base for men with the full 40 years of service would increase from 57.25% to 63.5% by 1 January 2025. Meanwhile, the latter figure is already in place for women. The Fiscal Council said that the government should provide long-term projections before the end of the public debate in early September.

Three bids for construction of Maribor-Šentilj railway

LJUBLJANA - As part of an ongoing upgrade of the rail line between Maribor and the Šentilj border crossing with Austria, three bids have been submitted for the construction of a demanding new section. According to the Infrastructure Agency, the lowest bid was submitted by a local consortium headed by Pomgrad and including Kolektor Koling, SŽ-ŽGP, GH-Holding and Gorenjska Gradbena Družba. The Turkish company Cengiz is bidding to build the section for EUR 117.4 million, and the Austrian builder Strabag placed for EUR 136.6 million.

Army trade unionist opposes disciplinary procedure launched against him

LJUBLJANA - The head of the Trade Union of Soldiers (SVS), Gvido Novak, left a hearing in a disciplinary procedure launched against him after only a few minutes. He argues the hearing is illegal because it is being held behind closed doors. Novak did, however, submit a written statement, referring to article 76 of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of trade union activity. Chief of the General Staff Alenka Ermenc had launched a disciplinary procedure against Novak over alleged severe disciplinary violations.

Slovenian researchers make major discovery to treat depression

LJUBLJANA - Researchers at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine presented the discovery of a new molecular mechanism of action in ketamine that they say opens up new potential for development of fast-acting antidepressants. Ketamine, a medication used primarily for starting and maintaining anaesthesia, is already applied to treat depression in the US but not yet in Europe. The discovery could accelerate making the drug available as an antidepressant soon in Europe as well.

Ministry says Slovenia is global hop production powerhouse

ŽALEC - Slovenia is one of the leading hop producers worldwide, exporting between 95% and 99% of its hop production, said the Agriculture Ministry as this year's International Hop Growers' Convention, running until Friday, was officially opened in Žalec. Addressing the opening, Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Tanja Strniša said the ministry supported hop field rejuvenation and techniques of producing noble varieties of hops. The head of the Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing Martina Zupančič said Slovenia was the fifth largest hop producer in the world - every 12th pint of beer worldwide is made of Slovenian hops. According to the website of RTV Slovenija, Slovenia accounts for 3% of global hop production.

Foreign citizens increasing Slovenian population

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's population stood at 2,084,301 on 1 April, which is 3,400 more than at the start of January, the Statistics Office reported. The increase however comes on account of a larger number of foreign citizens, with the number of Slovenian citizens in fact decreasing. The number of Slovenian citizens dropped by 1,600 in the first quarter of 2019, while the number of foreign citizens grew by 5,000 to 143,192 and represented 6.9% of Slovenia's population.

Fancy a game of Ping-Pong over the border fence?

NOVO MESTO - The Simulaker gallery in Novo Mesto will launching an interactive exhibition tonight that will allow the visitors to partake in a game of Ping-Pong over the border fence between Slovenia and Croatia. The installation comes after an artist, active internationally under the pseudonym name:, played a game of table tennis with a partner over the fence along the Kolpa river in April. A recording of the performance will now be screened in the gallery, while the visitors will be invited to scale ladders to engage in symbolic inter-government ping-pong over a similar table. The installation will be open until 10 August.

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

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

The Overjam International Reggae Festival is back for the heat of the summer in the cool of Sotočje, ad event located between the two mountain rivers, the Tolminka and Soča.

The name says reggae but the festival’s reach is a little broader than that, taking in related subcultures such as ska, drum n bass, dub and dancehall. The full line-up can be seen on this page, with the headline acts being Alborosie & Shengen Clan, Cali P, Junior Kelly, Israel Vibration, Queen Ifrica, Zion Train, Ward 21 and Ziggi Mastah - Dubtafari Sound, plus support from many more, making it a long weekend that’s worth considering if you’re looking for great a place to chill in the beautiful, watery wild.

It runs from Thursday to Saturday, August 15 to 17, as an all-day event and six-day experience, offering live music and DJs, performances, workshops, and, of course, food and drink, with vegans and vegetarians catered for. Families are welcome, and children’s activities and areas are planned, along with supervision provided by professionals working for the festival from 11:00 to 16:00 each day, as part of Overjam4kidz.

Camping is allowed and free of charge if you have a valid ticket – and to discourage people from using cheap tents that they then leave at the site you can buy waterproof cardboard structures here. At the time of writing one-day tickets could be had for 39 euros (plus commission), while the whole thing could be seen for 100 euros (more details on all offers and how to buy now here). Tickets also get you unlimited mobile charging, a festival info book and ear plugs, safe deposit, and unlimited use of hot showers – with details here and the festival’s FAQ here.

STA, 30 July 2019 - Slovenia's population stood at 2,084,301 on 1 April, which is 3,400 more than at the start of January, showed the Statistics Office data on Tuesday. The increase however comes on account of a larger number of foreign citizens, with the number of Slovenian citizens in fact decreasing.

The number of Slovenian citizens dropped by 1,600 in the first quarter of 2019, while the number of foreign citizens grew by 5,000 to 143,192 and represented 6.9% of Slovenia's population.

The share of women among Slovenian citizens, which at the start of April stood at some 51%, has been on a slow decline for quite some time.

Related: Foreign Nationals in Slovenia, by Country, Region & Continent

Some 34% of foreign citizens living in Slovenia are women. The share decreased by 1.4 percentage points on January last year after being on the rise for many years.

Slovenia also recorded a markedly positive net migration rate in the first quarter of 2019 - a record number of more than 4,800, while the natural increase was negative (changing from -2.1 per 1,000 population to -2.8 in a year).

Compared to the same period of 2018, the number of immigrants to Slovenia increased by 47% to 7,943 in the first quarter of 2019.

Positive net migration was recorded for foreign nationals (5,273 persons), while 429 Slovene citizens more emigrated from Slovenia than immigrated to it.

More detailed data can be found here, while all our stories on statistics and Slovenia are here