18 Jul 2019, 20:04 PM

Lynda Blanchard Endorsed as New US Ambassador

STA, 18 July 2019 - Lynda Blanchard was endorsed the new US ambassador to Slovenia by the US Senate on Thursday, more than a year after being nominated by President Donald Trump.

An entrepreneur and humanitarian activist from Alabama, Blanchard was endorsed by 54 votes in favour and 40 against.

Among those voting against was Amy Klobuchar, a senator of Slovenian descent from Minnesota, who is running for the Democratic nomination for US president in the 2020 election.

Nominated by Trump in June 2018, Blanchard was endorsed by the Senate committee on foreign relations in September, but her appointment was held up by procedural obstacles related to the election of the new US Congress.

Because the Senate did not confirm her appointment by the end of last year, her candidacy was automatically returned to the White House in accordance with the rules of procedure.

The White House submitted the nomination again on 18 January, and the Senate committee on foreign relations referred the nomination for a Senate vote without a new hearing.

In her hearing on the committee in August 2018, Blanchard described Slovenia as "a reliable US partner" and "a regional leader in implementing democratic reforms" in the Balkans.

She pledged to encourage privatisation, noting that 50% of the Slovenian economy was "under state ownership or control", which entailed "opportunities for increased private investment".

Blanchard argued that US-Slovenian relations needed to continue to improve "through direct outreach and engagement with Slovenian people".

Blanchard succeeds Ambassador Brent Hartley, a career diplomat who served in Ljubljana between February 2015 and July 2018.

Since then, the US Embassy in Ljubljana has been headed by charge d'affaires. Gautam Rana, who was in charge initially, was replaced by Susan K. Falatko in June.

It is not clear yet when Blanchard may be expected in Slovenia, but unofficial information indicates that she will first visit the Slovenian Embassy in Washington.

The State Department said that Blanchard would not be giving any interviews before she presented her credentials to the Slovenian president.

Blanchard and her husband John, a property mogul from Alabama, have made donations to Republican party presidential candidates, including Trump.

Blanchard is a co-founder of the development foundation 100X, which is looking for creative solutions for the elimination of poverty and improving lives of children around the world.

She has also co-founded the real estate investment management company B&M, where she currently works as a senior advisor.

As part of her work in the 100X foundation, Blanchard has been active in Africa, Asia and South America, helping open orphanages and food production companies and managing sustainable development programmes.

Having been an advocate of people with special needs for almost 20 years, she has volunteered in NGO committees and supported numerous educational programmes in Alabama. She has also helped families interested in adopting children.

Lynda "Lindy" Blanchard is the mother of seven children, of which four she adopted abroad. She has a degree in mathematics and computer science from Auburn University.

Blanchard not being a career diplomat is seen as an indication that the US considers Slovenia a non-problematic, allied country.

18 Jul 2019, 17:48 PM

Ljubljana Airport: Logistics Centre Completed, Work Starts on Bigger Passenger Terminal

STA, 18 July 2019 - Contractors have completed works on a major logistics centre adjacent to Ljubljana Airport that will be operated by Austrian logistics giant Cargo Partner. Spanning over almost 30,000 square metres, the new facility is expected to help turn the airport area in a major logistics hub.

Engineering company Protim Ržišnik Perc, which oversaw the project, said on Thursday the new facility would have 25,000 square metres of warehousing areas capable of storing 20,000 palettes, plus 4,000 square metres of office space.

It is located right next to a major centre run by Kuehne + Nagel which serves as the biggest logistics facility for Swiss drug maker Novartis in Europe.

When Cargo Partner broke ground on the project at the end of August 2018, the company said it opted for the airport area because of its excellent location and proximity to the seaports in Koper and Trieste.

Several other smaller logistics projects are also in development around the airport, Zmago Skobir, the head of airport operator Fraport Slovenija, said today as work started on a new passenger terminal at the airport

"It all started with the new bypass road. Since then development around the airport has been very fast," he said.

Work starts on extension of Ljubljana airport passenger terminal

STASTA, 18 July 2019 - A cornerstone ceremony marked the start of construction of a passenger terminal extension at the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport on Thursday. The expansion will boost the terminal's capacities considerably and improve the airport's services. The works are expected to take two years, with the total cost of investment exceeding EUR 21 million.

Steps in preparing construction site have already been taken by builders GIC Gradnje and Elcom with whom airport operator Fraport Slovenija signed a EUR 17.3 million construction contract at the end of June.

At the ceremony, Fraport Slovenija director Zmago Skobir said that the journey towards modernising the passenger terminal was a long one, but the German company had started delivering on the promises it gave when it became the airport's operator in 2015.

The terminal extension is necessary due to an increase in the number of passengers in the recent years. The trend is expected to continue in the future - in the next 20 years, the Ljubljana airport is expected to register a 3-4% increase of annual traffic growth.

The airport welcomed a record number of 1.8 million passengers last year and has been struggling with lack of space for a while.

Skobir said he was not concerned over the future of Slovenian air carrier Adria Airways since he was sure that it would adapt to growing passenger traffic rates, which are increasing in line with the Slovenian economy and tourism.

The current capacities of the terminal provide service to 500 passengers per hour, while the new terminal will cater to 1,250 passengers per hour. This will prevent bottle neck at the terminal, including during rush hours in peak summer season.

The terminal will thus get 10,000 square metres of new space, including new retail and restaurant facilities as well as additional 14 check-in desks, two security control points and a new departure lounge.

The extension will delight passengers and ensure long-term development and competitiveness for Fraport Slovenija, said Skobir.

Apart from the expansion, the operator also plans to modernise airport logistics and IT. According to Skobir, Fraport Slovenija is currently in a long-term investment cycle that amounts to more than EUR 40 million.

The German-owned operator will supervise and manage the investment with a team of ten engineers. According to engineering manager Andrej Tominec, the operator aims to open the new terminal in summer 2021 before Slovenia takes the EU Council presidency in July 2021.

The airport will stay open during the whole construction process. The new facility will be a separate unit connected to the existing terminal, located on the site of a former car park.

The building will be a spacious fusion of concrete, wood and glass, reflecting the nearby Kamnik-Savinja Alps, getting a lot of natural light and blending in with its environment, said the Plan B architecture firm, which has designed blueprints.

There will also be a park outside the new facility, envisaged as a refreshing shelter for passengers. A vision of turning the airport into a small airport city is thus coming to fruition, said Skobir.

Fraport Slovenija also plans to renovate the old terminal after completing the extension project.

18 Jul 2019, 15:49 PM

Cannabis Activist Sentenced to One Year in Prison by Higher Court

July 18, 2019

In a retrial case of two cannabis activists the Higher Court in Maribor changed the previous District Court’s acquittal into a conviction this Tuesday. Sanjin Janšar, founder of the Cannabis Social Club Maribor, was sentenced to one year in prison, while his colleague Tomaž Zagoršak got a one-year suspended sentence with a three-year probation period.

Both men were found responsible for the existence of 44 Cannabis plants, about 6 kg of dried cannabis, 6g of resin and 700 ml of a THC ointment, confiscated in a January 2016 police raid of the Pekarna Cultural Centre in Maribor. According to more than twenty witness testimonials at the first level of the trial, the drugs were mostly sold or given to people in order to treat their various medical conditions.

The District Court then acquitted Sanjin Janšar and Zagoršek in 2017, arguing that with their illegal activities the two were in fact improving, not harming, people’s health, an argument supported by witness testimonials, but as Mladina later pointed out, this was not supported by any expert medical opinion, as the court expert was never called to testify on the possible reasons for of marijuana use and any improvements in patients’ health.

The prosecutor complained at the Higher Court, which eventually decided for a retrial. A new judgement at the Higher Court this Tuesday found the men guilty of illegal production and trafficking of a controlled substance. In sentencing, the court observed the prosecution’s reminder that cannabis remains an illegal substance in the Republic of Slovenia, as well as the defence citing the disproportionality of the small significance of the offence compared to the possible damage achieved by a guilty verdict. The court therefore decided to sentence Jašar to one-year in prison and Zagoršek to one year’s suspended sentence.

In 2017 marijuana was reclassified from class one, among the most harmful of the controlled substances, to a class two controlled substance which can be used in medicine.

18 Jul 2019, 14:11 PM

Coffee, Cigarettes & Alcohol: Slovenia’s Place in the World

One of the many appealing things about life in Slovenia is the café scene, especially in the warmer months, with a vast number of places where you can sit outside, relax, enjoy a drink, chat with friends, read a book or watch the world go by. But how do Slovenes compare on a global scale when it comes to, say, having coffee, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol?

With regard to coffee, and based on Euromonitor figures for the amount consumed per capita in 2013 (based on the dry weight of coffee, rather than brewed volume), Slovenia comes 4^th globally, with 6.1 kg of the caffeinated beans being turned into stimulating beverages for each citizen over a year. The list is topped by Finland (9.6 kg), Norway (7.2 kg), and the Netherlands (6.1 kg). Italy was in 18^th place (3.4 kg), France in 21^st place (3.2 kg), and the USA 22^nd (3.1 kg).

Turning to tobacco, figures from 2016 indicate that Slovenia ranks 12^th in the world for annual per capita consumption of cigarettes, at 2236.5 , or 6.1 a day. The list is topped by Andorra (6398.3 a year, 17.5 a day) and Luxembourg (6330.9 a year, 17.3 a day).

According to WHO data from 2010, Slovenia ranked 24^th in the world for alcohol consumption, with the list topped by Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Russia and Romania, France coming 18^th, Croatia 20^th, the UK 25^th and the USA 48^th. However, note that a more recent WHO report, from 2018, found that Slovenia had the highest alcohol consumption in the region defined as the EU, Norway and Switzerland, with alcoholism seen as a serious problem in the country.

18 Jul 2019, 12:50 PM

Slovenia Announces Priorities for EU Presidency in 2021

STA, 17 July 2019 - The rule of law, sustainable development and security in the Western Balkans were laid down as top priorities for Slovenia's EU presidency in the second half of 2021 at what was the second preparatory meeting on Wednesday.

The top priorities will expectedly be adopted by the government at its first session in August, the government Communications Office said in a press release.

Following the principle less is more, the government ministers taking part in today's meeting at the Brdo pri Kranju conference centre expressed the view that the three priorities could be the thread running through Slovenia's presidency, the office said.

This will be Slovenia's second presidency after the country entered the EU in 2004. The project is estimated to cost EUR 80 million.

Slovenia will preside over 30 ministerials and more than 2,000 other meetings, most of them to be held in Brussels.

18 Jul 2019, 11:36 AM

Automatic Licence Plate Recognition Banned in Slovenia

STA, 17 July 2019 - The Constitutional Court has annulled legislation that allows police to use systems for automatic licence plate recognition, finding it contravenes the constitutional right to protection of personal data.

Acting on a petition by the Human Rights Ombudsman, the court annulled part of Article 113 of the police tasks and powers act, which was passed as part of legislative amendments in February 2017.

The contentious paragraph that was annulled provides that police may, for the purpose of ascertaining the conditions for the car and driver's involvement in road traffic, or search of persons and objects, use technical means for optical license plate recognition.

The paragraph also provides that the means need to be applied in a way that prevents mass surveillance or facial recognition.

The Constitutional Court held that the provision contravenes Paragraph 2 of Article 38 of the Constitution which says that any action pertaining to personal data, that is every step of their processing, collection, retention, access, transmission, analysis, comparison shall be provided by law.

The court noted that automatic license plate checks involve data collection and their checking against other personal data bases. Each data processing step would require to be specified by law individually.

Since the contentious provision does not specify, nor has the government provided a convincing explanation that other provisions in the act provide for the collected license plate data to be processed by means of automatic checking against other databases, the solution contravenes the requirement of Paragraph 2 of Article 38 of the Constitution.

The court will deliberate separately on other contentious issues in the law as argued by the ombudsman, including those concerning provisions on air passenger data and drones.

In the ombudsman's opinion automatic license plate recognition is disproportionate and allows mass surveillance.

The Constitutional Court also annulled parts of some other articles in the act that refer to the contentious provision.

Since the government has notified the court that the police have not put automatic plate recognition into use, the court did not deliberate on potential erasure of data collected in such a way.

Commenting on the decision, Interior Ministry State Secretary Sandi Čurin said that automatic license plate recognition had so far been implemented as a pilot project, and that all data collected would be erased.

Obviously, the police force and the Interior Ministry will respect the court's decision, said Čurin, but added that automatic license plate recognition contributed to road safety, so the ministry and the police would examine the possibility to enact the measure in some other way.

Ombudsman Peter Svetina welcomed the decision, but also noted that the court is yet to decide on other parts of the ombudsman's petition challenging several other provisions that were introduced into the police powers act in February 2017.

18 Jul 2019, 09:30 AM

Telemach Wins Appeal, Will Keep All of Its Wireless Spectrum

STA, 17 July 2019 - The Administrative Court has stayed the telecoms market regulator's decision to strip the company Telemach of a portion of wireless spectrum which it acquired through the acquisition of Tušmobil in 2014.

The Agency for Communication Networks and Services (AKOS) wanted to take away a portion of wireless spectrum that had been awarded to Tušmobil free of charge in 2008.

The agency wanted to take back two 5 MHz slices of spectrum in the 2100 MHz band on 30 September, planning to release a public call for bids for the spectrum in the meantime.

However, Telemach appealed against the decision with the Administrative Court, which ordered AKOS to suspend all activities in the matter pending the court's final decision, Telemach confirmed for the STA.

The third largest telecommunications provider in the country, Telemach holds about a fifth of the country's mobile telephony market.

The spectrum that is subject to the dispute amounts to less than a tenth of total spectrum that Telemach has at its disposal.

AKOS's decision to withdraw the spectrum was prompted by the Administrative Court, which examined the awarding of the spectrum to Tušmobil free of charge in 2008 and ordered the agency to make a new decision.

The awarding of the spectrum is also the subject of a criminal trial, with former AKOS director Tomaž Simonič charged with abuse of office for giving the spectrum to Tušmobil in exchange for an apartment provided by Mirko Tuš, at the time the owner of Tušmobil.

Telemach acquired Tušmobil in 2014 in a move that bolstered its mobile offerings and made it the number 3 wireless operator in Slovenia.

18 Jul 2019, 02:04 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 18 July 2019

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

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

This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenia's ambassador to EU Lenarčič candidate for commissioner

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec put forward Janez Lenarčič, Slovenia's permanent representative to the EU, as the country's candidate for European commissioner. A seasoned diplomat, Lenarčič, 51, has served as ambassador to the OSCE, director of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and as secretary of Slovenia's permanent UN mission. "He's experienced, he knows how the EU operates, he's been working in diplomacy for a long time. This is what we presently need," Šarec said. The government is to decide on Lenarčič's nomination on Thursday, but the SocDems are unhappy with the pick, while other coalition parties would not comment and the opposition criticised the choice.

Šarec expects von der Leyen to respect rule of law

LJUBLJANA/STRASBOURG, France - Commenting on the election of Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said he expected she would behave differently than her predecessor. "I expect her to respect the rule of law and not take sides, to be more active when it comes to the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans and to secure equal treatment for all member states," he said. Slovenian MEPs expect von der Leyen to fulfil the promises she made before the vote. Of the eight Slovenian MEPs only the two S&D members voted against her.

Meeting sets three priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Government members met for a second meeting in preparations for Slovenia's presidency of the EU in the second half of 2021 at Brdo pri Kranju, setting out the rule of law, sustainable development and security in the Western Balkans as top priorities. The top priorities will expectedly be adopted by the government at its first session in August, the government Communications Office said. Slovenia's second stint as the EU presiding country is expected to cost the country EUR 80 million.

Constitutional Court bans automatic licence plate recognition

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court annulled legislation that allows police to use systems for automatic licence plate recognition, finding it contravenes the constitutional right to protection of personal data. Acting on a petition by the Human Rights Ombudsman, the court annulled part of Article 113 of the police tasks and powers act pertaining to automatic license plate recognition, which was passed as part of legislative amendments in February 2017. The police has not yet put the contentious provision in practice. The court is yet to decide on other contentious provisions in the law.

NSi seeks to lift statue of limitations for sex crimes

LJUBLJANA - The conservative party New Slovenia (NSi) filed an amendment to the penal code to lift the statute of limitations on prosecution of crimes linked to sexual abuse. Under the penal code the statute of limitations for sex crimes is between 10 and 30 years, depending on the length of prison sentence they carry. NSi leader Matej Tonin said that the statute of limitations was problematic because victims would often not speak out about abuse for years, so the perpetrators might get off the hook.

Ascent Resources turns to Administrative Court over Petišovci gas field

LJUBLJANA - Ascent Resources, the UK developer of the Petišovci gas field in eastern Slovenia, has reportedly launched administrative dispute proceedings in Slovenia after it was ordered to get a separate permit for hydraulic fracturing. The move, reported on Tuesday by the Stock Market Wire news portal, comes after the Environment Ministry upheld the Environment Agency's decision that the investor needs a separate environmental permit for the controversial gas extraction project in Petišovci.

Decision to strip Telemach of portion of wireless spectrum suspended

LJUBLJANA - The Administrative Court has stayed the telecoms market regulator's decision to strip Telemach of a portion of wireless spectrum which it acquired through the acquisition of Tušmobil in 2014. The Agency for Communication Networks and Services wanted to take away a portion of wireless spectrum that had been awarded to Tušmobil free of charge in 2008, and publish a new call for bids, but Telemach appealed and the Administrative Court suspended the measure pending its final decision.

Immigration trend hit ten-year high in 2018

LJUBLJANA - More than 4,300 Slovenian citizens and some 24,100 foreigners immigrated to Slovenia last year, with the total share of Slovenia's population growth attributable to immigrants being the highest since 2008 - there were almost 15,000 more immigrants than emigrants, according to the Statistics Office. Almost 6,600 Slovenians and more than 6,900 foreigners moved out of the country in 2018. The population growth attributable to Slovenian immigrants was negative for the 19th consecutive year.

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

17 Jul 2019, 16:31 PM

Positive Net Migration Hit Ten-Year High in 2018

STA, 17 July 2019 - More than 4,300 Slovenian citizens and some 24,100 foreigners immigrated to Slovenia last year, with the total share of Slovenia's population growth attributable to immigrants being the highest since 2008 - there were almost 15,000 more immigrants than emigrants, shows the Statistics Office data released on Wednesday.

Almost 6,600 Slovenians and more than 6,900 foreigners emigrated in 2018.

The share of immigrants increased by 51% last year compared to 2017, while the share of emigrants dropped by 23%.

The population growth attributable to Slovenian immigrants was negative for the 19th consecutive year - Slovenian emigrants exceeded Slovenian immigrants by almost 2,250 persons, while the immigration trend of foreigners remained positive for the 20th consecutive year.

Most foreigners who came to Slovenia (almost 50%) hailed from Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by citizens from Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Croatia.

On the other hand, Slovenians returning back to the native country usually migrated from Germany and Austria (24% and 17%, respectively), followed by Switzerland, the UK and Italy.

A quarter of Slovenians who moved out of the country in 2018 went to Austria, with the rest emigrating to Germany, Switzerland and Croatia.

Most foreigners who left Slovenia behind moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina (24%), Germany, Serbia and Croatia.

Slovenia's internal migrations decreased by some 7% in 2018 on the previous year, totalling almost 104,000 changes of residence (some 89,500 Slovenians and around 14,500 foreigners).

Almost half of people moving within the country were aged 20-39 years, with the majority (80%) moving to another municipality.

Foreigners were again more mobile than Slovenians - among the former, one out of ten moved at least once in 2018 on average, while one Slovenian out of 24 changed the place of residence on average.

More details on these figures can be found here

17 Jul 2019, 14:23 PM

Janez Lenarčič Proposed as Slovenia's EU Commissioner (Details, Biography)

STA, 17 July 2019 - PM Marjan Šarec has put forward Janez Lenarčič, Slovenia's permanent representative to the EU, as the country's candidate for European commissioner. Describing the career diplomat as an experienced expert, Šarec told the press that coalition partners had already been notified of the proposal, which will be discussed by the government on Thursday.

Jump to biography

"He is experienced, he knows how the EU operates, he has been working in diplomacy for a long time. This is what we presently need," Šarec said about Lenarčič.

A seasoned diplomat, Lenarčič has also served as ambassador to the OSCE, as director of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, as secretary of Slovenia's permanent UN mission, and as diplomatic adviser to the highest state officials.

Šarec said he had been weighing different options carefully since the EU election and came to the conclusion that, given the composition of the government, Slovenia needed a neutral candidate.

He also noted that his Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and the fellow coalition SocDems had each secured two MEP seats as the most successful coalition parties in the recent EU election, which is why he would not have found it fair to have the candidate come from either of the two parties.

He said that many opportunities had been missed by Slovenia and that it is right to give a chance to somebody who knows the workings of the EU. Šarec is confident that the fellow coalition parties will also recognise the national interest of Slovenia and the importance of unity.

"If I look at the interests of Slovenia and the expectations of people outside, I'm convinced that this is the right decision," the prime minister said, adding he had waited a little before making his choice public to prevent a smear campaign against Lenarčič.

The SocDems, who had rooted for their MEP Tanja Fajon, responded to the news by speaking of a unilateral decision that sent an unpleasant message.

Criticising what they see as political horse-trading that led to the election of Ursula von der Leyen as Commission president with the support of far-right votes from Hungary and Poland, the SocDems said they expected "Slovenia would have acted differently and pick a Slovenian commissioner candidate with democratic legitimacy as a key condition" alongside competences, experience and reputation.

Šarec also touched on Fajon today, saying he found it hard to imagine how her participation in the Commission would be possible after the MEP had publicly denied support to von der Leyen.

As for von der Leyen's wish to have member states each put forward a male as well as a woman candidate, Šarec said he expected most countries would not do that.

He argued having two candidates would spell trouble for the rejected one: "We know what happens with candidates who are not selected."

Asked which department on the Commission Slovenia would like, Šarec said it would strive for one of the departments suiting it the most, one of the options being enlargement. He said he had already discussed the topic with von der Leyen.

Commenting on his expectations regarding the new Commission head, Šarec said he expected she would behave differently than her predecessor.

"I expect her to respect the rule of law and not take sides, to be more active when it comes to the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans and to secure equal treatment for all member states," he said.

In his first reaction, Lenarčič spoke of a great honour and responsibility, while stressing that this was only the first step in the appointment process.

He said that the trust expressed in Lenarčič by the PM now needed to confirmed by the government. If this happens, he will first also have to win the trust of von der Leyen and then also of the relevant committee in the European Parliament.

A brief biography of Janez Lenarčič

STA, 17 July 2019 - Janez Lenarčič, Slovenia's current ambassador to the EU who has been proposed for the post of European commissioner, is a career diplomat. He has served as ambassador to the OSCE, as director of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, as secretary of Slovenia's permanent UN mission, and as the PM's diplomatic adviser.

Lenarčič, born in Ljubljana on 6 November 1967, graduated in international law in Ljubljana in 1992 and started working for the Foreign Ministry the same year.

Between 1994 and 1999 he worked with Slovenia's permanent mission at the UN, initially as the third and then as the first secretary. In 2000 he started serving as adviser to the foreign minister and the following year he became the diplomatic adviser to the prime minister, the late Janez Drnovšek.

In 2002 and 2003 Lenarčič worked as state secretary in the PM's office, to be appointed in 2003 the head of the Slovenian mission to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). During Slovenia's OSCE presidency in 2005 he headed the organisation's permanent council.

In 2006 he was appointed state secretary for European affairs, serving also during Slovenia's first presidency of the EU in 2008 during the centre-right government of Janez Janša. He was the head of the task force in charge of preparing Slovenia's EU presidency.

In July 2008 he was appointed director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and confirmed for a second and final term at the same post in May 2011.

In September 2014 Lenarčič became state secretary in the office of the then PM Miro Cerar, where he was in charge of foreign and European affairs.

He served under Cerar's centre-left government until July 2016 when he took over as Slovenia's permanent representative to the EU.

When assuming office in Brussels, Lenarčič highlighted migration and an effective control over the external border among Slovenia's as well as the EU's priorities. Another Slovenian priority noted was the country's presidency over the EU in 2021.

Lenarčič is considered an apolitical expert and has been in the conversation for the commissioner post for some time.

He speaks English, French and Serbian.

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