STA, 3 July 2019 - Several monuments to WWII resistance members in Ljubljana's city centre have been vandalised. Police are investigating the incident, in which at least three monuments were sprayed with orange graffiti carrying political messages. President Borut Pahor and Culture Ministry condemned the act and called for tolerance.

Anti-revolutionary and anti-Yugoslavian messages were sprayed onto the 1975 Monument to the Revolution in Republic Square, while the statues of Partisan resistance leader Boris Kidrič (1912-1953) and Toni Mrlak, the pilot of a helicopter that was shot down over Ljubljana during the independence war, were in parts sprayed with orange.

"Vandalising monuments is not freedom of expression but a threat to it," Pahor tweeted, expressing hope that the authorities would investigate this and similar cases and act accordingly.

He called for tolerance that "allows us to present our views freely, while also considering the views and dignity of others.

The Culture Ministry also strongly condemned the incident, noting that the monuments of national and local importance were already being cleaned.

"The contents of the graffiti shows that this is more than just vandalism but enticing of intolerance and hatred," MEP Milan Brglez, former parliamentary speaker, wrote on Facebook.

The incident was also strongly condemned by the coalition Social Democrats (SD), who forwarded the photos of the vandalised monuments to the media.

It said it was "more than obvious" that the incident had been organised. The party said that nobody, regardless of their belief, had the right to vandalise joint monuments that serve as a reminder of the lessons of the past.

The SD said that although the memories of the recent history are very painful to some, vandalism would not bring them peace or unity.

This was echoed by the Left, which said that the monuments that were vandalised represented the achievements of the post-war Yugoslavia, which include workers, housing and social rights. This is also the time when the foundations of the modern public health and education system were laid, it noted.

This is not the first case of vandalism in the city centre. The 2013 monument to the victims of all wars in Congress Square has been vandalised four times already.

STA, 3 July 2019 - Continuing the tradition, the Slovenian police will send three officers to Croatia to help the Croatian authorities handle cases involving Slovenian citizens during the peak summer tourist season between 17 July and 18 August.

Slovenian tourists in Croatia will be able to see Slovenian police officers in the city of Pula and on the islands of Krk and Pag, the police announced on Wednesday.

They will participate in procedures carried out by their Croatian colleagues involving Slovenians, primarily to enable better communication and provide Slovenian tourists with explanations regarding these procedures.

They will be wearing Slovenian police uniforms but will not be armed, and will not be implementing powers and taking measures under the sole jurisdiction of the Croatian police.

Slovenian tourists in Croatia will be able to contact Slovenian police officers through the Slovenian embassy in Zagreb or the relevant police stations in Pula, Krk and Pag.

Before their departure to Croatia, the three police officers were received today by Deputy Police Commissioner Tomaž Pečjak.

While Slovenian police officers help out in Croatia during summers, Croatian police officers are in Slovenia during winters, touring ski slopes popular among Croatian tourists.

STA, 3 July 2019 - A Slovenian project focussing on the river Ljubljanica has received a UNESCO award for best practice in underwater cultural heritage, and archaeologist Andrej Gaspari has been honoured with the appointment to a UNESCO advisory board, the public broadcaster's news portal MMC has reported.

The project focused on underwater research, the conservation of a dugout boat from the 2nd century BC, remedial work on the riverbanks and monitoring, among other things.

It culminated with the Ljubljanica River Exhibition in the town of Vrhnika, which is dedicated to the natural and cultural heritage of the river and its surroundings.

Ljubljanica, declared a cultural monument of national importance in 2003, is one of the most important but also one of the most at-risk archaeological sites in Slovenia.

According to MMC, there are plans to have it placed on the UNESCO list of natural and cultural heritage.

The project was conceived and led in 2014-2016 by Irena Šinkovec from the Ljubljana Museum of Galleries in collaboration with the Vrhnika municipality, Ljubljana's Biotechnical Faculty as well as domestic and foreign experts.

Meanwhile, Andrej Gaspari, head of the archaeology department at Ljubljana's Faculty of Arts, was elected a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Board.

He is credited with laying the foundations of advanced underwater archaeology in Slovenia.

The two recognitions came on 21 June as part of the seventh conference of signatories to the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in Paris.

Slovenian ratified the 2001 convention in 2008.

Related: See the Charms of Ljubljana from a New Angle with a Barka Boat Ride

STA, 2 July - Speaking to the Slovenian press in Budapest in the wake of a takeover of SKB bank, the CEO of financial services provider OTP Sandor Csanyi announced organic growth on the Slovenian market, with detailed decisions still subject to an ongoing analysis.

Csanyi described the operations of SKB, which has been sold to Hungary's OTP by the French group Societe Generale, as above average.

He said the foray onto the Slovenian market was important for OTP because of its proximity and promise of good results. Csanyi simultaneously sees the Slovenian market as demanding, arguing banks will have to operate more efficiently.

Still, major changes are not planned for now at SKB, which includes staffing. If there are no mergers, mass layoffs do not make sense, he said, while arguing it was of course normal for some posts to be centralised and that the detailed plans still depended on an ongoing analysis.

Csanyi did not wish to reveal how much OTP paid for SKB, the third largest Slovenian bank when it was acquired by Societe Generale in 2001.

He would also not say how much OTP had offered for Abanka, the current Slovenian no. 3 which ended up being sold by the state two weeks ago to the NKBM bank under its new owner, US fund Apollo. He said OTP just offered too little, while he described the sales procedure as entirely transparent.

According to Csanyi, OTP wants to grow in an organic fashion in Slovenia and reach at least a 10% market share.

The company is interested in helping finance the new Koper-Divača rail track, even if Hungary as a country would not participate, while Csanyi would also not mind participating in some other state projects.

Also highlighted was Ljubljana's Emonika, the stalled train and bus passenger terminal project, with Csanyi saying the situation was presently being examined.

STA, 2 July 2019 - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian signed in Paris on Tuesday a new action plan for a strategic partnership between the two countries in the 2019-2022 period. The pair also broached the appointment process for the EU's top posts and the Western Balkans, the Foreign Ministry said.

Nov Akcijski načrt strateškega partnerstva med ?? in ?? za obdobje 2019-2022 je podpisan. Načrt bo dodatno oplemenitil in dal nov zagon sodelovanju Slovenije in Francije na številnih področjih. V nadaljevanju dneva se bom sestal še z generalnim sekretarjem @OECD @A_Gurria. pic.twitter.com/v5DHNJL61m

— dr. Miro Cerar (@MiroCerar) July 2, 2019

Cerar said the new agreement would enrich existing cooperation and provide a new momentum. He noted it also covered the time when Slovenia and France would successively preside over the EU in 2021 and 2022.

Cerar is confident the action plan, which focuses on cooperation in science and innovation, information, communication technology and AI, will contribute to closer economic cooperation, with France already being Slovenia no. 5 trading partner.

The Foreign Ministry added that an important part of the talks had been dedicated to the strengthening of multilateralism. France plays a key role here as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The pair also talked about current European topics, notably the Western Balkans. Cerar stressed the region needed to be given a European future and urged a clear and credible answer by October as regards the launch of EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania.

Also broached were migration, terrorism and climate change, with Cerar calling for European solutions to migration issues.

Meanwhile, the head of the Slovenian diplomacy also met OECD secretary general Angel Gurria. Cerar explained Slovenia wanted to use its preparations for the EU presidency in 2021 to examine topics where it can work closer with the OECD.

??FM ⁦@MiroCerar⁩ met with SG ⁦@OECD⁩ @A_Gurria⁩ to discuss cooperation btw #Slovenia and OECD in the field of #DigitalTransformation, #AI, development, education, ageing, #circulareconomy. ⁦@SLOtoOECD⁩ #Paris pic.twitter.com/PleziBEOzh

— SLOVENIAN MFA (@MZZRS) July 2, 2019

Slovenia is already participating in an OECD expert group on AI and has participated in the drafting of OECD recommendations in the this field, the first such document on the global level.

Next year, the country will host an OECD summit that will serve as a chance for a debate on lifelong learning in a time when society and the economy are undergoing a digital transformation, the ministry wrote.

Cerar also met the chairs of the European Affairs Committees of the French parliament's lower and upper houses, Sabine Thillaye and Jean Bizet, respectively. He also discussed European topics and areas covered by the action plan with them.

All our stories on France are here

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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:

Šarec says EU parliament not backing deal on top posts would be bad sign

BRUSSELS, Belgium - PM Marjan Šarec labelled EU leaders' compromise on appointments to top EU posts as good and expressed hope the candidate for the president of the European Commission, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, will also be backed by the European Parliament. Šarec said parliament failing to back her would be a bad sign. "I expect there will definitely be an additional complication or two but the European Council has shown its unity," Šarec said, emphasising the importance of this unity for the legitimacy of the Commission and other institutions.

Cerar signs strategic partnership plan with France

PARIS, France - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian signeda new action plan for a strategic partnership between the two countries in the 2019-2022 period. The pair also broached the appointment process for the EU's top posts and the Western Balkans, the Foreign Ministry said. Cerar said the new agreement would enrich existing cooperation and provide a new momentum. He noted it also covered the time when Slovenia and France would successively hold the EU presidency in 2021 and 2022.

Fitch improves outlook for NKBM and Abanka as merger expected

WARSAW, Poland - The ratings agency Fitch has kept the long-term credit rating of the NKBM and Abanka banks at BB+, while revising their outlook from stable to positive. The main reason for the improved outlook are the expected positive results of the banks' merger. Fitch has also kept the banks' short-term risk rating at B and the bank's long-term sustainability of operation at bb+.

Speakers Židan and Gojković discuss cooperation, EU enlargement

LJUBLJANA - Parliamentary Speaker Dejan Židan and his Serbian counterpart Maja Gojković discussed cooperation between Slovenia and Serbia and the countries' parliaments as well as EU enlargement. Židan reiterated Slovenia's support for Western Balkans accession to the EU. The Serbian speaker said EU accession was the country's strategic priority and agreed with Židan that the enlargement policy was one of the best strategies for peace and stability in the Western Balkans and the entire EU.

Constitutional Court says mental health act unconstitutional

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court has found that the mental health act is unconstitutional after it was petitioned by a patient claiming their personal liberty and dignity had been violated when they were placed in a closed ward of an overcrowded institution against their will. Announcing the decision, the Constitutional Court has given the parliament nine months to mend the act.

Adria Airways's aircraft to be maintained by Northern Aerotech

BRNIK - Adria Airways announced that the Danish company Northern Aerotech will take over the maintenance of its aircraft starting September. Northern Aerotech was picked after the Adria decided not to renew its contract with the carrier's long-standing maintenance partner Adria Tehnika. Adria's chief operating officer Tadej Notersberg told the press that the Danish company, seated in Copenhagen, had a wealth of experience and had been selected in a call for applications that had attracted a lot of interest. His colleague Sven Kukemelk explained five bids had been submitted.

Energy trader Gen-I sells EUR 25 million commercial paper

LJUBNO OB SAVINJI - Energy trading company Gen-I has completed a EUR 25 million issue of a one-year commercial paper at an interest rate of 1.1%. Gen-I said it would use the fresh funds for working capital and to disperse its structure of short-term financing sources. The company, which had a 403-strong workforce at the end of last year and operated in 22 countries, said binding bids worth EUR 42 million had been submitted for the issue, which was organised by the NKBM bank.

Maribor judge says she was not attacked by her spouse

MARIBOR - The Maribor judge who was brutally assaulted near her home in mid-June gave her first statement after the attack. She told the STA through her daughter that she had not been attacked by her spouse, who is the chief suspect in the case. Maribor District Court judge Daniela Ružič has already filed a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator.

Power from renewables in Slovenia on the rise

LJUBLJANA - The share of electricity generated from renewable sources in gross end use in Slovenia in 2018 rose by 3.4 percentage points to 21.8% from 2005, the Energy Agency, the national regulator, said in its 2018 report. But in line with national goals stemming from the EU's climate and energy package, the share should be raised to 25% by 2020.

Slovenia 6th in EU in use of eHealth services

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is in 16th place among the 28 EU member states in the EU's Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), being above the average only in digital public services (14th). Slovenia performs particularly well in the access to open data and eHealth services, where it ranks sixth. The European Commission has been monitoring the digital competitiveness of member states with DESI reports since 2015, enclosing every year to national reports a chapter with an in-depth review of telecommunications.

Popular street theatre festival to visit dozen towns

KAMNIK/NOVA GORICA - The 22nd Ana Desetnica street theatre festival came to Kamnik and Nova Gorica today before it visits a total of eleven towns, including Ljubljana, until Sunday. The Slovenian capital is where Ana Desetnica will dwell the longest, from Wednesday to Sunday.

Slovenia eliminated at women's EuroBasket, top 12 finish best so far

BELGRADE, Serbia - The Slovenian women's national basketball team came very close to making the quarter-finals of the EuroBasket in Serbia, letting the play-off match with Belgium (67:72) slip away only in the final minute. The team will have to be content with a top 12 finish, which is the best for Slovenian women's basketball so far. This was the second the Slovenian woman basketballers participated in the European basketball championship, coming after 2017, when Slovenia also finished 14th with a 1:2 record.

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

We recently got in touch with The Miha Artnak, the notorious Slovenian artist that’s been trolling the media for the last two years. He’s been exposing the vulnerabilities of reporting with his fake news projects since December 2017, where he convinced the media that he sold an artwork for more than $1 million to a Chinese bank. As a result, he was on the radio, on the front page of the most widely read newspaper in the country, and the main story in the evening news.

In his next stunt, he used the existing visual image of BTC City to convince a non-Slovenian public that there was now a Bitcoin City in Slovenia. BTC City is a Slovenian shopping mall - which actually stands for Blagovno trgovinski center, and not Bitcoin. The fake news at first angered BTC City officials, but later inspired them to actually rename it, with Bitcoin City a registered trademark that’s gaining interest worldwide.

Miha is also a member of the ZEK crew and a managing director of the design studio Ljudje, which has produced work for, among others, the Museum of Architecture & Design, Klub K4, Flaviar Inc, and Gramatik

Not quite sure where to begin when interviewing such a figure, we decided the best approach was to just surrender control and let the man himself ask and answer his own questions,

The painting made out of bird faeces that was allegedly sold for more $1 million has changed the perception of how we value art, yet it still isn’t hanging in any of the museums. Now why is that?

It’s hard to comment on that. Maybe the current generation needs to be overthrown or maybe I just have a too high an opinion about my work. I haven’t marketed it to the right network. It’s also true that I don’t fill out applications and I don’t attend as many events as I should.

How did this project influence the art scene and the artists?

I definitely inspired people to lie more. But only in my circle of course. I need to change that.

And how did this affect the media?

The first fake news stirred some things up. They didn’t like it of course. But it made some people think. I still see loose ends though – journalists publish a lot of unverified news every day. I need to exploit that again.

Your recent performance, Crossing (Jaywalking), criticizes artists that think they can do whatever they want in the name of art – even breaking the law. How did the public respond to it?

The general public read this performance very differently. Most people outside of my bubble hated it. But that was the plan – I wanted to be perceived as a misunderstood bullshit artist that can do what he pleases without any consequences. So it pissed off a lot of people who then wrote ridiculous comments, which makes my audience laugh.

You just had an exhibition with your design studio Ljudje in the Museum of Architecture and Design. You’ve criticized design as a profession. Isn’t that hypocritical, or at least self-sabotaging?

I partly agree with that. All professions should evolve and get better in the quality of their work. But all professions are also subordinate to capitalism. We wanted to show that no matter how excellent the surgeon is, she still prioritizes her patients by wealth, the majority of people still vote based on the likeability of the candidate, and direct democracy prefers individual interest over the common good. The exhibition is based on the latest standards and trends in design but the problem lies in the initial input - ideology. This is a wake-up call. Is there a purpose? Is there a common goal? People are waiting for a better system to be articulated and give us meaning, and we’ll gladly help designing it.

What are the plans for the design studio, and your next art project?

We’d like to use design for a good cause, to work on projects that don’t create as much pollution, to create better interfaces for users, tell better stories and to create courses for the next generation.

I’m also getting ready for the ZEK 2020 exhibition and creating my first solo art exhibition. I can’t wait.

You can learn more about all these projects here, while the Ljudje design studio can be found here.

STA, 2 July 2019 - The Maribor judge who was brutally assaulted near her home in mid-June gave her first statement after the attack. She told the STA through her daughter that she had not been attacked by her spouse, who is the chief suspect in the case.

Maribor District Court judge Daniela Ružič has already filed a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator.

Ružič, who is still in hospital, said she would like all the false reports and libel about her family to stop.

She said her spouse had never been physically violent, but "compassionate and a loving father".

She also said she had turned to him for help after the attack. She stressed she did not feel threatened by him, so there was no need for a restraining order.

Ružič was attacked in the wee hours on Sunday, 16 June, in front of her house in the vicinity of Maribor.

She was severely injured with an object, and is still being treated at the UKC Maribor hospital.

The police apprehended her spouse a few days later, but released him after questioning. They also proposed a restraining order, but the investigating judge reportedly decided against it.

The police think the motive for the attack was Ružič's intention to get a divorce and claim her share of the joint assets.

The investigation of the attack, which drew strong condemnation from Ružič's peers and politicians, who perceived it as work-related, continues.

STA, 2 July 2019 - The 22nd Ana Desetnica street theatre festival is coming to Kamnik and Nova Gorica on Tuesday before it visits a total of eleven towns, including Ljubljana, until Sunday.

Held under the slogan By People For People, Ana Desetnica - which its organisers dubbed "a travelling legend of many miracles, a diva of streets and squares" - wants visitors to get involved to make the festival a big home party.

This fits with its new Living Room concept which the festival's organisers Ana Monro Theatre have been developing in Ljubljana since 2017.

While pop-up livings rooms will also be set up in Nova Gorica and Novo Mesto, the Slovenian capital is where Ana Desetnica will dwell the longest, from Wednesday to Sunday.

Chairs, armchairs, coffee tables and other pieces of furniture will occupy Slovenska Street, with story tellers, poets, musicians and chat lovers dropping in.

Passers-by and festival visitors will be invited to help create the right atmosphere for dancers, circus artists, jugglers and other performers.

The Kazina Dance Group will lift the curtain on the Ljubljana's section of the festival with Oni (They) by dancer and choreographer Ada Kogovšek.

It will also feature Great Britain's Southpaw Dance Collective performing Icarus, a dance theatre interpretation of the classic Greek myth, and Spanish circus Vaiven playing a high energy, poetic show that combines dance, acrobatics and physical theatre with contemporary circus tricks.

The festival will feature artists from eleven countries.

For the third year running, the urbANA ljubljANA 2019 award for best international street show will be given out by a jury of experts and a member of the audience.

Ana Desetnica has hosted more than 5,000 street artists from more than 40 countries, who have put on at least 1,000 shows, attracting almost one million visitors over the past two decades, according to the Ana Monro Theatre.

More details are here, while the full programme is here

STA, 1 July 219 - A bill to limit commission fees for renting real estate and other costs which real estate agencies can charge their clients, was endorsed at committee level on Monday, although MPs from left and right were reserved about limiting "business initiative". The cabinet supports the opposition-sponsored bill, but realtors are outraged.

The Left, which supports the minority government, filed the changes to the law on real estate agencies in June to improve the status of tenants but also landlords.

Under the changes, landlords would fully pay the commission fee charged by a real estate agency for a service commissioned by them.

This means tenants would no longer shoulder part of the fee, which the Left deems fair, since they have to pay a down payment and the rent.

A cap would also be imposed on the commission fee that can be charged by apartment rental agencies to landlords. The capped amount would correspond to one monthly rent, but would not go lower than 150 euro.

The Left believes tenants in apartments rented out at market prices should benefit the most since they will no longer have to pay commission fees for the services they have not commissioned and since landlords would be encouraged to rent out their apartments for longer periods.

The bill also introduce EU rules in acquiring qualifications for a real estate agent. As Left leader Luka Mesec told the Infrastructure, Environment and Spatial Planning Committee, Slovenia had already received a warning about a delay from the European Commission.

State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning Aleš Prijon said the bill was in line with the government's housing policy, especially in that it protected tenants.

A similar view was expressed by the Consumer Protection Association, whose Jana Turk said it improved consumer protection in the rental market.

On the other hand, representatives of real estate agents find it unimaginable that anyone would limit the price of a service available on the free market.

Boštjan Udovič from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) said there was enough competition on the market and citizens were obliged to use this service.

He said that less than 50% of the deals were made through real estate agents, which showed tenants were not forced to shoulder the commission fee for the service.

If the bill is passed, the GZS's chamber of real estate business will report Slovenia to the European Commission and probably ask the Constitutional Court to review it, he announced.

All our stories on real estate are here