STA, 21 May 219 - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has downgraded its forecast for Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth for this year by 0.2 percentage points to 3.4%, while upgrading the 2020 forecast by 0.4 points to 3.1%.

In the forecast published on Tuesday, the OECD said that Slovenia's economic growth remained strong, being powered by the solid domestic consumption.

Domestic consumption is supported by the improving situation on the labour market, growth of wages in real terms and a high consumer confidence rate.

The EU structural funds, the companies' needs for additional production capacities and favourable financing conditions are maintaining a strong investment growth, while exports are slowing down due to lower demand.

The OECD expects that private consumption will increase this year by 3% (3.1% in 2020), state investments by 2.2% (1.9% in 2020), companies' investments in fixed assets by 8% (7.2% in 2020), exports by 5.8% (7% in 2020) and imports by 5.2% (5.9% in 2020).

Employment continues to grow, with hiring of foreign workforce also being on the increase, the OECD said, adding that the shortage of workforce was nevertheless the highest in the last ten years.

The Paris-based organisation noted that Slovenia's fiscal policy for this year was expansive, while that for 2020 was neutral, adding that Slovenia should make its fiscal policy stricter to keep inflation pressure in check and ensure fiscal sustainability.

Measures such as restricting early retirement and facilitating privatisation would contribute to mobilising labour resources which are not fully utilised at the moment, and make labour force available to fast-growing industries, the OECD added.

It said it expected economic growth in Slovenia to slow down in 2019-2020, adding that the higher domestic demand and growth of investments would be covered with higher imports.

Given the weaker demand from abroad and higher labour costs, the growth of exports will slow down, while the employment rate will drop below the natural rate, which is expected to facilitate wage growth and increase inflation.

Slovenia's economic growth could be higher than projected if households save less and increase consumption, or lower than projected if companies fail to increase their production capacities to the expected level.

This could result in a drop in their competitiveness and lower exports, the OECD said, adding that economic growth in Slovenia could also be negatively affected by a possible strong real estate market correction.

Ljubljana’s gourmet burger scene is a strong and growing one, with both dedicated restaurants and pop-up festivals dedicated to bringing the best out of simple ingredients. One such place is the Hood Burger chain, which started as a humble stand in front of Sax Pub, Ljubljana, in 2012.

The Lady Marmalade: "Voulez-vous manger avec moi, ce soir?"

The concept of high quality ingredients served with respect found immediate favour with customers, with the owners, Til Pleterski and Klemen Ptičak, opening their first permanent location in Vič later that same year. Since then the company’s gone from strength to strength and now boasts four locations, three in Ljubjljana (Vič, BTC and Nazorjeva Street) and the latest in Celje (at Prešernova ulica 10, Celje).

To mark the occasion, do some good for the local community and underline the chain’s commitment to fine ingredients and innovation, Hood has announced a new product, available for just 12 days, the intriguingly named Lady Marmalade. But the name is far from the most interesting thing about the latest addition to Hood’s short menu of burgers, fries, chicken, shakes, sodas and beers. It’ss a collaboration with the chef Janez Bratovž, the doyen of Ljubljana’s fine-dining scene and the man behind the initials of JB Restavracija. In short, not someone to throw ketchup on a burger and be done with it.

As Janez said at yesterday's launch:

When the boys invited me to participate, I was honoured, even more so when I learned that it was for a good cause. I immediately had a basic idea in my head, and then with Til and Klemen, who are truly burger experts, I have developed and supplemented it, so I am very happy with the end result. The rise of street food like this is a reflection of the fact that we live faster, we do not have one hour for lunch, but the quality of street food is thus very important. Hood Burger provides this. Til and Klemen take food, and really make sure that the bread, meat and other ingredients are top-quality.

The item itself is described as a sophisticated burger, both strong and gentle, and I’d just say it was delicious, as I discovered at the launch last night. The tasty bun and burger, the latter produced using Hood’s standard smashing technique, is complimented by a thick slice of Lombardy gorgonzola, a jam flavoured with Brda Merlot, some thinly sliced radicchio, enriched with a custom vinaigrette dressing, along with some onions and crisp pancetta – a taste of the Karst region you can hold in your hand, and one that goes equally well with a glass of Bevog or Union

Related: Ljubljana Burgers – the case for Hood

What’s more, from each one sold Hood is donating €1 to the Gynaecology and Maternity Department of the General Hospital Celje. There’s thus no reason to feel guilty the next time you pop out for a burger, as it’ll both taste good and do good, while enabling you to say, in all honesty, that yes, you’ve eaten food by Janez Bratovž.

The Lady Marmalade burgers will be on the menus of all four Hood locations from today until June 2, so catch them while you can.

STA, 21 May 2019 - The company Hurra Studios' Little Heroes start-up project, creating personalised children's books, was declared the Slovenian start-up of the year at a ceremony during the Podim start-up conference in Maribor on Tuesday.

Little Heroes's customers can choose the name, gender and appearance of their protagonists as well as the content of stories.

In addition to personalised books, Hurra Studios also sells other products, including gift boxes, which account for over 25% of the company's business, which has led to a significant change in Hurra Studios' revenue sources, said the conference organisers.

The company has so far attracted more than 600,000 customers, with the number expected to rise to 1.5 million by the end of this year.

Its trade is also rapidly increasing and expanding to other countries. Besides Slovenia, the company is present in Italy, Austria, France, Germany and the US, while also planning to enter the British, Canadian and Australian markets.

The Ljubljana-based company employs more than 100 people in the capital and over 250 at the global level.

The award was handed out for the 12th time by a judging panel which featured entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and other members of the Slovenian start-up world.

The Podim conference is considered one of the leading start-up events in the Alpe Adria region and the Western Balkans. Last year, the award went to Next, a start-up that developed an online cleaning service platform called Beeping.

You can learn more about Hurra Heroes – also called Hooray Heroes – here

STA, 21 May 2019 - The Slovenian Bishops' Conference has expressed regret after a Catholic civil initiative publicly named priests suspected of child abuse. But the bishops said they were willing to cooperate with civil initiatives and state authorities providing assistance to victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

The bishops and other church representatives would like to receive the victims and their families and support them during the process of dealing with the consequences of sexual abuse, the Bishops' Conference said in a press release on Tuesday.

"The Conference's group of experts designed to handle sexual abuse cases provides legal help and psychological support to the victims as well as suggests measures to bishops and church officials in individual cases," reads the release.

The expert group is the Catholic Church's authority tackling this issue, thus it is tasked with cooperation with civil initiatives and state authorities fighting child sexual abuse.

The Bishops' Conference said that the Church authorities had been handling sexual abuse cases on their own as well, while supporting police in investigation procedures.

It pointed out that the Church's legal procedures were dependent on police work since the Church itself did not have its own forensics or investigators.

The Catholic Church thus relies on state investigative authorities' findings including in establishing the truth in criminal cases against sexual integrity, particularly when offences were allegedly carried out years or decades ago.

The conference's release expressed regret over some individuals and civil initiatives publicly revealing the names of alleged abusers without those suspects being proven guilty.

"The Bishops' Conference believes that one needs to preserve not just the dignity of victims but also of suspected offenders, protecting their good name from getting sullied," said the release.

Related: Sex Abuse Initiative Files Complaints Against Seven Priests

The civil initiative Dovolj.je (It's Enough) said on Monday that three months after being launched, it had received sexual abuse reports about 15 priests who were named and two anonymous ones which did not mention accused priests by name.

At its press conference, the initiative revealed a few names of alleged perpetrators, with one of the victims revealing the name of her alleged molester.

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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:

Bill providing recourse over bail-in passes first reading

LJUBLJANA - A government-sponsored bill designed to provide legal recourse for holders of subordinated bank liabilities who were wiped out in the 2013 bank bailout was endorsed on first reading at the National Assembly although MPs expect improvements in later stages of the legislative procedure. All deputy factions voiced their support for the belated bill, which should have been adopted by May 2017 under a Constitutional Court decision that held that subordinated creditors and shareholders did not have sufficient access to recourse under existing legislation.

MPs reject SDS proposal for demographic fund

LJUBLJANA - MPs voted down a proposal by the opposition Democrats (SDS) that conceived the emerging demographic fund as a single roof for all of the state's assets with the goal of shoring up the pension system. Most MPs find the more restrained version of the fund recently outlined by the Finance Ministry to be more appropriate. Unlike the ministry, whose soon expected proposal is likely to have the fund focus on the state's portfolio investments and keep Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) in tact as the manager of strategic investments and the fund's second pillar, the SDS proposed dismantling SSH and pooling all of the state assets.

Červek returns to helm of National Review Commission

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly appointed Samo Červek as the new president of the National Review Commission. Červek, who already ran the commission between July 2006 and November 2008, is succeeding Borut Smrdel, who resigned on 3 April after almost seven years citing pressure on the commission and the questioning of its integrity. Review procedures and public procurement in the country have been subject to criticism for years, in particular in connection to delays in major infrastructure projects.

Three members of Permanent Court of Arbitration appointed

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly appointed Verica Trstenjak, Ana Stanič and Jure Vidmar new Slovenian members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Having been put forward by President Borut Pahor following consultations with the parliamentary parties, they will join Maša Zgonec-Rožej to fill the four seats in the court reserved for Slovenia. Mirjam Škrk is meanwhile bidding farewell from the Hague-based court as her term expires on 4 August.

Police data show surge in illegal migration

LJUBLJANA - The police have bee registering a rapid increase in the number of illegal border crossing cases with the latest data showing more than 3,000 cases handled in the first four months of the year, which compares to 1,300 in the same period a year ago. There has been a significant increase in the number of illegal migrants from Algeria, Pakistan and Morocco. More than 1,260 migrants asked for asylum until end of April this year, an increase of 25% year-on-year.

OECD corrects Slovenia growth forecast

LJUBLJANA - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) downgraded its forecast for Slovenia's economic growth for this year by 0.2 percentage points to 3.4%, while upgrading the 2020 forecast by 0.4 points to 3.1%. The OECD expects that private consumption will increase this year by 3% and by 3.1% in 2020 and companies investments in fixed assets will expand by 8% this year and by 7.2% in 2020), with exports growing by 5.8% this year and 7% in 2020.

Early voting begins in EU elections

LJUBLJANA - The voters unable to turnout at the polls on Sunday, can cast their ballots in the elections to the European Parliament early between Tuesday and Thursday. 59 polling stations were set up for the purpose around the country, mostly at the headquarters of district electoral commissions. On election day, around 3,060 polling stations will be open from 7am to 7pm across Slovenia plus another 31 at the country's diplomatic missions around the globe.

Cerar says Slovenia has well-functioning diplomatic network

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar addressed an event at the Foreign Ministry ahead of Slovenian Diplomacy Day, 22 May, saying that Slovenian diplomacy as a whole functioned well. He finds it important that Slovenian diplomacy is responsive, that it adapts itself creatively to new circumstances and recognises new opportunities. Cerar told Slovenian diplomats and members of the diplomatic corps, Cerar said that diplomats were no longer dealing only with standard political, security and geo-strategic topics.

World Bee Day marked at UN

NEW YORK,US/ROME, Italy - The role of bees and other pollinators for humanity, sustainable development and the elimination of hunger was highlighted as the Slovenian mission at the UN held a ceremony marking World Bee Day at the UN's Trusteeship Council Chamber in New York on Monday. UN officials praised Slovenia for initiating the designated day and for keeping bees on the UN's agenda. An Event celebrating World Bee Day was also held at the FAO headquarters in Rome.

Name of holiday celebrating Primorska to remain unchanged

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly failed to overturn an upper chamber veto of a proposal to rename the holiday celebrating Slovenia's reunification with the western region of Primorska. A group of MPs lead by the coalition SocDems' Matjaž Nemec had wanted to replace "vrnitev" or the "return" of the region to Slovenia as part of the Paris Peace Treaty with "priključev" or "integration/annexation". Opponents successfully argued that in international law annexation denotes forcible acquisition of territory and that the proposal, even if meant to echo the way the development is called by the people of Primorska, was harmful.

Minister Pivec talks bees, wine, CAP during Italy visit

ROME, Italy - Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec met Italian Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Alessandra Pesce. The pair highlighted the problem of counterfeit honey and the need for protective measures at the level of the EU. Pivec also said Slovenia was ready to cooperate with Italy in cross-border efforts to secure protected designation of origin status for the Rebula wine in the Brda-Collio area. Also, forestry was identified as a priority area where the two countries need to strengthen concrete cooperation.

Bishops oppose public exposure of priests accused of child abuse

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Bishops' Conference expressed regret after a Catholic civil initiative publicly named priests suspected of child abuse. But the bishops said they were willing to cooperate with civil initiatives and state authorities providing assistance to victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The bishops regret that alleged abusers should be named before being proven guilty, urging for preservation of the dignity of victims as well as of suspected offenders.

Survey shows doctors exposed to violence at work

LJUBLJANA - A survey carried out among members of the Medical Chamber has shown that a majority of doctors and dentists have been exposed to physical or psychological violence from patients or their relatives, while more than one-third have been exposed to violence from their superiors or colleagues. Presenting the results, representatives of the chamber said that physical or psychological violence suffered by healthcare workers was a serious problem.

Intel agency seeking undercover agents with public job ad

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency (SOVA) has made an unprecedented decision to enlist new agents by publishing a job ad in newspapers and online. The agency is looking to fill seven job vacancies, including for analysts, tech staff and legal personnel, as well as two jobs described as "acquisition of data with covert cooperation". SOVA said the job ad was "another step towards the stated goal of improved transparency". SOVA director Rajko Kozmelj told the media this was a "step towards rejuvenating the agency", while it would also help prevent nepotism in staffing. He added all candidates would be checked extremely thoroughly.

Gorjup reappointed GZS president

LJUBLJANA - The assembly of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) appointed Boštjan Gorjup for a second two-year term as the chamber's president. The CEO of BSH Hišni Aparati, the Slovenian subsidiary of the Bosch and Siemens Home Appliance Group, pledged to build on constructive and positive relations within the GZS and with the government, trade unions and other employer organisations. His list of priorities includes boosting internationalisation and value added.

Stock market capitalisation up 12% last year

LJUBLJANA - The favourable economic situation in Slovenia reflected in the domestic capital market last year, with total market capitalisation of the financial instruments listed on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange increasing by more than 12% to EUR 33.37 billion, according to a report by the Securities Market Agency. The bulk represented bonds (EUR 27.02 billion), while total market capitalisation of all shares combined was EUR 6.35 billion.

Sava Re shareholders to get EUR 0.95 gross dividends

LJUBLJANA - The shareholders of Sava Re, Slovenia's second largest insurance group, endorsed the proposal that EUR 14.7 million in distributable profit be used for dividends at 95 cents gross per share, 15 cents more than last year. The remaining EUR 16.3 million will remain undistributed. The largest shareholder is Slovenian Sovereign Holding with a 20% stake. The dividends will be paid out on 14 June. The group's net profit rose by 38.3% last year to a record EUR 43 million.

Hurra Studios wins start-up of the year award

MARIBOR - The company Hurra Studios' Little Heroes start-up project, creating personalised children's books, was declared the Slovenian start-up of the year at a ceremony during the Podim start-up conference in Maribor. The company has so far attracted more than 600,000 customers, with the number expected to rise to 1.5 million by the end of this year.

Celje archaeological pavilion wins European Heritage Award

CELJE - A pavilion located in Celje's main square that showcases archaeological finds is one of the winners of this year's European Heritage Awards, conferred by the European Commission and Europa Nostra, an organisation protecting and promoting Europe's cultural and natural heritage. The judging panel said that the "elegantly designed building has enriched the cultural heritage of the town centre and successfully informs both the local community and tourists about the city's past".

Druga Godba world music festival gets under way

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's leading world music festival, Druga Godba, kicked open at Ljubljana's Channel Zero with Ar Ker, featuring Seb Brun, one of the most active musicians on the French noise jazz scene. Running until Saturday in Ljubljana and Maribor, the 35th annual festival will see a total of 16 concerts. The acts come from eleven countries, with US guitarist Yonatan Gat and Ukrainian folk quartet DakhaBrakha two of the highlights.

STA, 21 May 2019 - Intelligence work is normally an activity shrouded in secrecy, but the Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency (SOVA) has made an unprecedented decision to enlist new agents in a very public fashion - by publishing a job ad in newspapers and online.

The agency is looking to fill seven job vacancies, including for analysts, tech staff and legal personnel, as well as two jobs described as "acquisition of data with covert cooperation".

The agency said it was looking for "dynamic and motivated staff interested in working in intelligence and security, motivated by the challenges of the work, and willing to adapt to the special nature of the job."

Unlike other government agencies, SOVA is permitted by law to hire people directly and eschew a competitive hiring process, but it has now decided to go public with job postings for the first time in its history.

The job ad, published on Tuesday, is "another step towards the stated goal of improved transparency," SOVA said on its web page.

SOVA director Rajko Kozmelj told the media in the evening that this was a "step towards rejuvenating the agency", while it would also help prevent nepotism in staffing.

Asked whether such an approach would allow SOVA to check all candidates thoroughly enough, he said this would definitely be done.

"Everybody will have to be checked. Even if it takes time, all the requisite procedures will be carried out," Kozmelj told the Kanal A TV channel.

He indicated that a "nearby country" had been negligent in this respect. "We cannot afford to have things go wrong here," he added.

STA, 21 May 2019 - Debates have been raging on for years about whether schoolwork is stressing children out. A study commissioned by the National Education Institute appears to show that Slovenian school children are exposed to stress, progressively so as they get older, but to a much lesser degree than widely assumed.

 The study measured self-reported stress levels in over 8,300 children in sixth and eighth grade from 269 primary schools. Their average stress level was 37.5 on a 15-75 scale, well below the mean value.

"Children are telling us that things we find potentially tasking are not such a great burden for them," Tanja Rupnik Vec, one of the authors of the study, told the press on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the study shows that stress increases with age, with eighth-grade children reporting higher stress levels than those in sixth grade.

Grading is the biggest source of stress together with the large number of subjects, whereas relations with teachers and other children, parental expectations and extracurricular activities are not a significant source of stress.

The study also examined how stress affects students. It found that negative consequences are rare on average, with the exception of fatigue, inability to concentrate and tension, which is two-thirds of students experience frequently.

Boys respond to stress with negative behaviour, while girls are more likely to react with insecurity, anxiety and loss of appetite.

Another major issue the study looked into was workload, especially homework, in the wake of a petition launched earlier this year that gained a lot of traction by proposing a radical reform including elimination of grades and homework.

The results show the vast majority of children, almost 56%, spending less than half an hour a day on homework, with another almost 30% doing homework for up to an hour. Almost two-thirds of students study less than an hour a day, except before tests.

Most children have been shown to have plenty of time for mobile devices, with almost 28% using them up to 30 minutes per day, 30% up to an hour a day and almost a quarter from one to two hours per day. Only a quarter of students use mobile devices to search for school-related information.

The survey was designed in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, which plans to use it as an input for a White Paper on education.

Slovenia’s IPoP (Inštitut za politike prostora, the Institute for Spatial Policies) and TAM-TAM Institute have announced the winner of an international poster design competition on the theme of pedestrian-friendly cities of the future, under the title of Cities for Pedestrians! The contest called for images that would remind people that there are many reasons to choose walking as a mode of transport. In addition to the direct health benefits of physical activity, walking is a form of sustainable mobility that’s especially appropriate for urban environments,, because of the accessibility of food and service.

The competition attracted 159 entries, 95 of which came from outside Slovenia. Twenty-seven of these made it to the shortlist, and will be on display from the middle of June at the Pesec online gallery, all available for use Creative Commons licenses. Then in September a selection of these works will appear in a pop-up gallery in Ljubljana, as part of European Mobility Week 2019.

The winning poster was produced by Andrea Machara, from Spain, and will be from the end of May on 50 of TAM-TAM’s poster locations in eight Slovenian cities. As the President of Competition Jury,  Žare Kerin, said of Machara’s work, called “Hodite” (“Walk”):

While evaluating the works, the jury respected three criteria as the most important: communication value, creativity and visual excellence. The winning poster subtly and wittily shows many advantages of walking in the city: on the cross-walk we see how pedestrians are meeting one another, some of them are even dancing, a young family is running errands, a student is racing to a lecture … The stylised figures provoke the viewer’s imagination, enticing one to attribute stories and with that make one more strongly aware of the positive and pleasant side of experiencing the cities for pedestrians.

STA, 19 May 2019 - The Ljubljana fairgrounds (aka theGospodarsko Razstavišče), which annually hosts around 20 fairs, has been boosting its congress-hosting business lately, with the share of its revenue gained from this activity increasing from 25% in 2010 to 44% last year. Its operator believes that the venue will continue to grow and record another successful year in 2019.

Presenting the figures for the STA, Iztok Bricl, the director of Gospodarsko Razstavišče, stressed that the fairgrounds operator's total revenue was up by 10% last year, with the goal being to grow at an annual rate of 5%.

The company generated EUR 6.5 million in net revenue in 2018, while net profit was up by 35% to EUR 400,000 million. Last year it hosted more than 260 fairs, exhibitions, concerts and other events, which were visited by a total of 400,000 people.

Bricl noted that the venue north of the city centre had hosted 12 international congresses last year, featuring a total of 11,000 delegates. "Fairs organised by us were also successful and very well visited."

The construction fair Dom, the largest fair in Ljubljana in terms of the exhibition area and the number of exhibitors, attracted 57,200 visitors alone, he said, adding that this year was also expected to be successful.

Gospodarsko Razstavišče also invests in congress halls, equipment and staff. "Since I took over in 2010, we have invested almost five million euros of our own funds in infrastructure, technical equipment and lighting."

Construction of a new hall, measuring 2,630 sq metres and standing 24 metres tall, is expected to start in 2022. "The ground floor will feature the largest multi-purpose hall in Slovenia, which will host fairs and congresses."

Above the hall, which will be able to accommodate up to 4,000 guests, will be another, smaller hall, intended for receptions. It will notably feature a green terrace, added Bricl.

The new hall, which will host large international congresses as the fairgrounds operator is recording an increasing demand for such events, will cost between 6 and 8 million euros.

While constantly investing in infrastructure and updating and expanding the list of its services, the company also attends international fairs in a bid to promote Slovenia and Ljubljana as a new congress destination, Bricl said.

Three years ago, Gospodarsko Razstavišče got connected with the Turkish Dekon Group, the third largest professional conference organiser (PCO) in Europe, which organises 60 major events with more than 10,000 participants every year.

The two have established the joint company Dekon.SI, the first international PCO in Slovenia. "Next year it will bring to the Ljubljana fairgrounds two international congresses with between 1,200 and 1,800 participants from all over the world."

Since 2013, Gospodarsko Razstavišče has also been hosting major exhibitions, which are visited by up to 70,000 people. The latest exhibition, Body Worlds Vital, was visited by more than 55,000 people in three months.

Established on the initiative of Slovenian businesses and the chamber of commerce as a professional organisation hosting fairs and exhibitions, the company recently marked its 65th anniversary.

According to Bricl, the history of Gospodarsko Razstavišče is very colourful and rich, "as if you are watching an interesting documentary reflecting a certain era, starting with the post-war times in the spirit of the building of the socialist Yugoslavia."

It was followed by planned economy, the opening up in the 1960s and 1970s, and connecting with the Alps-Adriatic region and wider, development of the market economy, influence of the global economic trends and the related recession and economic growth.

Before the Tivoli Hall was opened in 1965, the venue also hosted many international sport competitions. The national broadcaster opened its first studio there in 1956, while the legendary jazz musician Luis Armstrong had a concert there in 1959.

There were plans in the past to move the fairgrounds to the outskirts of the capital, but they are no longer viable. "We will certainly stay in the centre of the city, at the location which was designated for fairs 65 years ago."

Bricl explained that, as the volume of activities connected to the immediate vicinity of hotels is increasing, it would be impossible to further develop the congress-hosting business at a location outside the city centre.

He sees the next ten years of the Ljubljana fairgrounds within the context of the planned development of the wider area, which include two skyscrapers, one large office building and renovation of several existing buildings.

"That part of Ljubljana will be a modern urban business centre a 10-minute walk from the old city core with the Castle Hill, Ljubljanica, Triple Bridge, restaurants and shops," Bricl concluded.

You can learn more about the Gospodarsko Razstavišče here

STA, 20 May 2019 - Reviving the new national library project that has been in the planning stages since 1989 and last saw a seven-year hiatus, Education and Science Minister Jernej Pikalo signed on Monday an annex to the contract for the building's design documents. Estimating the entire project at EUR 50 million, Pikalo expects the funding sources will be mixed.

Signing the annex with the Bevk Perović architecture bureau, which won the competition for the new building in 2012, the minister did not wish to risk a prognosis on when NUK II, meant to supplement the existing library, would be built.

He said the annex was an important step, but added "we will only be happy when the building actually stands".

Pikalo, who hopes that the building permit can already be obtained next year, pointed out that the new National and University Library had already been in the making for years.

While the presently valid systemic act for the project was adopted in 1994, plans for the building, located on an archaeological site, go back even further.

In a 1989 competition the design of architect Marko Mušič was selected for the building, but later dismissed as outdated.

After almost EUR 30 million spent on preparations, the then government decided in 2009 to end all contracts related to the project and published an international competition in 2011, which was won by Bevk Perović Arhitekti.

The costs of the design documents amount to roughly EUR 2 million. With EUR 350,000 already paid for the conceptual design in 2013, the value of the annex singed today is about EUR 1.6 million, Pikalo said. EUR 200,000 were contributed by the Culture Ministry while the rest falls under the Education, Science and Sports Ministry.

The value of the entire project is EUR 50 million. Pikalo, who believes this is the start of a long but right path, said there were different possibilities of financing.

One would entail changes to the 1994 act, another option are EU funds and yet another the funds from the so called Juncker Plan or the European Fund for Strategic Investments. In the end, the sources are bound to be mixed, the minister announced.

Pikalo spoke of a dynamic and activities-based new library that would provide more room for exchange of views and for cooperation.

The 2012 jury described the Bevk Perović design as one that does not consider only the architectural and archaeological context of the building, but presents the new library as the focal point of the network of university facilities and the city's life as a whole.

Bearing in mind the needs of the majority users of the new library, students, the authors opened up the building to the Ljubljana Faculty of Arts, by placing the main entrance to the side of the building facing the faculty.

The other entrance to the library connects the building with the old National and University Library, built in 1941 on the basis of a design by Slovenia's most celebrated architect Jože Plečnik (1872-1957).