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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

Career diplomat Šuc slated for top diplomatic job in Croatia

LJUBLJANA - The government has appointed career diplomat Vojislav Šuc Slovenia's new ambassador to Croatia, the newspaper Dnevnik reported. Before leaving for Zagreb, Šuc will need to present himself to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and get approval from Croatia, Dnevnik noted, adding that no complications are expected. Earlier this week, Dnevnik reported that Marko Makovec was considered the favourite for the job. He was reportedly eliminated from contention after threatening a journalist who reported about him receiving congratulations for the appointment on Facebook before the process had been concluded.

Social partners endorse guidelines for new social pact

LJUBLJANA - The Economic and Social Council endorsed starting points for debate on the social pact proposal put forward by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) without taking positions on details yet. The GZS's proposal, presented in early March, seeks a reform of the pay system in the corporate sector for 2019-2025 centred around tying wage growth to productivity gains.

Refugee registration centre case to be taken to Supreme Court

ILIRSKA BISTRICA - The Ilirska Bistrica city council decided on Thursday to appeal to the Supreme Court against the Administrative Court decision banning the municipality from carrying out a referendum on a planned registration centre for migrants. The councillors, belonging to various political parties, believe that by banning the referendum the Administrative Court has infringed on the constitutional rights of the municipality's citizens.

Constitutional Court to treat 2019 budget review as priority

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court has announced it will treat as an absolute priority the request from the centre-right opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) to review the state budget documents passed in parliament last month. The review will apply to three documents: the law on the implementation of the budgets for 2018 and 2019, the supplementary budget for 2019 and the decree on the 2018-2020 framework for public finances. The SDS and NSi believe the 2019 budget is not in line with the Constitution because it does not take into account the fiscal rule.

Šoltes endorsed as DeSUS Euro vote frontrunner

LJUBLJANA - The Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) endorsed MEP Igor Šoltes as its frontrunner for the 26 May EU election. Apart from Šoltes, DeSUS's ticket also includes assistant to the party's outgoing MEP Ivo Vajgl, Damjan Stanonik, and the head of the Slovenian Philanthropy, Tereza Novak. Other are less known names. Contrary to previous speculation, party leader Karl Erjavec will not stand. "I didn't see a challenge there," he said.

Debate calls for definition of precarious work, systemic measures

LJUBLJANA - A debate on precarious work hosted by the Labour Ministry and the National Council agreed that everybody deserves decent pay for their work and has the right to social security. Such forms of work should therefore be defined and measures found at the systemic level to tackle the issue, the debate heard. "Since precarious work brings numerous negative consequences both for the economic and social security of an individual, it is high time to introduce measures at the systemic level," said Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer.

General govt surplus in 2018 EUR 34m above initial calculations

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia generated a EUR 34m higher general government surplus in 2018 than the initial calculation released by the Statistics Office in March, which put it at EUR 303m. The new figure was calculated following the regular procedure of data explanation to Eurostat, the Statistics Office said. The surplus was equivalent to 0.7% of GDP, while the country's debt amounted to EUR 32.23bn, the equivalent of 70.1% of GDP.

Tourism accounted for 12% of Slovenia's GDP in 2018

LJUBLJANA - Tourism contributed EUR 5.7bn or 12.3% to the Slovenian gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018, according to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The sector employed 110,700 people or 12.8% of total employment. The annual contribution of tourism to the Slovenian GDP increased by 6% compared to 2017, the Slovenian Tourist Board said.

Consumer confidence drops for third month in a row

LJUBLJANA - The consumer confidence indicator for Slovenia has deteriorated for the third month in a row in April, dropping by one percentage point at the monthly level and by nine points year-on-year, Statistics Office data show. The consumer confidence indicator in April was down four percentage points compared to January, but was still 12 points higher than the long-term average.

Slovenia gets honorary consulate in Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea- Slovenia has opened a consulate in the South Korean capital of Seoul, which is headed by Honorary Consul Chung Mong Won, chairman of Halla Corporation. The consulate was inaugurated on Thursday by Slovenian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Simona Leskovar, who noted that the initiative for the consulate had been made at the Slovenian House at the PyeongChang Olympics in February 2018.

Good State joins EU election race

LJUBLJANA - The non-parliamentary party the Good State, founded by former MP Bojan Dobovšek, will also vie for seats in the European Parliament in the 26 May election. The party, which is no more than a blip in opinion poll charts, is building its campaign on fight against corruption. The first name on the ticket of the Good State is Robert Golob, who is in charge of Slovenia's political relations with China at the Foreign Ministry.

Lonstroff defends Slovenia boss, says site purchase decision collective

LJUBLJANA/ZURICH, Switzerland - The management of Lonstroff, a Swiss maker of elastomers, has spoken up in defence of its Slovenia director in the aftermath of reports that he is suspected of defrauding his company of EUR 1.7m with the acquisition of land for a manufacturing facility near Logatec. The management board of Lonstroff AG contacted the Office of the State Prosecutor General to confirm that "as buyers they were familiar with the provisions of the Sales Agreement for the purchase of immovable property in Logatec," the company said in a written statement for the STA.

Slovenian airline traffic up by 8% last year

LJUBLJANA - Last year around 1.8 million passengers passed through the three Slovenian international airports in Ljubljana, Maribor and Portorož, 8% more than in 2017, according to the Statistics Office. 12,363 tonnes of cargo were transloaded in the three airports, a figure 6% larger than the previous year. Almost all of the cargo was transported with scheduled flights.

Portorož boat show to feature 150 exhibitors in mid-May

PORTOROŽ - Marina Portorož will host between 16 and 19 May a boat show featuring around 150 exhibitors and 100 vessels, which are expected to attract around 15,000 visitors. The organisers are also promising an attractive accompanying programme. The organisers expect around 150 exhibitors and around 100 vessels, including 60 in the water, and are announcing a number of premieres. In addition to large sail boats and motorboats and yachts, also to be presented will be various nautical equipment.

April 20^th is back again, a date that’s become synonymous with cannabis, and a time for celefWDXations and protests around the world, when millions will be burning or otherwise consuming the flowers of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica, also known as marijuana, although, as “Gape Agape” the person interviewed for this feature – a representative of the Slovenski konopljin socialni klub (SKSK)– said right at the start of our discussion:

We'd like to emphasize that we do not like the term marijuana, because it was too often connected with prohibition and the propaganda that had led to it. We prefer the term cannabis [konoplja, in Slovene]. Similarly, we do not like the term medical, but rather medicinal — in the sense of traditional healing with herbs and such. In this context, all cannabis is medicinal.

With the correct nomenclature noted, we set out to find out more about the work of SKSK, and the campaign of legal cannabis in Slovenia.

What’s the overall goal of SKSK?

We want to that everybody can use cannabis, and not only cannabis for self-healing. For this, it is imperative that people be able to produce their own supplies, self-supply – meaning be allowed to grow their own medicine in sufficient quantities.

To achieve this it is vital that the growing of cannabis is not – by default – treated by the law as if intended for criminal activities, but understood as the free-growing of naturalised herb.

What is the next step in achieving this?

We’ve already succeeded in moving the plant from group 1 (the most dangerous substances) into group 2 of the Decree on the Classification of Illicit Drugs. Next, we need to get cannabis and THC to group 3, or remove them both – which would be the best thing – from the Decree.

What would the benefits of legalisation be for Slovenia?

It is already legalised and decriminalised to a certain extent, but growing cannabis is still potentially (by default) treated as an offence or crime. We thus demand naturalization – meaning having no legal limitations for growing and using the plant.

The benefits of liberating cannabis this way – all the way – would be numerous: lots of new jobs in growing, processing and researching the plant. The possibilities of use, and therefore options for selling it and making money, are unlimited, since the plant can be used in medicine, cosmetics, food, and can even substitute for oil – as a fuel, for making plastic – at least partially.

Is there a foreign model you want to follow?

There is no existing model (that we know of) that would be good enough for us – none of them enables free-growing that we strive for. Self-supply is allowed in certain models, but the quantities allowed are far too low to make enough medicine to cure cancer, multiple sclerosis or other serious conditions.

All existing models are steps in a better direction, but we want cannabis to be free of any legal restrictions. When there are no legal limitations there are also no limitations for discovering new applications for the herb.

How do you feel about CBD?

If we put it (too) simply: CBD helps, THC heals. The basic difference between the two is that CBD helps heal inflammation (which is the cause of numerous serious health conditions) while THC gets rid of deformed/mutated cells (i.e.. cancer cells which are unable to die and reproduce incessantly). But they are just two major cannabinoids, there are several others that play important roles in healing the body; our body needs the whole spectre of substances contained in cannabis – entourage effect.

Talking about the great majority of the “legal CBD”, the main problem is that pharmaceutical products are “cleaned” of the THC due to prohibition/regulation. Consequently, everything is diminished: cannabinoids, terpenes and other healing substances. Another problem is that CBD, being legal, is advertised as cannabis itself, but it isn’t. Too many substances are missing to equate it to the whole plant. The endocannabinoid system in human body cannot work optimally without cannabinoids, especially THC.

What do you think will happen with cannabis in Slovenia in the next few years?We will continue to work on achieving our goal – liberating cannabis of all the legal restrictions so anyone can use it in any time for any purpose. So, we will work on increasing awareness of all the benefits of the plant.

When cannabis finally becomes free for people to grow and use, we intend to continue doing what we do now, and more: educating people, growing and processing plants, finding out and creating new ways of use, selling the products…

Are there any regional differences in attitudes to cannabis in Slovenia?

Yes, there are. The centre of Slovenia is less restrictive towards cannabis, the south-west is quite nice too. But in the north-east the cannabis-related offences are treated 70% as criminal deeds, and only 30% as offences, while it is just the opposite in other regions. In the north-east growing forbidden cannabis has quite a long tradition, and is therefore more strictly punished by establishment. But the situation is getting better everywhere.

strong>Which politicians or arties are most supportive of your aims?

None, except for the ZSi movement. We tried to cooperate with lots of them, like Levica (The Left) and Pirati (The Pirates), but none of them made any substantial difference. They might claim they moved cannabis to group 2, but there were more than 50 complaints about the first change of the before mentioned Decree.

http://sksk.si/article.php/PredlogUredbeOdgovor

If people want to help, what can they do? (add any contact details, events, places to give money, etc)

They can get educated: www.sksk.si

They can send us an email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

And visit our YouTube channel here, or our Facebook page here

Or they can support our work by donating at our bank account:

IBAN SI56 6100 0000 3512 814

Everybody can help in their own way in promoting cannabis, by growing it, using it, giving it a good name…

What do you have planned for April 20?

We’re going to paint Easter egg, of course...

However, on April 19^th ŠOU (Student Organization of University of Ljubljana) is organizing the Million Marijuana March and we’ll be there. You can visit us at our stand where you can get free Ruletka rolling papers and other material.

We don’t really support 4:20 – that one should smoke cannabis only after 4:20pm. We want people to use it any time they want, even to start in the morning, not only after finishing their job.

“Zu3 se NaFu3” (= feed yourself in the morning) is one of our mottos.

STA, 18 April 2019 - Slovenia boasts a rich heritage of Easter traditions, with some of them originating in the pre-Christian, pagan times. In the northern region of Koroška some of these traditions, unique to the region, are still preserved today although perhaps in a slightly more modern form.

Preparations for Easter, the biggest holiday in the Christian calendar, start two weeks before Easter Monday and the celebration continues until Low Sunday, the Sunday following Easter.

Many of the customs and rituals associated with Easter originate in the ancient Slavic mythology, with the Christianity only adopting them and adding Jesus Christ as the main figure and his resurrection as the reason for celebration, ethnologist Brigita Rajšter of the Koroška Regional Museum told the STA.

Some of the customs related to the main celebration of spring have died away, some have changed somewhat and many are still preserved in the region, she said.

How to make Slovenian Easter eggs

One such custom is the making of palms for Palm Sunday. In Koroška, the bundle of green branches and flowers is called pegl.

In some villages, people come together to make giant pegls, which reach more than 20 meters in length. Eight years ago, a record-long 34.7-metre pegl was made in Radlje ob Dravi.

In the past, children who ran with a blessed pegl around the house three times earned themselves a prize.

Traditionally, the branches from the palms were placed in gardens and fields to boost fertility. In the village of Črneče, children used to stick the blessed palms in the branches of their favourite tree.

One custom that is still alive today is the cleaning and tidying of homes and their surroundings during the preparations for Easter, which however have to be concluded by Wednesday before Easter. "Bringing order in disorder has a special meaning," Rajšter said.

Good Friday, observed by fasting, is the day when meals do not include any meat. On this day, women bake bread and traditional Easter deserts such as potica, šarkelj and pogača.

On Easter Saturday, the day starts with the blessing of the fire, which is used to smoke homes and stables. The torch with the blessed fire is then used to start a fire on which meat and eggs are boiled. In the evening Easter bonfires are lit.

While women and girls prepare the dishes for Eastern blessing, including ham, sausages, horseradish, coloured eggs, bread and various deserts, men and boys take care of the fire outside and set off makeshift mortars. It is an old custom imitating the cracking of rocks during Christ's resurrection.

In the past, when families were big, the oldest unmarried girl carried the Easter basket to church. They went on foot, carrying baskets on their heads. Traditionally, they decorated the basket with a bouquet, which they later used to decorate the table.

But not all dishes were allowed to be enjoyed as early on Saturday. Meat dishes could only be eaten after the morning mass on Sunday.

The traditional Easter breakfast in Koroška includes a boiled eggs salad, seasoned with horseradish, apple vinegar, pumpkin seed oil, salt and water. In the Mislinja area, ham and even potica are added to the mix.

While adults mostly look forward to Easter dishes, children used to eagerly anticipate Easter Monday, when they received Easter presents from their godfathers and godmothers.

In the past, these presents consisted of šarkelj with a coin in it, a coloured egg and possibly even an orange. Sometimes, the children would also get some new clothes.

Today, the custom is still very much alive. However, the presents have become much more valuable and could be a bicycle, roller skates or in-line skates.

Children would receive the present all the way to Low Sunday. In some parts of Koroška, some of the Easter dishes had to be preserved until then to repeat the Easter breakfast.

After Easter meals, families traditionally go out to play or take a trip together. Children used to play a very old game in which they divide themselves in two groups with those from one group asking the other how strong a bridge have they built.

Boys in particular liked to stage competitions involving eggs and coins. They would place the eggs on the ground and try to hit them with a coin. Whoever managed to get the coin stuck in the egg, won the egg.

In the village of Libeliče, five to ten boys would gather and put two narrow wooden boards on a small chair with a slot in the middle. They then rolled the eggs on it and then threw coins in them.

In Western Pohorje, children used to dig anthills to put coloured eggs in them and let ants "decorate" them with their acid.

STA, 17 April 2019 - Slovenians prefer to save in bank deposits, however mutual funds have seen an increase in assets and savers. At the end of 2018 Slovenian households had 1.7 billion euros invested in mutual funds, said Karmen Rejc, director of the Slovenian Investment Fund Association.

The average European invests 10% or 5,800 euros of their assets in mutual funds, whereas in Slovenia that figure is lower, namely 6% or 900 euros, Rejc said at a news conference leading up to Friday's World Mutual Fund Day.

Matjaž Lorenčič, president of the Slovenian Investment Fund Association and Infond Investment Funds chairman, said that out of the over 20 billion euros in last year's bank deposits, between 250 and 300 million euros were lost due to inflation.

Slovenian asset managers manage approximately 2.7 billion euros in 100 mutual funds. Adding the assets in alternative funds and those managed based on contracts for the sound management of operational risk, this figure amounts to approximately 3.7 billion euros. The number of investors in mutual funds is approximately 450,000.

Slovenian mutual funds are managed by six companies. Last year they recorded an inflow of approximately 540 million euros, an outflow of 550 million euros. This year, cash flow is positive, according to Lorenčič.

There are 96 foreign mutual funds operating in Slovenia. These manage 211 million euros in assets.

STA, 18 April 2019 - The government endorsed the proposal to set down the Slovenian sign language as an official language in the constitution on Thursday, starting the procedure of enabling the Slovenian deaf and hearing-impaired community to fully exercise their basic human rights.

Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer welcomed the decision, saying that the deaf and hearing-impaired considered the sign language their native language and that its status needed to be regulated.

"Communication and language as well as the right to their use are essential for social inclusion and implementation of the basic human rights. Without communication an individual cannot fully participate in the society," said the minister.

She also pointed out that the decision carried a symbolic meaning, indicating that the government fully respected human rights and minority rights. "The society's development is measured in terms of the rights of the disabled," she added.

The sign language will be thus recognised as one of the official languages in the constitution pending approval by the National Assembly. Simultaneous interpretation of government statements into the sign language has already been standard practice at press conferences.

In case the National Assembly adopts the proposal, Slovenia will join four EU Austria, Hungary, Finland and Portugal, which have already given their sign languages the status of official language.

Entering the sign language into the constitution, the government is expected to recognise it as the native language of the community using it, to formulate and implement the language policies, protecting and developing the language, and to regulate the status of the deaf and hearing-impaired.

The proposal was put forward by the Association of the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired, which believes that the new status of the sign language would provide solutions for educational and employment issues of the community, such as enabling deaf children to be taught in and about their language.

The law on the use of the Slovenian sign language from 2002 gives the children the right to have an interpreter to a limited extent, but it does not grant the language the necessary status.

"Few know that the deaf community in Slovenia is among the least educated, well below the disabled average, but also below the country's average," said the association's representative Matjaž Juhart.

The minister confirmed that the government was considering reforming the law, while the association pointed out that today's endorsement recognised the sign language as equal to other official languages in what is the start of a long process.

The first grammar of the Slovenian sign language is expected this year, with the Culture Ministry earmarking funds for its development. The association has already compiled a dictionary of the language, containing around 16,000 entries.

There are around 1,000 deaf people and some 100 deaf-blind in Slovenia who use the sign language. Some 450 use cochlear implants, while around 75,000 people use a hearing aid.

STA, 18 April 2019 - The air quality in Ljubljana today is significantly better than it was decades ago, Nataša Jazbinšek Seršen of the environment department of the Ljubljana city told the press on Thursday. One reason the situation has improved so drastically because increasingly many people cycle rather than drive a car in the city.

Contributing the most to air quality, however, was the development of the city's heating system, Jazbinšek Seršen said.

In 2015, 74% of the population used the system and the goal is to raise this share to 80% by 2024.

In recent years, the concentration of PM10 particles dropped significantly. In 2006, the daily PM10 statutory limit was exceeded 155 times in the Ljubljana city centre, while last year it was exceeded only 51 times, during the heating season.

The main source of PM10 particles are individual furnaces, including those in neighbouring municipalities, as well as fireplaces, which are becoming increasingly popular again.

Another emerging problem is nitrogen oxide, whose level has been rising not only in Ljubljana, but in other European cities as well. Jazbinšek Seršen said the reasons for the increase had not been officially confirmed yet, but experts suspect diesel vehicles.

Ljubljana has been expanding its heating and gas supply networks, and replacing coal with gas. In renovating public buildings, it strives for energy efficiency.

The city is also introducing various measures to discourage the use of small furnaces.

How to spend from four to 48 hours in Ljubljana

The capital is also encouraging alternatives to cars. By 2020, it would like people to conduct 35% of their journeys on foot, 16% by bicycle, 16% using public transport and 33% by car. "We have already reached the target share for going on foot," said Vita Kontić, another municipal official.

In 2013, about 11% of routes in the capital were made by bicycle and the goal of 16% has probably already been reached, but "we need a survey to confirm this," Kontić added.

Counters on seven locations around the city recorded 3.81 million bike rides in 2016, and 3.74 million in 2017.

Ljubljana boasts 260 kilometres of cycling routes and more than 10,000 bicycle stands. Cycling is also possible on more than 10 hectares of surfaces for pedestrians in the city centre.

The bicycle renting system BicikeLJ also gave a big boost to the cycling culture in the city. The system is expected to get 20 new stations soon.

Currently, it has 59 stations for the 590 bikes available for rent. Since May 2011, more than six million rides were recorded. The system has some 33,500 annual subscribers and a total of 131,000 users.

How to rent a bike in Ljubljana

"Ljubljana boasts the highest number of bike rentals per number of inhabitants in the world," Kontić said.

In 2017, Ljubljana ranked eighth in the Copenhagenize Index of cyclist-friendliest cities in the world. The city eagerly awaits the new ranking to be released this year.

STA, 18 April 2019 - The budgets planned for 2020-2022 are on the edge of what is still acceptable under the fiscal rule, the Fiscal Council told the press on Thursday. While the 2019 budget violates the fiscal rule, the blueprint of 2020-2022 general government sector budgets adopted last week "walk the edge," according to council chair Davorin Kračun.

The blueprint plans budget revenue to exceed expenditure by 1% of GDP in 2020. In the two years after that the surplus is to increase even more, according to the blueprints presented by the government just over a week ago.

"The projections in these documents are in line with the fiscal rule but are close to the border values and prone to certain risks," Kračun said, adding that "projections are hard to realise".

Key risks listed by the council include macroeconomic risks and a slower-than-expected growth in revenue. "We cannot predict global events and we must be aware that these risks exist and that they can endanger fiscal plans," said Kračun.

He also warned that measures planned by the government as regards the pension and fiscal systems remain undefined. "The measures are listed, but undefined, and we cannot make conclusions about their fiscal effects."

The Fiscal Council wants to see draft pension and tax reforms and relevant projections as soon as possible. Council member Tomaž Perše is especially worried about the cost of population ageing.

Unless Slovenia starts to tackle the issue, the cost of ageing could increase by 2% of GDP in a decade, according to Perše, who is in charge of projections. Moreover, if the cost is to be covered solely by borrowing the country's debt would increase by 10 percentage points, he added.

Kračun is also worried about pressure from interest groups. "The government is weak but interest groups are strong and this may spoil the fiscal projections," said Kračun, pointing to the public sector pay system, saying it basically fell apart as the strongest interest groups got what they wanted.

The Fiscal Council thus advises the government to tread cautiously. "There will be no problems if economic growth is high. But if it slows down, problems can arise," said Perše.

The Institute of Economic Analysis and Development (IMAD) projects 3% growth for Slovenia next year but only 0.5 percentage points less would lead to public finance deficit, Perše said.

If growth were at 2%, public finance deficit would amount to 1% of GDP, while 1.5% expansion of economy would cause a 2% deficit, he added.

Kračun moreover commented on the constitutional review of the 2019 budget request by the opposition Democrats (SDS), saying it would be good that the Constitutional Court said what are the consequences of violating the fiscal rule act.

The court is expected to decide today whether it will review the issue or not.

The Slovenian MEP Alojz Peterle played the EU anthem on his harmonica in the European Parliament on 18 April,to applause from other MEPs.

That is all

Bookmark this link and find the headlines faster each morning, or follow us on Facebook

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

Budget blueprints just within fiscal rule

LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council found the budgets planned for 2020-2022 to be on the edge of what is still acceptable under the fiscal rule. While the 2019 budget violates the fiscal rule, the blueprint of 2020-2022 general government sector budgets adopted last week "walk the edge," said council chair Davorin Kračun. The blueprint projects for budget revenue to exceed expenditure by 1% of GDP in 2020. In the two years after that the surplus is to increase even more.

Govt tightens control of bad bank

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted guidelines that will give it more say over the day-to-day dealings of the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC). These come in response to several controversial decisions adopted by the bad bank and an adverse audit report that highlighted serious shortcomings in governance. The guidelines stipulate that the bad bank will have to consult the government before taking strategic decisions, such as sale of property designated in national documents as strategically important.

Slovenia catching up with EU peers in development

LJUBLJANA - The Institute of Economic Analysis and Development released its annual development report which finds that the gap between Slovenia's economic development and the EU average has been narrowing since 2016. Nevertheless, the country will have to speed up its productivity growth, adjust to demographic change, promote the role of the state in development, and protect the environment. Productivity growth since the crisis has remained modest and innovation indices are negative.

Govt adopts proposal to enter sign language into constitution

LJUBLJANA - The government submitted to parliament the proposal to set down the Slovenian sign language as an official language in the constitution, starting the procedure of enabling the Slovenian deaf and hearing-impaired community to fully exercise their basic human rights. Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer said the deaf and hearing-impaired considered the sign language their native tongue so its status needed to be regulated. There are around 1,000 deaf people and some 100 deaf-blind in Slovenia who use the sign language.

Real estate valuation delayed by nearly a year

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted legislative amendments to delay the next round of real estate appraisal until next year. Instead of this summer, the valuation will be completed by the end of March 2020. Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Simon Zajc said that the changes to the act on mass appraisal of real estate were needed to allow more time to find consensus about valuation models used. The appraisal is basis for the introduction of the real estate tax, which has been delayed for years.

Slovenia unlikely to hit 2020 renewables target

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is unlikely to hit the target to raise the share of renewables in total gross energy consumption to 25% by 2020, suggest government documents released on Thursday. Getting there would require tripling the pace of increase achieved in 2010-2017. The share of renewables stood at 21.5% in 2017, 3.5 percentage points or two terawatt hours short of the target, the Government Communications Office said.

Producers and sellers now liable for disposal of waste candles

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a decree mandating that producers and sellers of grave candles will be liable for the disposal of waste candles. Specially designated waste collecting companies have so far been responsible for disposal, but they have faced mounting problems since the system is underfunded, with mountains of waste candles building up as a result. It is estimated that Slovenians buy 16 million grave candles each year, generating hundreds of tonnes of waste that has to be carefully disposed.

Judge pressure allegations not deemed as dramatic as presented

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana District Court established that the allegations of pressure, made by judge Zvjezdan Radonjić as he delivered the verdict on Tuesday acquitting Milko Novič for the December 2014 murder of Chemistry Institute director, were not as dramatic as presented to the public. "The motion for exclusion and the writing by the head of the Specialised Prosecution Service cannot represent unlawful pressure, even less can such actions be perceived as a demand for disciplining the judge," the court said.

EU projection: SDS/SLS and SD to win two MEPs each

LJUBLJANA - The last projection released by the European Parliament before May's elections forecasts that the opposition Democrats (SDS), running on a joint ticket with the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS), will win two seats, as many as the coalition Social Democrats (SD). The other four Slovenian seats are projected to go one each to the ruling Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and the opposition Left, National Party (SNS) and New Slovenia (NSi). Compared to the previous projection, the LMŠ lost two seats.

EU issues top agenda of Hungarian official's visit

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Dobran Božič received Hungarian Minister of State for EU Relations Judit Varga for talks on EU issues, the Foreign Ministry said. The officials debated issues including "respect for the principles of the rule of law and the future of the Union, in particular in light of the coming European Parliament elections."

Petrol shareholders endorse record dividend payout

LJUBLJANA - The shareholders' meeting of energy company Petrol endorsed the management's proposal to pay out a record EUR 37.6m in dividends at EUR 18 gross per share, two euro more than last year. The remaining EUR 12.2m out of the EUR 49.8m in distributable profit to be retained for other reserves. Czech financial group J&T as the biggest single shareholder (12.78%) raised its demand to be represented on the supervisory board. The state holds a combined 32% in Petrol directly and indirectly.

Housing fund secures loan for 800-unit developments

LJUBLJANA - The national Housing Fund has secured a EUR 50m loan from the Council of Europe Development Bank to build 600-plus affordable rental units in two developments in Ljubljana, and a 200-unit development in Maribor. The flats are scheduled for completion in 2021. The flats will go some way towards addressing a pressing shortage of affordable housing in Slovenia, although demand is significantly higher with estimates suggesting Ljubljana would need 4,000 affordable rental flats now.

Govt sets priorities in fight against crime

LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed a draft resolution on the new national strategy for the prevention of crime in 2019-2023. The resolution addresses different types of crime, including terrorism and hate speech. Terrorism is not considered a direct threat to Slovenia, but the possibility of terrorist activities cannot be excluded, especially targeting foreign representations in the country. Special concern is violent extremism, supported by religion, in the Western Balkans, and in Austria and Italy.

Air quality in Ljubljana improving, cycling on the rise

LJUBLJANA - The air quality in Ljubljana today is significantly better than it was decades ago, Nataša Jazbinšek Seršen of the environment department of the Ljubljana city told the press. The situation has improved so drastically also because increasingly many people cycle rather than drive a car in the city. Contributing the most to air quality, however, was the development of the city's heating system. In 2015, 74% of the population used the system and the goal is to raise this share to 80% by 2024.

Hypersonic vehicle to represent Slovenia at Venice Biennial

LJUBLJANA - A project titled Here We Go Again...System 317 will represent Slovenia at the upcoming 58th International Art Exhibition in Venice. Creator Marko Peljhan revealed that the project would feature a hypersonic propulsion vehicle enabling visitors to reflect on the current global state. The contribution concludes Peljhan's 20-year artistic project Resolution and will enable visitors to pose questions and search for answers regarding the current environmental and political situation in the world.

STA, 18 April 2019 - The level of precarious forms of employment among Slovenian youth is high, which is related to increasing fear of unemployment and stress, a study conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation has found.

Youth Study Slovenia 2018/2019, is the product of a broad survey conducted last year among 1,000 young people aged between 14 and 29, and is part of a project carried out in ten SE European countries (see more here).

"Individualism is increasingly prevalent among the youth, which is being manifested in many areas, from greater care for personal health to getting independent from parents faster, and increasingly individualist values," research manager Andrej Naterer from the University of Maribor said in presenting the study on Wednesday.

One of the findings is that in the period between 2010 and 2016 the number of young people leaving the country increased almost four-fold. It is the youth from wealthier families who tend to move out more often, which shows the pull factors are more important than the push factors.

Naterer said that at the same time youth immigration was increasing as well, with trends indicating circular migration.

When it comes to their values and opinions, young people are increasingly pro-European. Compared to their peers in other countries, they have very liberal values, but they are very supportive of the idea of a strong welfare state.

Researcher Miran Lavrič said that young people were worried about their health, had higher level of stress, which induced them to be active in sports.

"We are by far the most active in this respect, we have very active youth. Alcohol consumption has declined substantially as well so that Slovenian youth is increasingly responsible, in particular in the individualistic sense, because they feel they must take care of themselves in a very precarious labour market," said Lavrič.

The most surprising finding as pointed out by him was that among youth surveyed in all SE European countries, young Albanians are the happiest with their lives, whereas Slovenian youth are the least happy with their lives and with their physical appearance.

This is the second major youth study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Centre for the Study of the Post-Yugoslav Societies at the Maribor Faculty of Arts after the one in 2013.

A PDF of the full study on Slovenia, in English, can be found here