STA, 9 April 2019 - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and his visiting Spanish counterpart Josep Borrell supported an orderly Brexit as the best option after talks in Ljubljana on Tuesday, indicating they were not opposed to another delay. The pair expressed their countries' mutual interest in a further enhancement of bilateral ties.

"A no-deal Brexit is not desired but it's not a horror," the Spanish minister told a joint press conference in response to a question by a Spanish journalist whether he would prefer a horrible end to Brexit or an eternal horror.

He added that he did not find another Brexit extension a horror because it would not be infinite, and that "Brexit will have an end."

Cerar agreed that everyone favoured a Brexit based on a deal. "Should there be a no-deal Brexit, Slovenia will be ready for it, although we don't want it, because a consensual path is the better path," he said.

Slovenia can understand the UK's desire to delay Brexit, but it is necessary to ensure a stable and efficient functioning of EU institutions in the future, Cerar said, adding that extending the Brexit deadline would be sensible unless it led to a crisis of EU institutions, thus harming the UK and the rest of the EU.

"The 27-nation bloc cannot become hostage to the United Kingdom because of their uncertainty, that is a situation in which they don't see yet how to implement Brexit in a right way," Cerar said.

Današnji obisk MZZ Španije @JosepBorrellF dodatno utrjuje prijateljske odnose med ?? in ??. Ohraniti želimo pozitiven trend krepitve gospodarske rasti in nadaljno rast turistične izmenjave. @MZZRS @SLOinESP pic.twitter.com/R8Dsl5x3l5

— dr. Miro Cerar (@MiroCerar) April 9, 2019

Cerar said he and Borrell agreed it was important for the EU to remain united, closely integrated and that EU member countries continue to cooperate well with each other.

This is why it is important to have a good turnout in the EU elections, to tell people it is important to live together and that there is a desire to prevent divisive forces from prevailing, in order to preserve peace for the future generations.

The ministers also called for strengthening further what they said was already a good bilateral relationship between their countries. Cerar said Slovenia was keen to preserve a positive trend of trade seen in 2017 and 2018, when the volume of merchandise trade reached 1.2 billion euro.

They also hailed a strengthening of tourism exchange between the two countries and the fact that Slovenia was a popular destination for Spanish Erasmus exchange students and Spain ranked as the most popular destination for Slovenian students.

Borrell thanked Slovenia for understanding over the Catalonia issue.

Asked about the trial of the imprisoned independence leaders, he said it was not a political process but a trial of the politicians who had responsibilities. "They may have a responsibility of a criminal nature, but it is up to judges to decide."

Cerar said that Slovenia was following the developments and that the procedures must be conducted in accordance with Spanish legislation and the rule of law. "It's an internal affair of the Spanish judiciary that we cannot interfere in, although we wish for a conclusion," Cerar said.

Catalonia's expectations for more independence were also one of the topics discussed as Borrell was received by President Borut Pahor.

Borrell presented the current situation in Spain before the upcoming early elections and the government's efforts for dialogue, Pahor's office said in a press release.

Other topics included the excellent and friendly bilateral relations, as well as the EU and Brexit, and the situation in the Western Balkans.

The pair shared a view that the EU should be strengthened so that it can provide for security, progress and welfare.

Pahor hopes May's EU election result will enable the European Parliament to form a strong and pro-European coalition willing to face up to future challenges.

He reiterated his view that these will be the most important elections to the European Parliament since they were first held in 1979.

Pahor also told Borrell he was in favour of an orderly Brexit to minimise negative consequences for the citizens and economies of both countries.

The pair exchanged views on the EU prospects of the Western Balkans and potential incentives for the region to continue with reforms despite a slowdown in enlargement.

Pahor reiterated his view the enlargement should be seen as a geopolitical question rather than a technical issue.

STA, 9 April 2019 - Reports that Croatia tried to prevent Slovenian media from reporting on Croatia's intelligence activities in Slovenia prompted strong reactions from senior officials, with PM Marjan Šarec calling a session of the National Security Council and the Foreign Ministry summoning Croatian Ambassador Boris Grigić for talks.

It was POP TV which reported on Monday that the Croatian government had used an intermediary to try to prevent the private broadcaster's news portal from revealing last week that the Croatian intelligence agency SOA was behind the tapping of the phone calls between Slovenia's judge and agent in the border arbitration in July 2015.

The recorded conversations were leaked the same month only to have Croatia declare the border arbitration process "irrevocably compromised".

POP TV also said "one of the most influential Croatian media houses and a good friend of numerous Croatian politicians tried to prevent or even bribe a director of a foreign multinational to put pressure on POP TV."

The reports prompted Prime Minister Marjan Šarec to call a session of the National Security Council today after he had expressed concern over the news, saying that "these are serious accusations, which call for appropriate explanations."

The session was called by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and also featured, in addition to key ministers, President Borut Pahor, parliamentary Speaker Dejan Židan, and MP Franc Breznik of the largest opposition party, the Democrats (SDS).

Also attending were Damir Črnčec, the state secretary in the prime minister's office in charge of national security, and Rajko Kozmelj, the director of the national intelligence and security agency SOVA.

The Government Communication Office said that the council had condemned any attempts at influencing freedom of the Slovenian media.

It said it expected from Croatia to refrain in the future from acts which were in opposition with the EU values, the rule of law and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Foreign Minister Miro Cerar said that the ministry had already summoned the Croatian Ambassador to Slovenia Boris Grigić for talks. Cerar will be meeting on Wednesday Slovenian Ambassador to Croatia Smiljana Knez, who has also been summoned to Ljubljana.

Cerar said that foreign countries' interference and pressure on the Slovenia media were unacceptable, declaring that Slovenia would be unyielding in defence of the freedom of speech.

Židan said before the session that it was a serious issue which "encroaches upon the essence of the EU, which must function on the basis of trust and solidarity and not on unlawful practices in any case."

The pressure on POP TV was also condemned by several parties, including the heads of the deputy groups of the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and the opposition Left, Franc Jurša and Matej T. Vatovec.

According to POP TV, the high-ranking media official who had tried to put pressure on the broadcaster was Ivan Tolj, a 51-year-old Franciscan priest, who is a Croatian representative of the Styria Media Group.

Only Breznik gave a statement to the press after the session, saying that the participants had not received much more information than the media had already possessed before the session.

He proposed that SOVA representatives listen to the recordings and prove the influence of the Croatian government on Tolj, and to find out whether the report was true or not.

"But we did not get this proof," he said, adding that Šarec did not allow that, which makes Breznik believe that the session was about "minor information serving the prime minister in his daily political debates".

The General Police Administration meanwhile confirmed for the STA that it was conducting a pre-trial investigation of a suspected criminal act in relation to the wiretapping scandal and the alleged attempts by the Croatian government to influence the Slovenian media.

POP TV said that two of its journalists had been interviewed today by police officers. According to the broadcaster, the police is investigating the suspicion of criminal acts of wiretapping of journalists and corruption.

While the police did not provide any names of suspects, POP TV said that Tolj was among them.

The SOA denied the reporting by POP TV labelling it as "untruthful and a tendentious construct", and as a continuation of the media campaign in Bosnia-Herzegovina designed to smear the SOA and Croatia.

The Croatian government also rejected "fully and most resolutely" all reports on attempts on any influence on the Slovenian media.

Croatian PM Andrej Plenković told the press in Zagreb that his government had "no possibilities or ambition to influence reports in the Slovenian media", as reported by the regional TV station N1.

According to unofficial information, the Slovenian government will continue with all activities aimed at implementing the decision of the border arbitration tribunal "regardless of the new facts".

The issue will also be discussed tomorrow by the parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Commission and expectedly the Foreign Policy Committee as part of questions from MPs.

April 9, 2019

Last week ended with news of a strange diplomatic move on the side of Hungarian government, whose diplomatic representative to Slovenia, Edit Szilágyiné Bátorfi, sent a verbal note of protest (an official diplomatic tool of interstate communication) to the Foreign Ministry of Slovenia, demanding it “prevent” further “politically irresponsible” “incidents” on the side of the Slovenian media. The note was prompted by the cover of Mladina magazine depicting Hungarian president Viktor Orbán in a Nazi salute, guarded by three Slovenian SDS party members, all in presumable reference to the SDS’ struggles to prevent Orbán’s Fidezs from being kicked out of the European People’s Party. “We give up Europe, but we don’t give up Orbán”, read the title.

Over the weekend, media outlets in Slovenia that are part-owned by Hungarian interested that were established and run by sympathisers of the Janez Janša and members of his SDS party, issued a series of articles, that praise the formal and informal Hungarian protests and criticise the Slovenian government and Slovene Association of Journalists (SAJ) for having double standards with regard to media freedom. As a proof of the latter, Demokracija reminds readers of its own cover, which was not that long ago a target of criticism by both the SAI and the government for “spreading hate speech”, since, according to Demokracija, “these terms are arbitrarily defined by the left political pole”.  Furthermore, Demokracija emphasised that following a “really tasteless depiction of a foreign country’s prime minister”, Mladina then “instead of normal communication, which would become a supposedly serious news media” went on to make jokes on account of the Hungarian ambassador’s protest.

Before news of the official diplomatic note of protest broke, it was only known that the ambassador had sent an awkwardly assertive letter to the magazine, expressing “a protest against the way in which Prime Minister of Hungary was depicted”. Also in this letter the Hungarian ambassador wondered whether Mladina’s goal was to “stoke hatred among nations”, reminded the editor that such “distortions of truth” are “especially severe and unacceptable in times of election campaigns”, and concluded with an appeal to Mladina “to stop the negative campaign against Hungary”, since “you offend millions of people by doing so”. 

Mladina then responded with another, “corrected” version of the cover and an “apology” letter by the cover’s author, Tomaž Lavrič. Lavrič, the no. 1 Slovenian comic book artist who received a Medal of Merit for his Exceptional Contribution in the field of Slovenian Illustration, as presented by President Borut Pahor in 2015, along with the Prešeren Foundation Award in 2017, has collaborated regularly with Mladina as its “house caricaturist” since his first Diareja strip in 1988.

Apology

Much Honourable Madam Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary,

Accept my sincere and profound apology for a rude and completely untruthful depiction of your president Mr. Orbán on the cover of Mladina, which justifiably instigated your feelings of indignation and sadness.

After reading your concerned letter, I turned inside myself and realised my fault. I know that the anguish caused cannot be erased, but in my defence allow me nevertheless to explain that I myself am also just an innocent victim of objective circumstances. Let me point my finger at the real culprits of this undesirable scandal. These are:

• First, of course, a long-term communist education system which washed my brains and numbed my sense for nation and religion.
• Next to blame are my lackadaisical and inattentive superiors at the editorial board of Mladina, who should have better supervised me and stopped in time, as they know well that I am irresponsible and naïve in political matters, and just think that everything is allowed.
• And last but not least to blame is our permissive judiciary system, which fails to harshly and swiftly punish such social deviations.

I am urging you, madam, not to give up on us, but to continue to kindly help us with your advice and benevolent criticism, so that we too can achieve an exemplary state of objectivity and speak in one voice, as you have managed to establish in the Hungarian media, and that one day we too can live our lives under the rule of order and peace, national purity and Christian love for all the people behind the wire fence, as commanded by your mild and righteous beloved leader V. Orbán.

With all due respect,

Tomaž Lavrič, house caricaturist

To explain the main problem behind the “outrageous” cover of Mladina, Demokracija also quoted the Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács: “It’s an outrage and unacceptable first and foremost to the memory of the victims of that horrible period [World War 2]. Little surprise that the leftist editors at Mladina dislike the policies of the Orbán Government, but comparing the events of today’s Europe with the Nazi era trivialises what really happened in that dark time. (…) According to the author, Hungary’s firm opposition to immigration under the Orbán Government and our determination to protect European culture, which is deeply rooted in Christianity, is akin to the notorious German concept of Lebensraum.”

To understand the line of deduction here one might perhaps begin with the premise outlined by Milan Zver, MEP (depicted kneeling on the cover of Mladina) in his 2017 speech at the Pan-European Memorial for the Victims of Totalitarianism in Brussels: “Slovenia is the only state in the EU that has survived all three totalitarianisms: Fascism, Nazism and Communism. While the first two have practically disappeared, the process of the degradation of Communism has been too slow.” To paraphrase, we should not worry much about Nazism and Fascism, they are history. The Nazism of today is Communism, everything else is freedom fighting.

Furthermore, Kovács writes that “while everyone has the right to express an opinion, there’s also the matter of discretion and professionalism” and notes that Mladina’s function used to be the one of a “mouthpiece of the youth wing of the Communist Party”. Surely the Hungarian government spokesperson is aware of the fact that the lack of “discretion and professionalism” on the side of Mladina’s editors allowing for “juvenile and cynical” behaviour of its journalists has a long history which includes the imprisonment of three of its journalists (and one YPA sergeant) by the Yugoslav People’s Army in 1988, one of whom being no other than the leader of the SDS and admirer of Viktor Orbán’s policies, Janez Janša. At the time the arrests sent people onto the streets and launched Janez Janša’s career as a hero.

Another article by Nova24TV that followed on Monday, takes a similar path with regard to newspeak on contemporary sources of totalitarian danger. The author finds the Hungarian diplomatic protest “reasonable” since “if you were labelled Nazi by the media in the former Eastern bloc, which also included Hungary and Slovenia, it meant you were already on your way to gulag or being covered by soil. Also in Slovenia. The reaction [to the Hungarian reaction] bares a witness that this tradition is still alive. When a leftist weekly calls you a fascist, you aren’t even allowed to express your disagreement.”

If we may interrupt this narrative with a little correction – while Hungary was part of the Eastern Bloc and one of the Soviet satellites, Slovenia was not really, and certainly not since the Tito-Stalin split of 1948. Nova24TV then continues with a speculation on possible reasons behind the “panic on the left”, caused by the Hungarian diplomatic note of protest: “it is probably a combination of pre-election time, when the left is hoping for new voters with the use of an old policy of attacking external and internal enemies (fascists and such) and fear, because Orbán in fact exposes their modes of handling and controlling the media.”

Following this, Nova24TV published another article in full support of Generation Identity, a far-right movement associated with the recent “lone wolf” terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, titled “The Truth is our Weapon Against the Mainstream Media Lies”.

NOTE: This story is published as received from STA, but Ascent Resources disputes the term “hydraulic fracturing”, aka fracking, and prefers “low volume hydraulic stimulation”

STA, 9 April 2019 - The environmental NGO Alpe Adria Green (AAG) announced it would not file an appeal against the environmental permit for a gas processing plant in Petišovci (NE). It had already said it would be hard to challenge it since the investor has been insisting it did not entail a stepping up of extraction via hydraulic fracturing.

The permit by the Environment Agency (ARSO), which was reportedly issued at the end of March, comes after the original permit for the refinery, issued in 2015, had been successfully challenged by environmentalists.

The AAG said in Tuesday's press release there would be no appeal as the permit covered only the refinery for raw natural gas, and was related to a modernisation of the existing facility under best available technology (BAT) aimed at reducing the environmental impact.

The NGO explained that the original application the UK investor Ascent Resources had sent to ARSO also covered the controversial technology of hydraulic fracturing, which the AAG believes would bring "catastrophic consequences for the local environment, like in the US".

What will be key as regards the refinery, which would be allowed to process 280,000 cubic metres of natural gas and a tonne of oil per day, is the ongoing environmental impact assessment determining whether the UK company can step up extraction via hydraulic fracturing.

ARSO made the decision that a separate permit procedure for hydraulic fracturing was necessary in March and is being challenged by Ascent Resources, which is also threatening to sue the government for damages.

Operating in a joint venture with Geoenergo, which is co-owned by the Slovenian state-controlled energy companies Petrol and Nafta Lendava, the UK company claims it has invested more than EUR 50m in the project so far. It holds 75% interest in the project, Geoenergo's concession for the Petišovci gas however expires in 2022.

Geoenergo told the STA that the permit meant that only one of the conditions had been met for the old infrastructure to be replaced with a new one to enable the refining of gas, which would be pumped into the national gas network.

Natural gas at the site is currently being extracted at the rate of 25,000 cubic metres a day, the company said, adding that the environmental procedures were under way for renewed stimulation of the existing well.

"When the administrative procedures for the existing wells get finalised, we will not exceed the capacity of the existing infrastructure. Our long-term goal is to cover around 10% of Slovenia's needs for natural gas."

Ascent Resources meanwhile said that the value of its shares had doubled since Monday, when it received the permit from ARSO. It added that Petišovci was a small plant, from which the entire production would go into the Slovenian network.

Executive director Colin Hutchinson stressed that the company still expected a permit for the entire project, including hydraulic fracturing, which according to Ascent Resources does not pose a major risk to the environment.

Total output at the location last month was 334,410 cubic metres for EUR 44,095 in revenue, while in 311,443 cubic metres were extracted in February (EUR 44,513), the company added.

All our stories on this project can be found here

STA, 9 April 2019 - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec has called a session of the National Security Council for this afternoon after media reported that Croatia had tried to prevent Slovenian media from reporting on Croatia's intelligence activities in Slovenia.

Foreign Minister Miro Cerar announced that the ministry had already summoned the Croatian Ambassador to Slovenia Boris Grigić for talks, to be conducted by State Secretary Simona Leskovar this afternoon, while he would be meeting on Wednesday Slovenian Ambassador to Croatia Smiljana Knez, who has also been summoned to Ljubljana.

The prime minister is concerned by the news that Croatian officials had attempted to influence the reporting of the commercial broadcaster POP TV on the activities of the Croatian intelligence service, the office said.

These are serious accusations, which call for appropriate explanations, it added ahead of the session of the national Security Council, scheduled for 4 PM.

Exercising any kind of pressure on media outlets is inadmissible and runs contrary to the fundamental principles of democracy, the office said.

"If such pressure is even dictated by a foreign government, then this points to a big democratic deficit and a shift from fundamental European values, including the rule of law," Šarec's office stressed.

Cerar said that foreign countries' interference and pressure on the Slovenia media were unacceptable, declaring that Slovenia would be unyielding in defence of the freedom of speech.

"Slovenia has grown up respecting media freedom, the freedom of speech, and will therefore not yield in the defence of media freedom and the freedom of speech," said Cerar, adding that this was a democratic asset that must be defended not only in Slovenia but also in Europe, and promoted worldwide.

The revelations made by POP TV were not new to Cerar, who reported that there had been a series of incidents while he served as prime minister, but the prime goal at the time was for the arbitration process to get completed and for the border solution to be reached.

He said that as prime minister he had reasoned that any escalation would harm Slovenia's interests. "We were also bound by Article 10 of the Arbitration Agreement which provides that the parties shall refrain from escalation of tensions lest it should jeopardise the procedure and the goal."

Cerar said he did not know how Croatia would react to the disclosure, but he opined that the reactions this far suggest the Croatian authorities are in a tight spot. He said such conduct was not befitting Europe and that everything should be done to prevent such developments in the future.

He expects the Croatian government to take measures accordingly and that the two countries would form their relationship on different foundations, "not unfriendly, un-European foundations that are not in compliance with the rule of law".

Cerar said he was coordinating his activities with the prime minister. He will take part in the National Security Council's session, which he expects will discuss further steps.

Due to recurring incidents in the Bay of Piran and Croatia's violation of the border drawn by the arbitration tribunal, Cerar urged Šarec more than a week ago to call a political coordination meeting on the implementation of the arbitration award, which he said must be executed by both countries.

"We know the arbitration award is not ideal for either party, we know neither party is entirely pleased with it, but we committed to implement it and it must be implemented," he said, adding that EU countries were expected to respect basic values. "Respecting the rule of law and media freedom remain basic values for Slovenia that we will defend unconditionally."

POP TV reported on Monday that the Croatian government had used an intermediary to try to prevent the commercial broadcaster's news portal from revealing that the Croatian intelligence agency SOA was behind the tapping of the phone calls between Slovenia's judge and agent in the border arbitration in July 2015.

POP TV also alleged that Croatia was spying on foreign media. "The intention to run the story was known only to two POP TV journalists. Croatia could have learned about this only with special intelligence methods," said POP TV journalist Jure Tepina.

SOA today denied reporting by POP TV labelling it as "untruthful and a tendentious construct", and as a continuation of the media campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina designed to smear SOA and Croatia.

While the STA has been unable to get any official response from the Croatian government, the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List reported today that the Croatian government denied the reports.

The coalition Social Democrats (SD) called for a session of the National Security Council in the wake of the latest revelations late last night.

The party argued that the council should meet to discuss what "peaceful and prudent steps should be taken to protect our country, people, media and democracy."

The party added that the top Slovenian politicians must decide on an appropriate way to respond to the situation and inform "our partners in the EU on Croatia's grave violation of European values and the rule of law."

STA, 8 April 2019 - The tourism company Sava has increased its stake in hotel operator Hoteli Bernardin from 55.77% to 80.81%, while the Bank Asset Management Company (BAMC) reduced its share from 25% to zero, Hoteli Bernardin said on Monday.

Sava and BAMC have informed Hoteli Bernardin that Sava increased its share to 80.81% or 12,945,214 voting rights on 2 April, while BAMC reduced its share to zero voting rights.

Sava became the majority owner of Hoteli Bernardin, which owns six hotels on the coast, three apartment complexes and a campsite, in mid-February. The takeover was seen as a step in the consolidation of state-owned tourism companies.

Sava, whose main owners are the York Global Finance Offshore fund, Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) and the state-run fund KAD, last year increased its stake in Hoteli Bernardin to 45.39% together with BAMC, the insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav and KAD.

It then acquired another 10% stake from BAMC to raise its stake to 55.77% before increasing it to over 80% last week.

The price for the entire 35.3% stake of BAMC in Hoteli Bernardin was the same as in the takeover offer, meaning EUR 1.26 per share, Sava told the STA today. This means Sava paid EUR 7.14m to BAMC for the stake.

Apart from Sava, Hoteli Bernardin is owned by the state-controlled Zavarovalnica Triglav (3.4%), KAD (0.02%), while a roughly 10% stake is held by Serbian businessman Miodrag Kostić, who got the bulk of his stake through the acquisition of the Gorenjska Banka bank.

The consolidation of the state's ownership of Hoteli Bernardin is seen as another step on the path to a state tourism holding that would control major tourism companies and possibly be sold in the future.

The holding is also to include Sava Turizem, Hit, Thermana, Terme Olimia, Adria Turistično Podjetje and Unitur.

STA, 8 April 2019 - The Japanese robot manufacturer Yaskawa, the world's leading manufacturer of industrial robots, inaugurated a new robot factory and a European robotics R&D centre in the town of Kočevje (SE) on Monday, two years after construction was launched. The facilities are to employ some 200 people.

The EUR 25m investment has been co-funded by the state, which chipped in EUR 5.6m.

The director of the recently founded Kočevje-based company Yaskawa Europe Robotics, Hubert Kosler, told the press after the opening that the new factory would complement the production capacities in Japan and China, satisfying some 80% of the European market's demand for Motoman robots.

The new factory in Kočevje is expected to produce up to 10,000 industrial robots per year, manufacturing seven types of them. At the moment it employs 50 people and aims to double the number by next year. By 2023, it should employ some 200 people.

The president and executive director of Yaskawa Europe, Bruno Schnekenburger, said that the new facility was Yaskawa's response to the growing demand for industrial robots in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Russia. The company is thus striving to localise its supply chains and reduce delivery periods.

Yaskawa also believes that the reconstructed railway line between Kočevje and Ljubljana will enable a quicker connection with the Port of Koper. Freight trains should start running on the railway in the coming days, according to the STA's unofficial information.

Addressing the opening, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec expressed satisfaction that the factory is located in an area that was often labelled as undeveloped and neglected part of the country. This sentiment was also echoed by Economic Development and Technology Minister Zdravko Počivalšek.

Šarec prised Kočevje Mayor Vladimir Prebilič as well as the previous government, for seeing the project through. He said that Slovenia had good relations with Japan and that these would only improve. "The best ideas are born in cooperation."

Yaskawa Europe regional director Manfred Stern pointed out today that the company's investments in Slovenia as well as recent investments Germany, France, and Sweden were the strategic part of Yaskawa's European initiatives set out in its global corporate goals.

Yaskawa had picked Kočevje as the location of its first facility for industrial robots not only in Europe but also outside Asia. Slovenia will also serve as the distribution nexus point for the robots manufactured in Japan.

The robotics R&D centre will improve the company's cooperation with local faculties and institutes. Yaskawa already cooperates with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Electrical Engineering as well as the Jožef Stefan Institute.

The company first entered Slovenia in 1994 when Yaskawa Electric took over the Germany-based Slovenian company Motoman Robotec. Two years later, it founded a company for robotic cells production Yaskawa Ristro in the town of Ribnica near Kočevje. Yaskawa Slovenija is also situated in Ribnica and manages the company's sales in Slovenia and other markets of the former Yugoslavia.

Stern signed a letter of intent with the Economy Ministry and the Kočevje municipality in May 2018, aiming to launch facilities for the production of electric motors and electronic components, which would create up to 250 jobs.

The investment is estimated to be worth EUR 20-30m, with the production being scheduled to start within two years.

STA, 8 April 2019 - POP TV reported on Monday that the Croatian government had used an intermediary to try to prevent the commercial broadcaster's news portal from revealing that the Croatian intelligence agency SOA was behind the tapping of the phone calls between Slovenia's judge and agent in the border arbitration.

It was 24ur.com which reported last week that the communication between Jernej Sekolec and agent Simona Drenik, who were not allowed to communicate with each other, was reportedly picked up in July 2015 by SOA operative Davor Franić.

The recorded conversations were leaked the same month only to have Croatia declare the border arbitration process "irrevocably compromised".

POP TV journalist Jure Tepina said today that a day before the portal planned to publish the name and a photograph of the Croatian operative, a phone call came from a person asking the portal not to run the story.

"The lobbyist who contacted us was not even aware of the consequences, and he did not know who had actually ordered the attempt to put pressure on an independent Slovenian media house," Tepina said.

"The intention to run the story was known only to two POP TV journalists. Croatia could have learned about this only with special intelligence methods," he added, suggesting that Croatia is spying on journalists.

Tepina said that it was not the only attempt from Croatia to prevent the name of the Croatian operative and the conspiracy by the SOA from being revealed to the Slovenian and foreign public.

"A member of the management board of one of the most influential Croatian media houses and a good friend of numerous Croatian politicians tried to prevent or even bribe a director of a foreign multinational to put pressure on POP TV."

POP TV revealed in its evening news show later in the day that the high-ranking media official was Ivan Tolj, a 51-year-old Franciscan priest "with great influence on the Croatian media".

Citing Croatian media reports, Tepina said in an article posted on 24ur.com that Tolj headed a small parish in Bosnia but spent most of his days in Zagreb, working as a representative of Styria, the Austrian-owned publisher of Večernji List, the paper that first ran the Sekolec-Drenik wire taps in 2015.

Tolj also seems to be close to the Croatian political elite. He has hosted President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović in his home town in Bosnia a number of times, according to Tepina. He was a friend of former Prime Minister Ivica Račan and an ally of former President Ivo Josipović.

24ur.com has published an audio recording of the conversation, in which Tolj says he "has a proposal from the Croatian government" and asks for help. He asks the person on the other side of the line whether he had "influence on POP TV".

Croatia officially denies the report about its intelligence agency being behind the wiretapping and claims that the story is a fabrication.

If this is so, the question is "why the Croatian side would bother so much to influence a foreign media house and prevent the release of a story, for which it claims, without any proof, that it is a fabrication", Tepina wonders.

Croatia has been rejecting any responsibility for the recordings of the conversations between Sekolec and Drenik, which were first published by the Croatian media.

STA, 8 April 2019 - Slovenian Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar said on Monday there were no reasons for Austria to extend control on the borders with Slovenia and Hungary, as announced by his Austrian counterpart Herbert Kickl in a letter to the European Commission.

"This measure is unwarranted and disproportionate and there is no reason for it," Poklukar said, adding that Slovenia was protecting the Shengen border well and effectively.

Kickl justifies the extension with the assessment that the number of illegal migrants was still too high, and warns about a "latent threat of terrorism" due to the possibility of foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq.

Slovenia has been opposing Austria's continued checks on the border between the countries, arguing that the number of illegal migrants returned from Austria to Slovenia is very small.

The Slovenian Interior Ministry said today that the Slovenian authorities had accepted only 15 persons from the Austrian authorities in the first three months of the year.

"Protecting the Schengen border is our absolute priority," said Poklukar, noting that he had not been notified by the Austrian counterpart about the intention to extend checks on the border with Slovenia.

The minister nevertheless noted that "migrations are on the increase, which is why we are ready to cooperate with all countries in the Western Balkans as well as other countries, including Austria."

Since 2015, checks on internal Schengen borders are also being carried out by Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

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 This summary is provided by the STA

Yaskawa inaugurates first robot factory in Europe

KOČEVJE - The Japanese robot manufacturer Yaskawa inaugurated its new robot factory in the southern Slovenian town of Kočevje, in what is its first such facility in Europe and outside Asia. Test production at Yaskawa Europe Robotics, which is to manufacture different types of six-axis robots, was launched at the end of January. The new facility has almost 10,000 sq. metres of usable premises. By 2023 it should employ some 200 workers and annually put out 6,000 industrial robots.

Cerar expects short Brexit extension

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar expects another extension of Brexit, but he would prefer it to be short and to motivate the UK to do what it had committed to. Another extension would be sensible only if it leads to the confirmation of the Brexit deal in the UK, that is to an orderly Brexit to the benefit of both sides. A very clear reason would be needed to justify a longer extension, Cerar told the STA as he attended a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Cerar says Slovenia right to support Venezuelan President Guaido

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Slovenia is on the right side of history in supporting Venezuelan President Juan Guaido to carry out a new presidential election, Foreign Minister Miro Cerar said in a statement for the STA as he attended an EU foreign affairs ministerial. The crisis in Venezuela was at the top of the ministerial's agenda, with Cerar describing the discussion as very serious and long. He believes it is key that provision of humanitarian aid is de-politicised.

Slovenia opposes extension of border checks by Austria

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar said there were no reasons for Austria to extend control on the borders with Slovenia and Hungary, as announced by his Austrian counterpart Herbert Kickl in a recent letter to the European Commission. "This measure is unwarranted and disproportionate, and there is no reason for it," Poklukar said, adding that Slovenia was protecting the Schengen border well and effectively.

Petišovci refinery gets green light but fracking permit still pending

LJUBLJANA - In the latest development in the controversial gas extraction project in Petišovci (NE), UK investor Ascent Resources has obtained the permit for a planned gas processing plant. However, according to Delo, things are not looking good for the investor in the separate permit procedure for hydraulic fracturing. The decision by the Environment Agency, which Delo says was issued on 28 March, comes after the original permit for the refinery, issued in 2015, had been successfully challenged by environmentalists.

C-bank governor appeals to PM over bail-in recourse

LJUBLJANA - Boštjan Vasle, the governor of Slovenia's central bank, addressed an open letter to Prime Minister Marjan Šarec arguing that the bill designed to provide recourse for holders of subordinated bank liabilities who were wiped out in the 2013 bank bailout should make it clear the central bank was not liable to pay damages. The letter comes after the government started debating the bill last week. The Finance Ministry did not say whether it had taken into consideration any of the remarks submitted by the stakeholders.

Croatia reportedly tried to prevent arbitration wiretapping story

LJUBLJANA - POP TV reported that the Croatian government had used an intermediary to try to prevent the commercial broadcaster's news portal from revealing that the Croatian intelligence agency SOA was behind the tapping of the phone calls between Slovenia's judge and agent in the border arbitration. POP TV journalist Jure Tepina said today that a day before the portal planned to publish the name and a photograph of the Croatian operative behind the recording, a phone call came from a person asking the portal not to run the story.

Joint SDS and SLS EU election slate in the lead in Parsifal poll

LJUBLJANA - A survey by the pollster Parsifal published by Nova24TV on Monday showed the joint list of the opposition Democrats (SDS) and the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS) leading the race ahead of the May EU election, polling at 14.2%. Second placed is the coalition Social Democrats (SD), polling at 7.3%, and the ruling Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) came in third at 6.4%. More than 27% of respondents said they would not go to the polls.

Tushek Supercars presents lightest hybrid car

SLOVENJ GRADEC - Austrian-Slovenian company Tushek Supercars presented the world's lightest hybrid car, TS 900 Apex sports car, in Slovenia, planning to launch a small-scale production in 2020. Tushek Supercars, based in Austria's Graz, has already received 12 orders for the car, mostly from Europe but also the Middle East and China. Its price is estimated at 1.2 million euro. The company has been developing the hyper car for 12 years, creating a vehicle that "does not follow the trends but sets them", said company co-founder and the hybrid's constructor Aljoša Tušek, a former Slovenian racer.

Revoz, Lek, Krka and Gorenje top exporters

LJUBLJANA - Revoz, the Slovenian subsidiary of the French car maker Renault, continues to top Delo's list of Slovenia's largest exporters, followed by pharmaceutical companies Lek and Krka, and the household appliances maker Gorenje. The quartet contributed 17.4% to Slovenia's overall exports as they peaked at EUR 30.9bn last year, 9.2% up from 2017. The newspaper also said that despite the global economic slowdown, Slovenian exporters were not pessimistic. Many report having difficulties keeping up with the orders because of staff shortages.

Pošta reportedly buying 72% stake in Intereuropa

MARIBOR/LJUBLJANA - The national postal company Pošta Slovenije has agreed with the sellers of Intereuropa to buy a 72% stake in the Koper-based logistics company for around EUR 105m, according to reports by the newspaper Večer and web portal Siol based on unofficial information. The media reported that Pošta Slovenije had agreed the deal with the banks SID, NLB, Gorenjska Banka, SKB and Intesa Sanpaolo. The postal company reportedly outbid the British freight forwarder Xpediator.

Sava increases its stake in Hoteli Bernardin

PORTOROŽ - The tourism company Sava has increased its stake in hotel operator Hoteli Bernardin from 55.77% to 80.81%, while the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) reduced its share from 25% to zero, Hoteli Bernardin said. Sava became the majority owner of Hoteli Bernardin, which owns six hotels on the coast, three apartment complexes and a campsite, in mid-February. The takeover is seen as a step in the consolidation of state-owned tourism companies.

Profit of Slovenian Carthago branch doubled last year

ODRANCI - Carthago Odranci, a subsidiary of German mobile homes maker Carthago, generated almost EUR 203m revenue in the financial year that ended on 31 July 2018, up 13% year-on-year. Profit jumped from EUR 7.8m to EUR 14.7m. The company employed 774 people at the end of July, which is 30 more than the year before, shows data from the Agency for Public Legal Records (AJPES). The company is looking for more staff, so it expects the number of employees to exceed 800 soon.

Energy poverty increasing in Slovenia, panel hears

LJUBLJANA - A panel on energy poverty and air quality heard that energy poverty in Slovenia is increasing. The statistics show that the spending by the poorest segment of the population is on the increase compared to their total disposable income in the recent years, while it has remained almost unchanged for the rest of the population. The poorest fifth of the population spent 13.1% of their disposable income for energy in 2002, while the share increased to 17.7% in 2015. In the same period, this share for the richest fifth was down from 4.4% to 4%.

Gazvoda's new play and "no title yet" win Slovenian theatre festival

KRANJ - Nejc Gazvoda's Silent Breath (Tihi Vdih) received the Slavko Grum Prize for best new Slovenian play which has not yet been staged, as the 49th Slovenian Drama Week closed with the awards ceremony in Kranj. The drama about an average Slovenian family which is slowly becoming marginalised was chosen by a jury from 42 plays that had been entered for the annual competition. The production no title yet (še ni naslova) was meanwhile declared the best show of the festival, winning the Šeligo Prize. It is Simona Semenič's take on the myth of Don Juan which Tomi Janežič directed for the Mladinsko Theatre from Ljubljana.

Slovenian ballet dancers win first prizes in Hungary

MARIBOR - Asami Nakashima and Yuya Omaki, Japanese-born ballet soloists of the SNG Maribor theatre, won the first prizes at the Rudolf Nureyev International Ballet Competition in Budapest, the Slovenian national theatre said. SNG Maribor announced that Slovenian ballet lovers would be able to see both winners in Ludwig Minkus's Don Quixote next week. The competition dedicated to legendary Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993), was held from 30 March to 5 April.

Slovenian artists and innovators join STARTS Initiative

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian artists Miha Turšič, Špela Petrič and Zoran Srdić have been chosen to take part in an artists' residency of the European STARTS development platform, which fosters understanding and collaboration between artists and their partners from science and technology. Becoming.Eco(logical) by Turšič and Petrič, and Biobot by multimedia artist Srdić were among the 21 projects selected by an international jury from 165 entries, and granted up to EUR 30,000 in funding.