What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 13 December
BRUSSELS, Belgium - PM Marjan Šarec expressed satisfaction that nearly all EU members had reached an agreement on carbon neutrality by 2050, saying Slovenia was happy that each member state determines its own energy mix in sustainable energy transition, indicating it would substitute nuclear energy for thermal. He warned however that carbon neutrality should not come at the expense of cohesion funding.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Commenting on the Conservatives' landslide victory in the UK general election, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said Brexit by the end of January was probable and that a trade agreement with the UK could be reached next year if talks were conducted quickly.
LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left made a renewed appeal on the government to push for Palestine's recognition at EU level, saying that in the EU failed to reach a consensus on the matter by the end of March 2020, Slovenia should take steps to recognise Palestine itself.
SEOUL, South Korea - Slovenia was ranked 13th in the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index compiled by Solability, a sustainability think-tank based in Switzerland and South Korea, among a total of 180 countries. The country fared best in terms of governance efficiency, and worst in natural capital and resource management.
SATURDAY, 14 December
LJUBLJANA - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged protecting multilateralism against unilateralism as he visited Slovenia for talks with his counterpart Miro Cerar and the country's top officials. Both ministers also welcomed a preliminary trade agreement reached between the US and China. Cerar said China was an indispensable strategic partner of the EU even if the two sides did not always share the same positions.
LJUBLJANA - Seasoned diplomat Andrej Logar told the weekly Večer that he had been tasked with reviving the Ljubljana-based International Center for Promotion of Enterprises, founded in 1974 at the UN's initiative to promote international cooperation of developing countries. "Since Slovenia does not have intensive contacts with African and Asian countries as potential ICPE members, the centre could be an important instrument of Slovenia's foreign policy," Logar said.
KOČEVSKA REKA - A ceremony attended by several independence-era figures marked the lining up of a territorial defence unit seen as a precursor to the Slovenian army on 17 December 1990, just a week before the country held its independence referendum. The keynote speaker, Igor Bavčar, the then interior minister who is now serving prison for money laundering liked to shares trading, said that challenges faced by the EU and NATO undermined the foundations of the EU as had been known for 30 years.
SUNDAY, 15 December
MADRID, Spain/LJUBLJANA - In response to the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid, which put off a decision on a rulebook for meeting Paris Agreement targets to 2020, Environment Minister Simon Zajc said the event was "a disappointment, as expected". Climate expert Lučka Kajfež Bogataj called the conference far from noteworthy, except for the fact that negotiators ignored calls for action by millions of young people and other citizens who demand change.
LJUBLJANA - The December Vox Populi poll showed the coalition Marjan Šarec Party (LMŠ) at the top of the party rankings with the support of 20.2% of respondents. The opposition Democrats (SDS) calme second at 16.6%. Moreover, 50.4% of respondents believe the government is doing a good job.
MONDAY, 16 December
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec told reporters that incorporating a new airline in full or partial state ownership after flag carrier Adria Airways went into receivership was not very likely, because of the highs risks entailed. The Bank Assets Management Company later said it was in talks with several European regional carriers to increase flight frequencies on major routes connecting Ljubljana.
LJUBLJANA - European Commissioner Janez Lenarčič urged the implementation of the European Green Deal, outlined by the European Commission the week before, as he met Slovenia's senior officials in his first official visit to the country as commissioner. He deems environmental issues one of Slovenia's major challenges for the future.
MADRID, Spain - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar presented Slovenia's stance on multilateralism and efforts related to climate change, sustainable development and gender equality on the final day of the Asia-Europe Meeting, he also held several bilateral meetings.
TRIESTE, Italy - Slovenian Consul General in Italy's Trieste Vojko Volk condemned the posters on which an Italian neo-fascist movement labelled five Slovenian victims of fascism as terrorists on 14 December, the eve of an event commemorating the victims, executed in 1941.
LJUBLJANA - Just over a year after its launch, the Ljubljana-based European Blockchain Hub, a cooperative designed to act as a platform bringing together blockchain stakeholders, declared bankruptcy, the main reason being that some stakeholders had failed to deliver.
PARIS, France - Slovenian painter Gregor Pratneker won the Eugene Boudin Prize at the Salon de Beaux Arts in Paris, a major international art showcase. He received the honour for his oil painting Spring in Mountains.
LJUBLJANA - The Youth Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation elected Slovenian Tea Jarc its president, making her the first Slovenian to elected president of a European trade union confederation.
TUESDAY, 17 December
NOVI SAD, Serbia - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec promised Slovenia's further assistance to Serbia in efforts to join the EU, as he visited the country with five ministers for a joint session of the two governments. Šarec said there was no alternative to Serbia joining the EU. His counterpart Ana Brnabić thanked Slovenia for its political and technical support.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's central bank downgraded its projection for the country's economic growth for the year by 0.6 percentage points to 2.6%, decreasing the forecast for 2020 by 0.4 points to 2.5%, the level it is expected to remain in 2021 and 2022. The rates are above the euro area average.
PULA, Croatia - The Croatian media reported that Croatia's fisheries inspectors had imposed over 270 fines worth over EUR 490,000 on Slovenia fishermen for fishing in what Croatia claims is its part of the Piran Bay since 15 March 2018. Since Slovenia implemented the arbitration award in December 2017, it issued over EUR 1 million in fines against Croatian fishermen in Slovenian waters.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian troops serving in international missions and operations discussed security situation in an annual video conference with the Slovenian president, defence minister and the chief of the general staff. They reported being satisfied with their equipment, except for those in Latvia, who complained about the light armoured vehicles.
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Stock Exchange marked its 30th anniversary with a ceremony at which its current boss Aleš Ipavec said the desire was to make the exchange more appealing to investors. The exchange was launched on 26 December 1989 as the Yugoslav Stock Exchange.
BELGRADE, Serbia - The Serbian newspaper Blic reported that Slovenia's largest bank, NLB, had submitted a binding bid to take over the Serbian state-owned bank Komercijalna Banka, along with Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International and Serbia's AIK Banka.
LJUBLJANA - Cyclist Primož Roglič, sport climber Janja Garnbret and the men's national volleyball team were declared athletes of the year by the Association of Sports Journalists.
WEDNESDAY, 18 December
LJUBLJANA - The Competition Protection Agency confirmed it had temporarily seized 70% of shares of retailer Mercator shares from its owner, Croatia's Agrokor, so that Agrokor pay a EUR 53.9 million fine for failure to notify its 2016 takeover of Slovenian-based bottled water company Costella. The decision is not yet final and Agrokor's successor, Fortenova said it would fight it with all means available. Fortenova described the agency's move as a coordinated effort to secure Slovenian suppliers of Mercator favoured position in Mercator group.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed a bill securing up to EUR 777 million in state loan guarantees for the construction of a new rail link connecting the Koper port and Divača, and two sections of an expressway connecting the north and south of the country.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly reviewed a report on the 2015 wiretapping scandal during the Slovenia-Croatia border arbitration process behind closed doors. The report, compiled by the parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Commission, finds that the Slovenian government and the intel agency SOVA were not involved in the violation of the arbitration agreement, attributing the blame for the scandal, which Croatia used as an excuse to withdraw from the arbitration, on Simona Drenik, Slovenia's agent in the procedure.
WOLFSBURG, Germany - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and representatives of Slovenian automotive industry suppliers visited the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group in a bid to boost cooperation, especially in e-mobility and innovative solutions for carbon-neutral society.
WASHINGTON, US - Slovenia placed 35th in the 2019 Human Freedom Index, level with last year. Austria is the only neighbour doing better, ranking 13th.
THURSDAY, 19 December
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly voted 44:43 to appoint Angelika Mlinar, an ethnic Slovenian from Austria, minister without portfolio in charge of cohesion policy, as the government secured a slim minority after several days of uncertainty. Mlinar said the vote showed that "we want to overcome borders".
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Environment Minister Simon Zajc called on the EU to take taking into account specific circumstances of individual EU countries regarding their large-carnivore management, especially in cases like Slovenia's where animal populations are booming. He suggested the EU habitats directive may have to be changed.
LJUBLJANA - The National Public Health Institute said that the number of confirmed cases of measles infection in Slovenian population this year rose to 40 plus two in foreigners. In one outbreak, unofficially at the Škofja Loka company Knauf Insulation, a person got infected in Belgium before infecting six more people, one of whom infected a further eight.
LJUBLJANA - Archbishop of Ljubljana Stanislav Zore told the STA he would like the Catholic Church to settle practical matters with the state, so they do not change with every change of government. Some of the things that needs addressing are education, social security contributions for priests and financing of heritage.
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption issued an opinion finding Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek was in conflict of interest in 2014, when she nominated herself for EU commissioner. Bratušek said she would challenge the claim, just as she had successfully challenged a previous opinion, which was dismissed by courts on procedural grounds.
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