What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 31 January
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The EU Court of Justice decided that the lawsuit Slovenia brought against Croatia over its refusal to implement the 2017 border arbitration award is inadmissible, but it said that both countries nevertheless had to endeavour to resolve this dispute in accordance with international law.
LJUBLJANA - A group of 59 MPs - one short of the necessary majority - tabled amendments that would abolish electoral districts and introduce a relative preferential vote in general elections. The proposal comes after the Constitutional Court declared the size of electoral districts for general election unconstitutional at the end of 2018.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - President Borut Pahor and outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec stressed the importance of a strong and united EU in the face of Brexit at the annual reception for the diplomatic corps.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia posted a budget surplus of EUR 224.6 million, or 0.5% of GDP, in 2019 compared to a surplus of 1.1% in 2018, showed preliminary figures by the Finance Ministry. Budget revenue rose by 1.4% to EUR 10.14 billion and expenditure increased by 4.7% to EUR 9.91 billion. However, the ministry pointed out the 2018 surplus was a result of two major one-off events.
LJUBLJANA - Janez Stanovnik, one of the most notable Slovenian politicians in the period leading up to independence and the face of the Slovenian WWII Veterans' Association after 2003, died aged 97. Stanovnik was the last president of the Slovenian presidency under the former Yugoslavia between 1988 and 1990.
LJUBLJANA - Some 6.2 million tourists visited Slovenia last year, a 5% increase compared to 2018. The number of overnight stays grew 0.6% to roughly 15.8 million, Statistics Office data showed.
SATURDAY, 1 February
BEJA, Portugal - Friends of Cohesion, an informal group of EU members of which Slovenia is a part, called for a fair EU budget in the next seven-year period in which funding for cohesion should not be cut. Igor Mally, state secretary at the prime minister's office, said "we should stick to the proposal presented in the spring of 2018 by the European Commission".
SUNDAY, 2 February
ZAGREB, Croatia - Former Slovenian President Milan Kučan told the Croatian newspaper Večernji List that Slovenia and Croatia had many common interests but rather than cooperating they were flexing their muscles.
KLAGENFURT, Austria - Jože Marketz, a member of the Slovenian minority in Austria, was installed as the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt.
MONDAY, 3 February
LJUBLJANA - A week after PM Marjan Šarec resigned, the leader of the opposition Demorats (SDS) Janez Janša invited parliamentary parties to talks on a new centre-right coalition for 7 February. Already on 31 January Modern Centre Party (SMC) leader Zdravko Počivalšek expressed interest in a new coalition, which could give Janša a chance for the necessary majority should he also get either the National Party (SNS) or the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) on board along with New Slovenia (NSi). A parallel coalition initiative was launched by the small centre-left Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB).
OBREŽJE - Members of the Trade Union of Police Officers (SPS) staged a four-hour token strike, with the union's head Kristjan Mlekuš saying the situation in the police force was critical. Describing the strike as a warning for Slovenia's next government, he argued the police force would collapse due to understaffing unless the situation was addressed.
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana mosque will be inaugurated in June after the end of Ramadan, while it will already start operating in about a week, Mufti Nedžad Grabus announced. Grabus pointed out the Muslim Cultural Centre Ljubljana means Muslims in Slovenia were finally getting their own space for prayer and activities. The project will end up costing slightly over EUR 34 million, the bulk of which came from donors from Qatar.
LJUBLJANA - Car parts maker Hidria announced it had developed innovative aluminium steering wheel system casings for next generation hybrid and electric BMW cars, winning a EUR 30 million contract running until 2030.
TUESDAY, 4 February
LJUBLJANA - Borut Pahor launched three days of consultations with deputy group heads on the way forward following the resignation of PM Marjan Šarec. The talks showed mid-sized parties are keeping their options open. The president said he might call another series of talks by the end of the month.
BRNIK - The bankruptcy estate of air carrier Adria Airways was reported to be worth EUR 6.23 million, of which EUR 3.15 million is the title to its office building at Ljubljana airport. Official receiver Janez Pustatičnik believes that due to its complexity, the receivership is unlikely to be completed before the end of 2024.
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian national postal operator stopped accepting mail for China until further notice after its partner air carriers suspended flights to the country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Cyclist Primož Roglič, the winner of the Tour of Spain, and world champion kayaker Eva Terčelj were declared the winners of the Bloudek Prizes for sporting achievements, the highest national awards for current and lifetime success in sports.
WEDNESDAY, 5 February
LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry advised against any non-urgent travel to China. The ministry said that people should not travel to any areas that are under quarantine due to the novel 2019 coronavirus.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia welcomed a European Commission proposal for a reform of the EU membership process that provides stronger sanctioning of aspiring EU members if they backslide on their reform efforts.
LJUBLJANA - NKBM, Slovenia's second largest bank, formally completed its takeover of Abanka by transferring the EUR 444 million purchase consideration to the state. The two banks will be merged into a single legal entity this year, creating a strong rival to market leader NLB.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's jobless total hit 79,841 at the end of January, an increase of 6% from December that is mainly due to the expiry of fixed-term job contracts. The figure is still 3.6% lower than in January 2019, data from the Employment Service showed.
LJUBLJANA - NLB, Slovenia's largest bank, completed the issue of EUR 120 million worth of subordinate bonds in a second such issue since November last year.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian executives are quite pessimistic about the prospects for global economic growth this year with more than half of those surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) thinking that growth will slow down.
LJUBLJANA - A survey conducted by the Slovenian central bank showed that Slovenian banks are unlikely to follow suit of some banks abroad that have started charging fees for household sight deposits to compensate for the loss of earnings due to negative interest rates.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia saw the biggest slump in the volume of retail trade among EU members in December compared to the same month a year earlier, and one of the biggest month-on-month drops, showed data from Eurostat.
THURSDAY, 6 February
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor appointed Robert Šumi, a lecturer at the police academy, the next head of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. Šumi is succeeding Boris Štefanec, who sought a second term but was snubbed, having faced years of heavy criticism about his performance.
LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) would win an election with 18.2% of the vote, followed by the LMŠ of outgoing PM Marjan Šarec with 16.3%, Delo's opinion poll suggested. 62.8% of respondents favour an early election, and over 26% would prefer a new government coalition to be formed with the existing parliamentary parties.
LJUBLJANA - Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) leader Aleksandra Pivec received a death threat via a letter warning her against entering a coalition with the Democratic Party (SDS).
LJUBLJANA - The government approved Slovenian Sovereign Holding's (SSH) asset management plan for 2020, which contains a long-awaited plan to consolidate, manage and restructure tourism companies. While the consolidation plan has been months in the making, the government did not provide any details about it after the session.
LJUBLJANA - Backing the Justice Ministry and taking a step further than the government proposal that upgraded animals from things to living beings, the parliamentary Justice Committee voted in favour of an amendment to the property code law that defines animals as sentient beings.
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