STA, 8 October 2019 - Slovenia has earned a new reproof for the slow uptake of EU funds as the country's member of the European Court of Auditors reported that by the end of 2018 the country had only used 24.2% of the funding available for the period between 2014 and 2020.

Presenting the annual report for 2018 in Brussels, Samo Jereb said that the uptake rate was rather low the fifth year into the current financial framework, in particular compared to the fifth year of the previous framework when the rate was 37%.

While Slovenia is one of the least problematic countries when it comes to correctness of budget implementation, it is one of the poorest performing member countries in terms of the use of the available funding.

Slovenia is also one the countries with the biggest difference in the uptake rates in 2018 and 2011, which Jereb says is partly owing to that fact that in 2014 and 2015 Slovenia was focused on drawing funds from the previous financial framework, hence a delay in the uptake of current funds.

Part of the delay may be attributed to the late adoption of the legal basis at the EU level as well as to the fact that the current financial framework is more demanding than the previous one so countries have more problems adjusting their programmes to the new rules.

Slovenia's uptake rate, at 24.2% for 2018, is below the EU average of 27.3%, after being above the EU average of 33.4% in 2011, at 37%. Last year Slovenia was the fifth worst performing country, and it is the sixth this year, having come ahead of Slovakia.

According to the table released by the court, the lowest proportions of the available EU funding have been taken up by Croatia, Malta, Italy and Spain, while Finland comes first having used up more than half of the funding available in the current perspective.

Jereb explained that the European Commission had demanded EUR 8 billion worth of advance funds back from the member countries that failed to use the planned volume of available funding. The payments were then relocated to the member countries that implemented more than planned investments between July 2016 and June 2017.

Jereb would not go into details because the Commission's decisions are confidential, but he did say that the countries that benefited from the redistribution of funds were those with low uptake rates.

Slovenia got the final stamp of approval for EUR 73 million from three cohesion and structural funds in 2018 - the Cohesion Fund, European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund - related to investment implemented between July 2016 and June 2017. Last year the sum was zero.

Slovenia is also the only EU country that had not yet put in place in 2018 a system of indicators to monitor the effectiveness of implementation of EU-funded programmes, but only did so this year, Jereb noted.

Responding to the report, the Government Development and Cohesion Policy Office said that the 24% mentioned by Jereb included only the final phase of EU funds uptake - the payouts from the EU to the state budget.

The figure leaves out the first two phases, which see Slovenia well on its way to draw the entirety of the funds available to it, according to the office.

EUR 3.068 billion is available to Slovenia in 2014-2020 and can be drawn until 2023. Between January 2014 and August 2019 EUR 2.52 billion in EU funds has been allocated to various projects, which accounts for 82% of all funds available.

Meanwhile, EUR 2.02 billion worth of projects, representing 66% of funds, have been carried out by the end of August, while EUR 851 million has been paid out by the state budget, which accounts for 28%.

By the end of September, Slovenia forwarded to Brussels EUR 812 million worth of claims, or 26.4% of funds available, the government office said.

STA, 11 September 2019 - A group of 28 Slovenian scholars has urged President Borut Pahor to resign for his recent statement suggesting that Turkey and Ukraine should not count on full-fledged EU membership. Should he fail to do so, parliament should impeach him.

At the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) last week, Pahor made "an inappropriate, unreasonable and xenophobic statement, a statement that is extremely harmful for Slovenia politically and diplomatically", the group writes in the open letter.

By making such statements, Pahor contributes to Slovenia's foreign policy's credibility being further undermined, says the group, featuring Slavko Splichal, Boris Vezjak, Svetlana Slapšak, Niko Toš, Maca Jogan, Vlado Miheljak and Rudi Rizman.

"I would make a difference between Western Balkans on one side and Turkey and Ukraine on the other side. I would go with a special status as far as Turkey and Ukraine are concerned and full membership as far as countries in Western Balkans are concerned," Pahor told the BSF.

Responding to the appeal, Pahor's office said the stance on a special status of Turkey and Ukraine within the EU had been known at home and abroad for several years.

During Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 2015 visit to Slovenia, Pahor said that "given how slow the negotiating process is, it would also be worth thinking about a sui generis status. But as long as EU law does not envisage such a status, Slovenia will advocate Turkey's EU membership," the office said.

It explained that such a stance is an attempt to find a solution to the slow pace, unclarity and absorption incapacity on the part of the EU in the enlargement process, particularly in relation to large countries.

Pahor has excellent relations with Turkish and Ukrainian leaders exactly because he is politically in favour of the two countries, which has however sometimes earned him even criticism in Slovenia, according to his office.

The intellectuals, however, believe such views could also be a reason why Slovenia has not been assigned the enlargement portfolio in the new European Commission.

Pahor's statement does not only deny his previously expressed support for Turkey's EU prospects, it also considerably exceeds "his presidential powers", the says.

He has once again proved to be a completely untrustworthy politician who cannot enjoy the trust of Slovenian citizens or European and international partners.

The group also believes that every European country meeting EU membership criteria deserves to join the EU.

It notes that closing the EU door encourages a rise in authoritarianism in the countries which lose the prospect of joining the bloc.

Pahor is also accused of bypassing the declaration and strategy on Slovenia's foreign policy, which were passed in parliament and which Slovenia's political representatives are bound to respect.

He is moreover accused of neglecting the document on Slovenia-Turkey strategic partnership which he signed with Turkish President Erdogan in 2011.

"As many times before, Pahor showed that instead of serving ... in a responsible, respectful and dignified way, he opted for populism modelled on Trump, Johnson or Salvini."

By making this statement, Pahor not only degraded the office of the president yet again but directly jeopardised the security and welfare of Slovenia and its citizens.

"This is the reason for which he should irrevocably resign as president of the republic.

"If his sense of responsibility lets him down again, the National Assembly must launch a constitutional impeachment against him, because in doing his job, he overstepped his powers from Article 107 of the Slovenian Constitution," the letter says.

Pahor's office also said that at the BSF, the Turkish foreign minister told Pahor that Erdogan would wish to visit Slovenia soon.

At a recent brief meeting in Warsaw, Pahor and new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also agreed to meet soon.

"So it is possible that both Erdogan and Zelensky will pay official visits to Slovenia at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2020," the office announced.

STA, 10 September - Janez Lenarčič, the Slovenian EU commissioner-designate, has been assigned the portfolio of crisis management in the next European Commission, as President-elect Ursula von der Leyen announced the distribution of posts. First political reactions indicate the majority perceive the portfolio as lightweight.

As Von der Leyen announced, the job assigned to Lenarčič would correspond to the portfolio of humanitarian aid and crisis management in the outgoing commission, which has been the responsibility of the Cypriot Hristos Stilianides.

Lenarčič, so far Slovenia's ambassador to the EU, said that crisis management was a significant but demanding field of the EU's work, involving the saving of lives and helping people in need.

The department he will head is in charge of European civil protection and humanitarian aid, as part of which Lenarčič will have the role of the European coordinator for rapid response. He will be supported by the directorate general for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

"The number of people in need of help keeps increasing world-wide due to the consequences of ever more dramatic climate change and violent conflicts," Lenarčič said, adding that growing humanitarian needs should be matched by proper and effectively applied funding.

He believes that the portfolio he was entrusted with addresses a vital part of the EU's response to topical global challenges, which call for sustainable, coordinated and innovative action by the EU and member countries.

Lenarčič understands the portfolio assignment as an acknowledgement of Slovenia's "strong tradition in providing humanitarian aid and civil protection".

But first political reactions indicate the majority perceive the portfolio as lightweight compared to other departments in the new Commission, even as they acknowledge that this is an important area for the EU.

The coalition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and Social Democrats (SD) were the only parties to label the portfolio as an important department. Other parties, even in the ranks of the coalition, were more critical.

Analysts provided a range of views about the relative importance of the department, with one saying this was not a department with political weight, and other that "Slovenia's role in Brussels is small" due to a lack of strategic policy.

Among the eight Slovenian MEPs, the news invited mixed reactions, with some members of the EPP finding the portfolio not to be one of the key ones, as it was one of the last to be announced by the Commission president-elect.

The four MEPs from the ranks of the coalition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and Social Democrats (SD) welcomed the pick as a serious and demanding portfolio, saying that crisis management was an exceptionally important field.

Some MEPs from the EPP meanwhile said that the portfolio does not bring value added, and that it was obviously not a key one, while others believe that it is an exceptional opportunity for Slovenia, a demanding job involving a lot of responsibility.

Pm Marjan Šarec said the portfolio was good. "Crisis management includes humanitarian aid, civil protection - helping people in accidents and during crises. Slovenia is famous for having a good relief and protection system," he said.

"It reacts very well in crises that hit the population and others learn from us. I am confident the Slovenian commissioner will be able to contribute a lot in this field," Šarec added in a statement while visiting Russia.

Defence Minister Karl Erjavec, whose department covers civil protection and disaster relief, similarly said the Lenarčič portfolio was "important for Slovenia and the EU".

The commissioners-designate will undergo hearings before the European Parliamentary committees between 30 September and 8 October, after which the plenary is to take a vote on the line-up as a whole at a session running between 21 and 24 October.

Lenarčič said he would use his time over the next few weeks to prepare thoroughly for the hearing.

Five years ago, Slovenia's original commissioner nominee Alenka Bratušek failed to pass the committee hearing, so she withdrew her bid. The government then nominated Violeta Bulc, who went on to become transport commissioner.

Ex-Yu Aviation reports that Alenka Bratušek, Slovenia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, stated on Friday that a proposed new law on aviation “would allow some forms of subsidies on certain routes. But it would be four or five destinations, not all of Adria’s flights”.

Related: Govt. Developing Contingency Plans if Adria Airways Collapses

Adria Airways has had a difficult year, with cancellations, dropped flights, and suspicions over its financial health, and the carrier currently in breach of EU regulations as it has not yet submitted its 2018 financial report to the Slovenian Civil Aviation Agency. Moreover, the Slovenian government cannot offer direct aid to Adria until 2021, as the carried received state funds in 2011 and EU rules only permit this once every ten years.

All our stories on Adria Airways are here

STA, 5 September 2019 - The government adopted on Thursday a first draft of Slovenia's priorities during its stint at the helm of the EU in the second half of 2021. The priorities are divided into three groups, focussing on a safe and sustainable EU which is based on the rule of law, State Secretary Igor Mally told the press.

 The priorities take into account Europe's key challenges, said Mally from the prime minister's office, adding the preparations for the presidency were in full swing.

Each of the three groups is further specified, explained Mally, the architect of the Marjan Šarec government's EU policy.

Security and international affairs will give a certain focus on the Western Balkans and on migration.

Efforts regarding the Western Balkans will focus on the region's development and economic progress as well as on its EU integration.

The second group will try to enhance the rule of law and the EU's basic values by modernising judiciary and improving cooperation between the judiciary and internal affairs organisations.

Asked whether the stalled implementation of the border arbitration decision on the part of Croatia would also be part of efforts related to the rule of law, Mally said he hoped "the arbitration matter" would be resolved before Slovenia assumed EU presidency.

The third set of priorities will give much focus to challenges of sustainable development, said Mally, pointing to the challenges of climate change and energy.

In this respect Slovenia will put great emphasis on social convergence, development of green technologies, digitalisation, circular economy and sustainable agriculture.

Mally said that depending on the situation in the EU, the draft priorities would be improved and changed until Slovenia assumes the six-month presidency on 1 July 2021.

Improvements and changes could be made due to Brexit, talks on the EU's next financial period, and due to the priorities to be set by the new European Commission.

In determining Slovenia's priorities, the government had in mind that a certain topic is of priority at EU level, that an area is important from Slovenia's aspect, and that its administration has the required know-how for it, he explained.

Mally said it was Slovenia's aim to get more active in the priority areas in the period leading to the presidency to raise its profile both in Brussels and elsewhere.

He added Slovenia was in intensive talks with Germany and Portugal, the other two countries forming a trio of EU presiding countries.

The fact is that some 80% of the presidency's agenda is inherited from previous presiding countries, so there is only a 20% leverage to stir the work of the Council of the EU and leave a mark, Mally said.

The government will brief parliament on the priorities and take into account its possible recommendations.

Slovenia's presidency is estimated to cost EUR 80 million.

STA, 5 September 2019 - Slovenia is among the top EU member states in reducing the share of uncollected value added tax (VAT) revenue, or VAT gap, according to a study for 2017 released by the European Commission on Thursday.

Slovenia is among the seven EU countries which reduced their VAT gaps by two to four percentage points, with the country bringing it down by around three percentage points to 3.5%.

The most successful country in this respect was Malta, which reduced its VAT gap by seven percentage points, followed by Poland (six points) and Cyprus (four points).

In 2017, the biggest VAT gaps were registered in Romania (36%), Greece (34%) and Lithuania (25%), and the smallest in Sweden, Luxembourg and Cyprus, where the shares stood around 1%.

The study shows that the EU member states lost a total of EUR 137.5 billion in uncollected value added tax in 2017, which is EUR 8 billion less than in the year before in nominal terms.

That year, the amount represented 11.2% of total VAT revenue in the entire EU, which is one percentage points down compared to 2016, the European Commission said.

The trend of the decreasing VAT gap was observed for the fifth year in a row in 2017, and a preliminary estimate for last year suggests that the gap is to decrease further and drop below EUR 130 billion or 10% of the expected VAT revenue.

STA, 3 September 2019 - The traditional high-profile panel on the Western Balkans at the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) on Tuesday heard the participants note that it was high time for the countries of the region to join the EU as they were making serious progress, and that the EU should not forget about the region while dealing with internal issues.

The debate initially revolved around the appointment of Matthew Palmer of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the US Department of State as a special envoy to the Western Balkans.

Palmer told the panel that what the US had done was "demonstrate responsiveness to the demands by partners and allies who have told us that we are not sufficiently engaged with the Western Balkans".

According to him, the US supports the goals of helping North Macedonia and Albania open EU membership negotiations, facilitate dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, and supporting deep reforms in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the benefit of all its people.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić first half-jokingly said he "expected nothing" from Palmer, but then added that the appointment was a sign that the US wanted to have a clearer presence in the region.

"It is certain that he will have a lot of work and his term should last until the relationship between Belgrade and Prishtina gets resolved," Dačić said, adding that Serbia would try to be efficient and constructive in the talks with Kosovo.

According to him, Serbia supports visa liberalisation for Kosovo and opening of EU accession negotiations for North Macedonia and Albania. He admitted that the leaders in the region should express more solidarity among each other.

This was a good point of reference for Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli, who admitted that the responsibility was on the shoulders of the region and that constructive relations with the neighbours should be established.

But he also lamented the fact that Kosovo "remains the only place deprived of the opportunity for its people to travel into the Schengen area without time-consuming, expensive and degrading procedures".

Pacolli also stressed the importance of peace, saying that "Serbia and Kosovo need peace immediately", while adding that "we need someone who knows to talk a little bit loud to us" in reference to Palmer.

From the perspective of a country that has made the biggest progress, Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srđan Darmanović said that "we are clearly frontrunners in the process" but that the region would be a "success story only when all of us get in there".

He hopes that North Macedonia and Albania are given a chance in October and the EU accession talks start as they have worked hard towards this goal. "We also expect from the EU to know what to do in the Western Balkans."

According to Darmanović, it is high time for this as the negotiations had stalled. "We can understand there are some serious issues in the EU, including Brexit and the rise of populist parties", but the EU should not forget about the Western Balkans.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov expressed the frustration for his country "losing almost a generation" while being frozen in the status of a candidate country, while making a huge progress and recently making a name deal with Greece.

"We have reached a compromise, something very European, and something that is very rare in the region," he said, adding that it was thus high time to start the accession talks instead of discussing historical disputes as the young people were leaving the country.

"If Europe fails us this year, then I'm afraid there is no European perspective any more," Dimitrov added, arguing that the message from the people would be that "we should not bother resolving difficult issues".

Speaking on behalf of Albania as a former minister and MP, Majlinda Bregu of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) said in reference to the Western Balkans' progress in EU accession that "I feel that we are mired in gloom every time we try to take a step forward".

She believes that the "EU will not be enlarged with the Western Balkans, but be completed with the Western Balkans", and that "nobody has the luxury to lose time any more", as people are leaving the region.

The point that the region was approaching a critical moment was also stressed by Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina Igor Crnadak, who said that the EU needed to "understand that this process needs to be completed; it is so natural, so normal".

"It's high time that we understand that we are at a some kind of a turning point," he said, while expressing the frustration that his country had not been able to form a government ten months after the election.

But Crnadak nevertheless noted that there was one positive thing, with the European idea being very much alive among the people, who believe that the rule of law as well as security would be enhanced with the country's EU accession.

STA, 2 September 2019 - The Bled Strategic Forum, the top event on Slovenia's foreign policy calendar, opened in Bled on Monday dominated by calls for action on climate change and appeals to multilateralism. The focus was on the challenges the EU faces and the role it could and should play in the new world order.

Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, delivering the opening address, focused on the importance of ensuring stability and security through sustainability, and stressed that there was "an urgent need for a unified and coordinated approach towards global challenges".

According to him, clear recognition of scientific facts and immediate action are needed regarding climate change, water supplies and food security.

Šarec stressed that Slovenia was committed to a strong, cohesive and united EU, while ensuring solidarity and the highest standards of human rights and dignity.

Sustainable development was also in focus of Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar's address, who labelled sustainable development "our key priority".

Putting words into practice is the main responsibility, according to Cerar, who said that the burden of going sustainable and green should not fall on the shoulders of those who are already struggling now to cope with the changes in the globalised world.

The opening was also addressed by María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, the president of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, who said that climate change was the "greatest challenge we must address".

She said that the planet had to increase the ambition towards green economy, taking immediate steps, such as public and private investments in low carbon, green jobs, otherwise the world would face instability.

Espinosa Garcés also pointed to the need to rework social contracts as there was an increasing inability of governments to protect their citizens, and to improve the health of the international system to counter the rise in nationalist sentiment.

The main panels of the first day of proceedings respectively tackled the challenges facing the EU and the current state of multilateralism.

The presidents of Slovenia and Estonia, Borut Pahor and Kersti Kaljulaid, spoke in favour of a strong EU as they discussed the future of the bloc.

Arguing that the EU was at a standstill that was unsustainable, Pahor proposed that the new European Commission and Parliament should consider initiating a constitutional process, something like the Convention on the Future of Europe in 2002 and 2003.

Kaljulaid agreed in principle but also suggested that the underlying question of whether the EU was useful or efficient might be misguided, especially if one tried to imagine what it would be like without the EU.

Two main immediate challenges for the EU were singled out: Brexit and migrations, issues that the Slovenian president said needed to be addressed if the EU was to be capable of dealing with more strategic questions.

A ministerial panel on multilateralism showed that multilateralism is under attack and that it can survive only if a concerted action is taken and global cooperation is maintained in order to tackle relevant challenges, including nationalism and narrow interests.

The notion that multilateralism is "under severe attack" was presented by Slovenian Foreign Minister Cerar, who said that some leaders were making mistakes by thinking that complex issues could be resolved by simple means.

"There are so many knots around the world that should be untied by diplomatic means, and they should not be simply cut," added Cerar.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu presented a nuanced picture of multilateralism, saying that his country was not moving away from European alliances.

"Doing business with one country does not mean that you are moving away from other parts of the world," he said, while criticising western allies for sometimes not providing assistance when needed.

His Spanish counterpart Josep Borrell Fontelles wondered how Europe would survive in the global world as its population is decreasing. In today's world, which he called "a world of G2 - China and the US", more stability would be provided by another superpower, with Europe having the capacity and economy for that, but only if it was united.

STA, 1 September 2019 - Slovenian MEP Milan Brglez (SD/S&D) has joined an appeal by a group of MEPs asking the European Commission to examine whether British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's move to suspend parliament is in breach of EU law.

"It is a sad day for development of democracy and the rule of law in British and all-European history. Parliaments are the essence of a country's democratic system (...) So their work should be enhanced rather than hampered," said Brglez, who served as Slovenian parliamentary speaker between 2014 and 2018.

"There have always been differences in views on how democracy should develop and there always will be (...) but it is wrong if the politically stronger party substitutes the argument of power for the power of arguments and uses the leverage it has against democracy and democratic procedures."

Arguing that this is exactly what the British government has done, Brglez joined the appeal drawn up by British MEP Anthony Hook (RE), for the Commission to examine potential breach of the EU's basic values and principles under Article 7 of the Treaty on EU, which has been used to censure the governments of Poland and Hungary.

All our stories on Brexit are here

STA, 22 August 2019 - The EU Cohesion Fund is to contribute EUR 101 million for the renovation of the 16-kilometre rail section between Maribor and Šentilj on the border without Austria, the European Commission confirmed on Thursday. The entire upgrade is valued at EUR 254 million.

The Commission wrote it had taken into account the projected increase in traffic on the Baltic-Adriatic corridor that the section is a part of. The upgrade, which will also have positive economic effects, will increase the daily capacity of the section from 67 to 84 trains.

The renovation will also increase safety and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc expressed the "hope this will convince people to leave their car home an opt for a greener transport option".

Contractors for some of segments of the project have already been picked and some of the works are already nearing completion, while the deadlines for the renovation of two rail stations on the route and for the construction of noise barriers are set in 2020 and the end of 2021 respectively.

The Maribor-Šentilj rail link runs across the hilly terrain of Slovenske Gorice and through two tunnels. It was already built in 1846 as part of the Southern Railway between Vienna and Trieste.

The link however only has one set of rails and plans exist for a second one. The Slovenian Infrastructure Agency has told the STA the decision on this will be taken depending on the transport needs and will also have to taken in Austria, where one segment also only allows for a single train. The agency expects another set of rails will be needed by 2039 at the latest.