POLITICS
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Borut Pahor stressed on Thursday that Slovenia was a successor to the Austrian State Treaty after the break up of Yugoslavia, although it never officially claimed the status. Slovenia thus has the right and the obligation to monitor whether Austria respects the article that protects the rights of the Slovenian minority, he added. The statement comes after Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger denied Slovenia succession to the 1955 document.
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Borut Pahor on Thursday joined the debate on whether the parliament should pass a resolution supporting the European Parliament's resolution on European conscience and totalitarian regimes, saying that there was no need for such an act. He added that it would be enough if it only gets acquainted with the resolution. The discussion on the resolution, whose adoption was requested by the opposition Democrats (SDS) and People's Party (SLS), will take place in the National Assembly next Tuesday.
LJUBLJANA - The government on Thursday appointed former LibDem deputy Ales Gulic head of the Office for Religious Communities for a five-year term. Government Secretary-General Milan M. Cvikl said the reason he had chosen Gulic among four shortlisted candidates was that "he is a very tolerant person". The term of the incumbent director, Drago Cepar, ended in March, but the government extended it by six months, which means it will expire on Friday, Cvikl explained at a press conference following the government session.
MARIBOR - PM Borut Pahor praised Bishop Anton Martin Slomsek's contribution to Slovenia's national identity on Thursday as he addressed a ceremony honouring this 19th century Catholic bishop in Maribor. One of the most important decisions Slomsek (1800-1862) made for the Slovenian Church and for the Slovenian nation was the transfer of the bishop's seat from St. Andrae, some 50 km northeast of Klagenfurt, in today's Austria, to Maribor. The ceremony on the bishop's investiture in Maribor was held 150 years ago, on 4 September 1859, and the commemoration at the Maribor theatre house on Thursday evening marked the anniversary as well as the Slomsek Year.
ENVIRONMENT
LJUBLJANA - The government discussed on Thursday Italy's documents on the construction of a land-based gas terminal near Trieste, establishing that Slovenia's reservations had been ignored and that the terminal would be unacceptable because of cross-border impacts, Environment Minister Karl Erjavec told the press. What is more, Slovenia cannot accept that the documents on terminal in Aquilinia also make references to a planned off-shore terminal. Erjavec said that talks on the issue will for now continue on bilateral level.
GENEVA, Switzerland - President Danilo Turek addressed on Thursday the plenary of the World Climate Conference in Geneva, stressing the importance of finding a new model of sustainable development. The conference organised by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) brought together some 150 countries in a quest for ways to cope with climate change.
FINANCE & ECONOMY
LJUBLJANA - The circumstances are currently not favourable to the sale of state stakes in Slovenia's two biggest banks, NLB and NKBM, Finance Minister France Krizanic told the press on Thursday. Listing NLB on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange or one of the recognised foreign exchanges would without doubt increase the bank's chances for getting additional financial sources, the minister said, adding that however the circumstances were not favourable for such a decision. He was reported telling the Financial Times that the state would sell its stakes in the two banks as soon as the crisis ends and stocks start recovering.
LJUBLJANA - Losses by a number of the big names dragged indices on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange lower on Thursday. The SBI 20 benchmark index was down 18.94 points (0.46%) to 4,127.70. Reflecting that the losses were deeper among the big names, the SBI TOP index of the ten major blue chips fell more than its bigger cousin, closing 7.59 points lower (0.74%) to EUR 1,017.76.
AGRICULTURE
GORNJA RADGONA - Agriculture Minister presented on Thursday to the parliamentary Agriculture Committee the draft strategy of the development of Slovenian agriculture. According to him, the strategy defines the vision and goals of agricultural development in the country until 2020 and is a response to global challenges. The new strategy focuses on defining agricultural development through the goals of sustainable development based on the economic, environmental and social role of agriculture, Pogacnik said at the committee meeting held as part of the AGRA agriculture fair in Gornja Radgona.
ENERGY
LJUBLJANA - Talks on the agreement that would take the South Stream pipeline through Slovenia are expected to be concluded by the end of the month, Economy Minister Matej Lahovnik said on Thursday. In mid-September, another meeting of Slovenian and Russian negotiating groups is scheduled, while Russia's Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller are expected in Slovenia this week to discuss the details of the project.
BUSINESS
LJUBLJANA - Banker Aljosa Tomaz, a former chairman of Abanka Vipa, has blamed lobbies for putting a stop to his bid to lead Slovenia's largest bank. He told STA that these lobbies stand against change at NLB. In an interview with STA, Tomaz said that it is likely that "lobbies influenced" the decision of the supervisory board, which failed to endorse his appointment on 24 August.
LJUBLJANA - An insurance agent in Slovenia collects EUR 319,000 in premiums a year, while the figure for European insurance agents is 3.7 times higher at EUR 1.2m, business daily Finance writes on Thursday. Citing EU figures for 2007, which it says are comparable to those for 2008, the paper concludes that the efficiency of Slovenian insurance agents is below the EU average.
LJUBLJANA - Pro Plus, the company that owns both leading commercial TV stations in Slovenia, POP TV and Kanal A, launched on Thursday Slovenia's first on-line TV channel. Max TV will broadcast a selection of content running on both commercial stations.
ARTS & CULTURE
LJUBLJANA - The 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts will get under way in Ljubljana on Friday, offering six exhibitions and a series of accompanying events until 25 October. The main award, the Grand Prix, will go to the Justseeds artists cooperative, organisers announced on Thursday. Head of the International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC), which organizes the biennial, told the press that the abundance of events this year would transform the biennial into a real festival.
LJUBLJANA - The 5th edition of the "Kino Otok - Isola Cinema" festival, hosted by the coastal town of Izola from 10 to 14 September, will focus on films from Latin America. This year's festival also introduces a new section "Doku-fokus" for documentaries dealing with social issues, the organisers said at a press conference on Thursday.
SPORT
BONN, Germany - Point guard Beno Udrih has been ruled out of Slovenia's line-up for the European Basketball Championships due to a knee injury only days before the start of the tournament in Poland. Udrih sustained the injury during Wednesday's friendly match against Germany in Bonn when he fell on a wet patch on the court. Slovenia meanwhile ended its series of warm-up games ahead of the Eurobasket with another win against Germany on Thursday.
IZMIR, Turkey - The Slovenian national volleyball team was beaten by Spain with 3:0 (-20, -19, -20) in its first game at the European Volleyball Championships in Turkey's Izmir on Thursday. Slovenia will try to earn its first victory in ten tries at the European Championships on Friday against Slovakia.
