POLITICS
BRDO PRI KRANJU - President Danilo Tuerk stressed after meeting the chair of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Zeljko Komsic at Brdo pri Kranju on Thursday that Bosnia needed to obtain an action plan for NATO membership "without delay", because "it has done all that had to be done". Komsic thanked Slovenia for its support, especially for its understanding of Bosnia's interests and situation. Bilateral economic cooperation and Bosnia's progress in relations with the EU topped the agenda as Komsic met PM Borut Pahor and parliamentary Speaker Pavel Gantar.
LJUBLJANA - The government on Thursday adopted legislative changes designed to determine Slovenia's eighth member to the European Parliament. The motion will be rushed through parliament. The government proposes the extra MEP seat belonging to Slovenia under the Lisbon Treaty be filled by the candidate who would have been elected the 8th MEP in the 7 June elections to European Parliament. Considering the results, the extra MEP will be Zofija Mazej Kukovic of the opposition Democratic Party (SDS).
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The first full-time president of the European Council, former Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, will visit Slovenia on 1 December in his second trip abroad after his appointment on 19 November. Prior to Slovenia, Van Rompuy will pay a visit to Copenhagen as part of the preparations for the international climate conference to be held there between 7 and 18 December. Van Rompuy was originally scheduled to visit Slovenia and Copenhagen as Belgian prime minister.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - A member of the European Parliament responsible for overseeing Croatia's progress in EU membership talks urged Slovenia on Thursday to ratify the border arbitration agreement with Croatia. Hannes Swoboda hopes the border dispute will be resolved by the time Croatia enters the EU. In an interview published on the website of the European Parliament, Swoboda said that Croatia could become a member of the EU in 2012.
MARIBOR - A poll carried by daily Vecer on Thursday shows that 35% of those questioned would vote in favour of the border arbitration agreement with Croatia, against 22% who would vote against it in a referendum. The poll also found that 22% of the respondents were undecided about the agreement, while 15% would not vote in a referendum on the issue.
LJUBLJANA - A two-day international conference began in Ljubljana on Thursday on developments in Slovenia in the 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Opposition Democrats (SDS) leader Janez Jansa described the period as one of progress, while EPP president Wilfried Martens stressed the importance of the Demos coalition, which won the 1990 elections. Jansa noted that the conference, organised by the Joze Pucnik Institute and the Centre for European Studies, was the only event marking the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Slovenia.
ANKARAN - Jurij Zurej, the head of the expert group drawing up changes to the media legislation, told a meeting of journalists on Thursday that 80% of the draft bill on RTV Slovenija was beyond reproach. He meanwhile believes that irrespective of the legal framework, politics will always try to influence the public broadcaster. Zurej told a panel organised as part of the annual Journalists' Days that the expert group had to reconcile what were sometimes completely opposing positions.
LJUBLJANA - The government confirmed on Thursday a redistribution of spending entitlement, among other things allocating additional funds for the recently discovered Huda jama mass grave site near Lasko. According to a press release from the government, EUR 145,273 has been earmarked for various construction and renovation works at the site. The works are to be conducted under the auspices of the Museum of Contemporary History.
LJUBLJANA - Answering a question from a coalition MP regarding opposition's claims of partisan staffing, the government said on Thursday that it had made 713 appointments so far, while the previous government made 2,122 in its term. The government added that it had made appointment procedures transparent. These are made through the Staffing and Accreditation Council, which sets the criteria and assesses the candidates.
LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) filed on Thursday a demand for a parliamentary session related to controversial loans given by the NLB bank to a company with ties to the current higher education minister. The SDS deputy group said that MPs should discuss "the withholding of data from the National Assembly on the part of Banka Slovenije and NLB regarding the loans that NLB granted to some of the companies in the Ultra group". Minister Gregor Golobic used to work for Ultra and still holds a stake in it.
MARIBOR - A survey carried out by Maribor-based daily Vecer on Thursday sees the opposition Democrats (SDS) as the most popular party with 17.5%, followed by the ruling Social Democrats (SD) with 14%. Other parties are trailing with a wide margin. Meanwhile, more than 22.1% of the people polled said they would not vote and almost 30% were undecided.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
LJUBLJANA - Trade unionists presented reasons for a mass protest in Ljubljana on Saturday, with one of them warning the government and employers that they would be wrong to ignore the message. Nevertheless, the government refused on Thursday to cave in to the key demands of the unions, which urge it to drop its proposals to extend the working age to 65 and to raise the minimum wage to EUR 600 net. Prime Minister Borut Pahor urged the unions to return to the negotiating table.
LJUBLJANA - The government dismissed on Thursday the head of Slovenia's telecoms and post regulator. Tomaz Simonic had faced criticism over the way the Agency for Post and Electronic Communications (APEK) issued a licence for third-generation mobile services to Tusmobil. The dismissal was made at the proposal of Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Gregor Golobic, whose ministry said Simonic failed to respect laws and regulations in performing his job. Dusan Schuster was made acting director of the agency.
LJUBLJANA - The Securities Market Agency (ATVP) is without a boss after the Administrative Court has found Damjan Zugelj's appointment to the post flawed. This means that a new director will have to be appointed, the Finance Ministry told STA on Thursday. According to business daily Finance, the court ruled in favour of a fellow contender for the post of ATVP director who claimed that Zugelj did not meet the requirements for the job. Zugelj was appointed by the previous government in March 2008.
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted on Thursday an action plan for the transition from the current system of toll stickers to electronic free-flow tolling system. Transport Minister Patrick Vlacic said the plan envisaged the toll stickers to be abolished by 2014. The action plan foresees an immediate introduction of a tolling system based either on driving distance or on a fixed payment. By 2012, all vehicles will be included in the electronic tolling system.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - President Danilo Tuerk and the visiting chair of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Zeljko Komsic agreed at a Slovenia-Bosnian business conference at Brdo on Thursday that economic cooperation between the two countries needed to be strengthened further in the future. "We know that Bosnia is a sovereign country with its own economic potential," Tuerk told participants. Komsic explained that there was wide agreement at the recent regional economic forum in Sarajevo that a solution to the difficult situation needed to be found and that there was a common wish for better international cooperation.
LJUBLJANA - Two parliamentary committees urged the Finance Ministry on Thursday to deal with the issue of EUR 182m unpaid social security contributions by Slovenian employers. They demand legislative changes to make the paying of the contribution transparent for the workers. The Committee for Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Disabled and the Finance and Monetary Policy Committee discussed the issue at a joint session, which was requested by the opposition Democrats (SDS).
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian energy company Petrol has expressed interest in talks on a possible acquisition of Crobenz, a small fuel retailer belonging to Croatian oil group Ina. While Petrol spokesman Aleksander Salkic stressed in a press release on Thursday that the move did not involve any commitments, business daily Finance reported that Petrol had written a letter of intent to participate in the call for bids for the acquisition. Petrol is the second biggest fuel retailer in Croatia.
KOPER - The Istrabenz holding, in compulsory settlement since July this year, recorded a loss of more than EUR 65m in the first nine months this year. According to unaudited data published by Istrabenz on Thursday, the holding posted roughly EUR 550,000 in sales revenues in the first three quarters. Financial revenues stood at EUR 5.4m, outflow was at EUR 66.9m and operating loss at EUR 3.1m.
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Stock Exchange has not seen a positive day since 13 November, with the main indices again finishing in the red on Thursday. The benchmark SBI 20 index and the SBI TOP index of the ten blue chips both shed 0.46% to 4,188.04 and 1,011.94 points, respectively.
ENVIRONMENT
TRIESTE, Italy - A technical panel of Slovenian and Italian experts found several flaws in the documentation for the project of a gas terminal at Aquilinia, just off the border with Slovenia, presented by the investor, Spanish company Gas Natural. The members of the panel, which concluded on Thursday a three-day meeting called at the initiative of the Italian Uil-Pa trade union, believe that no objective public debate had taken place in the process of approving the plans for the terminal.
LJUBLJANA - Window Jelovision produced by furniture company Jelovica and hybrid vessel Greenline 33 made by Seaway were declared the most environmentally friendly products of the year at an eco conference organised by business daily Finance and Slovenia's Eco Fund on Thursday. Addressing the conference, Environment Minister Karl Erjavec noted that Slovenia was lagging behind the EU in recycling, with as much as 85% of its waste ending on dumping grounds until recently.
HEALTH
LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed on Thursday a strategy for prevention and management of HIV infection in 2010-2015. The plan focuses on prevention of infection, early diagnosis, prevention of transmission, treatment and minimising the personal and social impact of the infection. Health Minister Borut Miklavcic said that the number of HIV-infected was relatively low in Slovenia (less than one per 1,000 inhabitants), but was increasing. 48 new infections were registered in the past year, which is 30% more than in 2007.
LJUBLJANA - Lung cancer is becoming an increasing problem as 1,200 new cases occur every year in Slovenia, also among non-smokers, pulmonologist Nadja Triller said on Wednesday at a press conference marking the start of the Lung Cancer Awareness Month. One of the biggest problems is late detection, as only 16% of lung cancer cases are detected in the phase when they are still curable.
EDUCATION & SCIENCE
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Education and Sport Minister Igor Luksic, who attended a session of the EU Education, Youth and Culture Council in Brussels on Thursday, said that educational systems in the EU and Slovenia should be more selective. The minister linked the quality in education with a more selective education system in response to a report published by the European Commission on Wednesday showing that the educational reform in the EU was being implemented too slowly.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia is among the European countries that have the lowest share of women researchers, according to a survey on statistics and indicators on gender equality in science published on Wednesday by the European Commission. According to the latest edition of the "She Figures" survey, published every three years, Slovenia is also among the five countries where the share of women researchers in the area of social sciences decreased between 2002 and 2006.
OTHER NEWS
LJUBLJANA - A service member shot himself at his home on Wednesday in what was the second suicide in the army ranks this week. Slovenian Army spokesman Simon Korez said the man worked as a military driving instructor in the northeastern town of Slovenj Gradec. Contrary to the 27-year-old who shot herself while on duty as part of the Slovenian peacekeeping mission to Kosovo on Tuesday, the man involved in yesterday's suicide never served abroad. The suicide in Kosovo was discussed by parliamentary Defence Committee on Thursday.
LJUBLJANA - Acclaimed theatre director Jernej Lorenci (36) was stabbed with a knife by one of his students on Wednesday around 6 PM at the Faculty of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGFRT), dean of the faculty Ales Valic said on Thursday, confirming media reports about the incident. Valic also told STA that Lorenci was immediately taken to hospital but his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
