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This summary is provided by the STA:
General government deficit down to 5.2% of GDP last year
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's general government deficit amounted to EUR 2.705 billion or 5.2% of GDP last year, or EUR 961 million less than in 2020. The deficit of the central government amounted to EUR 2.94 billion last year, while the local government generated a EUR 60 million and social security funds a EUR 178 million surplus. Gross general government debt reached 74.7% of GDP, decreasing by 5.1 percentage points in relative terms year-on-year, nominally increasing by EUR 1.435 billion.
Annual inflation decelerates to 5.4% in March
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded an annual inflation rate of 5.4% in March, a significant drop from 6.9% in February, as a 30% decline in electricity prices shaved a full percentage point off the headline rate, the Statistics Office reported. While electricity was cheaper, prices in other major groups rose. With petrol up over 30% and diesel almost as much, oil derivatives prices contributed 1.2 percentage points to the overall inflation rate. Food, almost 7% more expensive, added another point.
IMAD's latest GDP forecast postponed again
LJUBLJANA - The government did not put IMAD's latest GDP forecast on the agenda of today's session, the second time in two weeks the item was not examined. The reason, as reported by Delo, is that the macroeconomic forecaster has not sufficiently taken into account the positive effects of investments from the EU recovery and resilience fund and other investments. IMAD denies that and says the forecast is realistic all the available data considered.
Slovenian, Croatian Italian foreign ministers meeting on Monday
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar, Croatia's Gordan Grlić Radman and Italy's Luigi Di Maio will meet in Zaprešić, Croatia on Monday to discuss cooperation in the north Adriatic sea, in what will be the third meeting in this format. The ministers will take stock of the cooperation so far and examine specific proposals, which will be included in a joint statement, the Foreign Ministry said.
SD accuses Janša of jeopardising arbitration agreement
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša is jeopardising the 2009 border arbitration agreement between Slovenia and Croatia and is abusing office as he engages in talks with Croatia on what was already agreed on, Matjaž Nemec, an MP for the opposition SocDems, said. Nemec spoke to the press a day after a Croatia newspaper reported that Croatia and Slovenia had drawn up a pilot plan to solve the issue of fishing in the Bay of Piran.
Slovenian, UAE speakers debate cooperation, intl issues
ABU DHABI, UAE - Potential for stronger economic cooperation and current international issues topped the agenda as National Assembly Speaker Igor Zorčič met with Saqr Ghobash, speaker of the the Federal National Council, at the outset of a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates. The officials said about the war in Ukraine that "confrontation does not lead anywhere, peace is the only answer to conflicts". Zorčič and Ghobash also shared the view that cooperation between all countries was crucial in addressing the current energy crisis.
President and ambassador mark Slovenia-UK Friendship Day
VINICA - President Borut Pahor and UK Ambassador to Slovenia Tiffany Sadler marked Slovenia-UK Friendship Day in Gornji Suhor, a village in south-eastern Slovenia where a British bomber crashed in March 1945 while locals and Slovenian Partisans helped save some of the crew. Pahor, Sadler and Črnomelj Mayor Andrej Kavšek stressed the role of mutual friendship which was made in the most difficult moments as they addressed the event. They also touched on the war in Ukraine saying that while it had brought a lot of suffering it had also brought a lot of compassion and solidarity.
Slovenia to soon get new ambassadors in Croatia, Belgium
LJUBLJANA - The government formally relieved of their duties the Slovenian ambassadors accredited to Belgium and Croatia as their terms expire at the end of May. Ambassador Vojislav Šuc will leave Croatia on 31 May, and according to media reports, will be replaced by Gašper Dovžan, currently a Foreign Ministry state secretary. Rado Genorio will vacate his ambassadorial post in Belgium on 27 May, and will, according to media reports, retire. Petra Kežman was appointed Slovenia's new national coordinator for relations with the Union for the Mediterranean, the Government Communication Office said in a release.
Slovenian flag at Kyiv embassy temporarily removed because of similarity with Russia's
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's charge d'affaires at the embassy in Kyiv Boštjan Lesjak, who arrived in Kyiv on Sunday, told TV Slovenija late on Wednesday that he had to take down the Slovenian flag in front of the embassy because of its similarity with the Russian flag. But the Slovenian Foreign Ministry told the STA today that after the Ukrainian security forces beefed up security in the street where the Slovenian Embassy and several other embassies are located, Lesjak again raised the Slovenian flag and now it was to stay there.
Coronavirus caseload continues to decline
LJUBLJANA - The coronavirus epidemic in Slovenia continues to gradually decline, as a total of 2,743 cases were confirmed on Monday, down by 17% from the week before. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 population declined marginally to 1,832, with the 7-day average of new daily cases down by almost seventy to 2,601, National Institute of Public Health data show. A total of 157 patients were in hospital due to Covid-19 this morning, of which 35 in intensive care, figures that have remained broadly flat since early March. Three patients with Covid-19 died, according to the Health Ministry.
Radwaste agency to re-check bids for repository construction
LJUBLJANA - The new management of the Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ARAO) has reversed the decision by the previous management not to pick any of the three bids for the construction of a radwaste repository, and the bids will now be re-examined. The agency announced last week it had not awarded a contract since the offer by the only consortium to remain in the game, a joint bid by the Slovenian construction firms Riko, Kolektor CPG and CGP, was more than a hundred million euros above the funds available.
Govt sets maximum wholesale prices of petrol, diesel
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian government capped the wholesale price of regular petrol and diesel two and a half weeks after regulating retail prices. The wholesale price has been set two cents below the retail price. Wholesalers will be allowed to charge EUR 1.483 per litre of petrol and EUR 1.521 per litre of diesel, a price the government said on Thursday provided a margin that would make it possible for small retailers to secure fuel supplies.
New electronic communications act to be fast-tracked
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly confirmed plans to fast track the new electronic communications act, the government's second attempt to pass the legislation after an almost identical bill was voted down in February over concerns about the independence of the Agency for Electronic Communications and provisions seen as being directed against Huawei. The decision, confirmed at the outset of an emergency plenary, means the bill will be put to a vote on 6 April, according to the agenda of the session.
National rail operator gets go-ahead to buy coach company Nomago
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), the custodian of state assets, has given its go-ahead to national rail company Slovenske Železnice (SŽ) to buy half of coach company Nomago, the business newspaper Finance reported. The SSH management green-lit SŽ's strategic investment on Wednesday. The investment will cost SŽ some EUR 30 million, which it will pay over the course of three years. SŽ will also have a pre-emptive right to buy the rest of Nomago until the end of 2024, reported Finance.
DARS nearly doubles annual profit
LJUBLJANA - National motorway company DARS generated almost EUR 470 million in sales revenue in 2021, up from over EUR 398 million in 2020. The largest share of revenue - EUR 456 million - came from motorway tolls. Net profit almost doubled to EUR 112.7 million from EUR 59.5 million in 2020. DARS did not specify as it posted its financials for 2021 on Thursday how much it made from toll sticker sales and how much from toll for trucks.
Almost million people visit Slovenian pavilion at Expo
LJUBLJANA - Almost a million visitors were recorded at the Slovenian pavilion at the 2020 Dubai Expo that is closing today. More than 200 events were hosted at its business centre, which were attended by 600 companies, either as exhibitors or members of business delegations, Slovenia's Expo commissioner general Matic Volk said. The next Expo will be held in Osaka, Japan, in 2025, and Slovenia also plans to take part. The costs of an independent pavilion there would amount to about EUR 15 million.
Major fire in Gorenjska has been put out, still being watched
PREDDVOR - The major fire on the Potoška Gora and Baba hills near the town of Preddvor, some 30 km north of Ljubljana, which broke out on Monday afternoon, has been put out on the surface, as the rainfall assisted firefighters in their efforts. Efforts were continued to find hot spots over night, like on Wednesday, when the fire was already contained. "In the early morning, it finally started raining," said Andraž Šifrer, head of the firefighting effort and commander of the Kranj Firefighter and Rescue Service. A total of 1,100 firefighters have taken part in efforts to put out the fire, and four were injured.
Mini Teater and Jewish Cultural Centre director gets French order
LJUBLJANA - Robert Waltl, the director of the Mini Teater theatre and the Jewish Cultural Centre in Ljubljana, has received the Order of the Arts and the Letters of France for "deepening ties between Slovenia and France and promoting mutual respect and combating all forms of discrimination." The French Institute in Slovenia has announced that the knight grade of the order had been presented to Waltl on Wednesday by French Ambassador Florence Ferrari on behalf of the French minister of culture.
Retrospective on Pier Paolo Pasolini on show in Cinematheque
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Cinematheque is hosting an extensive retrospective on Pier Paolo Pasolini to mark the centenary of the Italian film director's birth, featuring screenings of all his feature films and several documentaries on his life and work. Dubbed Pasolini 100!, the retrospective will start today with the 1962 drama Mamma Roma, and conclude on 8 May. The retrospective is accompanied by an exhibition on Pasolini's film work, which will be on display until 30 June.
