17 Apr 2019, 03:00 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Wednesday, 16 April 2019

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A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here

Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here

This summary is provided by the STA

Novič acquitted of Chemistry Institute boss murder

LJUBLJANA - Milko Novič was acquitted of murdering Chemistry Institute boss Janko Jamnik in December 2014 in a retrial after the Supreme Court quashed the original ruling sentencing him to 25 years in prison in 2017. The verdict was reached by the judging panel of the Ljubljana District Court after the court heard closing arguments and re-examined expert witnesses who could not make a conclusive judgement. Novič, a former employee at the National Institute of Chemistry, was initially convicted of murdering Jamnik and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2017.

Pahor discusses Brdo-Brijuni summit with Bosnia presidency

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - President Borut Pahor met the three-member presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina as he started his two-day working visit to Sarajevo. The meeting focused on relations between the two countries, which Pahor labelled excellent at all levels. Speaking to presidency members Šefik Džaferović, Željko Komšić and Milorad Dodik, Pahor also exchanged views on the declaration being drafted for the Brdo-Brijuni Summit.

Slovenia expresses support for France after Notre Dame fire

LJUBLJANA/PARIS, France - Slovenia joined the expressions of solidarity with France after a fire damaged the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, with President Borut Pahor tweeting that "together, we will rebuild it for the future". The Slovenian Bishops' Conference expressed expressed solidarity with the French Catholic Church.

Chairman Skobe quits Telekom Slovenije

LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije chairman Rudolf Skobe has decided to end his term almost a year and a half early. Effective today, he was replaced by deputy chairman Tomaž Seljak, who will be in charge until a chairman with full powers is appointed, the company said. Skobe was quoted as saying that running the company required "full trust among all key stakeholders," which he no longer enjoyed. The resignation came after weeks of rumours that Skobe was next in line to be removed as the government gradually takes over the levers of power at major state-owned firms.

Opposition asks Constitutional Court to review 2019 budget

LJUBLJANA - The centre-right opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) announced they had asked the Constitutional Court to review the state budget for 2019, which was passed last month. The parties believe the budget is not in line with the Constitution because it does not take into account the fiscal rule. The review will apply to three documents: the law on the implementation of the budgets for 2018 and 2019, the supplementary budget for 2019 and the decree on the 2018-2020 framework for public finances.

Šarec critical of European Commission in Politico interview

LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec called for a European Commission that would consistently implement the rule of law and respect small member states as he gave an interview for Politico. Šarec took issue with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for implying that small EU members did not have the same status as large countries, and for not taking sides in the Slovenia-Croatia border dispute. His vote for the next Commission chief will go to Margrethe Vestager (ALDE), the competition commissioner, who according to Šarec has a "common sense" vision for the EU.

Istrabenz Turizem shares transferred onto bad bank

LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that the Bank Asset Management Company (BAMC) had taken control of the owner of six hotels in Portorož, after it was recently ordered by the government to seize the company's stock. The government tasked BAMC to seize Istrabenz Turizem's stock on 14 February, when the bad bank was in the midst of selling the company. The government is now expected to discuss the investment plan for Istrabenz Turizem.

More jobs in February

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian job market grew by 0.4% to around 884,700 persons in employment in February over January and by 3.3% over February 2018, the Statistics Office reported. At the monthly level, both the number of those in paid employment and the number of self-employed increased, by 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively. The number of jobs increased in all regions in February over January, but most notably in central Slovenia (+0.4% to some 308,000).

Candidate for ambassador to Croatia raising dust

LJUBLJANA - Marko Makovec, who is tipped as Slovenian's new ambassador to Croatia, has been raising dust with some rather undiplomatic moves, the newspaper Delo reported. Although the appointment procedure is not over yet, Makovec was already thanking people who congratulated him on the appointment on Facebook in the past few days. The media portal Portalplus reported about it, which upset Makovec to the extent that he sent a threatening message to its journalist Dejan Steinbuch. Steinbuch reported this to the Foreign Ministry, which demanded an explanation from Makovec, who said he used an "inappropriate statement" and apologised to the recipient.

TEŠ could burn biomass or waste, HSE CEO says

LJUBLJANA - HSE, the state-owned power utility which owns the Šoštanj coal-fired power station (TEŠ), is looking for a new energy source for TEŠ, according to HSE chairman Stojan Nikolić. "We know that we have to overhaul the plans for the operations of the Premogovnik Velenje mine and TEŠ. It's been clear for a while that TEŠ will not be able to operate until 2054, as originally planned, both for economic and technical reasons," Nikolić told the STA.

Pivec discusses agritourism with Kosovo tourism minister

LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec met the Kosovo minister in charge of tourism, Blendi Klosi, with the pair discussing agritourism and agreed for cooperation in exchange of best practices in agritourism development. Klosi said that the Kosovo government was focusing on improving the country's brand to make it a global player.

Transport sector calls for immediate action

LJUBLJANA - The transport sector called on the state once again to act in order to protect them from price dumping practices of foreign companies operating in the country and to cut waiting times at border crossings. Noting that the sector with more than 8,000 companies employing some 35,000 people generated 7% of the country's GDP, members of the Chamber of Craft and Small Business (OZS) the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) said the biggest problem was price dumping by foreign-owned companies.

Slovenian, Croatian intervention teams to train for nuclear accidents

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian and Croatian intervention teams will jointly train for nuclear accidents as part of the Ensuring Radiation Safety (ENRAS) project, which has been launched within an EU-sponsored cross-border cooperation programme. ENRAS is the first transfrontier cooperation project designed to ensure safety of intervention units in nuclear or radiological accidents within the Interreg V-A programme. More than 700 staff are planned to be trained from April 2019 to September 2020 as part of the project, which is valued at around half a million euro.

Slovenia among greenest countries in the world

LONDON, UK - Slovenia is one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world, according to the Good Country Index, compiled by analyst and professor Simon Anholt from the University of East Anglia. It ranks fourth among 153 countries in terms of its positive contribution to the planet and climate, preceded only by Norway, Switzerland and Portugal. Slovenia did particularly well in the implementation of environmental agreements and reducing the use of substances that cause ozone depletion.

16 Apr 2019, 19:00 PM

UK’s Prince Edward to Visit in May, Launch Slovenia-UK Friendship Day

STA, 15 April 2019 - Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, will pay a visit to Slovenia on 14 and 15 May, the British Embassy announced on Monday. He will be hosted President Borut Pahor, who invited him to Slovenia during his last visit to London in February.

Pahor and the British prince will launch together the first Slovenia-UK Friendship Day - to be marked this year on 14 May, the embassy said on Facebook.

The day will be launched "in celebration of the history and future of the enduring friendship between the UK and Slovenia".

Further details of the visit programme will be announced in due course, according to the embassy.

Pahor invited the youngest of the four children of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to Slovenia during his official visit to the UK to meet the queen at the end of February.

Pahor and Prince Edward talked about the Duke of Edinburgh's award for young people as part of the MEPI programme. The awards are annually conferred in Slovenia as well.

Prince Edward visited Slovenia with his wife Sophie in 2013. The pair took a stroll in Ljubljana and met with Pahor.

16 Apr 2019, 18:00 PM

Šarec Calls on EU to Follow Follow Rule of Law, Respect Smaller States

STA, 16 April 2019 - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec called for a European Commission that would consistently implement the rule of law and respect small member states as he gave an interview for Politico. His vote for the next European Commission chief will go to Margrethe Vestager (ALDE).

In the interview, Šarec took issue with the Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker for implying that small EU members did not have the same status as large countries such as France, and for not taking sides in the border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia.

Šarec suggested that the soft-handed approach could have been politically motivated since Juncker and the ruling Croatian party belonged to the same European Parliament group, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP).

He said that the Commission should have urged Croatia to respect the border decision, which was handed down in Slovenia's favour by an international arbitration panel in 2017, adding that the decision was valid no matter the surrounding controversy.

"We need a European Commission which will obey the rule of law ... we need a Commission which will be less political," said Šarec, pointing out that Vestager, his choice for the next Commission chief, had a "common sense" vision for the EU.

Hailing from Denmark, Vestager also has more understanding for small member states, according to Šarec. Both of them belong to the ALDE alliance of European liberal parties, with the competition commissioner being considered the party's top candidate for the Commission presidency.

He also called for an EU which would be faster at making decisions and expressed his disapproval of the Spitzenkandidat process, describing it as "not legal" and "not democratic".

Commenting on European Parliament President Antonio Tajani's recent controversial remarks, which implied Italy's territorial claims on parts of Slovenia and Croatia, Šarec called them an outrageous example of WWII revisionism and declared Tajani unfit for his office.

He urged taking measures that the next European Parliament president would not be someone who advocated such problematic statements and views.

Politico also addressed Šarec's stand-up past, pointing out that a number of former comedians have started performing in the EU political arena in recent years.

The Slovenian prime minister welcomed this trend, saying that some characteristics were useful in both worlds, including being observant, brave and a quick learner, as well as a performer skilled at reading people.

16 Apr 2019, 16:30 PM

Pridem.Si – A Resource for Travellers with Disabilities in Slovenia

We previously highlighted Ljubljana by Wheelchair, an app that takes a look at the city through the eyes of those with disabilities, and notes places that are more accessible and have facilities for use by the less mobile.

But what about elsewhere in Slovenia? For that the same team have produced a website, pridem.si, with pridem meaning “I’ll be there”. This runs in both Slovenian and English, and is searchable by town and category, with the latter including driving schools, gas stations, Eurokey bathrooms, restaurants, pubs, sports facilities, entertainment, tourist attractions, healthcare, shops, services, culture and more, all assessed using the following criteria.

pridem si criteria diabled symbols.JPG

There’s a Facebook group, and you can also help develop the site itself, adding new locations along with details of the facilities on offer. So if you know of a place that’s working to serve all members of the community, and deserves more attention, then do add it to pridem.si.

16 Apr 2019, 14:31 PM

Ljubljana Needs Around 4,000 Non-profit Rental Homes

STA, 16 April 2019 - Slovenia's capital Ljubljana is short of some 4,000 non-profit homes for rent and will not be able to meet the demand on its own, the boss of the municipal housing fund, Sašo Rink, told the city council as it debated the issue on Monday.

With a population of some 280,000, Ljubljana is the largest city in Slovenia and demand for flats, new and second-hand ones, is huge, and so are the prices.

National statistics show that housing prices in Slovenia rose by 18.2% in 2018, although they have not yet exceeded the pre-crisis levels at national level.

However, Ljubljana is different. A recent report said a square metre of a second-hand flat costs almost 2,800 euro on average, or roughly as much as in 2008.

From 2008 to 2015, the prices of second-hand homes in Ljubljana slowly fell by 30%, but then they quickly rose by 35% in the next three years, Finance said.

Rink said Ljubljana's Public Housing Fund would not be able to effectively solve the situation if the state does not provide a systemic source of funds for public homes for rent.

City councillor Marko Koprivec of the Social Democrats (SD) agreed the issue should be addressed at the national level.

"Leaving the housing policy to the market when people are being pushed into an utterly inconvenient situation should stop," he stressed.

The city council also endorsed the city's 2019-2022 housing programme, which shows the housing fund had 14 projects in various stages of development at the end of 2018.

The projects which have a detailed timeline are to provide 1,094 flats, while a total of 1,500 are to be built when all the planned projects are implemented.

The city council also backed the fund's changed budget for 2019, cutting revenue to 21.9 million euro due to lower borrowing and raising expenditure to 25.8 million.

All our stories on real estate in Slovenia can be found here, while our "property of the week" feature is here

16 Apr 2019, 12:25 PM

TEŠ Power Station Looks Beyond Coal, Could Burn Biomass or Waste

STA, 16 April 219 - HSE, the state-owned power utility which owns the Šoštanj coal-fired power station (TEŠ), is looking for a new energy source for TEŠ, according to HSE chairman Stojan Nikolić. He believes burning biomass or waste would be economically viable.

"We know that we have to overhaul the plans for the operations of the Premogovnik Velenje mine and TEŠ. It's been clear for a while that TEŠ will not be able to operate until 2054, as originally planned, both for economic and technical reasons," Nikolić said in an interview with the STA.

But he could not say when the coal-fired power station will be wound down, because it is not clear yet how long the extraction of coal from the Velenje mine, the only source of coal for TEŠ, will be possible.

"My estimate is that until 2040. But we need to set the framework for a fair transition to other activities for the entire coal mining region.

"If we manage to agree on this in the next two or three years, which I'm hoping for, then I think we can still be competitive in the next 15 or 20 years with the production of electricity from coal," he said.

The main challenge faced by HSE as the biggest coal-fired producer of electricity in the country is decarbonisation.

The construction of TEŠ 6, the cutting-edge generator with minimal emissions, was part of efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, Nikolić said.

But TEŠ is still unable to cover the costs of the investment, which are being partly covered by HSE. Admitting that TEŠ was struggling, Nikolić said that the management of HSE and TEŠ were looking for possible solutions. Given that the viable coal reserves at the Velenje mine are running out, importing coal is one of the options.

However, given the current market prices of coal and CO₂ coupons, importing coal would not be economically viable and the situation will only get worse in the future.

This would be an option only if a supplier was found that would offer coal at the same price as the Velenje mine, which is EUR 2.75 per gigajoule, or 50 cents more at the most, Nikolić said. "That is, if we get all the necessary permits."

The Environment Agency already said importing coal would require no additional permits, but the environment permit would still need to be changed if any other energy source is to be used at TEŠ.

"Burning biomass would probably be economically viable and definitely also burning processed waste, as now we are paying a lot of money to export waste to Austria and Italy."

Burning imported coal is seen as the last resort, but if this would make it difficult for TEŠ to obtain an environmental permit for biomass and waste burning, then the idea to import coal would be abandoned.

Slovenia will have to solve the problem of waste treatment soon, and TEŠ as well as the cement plant in Anhovo are appropriate facilities to burn waste, Nikolić said.

The other area HSE is focussing on is renewable energy sources but the options here are limited. The Drava river can take no more power plants, while recently a political decision was made not to build any on the Mura, he said.

HSE is currently cooperating with GEN Energija in building a chain of hydro power plants on the lower Sava river and has a concession for the plants on the middle Sava.

But Nikolić said they often faced resistance from environmental groups. Any new facility can be controversial, which is why measures must be taken to minimize the environmental impact and take measures to offset its effects, he believes.

The alternative is to import electricity from the countries which still burn coal, such as Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. But this means more green house gas emissions. "What will we do with the intact Mura if temperatures rise for a couple of degrees and there will be no life in it?"

By 2040, two biggest power plants, TEŠ and the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK), generating more than half of electricity in the country, will probably be wound down. "They will not be able to be replaced with just hydro power plants," Nikolić stressed.

16 Apr 2019, 11:15 AM

EU Approves Copyright Directive, Slovenia Abstains

STA, 15 April 2019 - EU member states gave the final stamp of approval on Monday to the directive on copyright in the single digital market. Nineteen states voted yes, six were against, with three, including Slovenia, abstaining.

EU members have two years to transpose the new rules, which were adopted despite the criticism of facilitating censorship on the internet, into national law, whereupon the directive will enter into force.

The Slovenian Permanent Representation at the EU explained Slovenia had abstained because it believed the final compromise did not sufficiently reflect the interests of the majority of Slovenian stakeholders.

The German news agency dpa reported that if another country, for instance Germany, had voted no or abstained today, the new directive would have fallen through.

According to the French press agency AFP, voting against were Italy, Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland, whereas the other two countries abstaining were Estonia and Belgium.

When the European Parliament voted on the directive on 26 February, the majority of Slovenia's MEPs rejected it, mostly arguing it undermined internet freedom. Only three of Slovenia's eight MEPs backed it.

However, Slovenian creatives welcomed the Parliament's yes vote, with its fiercest opponents, among then the opposition Left and the non-parliamentary Pirate Party, labelling it a "catastrophe" and a "dark day for the internet".

The directive is part of the EU's reform of copyright law designed to adjust it to the digital age. In today's press release, the EU Council said it provided an adequate degree of protection of authors and artists, at the same time bringing new opportunities to access and share copyrighted works around the EU.

The directive was put forward by the European Commission in September 2016, but it took two years of talks and adjustments for the European Parliament, the EU Council and the Commission to arrive at a compromise last February.

16 Apr 2019, 10:08 AM

Slovenia Will Bid to Co-host EuroBasket 2021

STA, 15 April 2019 - The Slovenian Basketball Association's (KZS) bid for Slovenia to host one of the preliminary groups of the EuroBasket 2021 has been endorsed by the government.

Hosting one of the preliminary groups would cost 4.5 million euro, of which 1.8 million euro in a fee and another 700,000 euro in other fixed costs.

Slovenia would have to pay the fee and the other fixed costs of 2.5 million euro to FIBA Europe in advance. Today's green light means the money will come from the government.

"We asked the state for a donation or a kind of a loan since the Basketball Association could not afford to pay the 2.5 million to FIBA Europe in advance, this is practically its entire annual budget," explained KZS president Matej Erjavec.

But judging by the EuroBasket 2013, which was held in Slovenia, the investment pays off at the end of the competition through ticket sales and sponsors, he added.

The funds will be allocated to the KZS as part of the 2021 annual sport plan on the basis of the rules governing co-funding sport events at national level.

Apart from Slovenia, also vying for the tournament are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary and Italy.

Erjavec has recently said that seven bids arrived at FIBA Europe, among them only one for the final part of the tournament, which means Slovenia has a 50% chance to win one of the preliminary groups.

He has also explained there were two reasons why the KZS would like to host one of the EuroBasket 2021 groups.

As a host, Slovenia would qualify for the championships directly, without having to play in qualifications. This means the relatively young national team would have a chance to mature in the coming two years without being under pressure to deliver results.

The other reason is a wish to have NBA star Luka Dončić play in front of a home crowd. "We're aware that NBA players could not take part in the qualifications as they were designed for the world championships," said Erjavec.

If it is selected one of the hosts, Slovenia will organise such a prominent basketball event for the second time - after hosting the entire tournament in 2013.

16 Apr 2019, 02:29 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Tuesday, 16 April 2019

Bookmark this link and find the headlines faster each morning, or follow us on Facebook

A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here

Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here

This summary is provided by the STA

Šarec wants more unity in Slovenian politics on Croatia

LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec said that despite the border arbitration wiretapping scandal, "there is no emergency" and Slovenia "is in no bigger dispute with Croatia than before". Speaking to the press on the margins of today's plenary, he accused part of the opposition of "using every opportunity to sling mud at domestic politics by praising others and criticising our reactions". He said Slovenia must promote its interests.

Polls project tight EU race

LJUBLJANA - The joint ticket of the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) and the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS) is favoured to win the European parliamentary election in a poll commissioned by the newspaper Delo even though the party of PM Marjan Šarec is the preferred choice for general elections. The SDS+SLS is followed by the coalition Social Democrats (SD) and the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ). The Vox Populi poll, meanwhile, favours the SD and the LMŠ for EU election slightly ahead of the SDS+SLS. The three lists are projected to win two seats each.

Centre-right parties have dominated EU elections in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian voters have gone to the polls to elect MEPs three times so far - in 2004, 2009 and 2014, with most of the support in all three elections going to parties belonging to the European People's Party (EPP). The only Slovenian to win an MEP seat in all three elections is Lojze Peterle of New Slovenia (NSi/EPP). Slovenian members of the European Parliament tend to vote in accordance with their Eurogroup, and have high attendance in votes in plenary meetings of the European Parliament, data from VoteWatch show.

Šarec says too early to talk about EU presidency priorities

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said in parliament that it was too early to talk about Slovenia's priorities for its EU presidency in the second half of 2021, as he was challenged by an opposition MP to present his vision of the future of the EU. Šarec said that many things would happen until the second half of 2021, adding that much depended on the result of May's EU elections, and whether the "key positions in EU institutions will go to people who will respect the rule of law".

Govt to continue talks with doctors but will not give in to extortion, PM says

LJUBLJANA - The government will continue talks with doctors' trade unions to find solutions to pressing issues in healthcare, but it will not give in to extortion, PM Marjan Šarec told the National Assembly during Q&A after an email indicating GPs might be trying to provoke privatisation was published by a unionist on Friday.

British Prince Edward to pay a visit in mid-May

LJUBLJANA - Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, will pay a visit to Slovenia on 14 and 15 May, the British Embassy announced. He will be hosted by President Borut Pahor, who invited him to Slovenia during his last visit to London in February. Pahor and the British prince will launch together the first Slovenia-UK Friendship Day - to be marked this year on 14 May, the embassy said on Facebook. The day will be launched "in celebration of the history and future of the enduring friendship between the UK and Slovenia".

Cerar, Gosar focus on strengthening the US-Slovenia relations

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar received US Republican Congressman Paul A. Gosar to discuss bilateral relations between the US and Slovenia. After the meeting they stressed the importance of strengthening the dialogue between the two countries. Cerar pointed out that quality political relations could contribute to better economic cooperation as well. He said that Slovenia had had good relations with the US, which he would endeavour to further improve in the future.

Slovenia abstains in vote on EU copyright directive

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - EU member states gave the final stamp of approval to the directive on copyright in the single digital market, with 19 countries voting yes, six no and three, including Slovenia, abstaining. EU members have two years to transpose the new rules, which were adopted despite the criticism of facilitating censorship on the internet, into national law, whereupon the directive will enter into force.

Luka Koper's damages claim against Xodo returned to first-instance court

KOPER - The newspaper Primorske Novice reported that the Koper Higher Court had annulled the district court's decision to reject a compensation claim by the operator of the Koper port against Costruzioni Generali Xodo, the Italian company it had hired to deepen a part of the port sea bed. Luka Koper had demanded EUR 1.1m, claiming the dredging company accumulated massive delays, forcing it to end the cooperation with Xodo in 2014, but the claim was rejected by the Koper District Court last December.

Japanese Terra Drone acquires stake in Slovenian C-Astral

AJDOVŠČINA - The world's leading drone manufacturer Terra Drone Corporation has acquired a stake in the Slovenian provider of aerospace solutions C-Astral. The latter specialises in the manufacturing and services of fixed-wing small unmanned aircraft systems and considers the partnership a strategic move. According to the news portal UAS Weekly, Terra Drone considered a number of potential partners across the world and was particularly impressed by the Slovenian drone developer due to its advanced technology, mission flexibility and the overall spectrum of solutions.

Average pay in February down over January but up Y/Y

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's average monthly gross pay in February amounted to EUR 1,714.49, a 0.8% decrease on January in nominal terms and a 1.6% decrease in real terms. Compared to February 2018, the gross pay was up by 4.7% in nominal and by 3.5% in real terms, the Statistics Office said. The average net pay stood at EUR 1,108.10, a 0.7% drop in nominal and 1.5% in real terms compared to January. In year-on-year comparison, it was up by 3.9% in nominal and 2.7% in real terms.

New family law comes fully into force

LJUBLJANA - The new family law, which was reformed and adopted two years ago, became fully applicable today. The law aims to regulate partnerships and family relations in a more comprehensive manner, with the main difference being that district courts are now in charge of protecting children's interests. Instead of social work centres, district courts have jurisdiction over deciding to take children away from their parents as well as over making provisions about parental and foster care.

STA round table offers solutions to youth housing issues

LJUBLJANA - The government plans to build additional non-profit housing to make it easier for the young to rent apartments, set up a public rental service and encourage housing cooperatives, heard a round table debate hosted by the STA. "This is a multifaceted problem... Fact is that these issues had not been addressed for years. We have the national housing programme but no law regulating the field," said Anja Fortuna, the president of the Youth Council.

Plečnik Prize goes to ELES's technological centre

LJUBLJANA - This year's Plečnik Prize, the highest accolade for architecture in Slovenia, went to Marko Studen, Boris Matić and Jernej Šipoš for their design of a new technological centre of the national grid operator ELES in Beričevo. The trio, who had won an international call for applications with the design, won the recognition for designing a systemically demanding building, which is also a major European strategic project, according to the jury.

Govt endorses country's bid to co-host EuroBasket 2021

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Basketball Association's (KZS) bid for Slovenia to host one of the preliminary groups of the EuroBasket 2021 was endorsed by the government. The green light means that 2.5 million euro the KZS would have to pay FIBA Europe in advance in fee and other fixed costs would come from the state. Apart from Slovenia, also vying for the tournament are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary and Italy. Only one bid is said to be for the final part of the tournament, which means Slovenia has a 50% chance to become the host of one of the preliminary groups.

15 Apr 2019, 15:51 PM

Cerar Meets Congressman, Gosar, Talks Focus on Stronger US -Slovenia Relations

STA, 15 April 2019 - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar received US Republican congressman Paul A. Gosar on Monday to discuss bilateral relations between the US and Slovenia. After the meeting they both stressed the importance of strengthening the dialogue between the two countries.

It is my great pleasure to welcome @RepGosar to the @MZZRS. Slovenians in the #USA and the Americans of Slovenian heritage represent a true living bond between our two countires. #Slovenia is proud to see their achievements in Americas’s public service, business and sports. ???? pic.twitter.com/U2BM6GQMtw
— dr. Miro Cerar (@MiroCerar) April 15, 2019

Cerar pointed out that quality political relations could contribute to better economic cooperation as well. He said that Slovenia has had good relations with the US, which he would endeavour to further improve in the future.

The minister also acknowledged that Gosar has recently founded the Friends of Slovenia Caucus in the House of Representatives, while another US politician of Slovenian descent, Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar established a similar caucus in the upper chamber of the US congress.

Stressing the importance of such groups, Cerar added that both friendship societies could assist Slovenia in pursuing its political interests.

Despite the estimated good bilateral relations over the past ten years, Cerar said that there was not enough direct contact on the highest political level.

"I wish to improve that as foreign minister," said Cerar, stressing that he would not do that at the expense of Slovenia's relations with other countries.

The US is one of the most significant investors in Slovenia, said the minister, who like Gosar believes that the economic cooperation between the two countries could be further improved.

Gosar, who is visiting Slovenia at the invitation of President Borut Pahor, said that bilateral discussions significantly contributed to the cooperation between the countries since they were a way to look for solutions and clinch victories together.

The congressman also stressed the role of friendship societies as important opportunities for maintaining and strengthening the dialogue.

The two politicians also addressed current political issues, including the Western Balkans situation and international agreements with Iran, Russia and China.

Gosar has been visiting Slovenia since Friday, when Pahor bestowed on him the Golden Order of Merit, one of Slovenia's highest state decorations, commending the congressman for his contribution and cooperation in strengthening relations between Slovenia and the US.

On Saturday Gosar and Pahor attended a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of a US bomber's crash during WWII at the Andraž settlement near Polzela, addressing the event as keynote speakers.

Today, Gosar also met Dejan Židan, the speaker of the National Assembly, and Alojz Kovšca, the president of the National Council.

Židan and Gosar discussed the countries' respective political systems as well as the current political situation, including the upcoming May EU elections.

According to Židan, the majority of Slovenians are in favour of the EU for many reasons, including because they feel safer as part of the bloc.

Gosar also met with the chair of the Foreign Policy Committee and Parliamentary Friendship Group with the US Matjaž Nemec.

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