What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 25 February
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor offered a formal apology to the 25,671 people who were erased from Slovenia's register of permanent residents 30 years ago. While accepting the apology on behalf of the Civil Initiative of Erased Activists, Irfan Beširović warned that not all injustices had been eliminated yet and some erased still lived without a proper status.
LJUBLJANA - The government decided to impose limits on Slovenian airspace as it met over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The decision will simplify the use of airspace for overflights by military aircraft of allied countries for the purpose of troop deployments on NATO's eastern flank.
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša met new US Ambassador to Slovenia Jamie L. Harpootlian to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The pair condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine in the strongest terms and welcomed the introduction of severe sanctions against Russia.
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary foreign policy and defence committees condemned Russia's aggression and discussed a proposal for Slovenia to initiate a session of the UN General Assembly to do the same.
LJUBLJANA - Anja Kopač, a vice president of the opposition SocDems and former labour minister, returned a Russian state decoration in protest against Russia's attack on Ukraine, which she described as "an act of aggression and a grave violation of international law".
CELJE - A panel of judges of the Celje District Court found PM Janez Janša guilty of defaming two TV Slovenija journalists, Eugenija Carl and Mojca Šetinc Pašek, whom he called "washed up prostitutes" in a 2016 tweet. The ruling is not final yet.
SATURDAY, 26 February
LJUBLJANA - Due to Russia's attack on Ukraine the government decided to ban Russian aircraft from Slovenia's airspace after a number of European countries made the same move. Russia retaliated the next day by closing its airspace to Slovenian aircraft.
LJUBLJANA - The National Security Council debated the situation in Ukraine. The prime minister's office said it was in Slovenia's national security interest that Ukraine defend itself against the aggression and that the threat against the EU and NATO's eastern flank be reduced.
SUNDAY, 27 February
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša warned of a domino effect if Ukraine falls, noting in an interview for three media outlets that the country's fate was instrumental not just for Europe but the world as a whole. He said Moldova and Georgia would be next if Ukraine falls, with Baltic countries probably next in line and "things being cooked up" in the Western Balkans.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia has the capacity to accommodate between 180,000 and 200,000 refugees from Ukraine, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said after an informal session of the EU's interior ministers. He later clarified that the actual number would probably be a fraction of that.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar signed decrees revoking the credentials of all Russian honorary consuls in Slovenia. "Russia no longer has honorary consuls in Slovenia," he announced on Twitter.
MONDAY, 28 February
LJUBLJANA - Driven by stimulus-fuelled domestic spending, Slovenia's economy expanded by 8.1% in real terms in 2021 after a 4.2% contraction the year before. In nominal terms it was up 10.9%, show preliminary estimates released by the Statistics Office. In the fourth quarter GDP grew by a seasonally adjusted 5.4% year-on-year.
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the West's response to it in a televised interview, assessing that President Vladimir Putin "can no longer win this war". He said Europa had cast away utopian ideas and had woken up to the real world.
LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin revealed that Slovenia had sent rifles, ammunition and helmets to Ukraine. He would not talk about quantities beyond saying that the aid has already been dispatched with "several aircraft".
BERLIN, Germany - Russia's invasion of Ukraine topped the agenda as Foreign Minister Anže Logar was hosted by his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin. The pair agreed that EU values are being defended in Ukraine.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor pledged full support to Moldova in its efforts to help Ukrainian refugees as he spoke to President Maia Sandu on the phone. Slovenia will examine ways to help Moldova, he said, expressing Slovenia's support for Moldova's European perspective.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and Polish President Andrzej Duda exchanged views in a telephone conversation on the situation in Ukraine. They expressed concern over the clear violation of international order by Russian political leadership and called for the end of the Russian attack.
NEW YORK, US - Slovenia expressed its staunch support for Ukraine's people and government in their fight against the Russian invasion at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly. It joined a statement made by the EU and urged all UN members to support the resolution condemning Russia's aggression.
LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry urged Slovenian citizens who are currently in Russia and Belarus to leave the countries due to limited flight connections and increased safety risks. It said they should choose safe travel options.
LJUBLJANA - The government decided that a centre for refugees from Ukraine will be set up in the Logatec facilities of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief. During the course of the week the first groups of refugees were accommodated there, including a large group of youth soccer players.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec underscored the need to diversify the EU's gas supplies and to synchronise Ukraine's power grid with Europe's as he addressed reporters after an emergency EU ministerial.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a bill to encourage digital inclusion which is designed to enhance digital development of the economy and the entire society. The centrepiece is a scheme of "digital vouchers" for students and adults over 55 to buy digital devices and attend digital literacy courses.
LJUBLJANA - The Liberal Democrats (LIDE), a party formed in January by Speaker Igor Zorčič, decided against contesting the 24 April general election after failing to agree a joint ticket with the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS). The DeSUS executive council subsequently decided that the party will contest the general election independently.
TUESDAY, 1 March
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest bank, NLB, acquired the Slovenian subsidiary of Russia's Sberbank in a move that the central bank said would preserve the financial stability in the country after Russian-owned banks suffered a loss of trust due to sanctions against Russia. NLB paid just over EUR 5 million to take an outright stake plus all assets, liabilities and clients.
KHARKIV, Ukraine - The Foreign Ministry said that the building housing the Slovenian consulate in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv had been destroyed in an attack by the Russian army, condemning the act as well as Russia's aggression on Ukraine as such.
LJUBLJANA - A large group of people gathered in the centre of Ljubljana for a rally in support of Ukraine organised by over thirty civil society organisations. Speakers called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of talks for a diplomatic solution, and a joint statement read by the organisers condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine.
LJUBLJANA - FM Anže Logar announced that Slovenia will provide EUR 1.1 million in humanitarian aid to residents of Ukraine through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Caritas Internationalis, and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob called for changes to Slovenia's energy, defence and foreign policies in view of the current geopolitical situation as he addressed the public to announce the election convention of his Freedom Movement for 19 March, saying he favoured increasing defence budget and removing fence from the border.
LJUBLJANA - The District Court in Krško has appointed an interim four-member management board of energy trader GEN-I with Igor Koprivnikar, now in charge of sales, as chairman. The company has been led by plenipotentiaries since 17 November, when long-serving Robert Golob failed to win another term in what some described as political staffing.
WEDNESDAY, 2 March
LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Slovenia Timur Eyvazov to lodge a formal protest and demand an apology and compensation after the Slovenian consulate in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, was destroyed by a Russian missile.
LJUBLJANA - The second rally in support of Ukraine in two days was held in Ljubljana with senior government officials condemning Russia's aggression and highlighting that Ukraine was fighting not just for itself but for freedom and democracy throughout Europe.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor received Ukrainian Ambassador to Slovenia Mikhaylo Brodovych. The pair expressed concern over the war in Ukraine, and the ambassador outlined to Pahor the current situation in Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion.
LJUBLJANA - Supreme Court President Damijan Florjančič talked of attempts to weaken the judiciary at a high-profile ceremony where he warned of hidden dangers such as the wage policy and budgetary measures. He spoke of the importance of the judiciary being independent to perform its mission.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian courts continued to reduce backlogs last year, even compared to the pre Covid-19 time. The number of unsolved cases rose above 5% in 2020 but the trend was reversed in 2021, a new report showed.
LJUBLJANA - Universities decided to join the general strike in the education system scheduled for 9 March after a list of their demands had been ignored by the Education Ministry for over a month. Much like school and kindergarten teacher, professors at universities are unhappy with the public sector pay system.
THURSDAY, 3 March
GENEVA, Switzerland - Foreign Minister Anže Logar called on the international community to respond with resolve and unity to Russia's increasingly brutal aggression on Ukraine as he addressed an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council on the state of human rights in Ukraine.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU interior ministers, including Slovenia's Aleš Hojs, agreed to trigger for the first time ever the legislation providing Ukrainian refugees with immediate temporary protection. Hojs welcomed a compromise solution that detailed more clearly who would be eligible for the rights under temporary protection status.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and US Ambassador to Slovenia Jamie L. Harpootlian met to exchange views on topical developments in Ukraine. They stressed the role of the international community's great unity on, and unambiguous response to, Russia's military attack on Ukraine.
LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Janez Poklukar announced that preparations started in healthcare for a possible crisis due to the Russian attack on Ukraine, including for emergencies that may occur due to cyber attacks or electricity shortages.
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša appeared before the parliamentary inquiry looking into allegations of unlawful financing of his SDS party ahead of the 2018 election. Janša told the MPs that the SDS had not influenced in any way in the past the operation of broadcaster NTV24 or of Nova Hiša, which runs the web portal.
LJUBLJANA - The government approved the latest Covid-19 relaxation under which face masks will no longer be obligatory in schools and other educational institutions from 7 March. The mask mandate for other indoor public spaces remains in force.
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The Council of the EU appointed Jorg Kristijan Petrovič as Slovenia's new member of the European Court of Auditors. His six-year term will start on 7 May as he succeeds Samo Jereb.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's public debt as percentage of GDP dropped by 4.9 percentage points last year to 74.9%, the first estimate by the Finance Ministry shows.
LJUBLJANA - After two months of seasonal growth, Slovenia's registered unemployment total decreased in February. The Employment Service registered 64,783 people put of a job, 4.5% fewer than in January and 26.4% fewer than in February 2021.
