STA, 28 February 2020 - The security apparatus of the state will be a major priority for the incoming centre-right coalition, according to the coalition agreement, which suggests asylum procedures will be tightened, the police force strengthened, and army conscription reintroduced.

The agreement makes "efficient protection of the state border" the no. 1 priority in the chapter on security and defence. Asylum procedures will be "consistently respected" and "mandatory integration of foreigners" instituted.

The priorities are broadly in line with the agenda of the Democrats (SDS), who have long advocated a tougher stance on migrations and called for stronger border security.

The police force gets several mentions, with the coalition pledging to "sort out the situation in the police" and "sort out the status, staffing and operation of the police". Consideration will also be given to the re-establishment of a secondary school for police officers, which was shut down in 1999 and transformed into a police academy.

While other details have not been disclosed, some media have speculated that a thorough overhaul of the police may be in the works. The speculation is borne out by a point from the SDS's election platform from 2018, which states that "during the transition from the former totalitarian regime to a democratic society, the criminal police has not been entirely purged by ideologically blinded officers".

One major priority that has captured the imagination of the public is the idea to gradually phase in conscription military service, which was abolished in 2003 and replaced with a professional force; the idea was floated by the SDS in January and was immediately endorsed by the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), one of the partners in the emerging four-way coalition.

The army has for years had problems enlisting enough soldiers and some see conscription as a good way of increasing the potential pool of professional soldiers.

Critics say introducing conscription will not improve the performance of the military until there is sufficient funding since the conscription system is potentially even costlier than a professional military. Some have also questioned whether conscription makes sense from a military perspective given the advanced technological requirements of modern warfare.

The incoming government also plans to develop cyber-defence capabilities and beef up measures to protect critical infrastructure.

This is the first in a series on the new government’s plans, to be posted in the next few days, with the whole set here

STA, 20 January 2020 - Slovenia's defence budget will finally reach 2% of GDP by 2035, according to a white paper released online by the Defence Ministry on Monday. The document also shows plans for the Armed Forces to gradually grow by more than 1,500 soldiers, reaching 8,000 by 2035.

The long-awaited document shows that the military reserve force is to more than double, going from 700 today to 1,500 in 2035.

The white paper says that unless the measures foreseen attract additional force members, Slovenia will have to "reconsider the concept of the state's defence system, the scope and structure of the Armed Forces, and consider the introduction of other elements of military duty". Thus the country may think about reintroducing obligatory military duty in the future.

In terms of finance, the 2% spending foreseen in the white paper means that Slovenia would finally meet the defence funding target set by NATO in 2035. Moreover, 20% of the funds is to be spent on investments.

This year, defence spending will reach EUR 545.85 million, some EUR 40 million more than in 2019. Another increase is planned for 2021, when the defence budget is to reach EUR 561 million.

When the 2020 and 2021 budgets were discussed in parliament, Major General Alenka Ermenc, the chief of the general staff, said that additional funds planned for this year and the next will not allow a development breakthrough for the Armed Forces.

In the white paper, the ministry also wants to introduce territorial organisation of the Armed Forces and ensure that they are involved in local environments.

Moreover, a reorganisation of the military reserve force is planned. Under the plan, a part of the reserve could also be deployed on missions abroad, while the rest would be active exclusively in Slovenia and could be activated as part of the national system of protection and rescue.

The white paper also sees Slovenia becoming more resistant to cyber threats and its civil defence system strengthened.

This regards uninterrupted operation of authorities and branches of power at all levels, uninterrupted operation of public infrastructure and services, and uninterrupted energy supply, as well as ICT support and other sources vital for the functioning of the state and the security of its people.

Moreover, Slovenia is to upgrade its crisis response system, boost the use of ICT technologies in defence and create a comprehensive system for the management of cyber security in defence.

In terms of equipment, the white paper underlines the importance of cost optimisation and purchase transparency, and the possibility of joint purchasing with other countries. The paper also does not exclude the possibility of purchasing used equipment and weapons.

The document, which will not be binding, was drafted under the leadership of former Defence Ministry State Secretary Klemen Grošelj.

He left the ministry in July 2019 after being elected MEP. It took another six months before the document was made available online. Tomorrow, the white paper will be presented at the National Council.

STA, 9 January 2020 - The six Slovenian troops who have served in the international operation Inherent Resolve in Erbil in northern Iraq have been safely brought home following a decision to relocate them in the wake of Iran's attacks on Iraqi bases in the night to Wednesday. However, Slovenia is not ending its presence in Iraq.

Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and Defence Minister Karl Erjavec assured the public that the decision to bring the current rotation home early did not mean Slovenia was withdrawing from Iraq.

Speaking after briefing MPs on the latest developments at a joint session of the parliamentary committees on defence and foreign policy, Erjavec said a new rotation would be deployed by 1 February at the latest.

He said the six soldiers deployed at Erbil base to train Iraqi security forces so far were unable to perform their duties anyway at the moment because of the security situation.

He said that a new rotation was ready to start work "as soon as training resumes, if necessary even before 1 February".

This was echoed by Šarec, who told reporters that Slovenia was staying on all international missions it was participating in.

The missions are what enhances the international reputation of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) and Slovenia. "If we are a trustworthy partner, we must act in such a way that our partners can count on us." Šarec said.

The Slovenian soldiers were flown from Erbil to Ankara airport in the afternoon before being flown to Slovenia aboard the government jet.

Slovenia decided to evacuate the troops after Iran attacked Erbil airport in the night to Wednesday in retaliation for the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

Slovenia being part of a German-led group in Erbil, the soldiers were originally supposed to withdraw with German logistic support, but Germany decided against withdrawing on Wednesday evening following US President Donald Trump's statement indicating a de-escalation in the US-Iran crisis.

The developments were discussed by the parliamentary committees on defence and foreign policy at a joint session behind closed doors for three hours.

No special resolutions were adopted but the committees voted down an initiative by the opposition Left to call on the government to end Slovenia's deployment in the operation Inherent Resolve.

Matjaž Nemec, the chair of the Foreign Policy Committee, told reporters after the session that the important message of the session was that Slovenia remained part of the anti-Daesh coalition.

"Slovenia participates in the mission as part of the global anti-Daesh coalition. We are implementing all tasks in accordance with our presence," said Erjavec, adding that Slovenia had coordinated its activities with other allied and partner countries participating in the operation Inherent Resolve.

STA, 8 January 2020 - The attack by Iran on the military airbase in Erbil, Iraq, was one of the worst incidents involving Slovenian troops deployed abroad. They often face dangerous conditions but have luckily managed to avoid major injury. Below is a timeline of major security incidents involving Slovenian troops.

July 2005 - A hummer carrying four Slovenians participating in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan hit on an explosive device. While the vehicle was heavily damaged, the troops did not sustain serious injury, only some minor hearing problems experienced by one of them.

November 2009 - A Slovenian soldier committed suicide while serving in the KFOR mission in Kosovo. She is the only Slovenian soldier to die during deployment.

30 May 2011 - A civilian member of the Slovenian contingent in Afghanistan suffered a minor injury in a bomb attack that demolished a large part of Herat headquarters of the provincial reconstruction team. She sustained a superficial injury and was spared worse because she was inside an office, behind closed doors, when the bomb went off.

November 2013 - Six Slovenians deployed to Afghanistan came under fire by the Taliban while out on patrol with an Afghan unit they had been training. None of the Slovenians were injured.

22 January 2014 - A Slovenian soldier was shot in the leg in hostile fire while training an Afghan unit.

21 November 2014 - A soldier serving in Kosovo suffered a head injury caused by a smoke flare during crowd control training. He was taken to Slovenia for treatment.

April 2015 - Slovenian soldiers participating in the peacekeeping UNIFIL mission in Lebanon were ambushed by an unknown Arab militia, allegedly armed. The militants stole a computer allegedly carrying sensitive military data from their armoured vehicle.

February 2017 - Slovenian UNIFIL troops were ambushed, their convoy of light armoured personnel vehicles stopped in a roadblock and damaged by blunt objects.

4 August 2018 - A Slovenian UNIFIL patrol was attacked twice in the same day. First they were surrounded by an armed group that damaged their vehicle. They got away only to be attacked by a larger armed group that doused the vehicle in petrol and set it on fire. The troops fired two warning shots and returned to base unharmed.

8 January 2020 - Erbil airbase, were six Slovenians were deployed as part of the Inherent Resolve mission to Iraq, came under attack by Iran. Nobody was injured as the troops escaped to the bunkers following a detonation near the base. Slovenia decided to evacuate the six troops from Iraq.

The is a developing situation, and updates will be posted as they arrive.

Updated at 12:10, 09/01/2019

STA, 8 January 2020 - The six Slovenian soldiers stationed in Erbil in northern Iraq in the German-led international operation Inherent Resolve will be evacuated after Iran attacked Erbil airport in retaliation for the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, the Defence Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The evacuation will be conducted in cooperation with the German partners, the ministry said.

The supreme commander of the armed forces, President Borut Pahor, and Prime Minister Marjan Šarec have been informed of the decision.

Pahor, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec and Major General Alenka Ermenc, the chief of the general staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, talked to the Slovenian troops in Erbil via video call early this morning.

They said they were all well and they had been in the base's shelter during the attack on the airport in the proximity of the Stefan base, the ministry said.

The prime minister's office said in a press release that Šarec had given an order "for all necessary measures to be taken to protect our forces, including moving, evacuating them from the area".

The office added the evacuation would be conducted simultaneously with the evacuation of soldiers from other partner countries that are participating in the operation in northern Iraq.

Foreign Minister Miro Cerar welcomed the decision to evacuate the soldiers on Twitter and again called for easing of tensions. "It is important that the soldiers are not injured and are feeling fine," he wrote.

The minister also announced he would attend on Friday an extraordinary meeting of EU's foreign ministers where they would determine further action.

Iran fired multiple missiles at two US military targets in Iraq on Tuesday night, the al-Asad airbase north of Baghdad and Erbil in the north of the country, where Slovenian soldiers were stationed.

STA, 7 January 2020 - Slovenian soldiers deployed in the German-led international operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq will stay in the Erbil base, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday after Germany and several other countries decided to temporarily pull out their troops from Baghdad following the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

All of Slovenian soldiers are currently in Erbil in northern Iraq, the ministry noted, adding it was constantly monitoring the situation and would make decisions based on further developments.

"The Slovenian Armed Forces troops in Iraq are safe," Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said. "We estimate that the situation in this part of Iraq is fairly stable, we are keeping an eye on the situation."

Due to increased risk, several measures have been adopted at Erbil base. Soldiers are required to wear flak jackets and helmets, and they are not allowed outside base. Their primary assignment - the training of Iraqi troops - has been put on hold as well, he said.

Slovenia can pull out its troops "within hours" if necessary, with several scenarios prepared in the event a political decision is reached to withdraw the soldiers. Slovenia has an agreement on logistic support with the German Defence Ministry, another possibility would be using the government jet, he said.

Erjavec was also quick to point out that Slovenian soldiers were not a part of the NATO operation but the global coalition against Islamic State, which is supported by several United Nations resolutions.

"It would be very bad if each country decided individually what to do. After all, we embarked on this mission together and should leave it together if such a decision is made." Based on the current security situation in north Iraq, pulling out troops now would be premature, he said.

After the US air strike in which Soleimani was killed on Friday, the situation in the country deteriorated.

Germany announced today it would transfer its 30 soldiers stationed in Baghdad and Taji to Jordan and Kuwait after the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution calling on the government to expel foreign troops from the country.

Croatia also said that 14 of its troops had been transferred to Kuwait and seven returned home after their concluded their mission.

In line with an agreement with NATO, Italian forces also pulled out last night, Italian newspaper La Stampa reports today. Italy had some 50 Carabinieri stationed at the US army base in Baghdad.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would not comment on the possibility of expulsion of foreign troops from the country on Monday. He said NATO's mission benefited both the allies and Iraq, and that NATO had been invited to the country by Iraqi authorities.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor said on Monday he was being briefed on the state of the six-strong Slovenian contingent in Iraq and that the situation was being monitored. "In the event the decision is taken that their status in Iraq has to change, the Slovenian state will immediately respond," he said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would not comment on the possibility of expulsion of foreign troops from the country on Monday. He said NATO's mission benefited both the allies and Iraq, and that NATO had been invited to the country by Iraqi authorities.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor said on Monday he was being briefed on the state of the six-strong Slovenian contingent in Iraq and that the situation was being monitored. "In the event the decision is taken that their status in Iraq has to change, the Slovenian state will immediately respond," he said.

STA, 5 December 2019 - The opposition Democrats (aka Slovenian Democratic Party - Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS) issued a demand Thursday that the government widen deployment of the army on the border under provisions of the defence act that may be triggered in the event of mass migrations.

Police figures show 11,786 cases of illegal border crossing in January-September, up over 70 from a year ago, which the SDS says demands that the government take measures to "provide for the security of the residents of Slovenia".

The SDS motion will be debated at a joint session of the parliamentary defence and home policy committees on 12 December.

The army received limited police powers under amendments to the defence act passed in October 2015, at the peak of the migration crisis when thousands of migrants crossed into Slovenia each day.

The provisions may be activated for a period of up to three months, a decision which requires an absolute majority in parliament to be initiated.

Soldiers are already assisting the police in patrolling the border and the SDS motion is unlikely to gain traction considering the government's official position that the police are doing a good job protecting the border.

STA, 16 June 2019 - The National Assembly will discuss the opposition-sponsored motion to oust Defence Minister Karl Erjavec as it convenes two sessions this week. The opposition Democrats (SDS) believe that Erjavec abused the military intelligence service and unlawfully dismissed the army's force commander. Erjavec appears to enjoy sufficient support to stay on.

Pressure on Erjavec has been rising because a parliamentary commission investigating Erjavec's alleged abuse of the intelligence service has interviewed the dismissed Force Commander Miha Škerbinc last week.

Škerbinc's appearance before the Commission for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services behind closed doors on Thursday allegedly showed that Erjavec had been lying about the reasons for Škerbinc's dismissal.

Commission chair Žan Mahnič, an MP for the SDS, said that Škerbinc had provided a report by Chief of the General Staff Alenka Ermenc showing that Škerbinc had not broken the chain of command as regards late-night shooting at training grounds near Postojna.

Commenting on a report by Ermenc saying that the military had been following closely the ministry's order about activities on the training ground, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said on Friday that Erjavec will have to explain what happened.

The prime minister however also said that the parliamentary commission was a political body. "It has an investigative role but there is a thin line between having powers and abusing powers," the prime minister said, echoing Erjavec's position that the commission had abused its powers for political purposes.

Moreover, Mahnič said that Škerbinc told the commission he had not spread rumours about Ermenc's ill health, which was another reason cited by Erjavec after the dismissal.

Škerbinc said that he had 200 witnesses to prove that he did not spread lies, according to Mahnič, who said that the former force commander told the commission that he condemned the rumours about her poor health that had been going around in an address.

Before debating the motion to oust Erjavec in a dedicated session on Friday, the National Assembly will convene a regular session starting on Monday with questions time for the government.

Other business: Apppointments, energy infrastructure, private schools, bear & wolf culls, tobacco sales

On Tuesday, the MPs will take a vote on the reappointment of Information Commissioner Mojca Prelesnik, the appointment of Rok Čeferin to the Constitutional Court and the appointment of Peter Golob as Electoral Commission chairman.

Moreover, the MPs will conduct the second reading of changes to the energy act transposing two relevant EU regulations and changing compensation procedures for the construction of public energy infrastructure, which was ordered by the Constitutional Court.

The most heated debates can be expected on Wednesday, when parliament is scheduled to launch the first reading of legislative changes drafted to implement a decision by the Constitutional Court ordering the National Assembly to provide equal funding to private primary schools.

Private schools, as well as the opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) believe the changes do not transpose the decision of the Constitutional Court.

On Thursday, MPs are expected to pass a emergency bill ordering the culling of bears and wolves in the wake of attacks on farm animals and increasingly frequent sightings after an environmental NGO successfully challenged the government's decree with the same cull order in Administrative Court.

The parliament is also expected to fast-track changes to the tobacco act postponing by three years the introduction of uniform packaging for tobacco products, initially planned for January 2020. The proponents of the changes want to conduct studies whether the measure is actually effective.

STA, 13 June 2019 - The deputy chair of the Commission for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services Žan Mahnič has accused Defence Minister Karl Erjavec of having fabricated the reasons for the April dismissal of Miha Škerbinc as the force commander of the Slovenian Armed Forces.

Mahnič said the testimony given today for the parliamentary commission by Škerbinc had shown that Škerbinc had not spoken ill of the health of Maj-Gen Alenka Ermenc, the chief of the general staff, as well as that Škerbinc had not been responsible for late-night shooting at the Poček training grounds.

According to the MP for the opposition Democrats (SDS), Škerbinc attributed the reports about his comments on Ermenc to "informal informants" within the army who also spread false rumours.

One such rumour led to media reports that Ermenc would be replaced, which is something Škerbinc said he strongly opposed although he might have been misunderstood in the process, Mahnič told the press.

While Minister Erjavec is facing an ouster motion for allegedly abusing the Defence Ministry's Intelligence and Security Service (OVS) to gather information on Škerbinc, Mahnič said Škerbinc said today nobody from OVS had actually asked him, in what had been unusual sets of questions, whether he had in fact spoken inappropriately of Ermenc's health.

As for the Poček night shooting drills that upset the local community, Mahnič said Škerbinc had provided documents showing the shooting had been conducted in line with the guidelines provided by the government and Defence Ministry.

According to Mahnič, the documents show Erjavec had lied about Škerbinc's responsibility and about the shooting not being planned.

The commission decided today it would also interview Ermenc, the OVS members involved in the Škerbinc inquiries as well as OVS director Dejan Matijevič, Mahnič announced.

Erjavec has been rejecting claims that the night shooting had been in line with government-approved plans, saying the army had failed to make adjustments after a plan of exercises approved by the government in January.

The minister also dismissed Škerbinc's referencing of the documents put forward today - these in fact make up a report by Ermenc on the developments - arguing they do not go into the details of the training conducted and of all the documents issued in relation to it.

Ermenc's report, which has also been obtained by the media, however states that all agreements and guidelines adopted in relation to training at Poček had been honoured by the army.

STA, 7 June 2019 - The international exercise Swift Response 2019 got under way in Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania on Friday, 7 June, in which allied units from France, Italy, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and US will drill airborne operations and ground support activities. The exercise is running until 22 June.

According to information posted on the website of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF), the activities in Slovenia will be centred on the Cerklje ob Krki airbase, which will provide logistic support.

The activities will include take-offs and landings of allied transport aircraft and accommodation, consolidation and movements of allied units to a mock hotspot to re-establish peace in cooperation with partner forces.

The exercise is an opportunity for joint training that allows for command and control of complex operations in various locations. The units are taking part in a bid to set up a multinational force wherever or whenever needed.

Participation in multinational exercises boosts readiness, enhances professional relationships and improves general coordination with the allies and partners in a crisis, the SAF said.

More details on the exercises can be found here