Weekly review of events involving Slovenia, 28 March - 3 April

FRIDAY, 28 March

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar hosted a meeting of his counterparts from the Brdo Process initiative that focused on security and migrations.He raised the issue of a new security reality in the context of a changed security situation in Ukraine, the Balkans and Middle East, and stressed the importance of cross-border information exchange both at the political level and between police forces.

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed amendments to the Fiscal Rule Act that loosen the constitutionally-imposed debt brake following last year's overhaul of fiscal rules at EU level. General government revenue and expenditure will henceforth be considered balanced in the medium term if debt remains below 60% of GDP, deficit is below 3% of GDP, and both are below this limit over the medium term.

LJUBLJANA - An effort by the government to introduce preferential voting in general elections was defeated in the National Assembly. Only 56 MPs voted in favour, four short of the required two-thirds majority. The government had been counting on the opposition NSi, whose proposal this was in the first place, but the party changed its mind.

LJUBLJANA - The nomination of Marko Bošnjak, the president of the European Court of Human Rights, for a post at the EU Court of Justice was approved in a secret ballot in the National Assembly. The MPs also reappointed two EU General Court judges, Maja Brkan and Damjan Kukovec.

PLANICA - More than 50 Slovenian industrial companies and the country's gas transmission system operator Plinovodi signed an agreement to set up a hydrogen consortium dubbed SloH2U as a step toward accelerating the deployment of hydrogen in industry. Plinovodi said that the signatories accounted for two thirds of industrial users in terms of gas consumption.

PLANICA - Slovenia's Domen Prevc won the first FIS World Cup Ski Jumping event in Planica on the final weekend of competition this season. The victory also means that he secured the small Crystal Globe for ski flying. His teammate Anže Lanišek was second and Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan was third.

SATURDAY, 29 March

PLANICA - Austria won the men's team competition at the ski flying World Cup meet on the Planica hill in Slovenia. Germany came second, while Slovenia finished third in the rainy competition. While the home team were the main favourites after the double victory in the individual competition, they delivered sub-par performances in the first round.

SUNDAY, 30 March

PLANICA - Slovenia's ski jumping aces Domen Prevc and Anže Lanišek delighted the home crowd at the season's final FIS World Cup Ski Jumping event. Prevc, the best ski flyer of the season, set a new world record, touching down at 254.5 metres, while Lanišek won the event, having earned more points for execution than his teammate.

BARCELONA, Spain - Slovenian cyclist Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) won the seven-day Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. He topped the general classification after a solo breakaway in the final stage for his 90th career stage win and the 23rd victory at a multi-day race.

BRNIK - KLM Royal Dutch Airlines launched daily flights between Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport and Amsterdam's Schiphol as the summer schedule kicked in. KLM hopes the route will be successful and could be extended beyond the summer schedule.

MONDAY, 31 March

ASTANA, Kazakhstan - President Nataša Pirc Musar and her Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev adopted a joint statement on cooperation between Slovenia and Kazakhstan. Providing an important framework for strengthening bilateral relations, agreements were also signed in the fields of tourism, education, science, and innovation.

BUCHA, Ukraine - National Assembly President Urška Klakočar Zupančič visited Ukraine on Monday to attend an event marking the third anniversary of the liberation of Bucha and take part in a summit of parliamentary speakers. She stressed that the Bucha massacre should not be forgotten.

LJUBLJANA - The National Bureau of Investigation announced it had filed criminal complaints against three persons and one company concerning alleged abuse of office or trust in commercial activities, and against another person for alleged document forgery, all in connection with the December 2023 purchase of an ill-fated courts complex by the Justice Ministry. None of those indicted are senior current or former officials.

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democratic Party (SDS) collected over 40,000 signatures to call a referendum on special pension bonuses for artists, and submitted them to parliament. Culture Minister Asta Vrečko commented by saying that the referendum request was a disgrace even for the SDS, as the party "dared to go this low in degrading the work of artists"

LJUBLJANA - After announcing public housing as one of its focus areas until the end of its term in mid-2026, the government unveiled legislation to build 20,000 public rental flats over ten years, backed by EUR 100 million annually and reforms to streamline tenant allocation and maintenance. Feedback will be solicited before the bills are tabled in parliament.

LJUBLJANA - The remains of 3,450 victims of post-WWII summary killings at Macesnova Gorica were transported from a temporary storage in Kočevje to a new provisional place at a state ossuary in Škofja Loka. The government commission for concealed mass graves criticised the defence minister's arbitrary decision, saying the remains should not have been moved until a permanent home is found for them.

TUESDAY, 1 April

ASTANA, Kazakhstan - A Slovenia-Kazakhstan business forum was held as part of President Nataša Pirc Musar's official visit to Kazakhstan. A total of 26 Slovenian companies took part. Pirc Musar said that "Kazakhstan is not only Slovenia's largest trade partner in Central Asia but also a strategic bridge between Europe and Asia".

LJUBLJANA - The government decided to deploy an expert to Myanmar to assess the situation and help with coordination after a disastrous earthquake that hit the country. The expert will be deployed for 2-3 weeks with the possibility of an extension or rotation of multiple experts.

ZREČE - Tool maker Unior, which has been facing financial problems for years, announced it it was is examining options for a capital injection that would be used for the optimisation of production processes, automation, and additional investments in its core business.

WEDNESDAY, 2 April

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a reform Health Services Act, a cornerstone of the government's health reform efforts, which will end the entrenched practice of doctors working in both the public and private sectors that the government sees as one of the main causes of the current woes in public healthcare. Doctors decried the legislation as damaging and announced they will mount a Constitutional Court challenge.

LJUBLJANA - Social partners signed an agreement determining how the keystone act governing pensions will change, a deal that Prime Minister Robert Golob described as a balanced solution. The retirement age will gradually rise by two years until 2035, the way pensions are calculated and indexed will be changed, while the contribution rates paid by employers and employees remain unchanged.

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia condemned deliberate attacks on humanitarian workers at a UN Security Council session dedicated to implementing the provisions of last year's resolution on the protection of humanitarian personnel. Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Žbogar said that every country should adopt national legislation that appropriately sanctions the perpetrators of violence.

LJUBLJANA - More than 50 Slovenian musicians signed a petition initiated by a pro-Palestinian group that calls for Israel to be banned from this year's Eurovision Song Contest. They call on the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija to demand that Israel be banned, and to withdraw from Eurovision if this does not happen.

THURSDAY, 3 April

LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Matjaž Han stressed the need to take decisions in a measured way and to have a united response at EU level as he commented on the latest round of American tariffs. He supports negotiations with the US and thinks taking counter-measures too quickly could hurt the European economy.

LJUBLJANA - Major Slovenian business associations expressed fear about new US tariffs, labelling them as a major risk to the global economy even though they do not expect to hit Slovenian exports that much. The GZS said there is a risk of Chinese imports now flooding Europe, while the OZS expects inflation to tick up. Both expect the EU will show restraint with retaliatory tariffs.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia intends to participate in Ukraine peace talks, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said as she arrived for a meeting of the NATO foreign ministers. However, under the current circumstances Slovenian military presence in Ukraine is not possible.

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia expressed concern over Hungary's decision to leave the International Criminal Court. The Foreign Ministry said Slovenia was a staunch supporter of the ICC and considers the Rome Statute as a central pillar in the fight against impunity.

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a new higher education bill which overhauls the system of financing and raises public funding to 1.5% of GDP for higher education and 1% of GDP for study activities. The bill also changes the way concessions are granted and upends the current system of part-time studies.