All News on Social Issues in Slovenia
European Commission Presses Ahead with Four Criminal Cases Against Bulgaria
In a move underscoring its commitment to upholding European Union regulations, the European Commission has intensified its scrutiny of Bulgaria, pressing the nation on various fronts ranging from counterterrorism measures to environmental protection, BTA reported.
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Tensions over solutions for posted workers
Changes entailing increased costs for employers when posting employees abroad remain a cause of tensions in Slovenia. The Finance Ministry has still not delivered on the promise to come up with solutions to mitigate the impact of the legislation, which kicks in in 2024. Criticism has also come from diplomatic circles, where salaries will be impacted too.
Inflation slows but food prices not tamed yet
Slovenia's annual inflation rate slowed to 6.1% in July, 0.8 percentage points lower than the month before, but data from the Statistics Office shows rising food prices remain a problem.
Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 11.1% in a year, contributing 2 percentage points to the headline inflation rate, data released on 31 July shows.
Social dialogue suspended as employers want a say
Employer organisations have suspended their participation on the Economic and Social Council saying their opinions on major reform proposals are being ignored as ever greater burden is placed on the corporate sector.
Incentives instead of higher retirement age in pension reform blueprint
Slovenia does not intend to increase the retirement age to make the pension system more sustainable, instead it plans to offer incentives so that people keep working longer, but higher contributions and a new tax are also on the table, according to a Labour Ministry blueprint for pension reform released on 11 July.
Survey: Slovenians among biggest NATO sceptics
The annual NATO public opinion survey among member states regarding various aspects of membership in the alliance has shown Slovenia persistently ranking among the countries whose people express the most scepticism towards NATO membership and its policies.
Croatia, Italy and Slovenia agree closer cooperation in Adriatic
The foreign ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Italy signed a declaration in the Italian city of Ancona on 10 July committing to enhancing cooperation in the management and protection of the North Adriatic, including with a view to preventing migrant boat tragedies.
Civil protection official wins European Citizen’s Prize for helping Ukrainian refugees
Sandi Curk, a prominent Slovenian civil protection official who played a major role in helping Ukrainian refugees in Slovenia, is among this year's 38 recipients of the European Citizen's Prize.
Council of Europe: Turkey’s Prison Population Rises Beyond 300,000
Turkish soldiers stand guard in front of the Silivri Prison in Istanbul, where many journalists and political prisoners are held. Photo: EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU
Slovenia’s fertility rate drops further
Slovenia's fertility rate declined to 1.55 last year from 1.64 the year before as under 18,000 children were born, 7% less than in 2021, the latest Statistics Office data show.
The 17,627 births, or 8.4 per 1,000 population, is the fifth lowest number in the 101 years since population statistics have been available.
Number of illegal crossings of border up three-fold
The Slovenian police processed a total of 15,456 cases of illegal crossings of the border in the first five months of the year, which is three times more than in the same period in 2022. The top countries of origin of the illegal migrants were Afghanistan, Morocco and Russia.
In Montenegro, Memories of Pain and Generosity on the Refugee Road
Dejan, then 20, had been nearing the end of his military service in Kosovo, then a southern province of Serbia, when NATO launched air strikes to halt a brutal Serbian counter-insurgency war. At the time, Serbia and Montenegro were all that was left of Yugoslavia, still joined together after the other four republics - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia - had seceded.
Eurostat: Nearly 1/3 of Bulgarians are at Risk of Poverty
In 2022, 95.3 million people in the European Union were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, i.e. they lived in households with serious financial difficulties. This is according to data from the Eurostat statistical office. They remain almost unchanged from the previous year, when 95.4 million people lived at risk of poverty.
German companies cool on Slovenia
The interest of German companies in Slovenia as an investment destination is still high, but there is a downward trend, shows a survey conducted by the Slovenian-German Chamber of Commerce which identified the tax wedge and shortage of workers as the main challenges.
Slovenia ageing rapidly
A Eurostat projection indicates that the age structure of Slovenia's population will change significantly in the coming decades as population ageing accelerates. In 2100, the elderly are expected to account for a third of the country's population, which is forecast to decline by some 7% in the next eight decades.