Latest News from Slovenia

Slovenia Takes Over EU Presidency Amid Wave of Criticism

Slovenia formally took over the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union on Thursday, announcing its focus as tackling the coronavirus pandemic and recovery, enhancing resilience to future crises, and EU enlargement.

Rebuilding Tourism For the Future: Project Tourism 4.0

Due to pandemic and severe travel restrictions, travel and tourism are among the most affected sectors. With a massive fail of income in 2020, the tourism industry now faces the worst crisis in history, which is all the more true for Slovenia, marking a 74% drop in foreign tourist arrivals compared to 2019, ranking our country among the most affected ones in the EU.

Pogačar wins stage five of Tour de France

Rennes – Slovenian cycling star Tadej Pogačar won stage five of the Tour de France race on Wednesday. Last year’s winner of the Tour was 19 seconds faster than Stefan Küng from Switzerland in the 27.2-kilometre individual time trial between Changé and Laval Espace Mayenne. Slovenia’s other star, Primož Roglič, was 44 seconds behind, finishing seventh.

MFRR report finds media in Slovenia systematically undermined by govt

Ljubljana – The Slovenian government is overseeing an increasingly systematic effort to undermine critical media, a coalition of press freedom organisations and journalism groups warned in a report released on Wednesday after conducting a virtual fact-finding mission to Slovenia in late May and early June.

Week in Review: No Quick Fixes

Shared Interests

European Union flags. Photo: EPA-EFE

In an exclusive opinion piece for Balkan Insight, the foreign ministers of the EU's 'Trio Presidency' - Germany, Portugal and Slovenia - reaffirm the EU's commitment to enlargement and opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.

Slovenian Government ‘Eroding Media Freedom’, Report Warns

A new report published on Wednesday says that Slovenia, which takes over the rotating presidency of the EU on Friday, "has seen press freedom deteriorate ever since [Prime Minister Janez] Jansa returned to power in March 2020".

Supporting Business Leaders in Real-Estate Decisions

For companies in Slovenia, making informed decisions about their office space is a difficult task. Typically, there are no estate managers in Slovenian companies, and the job normally goes to someone ill-equipped with little relevant experience, who struggles to make the right decision.

Positive examples of Slovenian-Chinese business cooperation discussed

Ljubljana – The Slovenian-Chinese Business Council hosted on Tuesday a debate on opportunities of international companies in Slovenia in Chinese or mixed ownership and the experience of their Slovenian managers, who said that the experience was a positive one despite certain challenges.

Slovenian army to test, train on Pipistrel aircraft

Ajdovščina – Slovenian military pilots are to train on and test aircraft produced by the light aircraft maker Pipistrel under an agreement signed by the Defence Ministry and the Ajdovščina-based company. A special partnership has also been agreed on that includes efforts to obtain EU and NATO funds for development projects.

Fit for 55 package in focus as Slovenia’s EU presidency starts

Brussels – Slovenia presented to reporters in Brussels on Tuesday the priorities of its presidency of the Council of the EU with the Fit for 55 legislative package attracting the most interest. Slovenian representatives also said Slovenia would strive for breakthrough in terms of EU accession progress of North Macedonia and Albania.

35 coronavirus cases confirmed on Monday

Ljubljana – Out of 1,643 PCR tests performed in Slovenia on Monday, 35 returned positive for the positivity rate of 2.1%. There were no Covid-19 deaths reported for the third day in a row, show fresh official data. The 7-day average of new cases continued to fall and hospitalisations are also down.

In addition, 27,435 rapid antigen tests were also performed yesterday.

Mastercard survey shows increased use of payment cards

Ljubljana – Payment cards are becoming increasingly popular in Slovenia, and debit cards remain the most popular payment method since 2018. Meanwhile, despite seeing an increase, mobile payments have not yet reached the popularity of cards, according to the latest Masterindex survey commissioned by Mastercard.

EBRD upgrades Slovenia’s GDP forecast to 5% growth this year

London – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has upgraded by 1.5 percentage points its GDP growth forecast for Slovenia in 2021 to 5%. The institution expects that Slovenia’s economy will expand by a further 4% next year.

Brussels Airlines returns to Ljubljana airport

Brnik – Air carriers keep returning to Ljubljana airport as, after more than a one-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a Brussels Airlines aircraft touched down at Brnik again on Monday. The flag carrier of Belgium currently operates three flights a week to and from Ljubljana, and the number of flights is expected to increase.

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