British monarch pays first state visit to Slovenia

"Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, paid their first state visit to Slovenia on Tuesday at the invitation of Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk.

The 82-year-old monarch and the Duke were welcomed at the Joze Pucnik airport in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana by British ambassador Tim Simmons and several Slovenian officials, Slovenian news agency STA reported.

The royal couple then traveled in a motorcade to the nearby Brdo Castle, to be met by President Tuerk and First Lady Barbara Miklic Tuerk with full state honors.

After the talks, the Queen and her host exchanged state honors and gifts. President Tuerk decorated the Queen with the Order for Exceptional Services of the Republic of Slovenia, while he received the Most Honorable Order of the Bath.

The Queen's first visit to Slovenia is being met with great fanfare in Slovenia, as it is seen as an opportunity to further enhance the good relations between the two nations.

Slovenia has amended its protocol in anticipation of the royal visit, making this its first state visit to date. Previously, the highest level of visit was an official one."

Source: Xinhua

Slovenia: Housing prices continue to rise

"Apartment prices in Slovenia rose by an average of 10% in nominal terms the first half of 2008 compared to the same period last year, according to a report by the Slovenian Surveying and Mapping Authority, which expects prices to go up by another 5% by the end of the year.

A square metre of apartment cost on average of EUR 1,850, but prices range from about EUR 2,800 in Ljubljana and Koper to just over EUR 1,000 in Murska Sobota in the east of the country. The growth in house prices was slower, at about 5%. Prices of commercial property, which plunged last year, seem to have recovered: offices were up 9% on average and bars/restaurants rose 26%."

Source: Fordaq

Bush to attend EU-US summit in Slovenia

"US President George W. Bush will attend an EU-US summit in Slovenia in June as part of a European tour including stops in Germany, Italy, the Vatican, France and Britain, the White House announced Tuesday.

Bush will begin the June 9-16 trip 'by participating in the annual US-European Union summit in Slovenia,' White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters.

Slovenia, the first former communist state to hold the EU's six-month rotating presidency, said Monday that the summit will focus on political and regional issues, global security as well as bilateral partnership.

Perino said Bush was traveling to Europe in part 'to strengthen the trans-Atlantic partnership and to celebrate the enduring friendship between our nations based on shared democratic values,' Perino said.

'He'll also have a chance to visit with some new friends and some old friends,' she said, noting in particular Silvio Berlusconi, who has begun a third stint as Italy's prime minister.

Bush was also likely to press forward with ongoing cooperation on economic, trade and counter-terrorism issues, and to do more work on a multilateral approach to dealing with Iran, Perino added.

The June summit will be Bush's second visit to Slovenia after a 2001 visit where he officially met with then Russian president Vladimir Putin for the first time."

Source: AFP

Harrah's, Slovenian group Hit suspend talks

"Harrah's Entertainment of the United States and Slovenia's Hit Group are suspending talks on construction of a 750-million-euro (1.17-billion-dollar) entertainment park in western Slovenia, the Hit Group said in a statement Wednesday.

'The two companies concluded that they could not find a solution that would meet the interests of both,' said Hit Group, which controls the largest casinos in the tiny European Union state.

It added that 'it was not possible to define a managing structure that would fulfill the interests of the Hit Group for a balanced development of Nova Gorica as a tourist destination and granting, at the same time, (Harrah's) expected influence in the new joint company.'"

Source: Servihoo.com

Ex-Slovenian President Dies at 57

"Former President Janez Drnovsek, who helped lead Slovenia to independence from Yugoslavia and later enthralled many of his countrymen by adopting a New Age lifestyle, died Saturday, his office said. He was 57.

Mild-mannered but resolute, Drnovsek became a political icon in part for working to keep violence at a minimum when Slovenia gained independence in 1991. He later led the country to European Union and NATO membership.

In recent years, as he battled cancer, he made a radical transformation to a holistic lifestyle and wrote several New Age-influenced books. His office said he died overnight at his home but gave no specific cause.

Drnovsek was the Slovenian representative the Yugoslav federation's collective presidency when his region declared its independence. Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic sent tanks to Slovenian borders, triggering a brief war. But Drnovsek used his position to push for negotiations, eventually orchestrating a deal for the peaceful withdrawal of the Yugoslav army and sparing Slovenia from bloodshed that later engulfed Croatia and Bosnia.

Drnovsek was Slovenia's prime minister for a decade before being elected president in 2002. He did not run for a second presidential term in elections late last year and was replaced by Danilo Turk in December."

Source: The Associated Press

Slovenia worried Serbia bomb linked to EU role

"Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel expressed concern Saturday over a bomb blast at a Slovenian-run shopping mall in Serbia, saying he feared it was tied to his country's EU leadership.

'Yesterday there was some bomb explosion in Belgrade in front of Slovenian stores,' Rupel said during a speech to an international security conference in Germany on the issue of the crisis between Serbia and breakaway Kosovo.

'I'm a little worried about that because it may be connected to the role Slovenia's playing at the head of the European Union,' he said.

Slovenia currently holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation EU"

Source: EUbusiness.com

Sarkozy steals Slovenia’s EU limelight

"Less than 17 years since becoming an independent state, Slovenia launched its presidency of the European Union this week – and received a swift lesson in how to have its spotlight stolen.

For three years the little Alpine nation had prepared for the proud day when it would bask in the spotlight as the first country once under communist rule to have the honour of leading the 27-member EU.

But when Tuesday came, so did Nicolas Sarkozy. As the Slovenes applied themselves to the humdrum task of hosting the European Commission at a conference centre outside Ljubljana, the French president was busy dazzling the world’s media at the Elysée palace.

While the Slovenes gave a succinct summary of the EU’s policy agenda between now and June 30, Mr Sarkozy, leapfrogging over them, sketched his vision for France’s EU presidency from July 1 to December 31.

Slovenia, a country of 2m people with centuries of experience of foreign domination – including a brief spell as part of the Napoleonic empire – says its contacts with France have been constructive at all levels. It is just as well.

Slovenia’s diplomatic service is so small that, over the next six months, France will provide representation in more than 100 countries where the Slovenes have no missions.

In similar fashion, Slovenia last year helped out Portugal, its predecessor as EU president, by representing it in Macedonia and Montenegro. But Slovenia’s reliance on France is on a different scale altogether."

Source: FT.com