Overview of the week's top stories since 29 August 2003

Relations with Bosnia remain good

Drnovšek's office said that that the fact that all three members of the Bosnian presidency came is evidence of Slovenia's good relations with all of BiH. The visit served to highlight those good relations, even as Slovenia's relations with Croatia remain at their lowest point in recent memory.

On Tuesday, the Bosnian dignitaries, together with President Drnovšek, attended a Slovene–Bosnian Business Conference, organized by the Slovene Chamber of Commerce. Representatives of more than 70 Bosnian and as many Slovene companies participated in the conference, intended to highlight trade opportunities between the two countries.

Slovene officials reiterated their support for Bosnia’s integration into European and international institutions, as well as for Bosnia’s stability itself. The Bosnian officials, however, pointed out that the problem of the return of Bosnian clients’ funds from the Yugoslav-era Ljubljanska Banka – a problem shared by the other former Yugoslav republics as well – remains open. Also, they pointed out that there is a huge trade imbalance between BiH and Slovenia. Nevertheless, all three members of the Bosnian presidency agreed that relations between their country and Slovenia are excellent.

Officially Ljubljana maintains that since the problem with Ljubljanska Banka also affects former clients in Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, the issue must be resolved on the multilateral level, together with other issues surrounding the dissolution of the former Yugoslav federation.

Trade between the two countries in 2002 was 561 million euro, however, Slovenia exported 492 million while importing only 69 million from BiH. The biggest Slovene exporters to BiH include Fructal, Gorenje, Pivovarna Laško, Krka and Ljubljanske mlekarne. Major importers include Koto, Vipap, Alpina and Peko. The high rate of exports made BiH the sixth largest export market for Slovene goods last year. Slovenia is also one of the largest investors in BiH.

However, when Slovenia enters the European Union next year, complications will ensue. The free trade agreement Slovene and Bosnian companies enjoy will no longer be in force, and BiH has no such agreement with the EU. Therefore, Slovene goods in BiH will become more expensive, while Bosnian goods will have to meet stricter criteria for import to Slovenia.

Ambassador returns to Zagreb

On Friday, Slovene ambassador Peter Bekeš returned to Zagreb. Bekeš was recalled to Ljubljana on 31 August in response to comments made by Croatian foreign minister Toni Picula relating to Croatia’s intention to declare an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Adriatic.

The Croatian and Slovene sides are expected to sit down and discuss the EEZ issue next Tuesday in Ljubljana. Aside from governmental negotiating teams, legal and environmental experts as well as representatives of Slovene and Croatian fishermen are also expected to take part.

The Slovene Foreign Ministry pointed out that Bekeš’s return is a sign of Slovenia’s good faith and commitment to constructive resolution of the issue. The Ministry added that it expects a similar approach from Zagreb.

Croatia announced the EEZ plan on 1 August. The plan would split the Adriatic down the middle between Croatia and Italy, cutting Slovenia off from international waters. Should the plan go forward, Slovenia would find itself nearly 500 km from international waters. Slovene vessels would still have navigation rights, and aircraft would still have over flight rights, but fishermen could face quotas, licensing fees and other restrictions.

Koper mayor jailed on corruption charges

Among the charges against Popovič are embezzlement and money laundering while he was president of Sport Line Koper. He is also faced with corruption charges relating to several business ventures, the “Rumeno Noč” festival headed up by Vučić and various public works projects.

New weekly magazines to appear

According to Finance, a new weekly magazine is in the works, which hopes to bridge the gap between news-weeklies and tabloids. Dejan Steinbuch, editor in chief of Demokracije, is leading the project, which he says will be on the market within six months. The magazine does not have a name or a logo, but is being organized on the basis of extensive market research, according to Steinbuch.

Back in June, Finance reported that another new magazine is set to appear later this fall. Kolektiv will be an independent news weekly which wants to compete with Mladina and Mag. The magazine will be marketed to a 20-40 year-old, educated and computer literate demographic. No word yet on exactly when Kolektiv will hit newsstands.

Exhibit explores immigrants in Argentina

From 1911 to 1953, new immigrants with no ties to Argentina could stay at the hotel free of charge for three weeks, while looking for work and a place to live. At its peak, the hotel was the temporary home of as many as 5000 people at any given time. In 2000, the building was renovated and became the home of the National Museum of Immigration.

Laibach returns

On Monday, Laibach gathered the press at Vila Bled, former residence of Josef Broz Tito, to announce the release of their new album, Wat (We Are Time), as well as a new book and short film on the band.

Wat, released by London’s Mute Records, is the band’s first album in seven years. The band is supporting the album with a world tour that kicked off on Friday in Kranj. A preview show was held earlier in the band’s hometown of Trbovlje. The European leg of the tour ends on 18 October in Ljubljana, and the band is also planning to tour in North America, Eastern Europe and Russia.

A new 47-minute short film on the band directed by Sašo Podgoršek (director of the recent hit feature film Sladke sanje/Sweet Dreams) was also screened for the press.

And in other news…

• This week, the government announced that obligatory military service has been abolished. The Defense Ministry cancelled the call-up scheduled for next month, leaving young men to decide for themselves whether they will serve. Those who do opt to do so will serve for just three months. Previously, all men between 18 and 27 were required to serve for seven months. Though there are only 5000 professional soldiers in Slovenia currently, the Ministry expects to increase that number to 18,000 by 2010.