• Croatia’s Adriatic threat
• Ombudsman of Information
• Record number of features at 6^th Festival of Slovene Film
• Bike loan program a success

• Record number of tourists in July
• Slovenia number two investor in Bosnia
• Planet Tuš to open in Novo Mesto
• Erasmus Knights’ Tournament at Predjamski Grad
• SNIFF festival in Novo Mesto

The top story for much of August has been Croatia’s plan to create an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Adriatic Sea. The plan was announced on 1 August by Croatia’s Agriculture Ministry. According to the Zagreb daily Vjesnik, Croatia and Italy are currently in the final stages of an agreement which would split the Adriatic down the middle between the two countries, cutting Slovenia off from international waters.

Slovenia is not taking the idea lightly, though there does not appear to be much that they can do. Slovene officials were quick to warn that the European Union will not look favorably on the EEZ. Slovenia will join the EU in May 2004, while Croatia hopes to join in 2007. There has been no official word from Brussels as of yet. According to 24ur.com, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel is currently seeking an opinion from the European Commission.

Another problem Slovene officials point out is that there is no defined sea border between Slovenia and Croatia. While part of Yugoslavia, the entire Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia was simply Yugoslav waters. After independence in 1991, negotiations began between the two new countries on the demarcation of a sea border in the Adriatic, but there has been no final decision. An agreement on the border was initialed in July 2001, but has yet to be ratified.

Should the EEZ plan go forward, Slovenia would find itself nearly 500 kilometers from international waters. Slovene vessels would still have navigation rights, and aircraft would still have overflight rights, but fishermen could face quotas, licensing fees and other restrictions.

The day before, Slovene Nationalist Party (SNS) leader Zmago Jelinčič called on the government to respond to Croatia by blocking its bid to join the European Union. Further, Jelinčič said that his party is considering calling a referendum to force the Slovene government to prevent EU membership for Croatia if the border issue is not resolved soon.

Prime Minister Anton Rop issued a statement on 11 August concerning the plan. He stressed that international cooperation is the key to protecting the Adriatic, not unilateral actions. Rop further stressed that Croatia should do nothing until the border between that state and Slovenia is finalized.

According to Finance, Igor Šoltes will become the country’s first Ombudsman of Information on 1 September. Šoltes is currently the director of the governmental Office of Public Tenders.

Although access to nonsensitive information is guaranteed by Article 39 of the Constitution, the annual reports of the office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights has pointed out for several years that additional legislation is required to carry out the guarantee.

The Law on Access to Information, which fills the gap, was only passed last year. In principle, it is similar to the United States’ Freedom of Information Act.

The Office of Ombudsman of Information will be an independent state body intended to help guarantee the public’s right to access to governmental information of a public nature. The body is mandated by the Law on Access to Information

The final program of the 6th Festival of Slovene film was released on 13 August. The festival will take place in Celje from 24 to 27 September. More than 50 films, of which 19 are full-length features, will be screened. The festival’s program is rounded out by 20 short films, six documentaries and 11 student films.

Films will be screened in the Celje theatres Metropol, Union and Mini Kino, as well as in the multiplex Planet Tuš.

The City of Ljubljana is pleased with the results of its new bike-loan program, according to a report in Finance. The pilot project, called "Ljubljana Cycle," loaned out free bicycles to 566 people in just ten days, from its start on 21 July until the end of the month.

The vast majority of the 566 customers have been Slovenes: 263 were residents of Ljubljana, and 183 from outside the city. Just 120 foreign tourists took advantage of the program in the first ten days.

Sporting goods manufacturer Elan is sponsoring the program. Ljubljana Cycle will continue through October, and will start up again next summer with ten new loaning locations and as many as 100 bikes.

• The Ljubljana Institute of Tourism reported a record number of tourists in the capital in July. Most of the foreign tourists come from the UK, Scandinavia, France, the US and Israel. The number of Italians and Germans, always traditionally high, was unusually low throughout the month. Nearly a dozen conventions and other events promising upwards of 4000 participants scheduled for this fall should translate into high tourism statistics for the end of the year as well.

• According to data released by the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Hercegovina, Slovenia is the number two investor in Bosnia from 1994 to 2002. Croatia placed first, investing KM 298 million (USD 150 million), or 15.7 percent of the total. Slovenia has invested some KM 241 million (USD 120 million), primarily through the business activities of Iskraemeco, Gorenje and Mercator. Kuwait, Germany and Austria followed in third through fifth place.

• On 3 September, Novo Mesto’s first multiplex will open. Planet Tuš will have seating for 982 people, a pool hall, a video arcade, and a café and pizzeria. The new cinema is at Topliški cesti 2.