Overview of the week's top stories
since 9 February 2002

The Slovene government believes the strategy is contrary to its national interests. Ljubljana is requesting that Brussels consider each candidate separately, instead of creating a single strategy for all. Only in that way will each new member state get a fair deal.

Verheugen said that the EC will take into account the candidate’s differences "to the largest possible extent," according to STA, but continued to defend the proposed financial strategy.

Also on Tuesday, finance ministers from EU member states met in Spain to discuss the financing of expansion, and were split down the middle: Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium and Greece essentially supported the financial strategy; Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, the UK, France and Sweden thought it is too generous.

The Slovene branch of the Red Cross found itself under the microscope after an anonymous letter accused the organization of illegal lending. The Court of Audit, together with several ministries and the police department, is investigating.

Vladimir Topler, head of the Red Cross’s executive committee, did not deny that Slork lent money to Kirn. Without divulging figures, he told the press that Kirn and IRT have already returned part of it.

The executive committee of the Red Cross has rejected allegations that Slork was not established properly, saying that it is in line with the International Red Cross’s recent moves to enhance the way the organization collects funds.

"Corruption is any violation of an obligatory process due to a directly or indirectly promised, offered, given, accepted, demanded or expected benefit to oneself or to another," according to Director of the Office for the Prevention of Corruption Boštjan Penko. This new legal definition was presented to the public on Wednesday.

The Office for the Prevention of Corruption, established last July, is mandated with creating anti-corruption measures and investigating the magnitude of official corruption in the state. But given that "corruption" has never been legally defined in Slovenia, formulating this new legal definition was the office’s first and most pressing task. The office’s next task is to devise an anti-corruption strategy.

International agencies, including the EU and Transparency International, have consistently rated Slovenia among the least corrupt countries in the region for the past ten years. However there is evidence that the problem is larger than statistics show.

The Posavje branch of the Slovene Chamber of Commerce presented the region’s development program for the period 2002-2006 on Wednesday. The document outlines a long-term strategy for improving conditions in the region.

The biggest problem with the economy is the fact that the region’s leading industries are among the country’s least stable – the Krško nuclear power plant, which is the subject of a dispute with Croatia; the paper plant Vipap Videm Krško, which is restructuring; and the textile industry which is also experiencing hard times.

The regional development program includes infrastructure projects, such as improvements to roads and water supplies, but takes a more sustainable approach with projects dealing with education and training.

The Slovene Union for the Prevention of Suicide was established this week with lofty goals. The Union wants to involve experts from various fields to reach a better understanding of suicide and to increase public awareness of suicide and suicide-related issues.

Even though a national program for the prevention of suicide has been drawn up, the government has yet to adopt it. The Union intends to impress the gravity of the situation on politicians, and to enlist their help in fighting for suicide prevention.

• Parliament received a proposal to phase out mandatory military service during peacetime this week. The proposal was submitted by 22 members of parliament, from the opposition Coalition Slovenija parties and the Slovene Youth Party. SDS leader Janez Janša told the press that the proposal should go through parliament easily, since the creation of a professional army was part of the Resolution on a National Security Strategy which was passed last June.