Slovenia Industry

Among the industries that perform best in Slovenia’s industrial sector are electricity and electronics, vehicle manufacturing, the pharmaceutical industry and the wood and food industries.

A large part of the industrial sector is focused on exports. In addition to the appliance manufacturer Gorenje, the pharmaceutical companies Lek and Krka have become leading brands in Europe.

• According to ABBREVIATIONFINDER, SI stands for the country of Slovenia in geography.

The share of industry and construction industry’s gross domestic product (GDP) has decreased since independence, from over 40 to 33 percent between 1990 and 2015. In particular, traditional industries such as the machine industry, the metal industry and the textile industry have decreased in importance in recent years.

Following the privatization of industry in the 1990s, the sector is today dominated by small and medium-sized privately owned companies.

• COUNTRYAAH: List of top trading partners of Slovenia. Includes countries that imported most shipments from and exported most goods to the country.

2019

December

Austrians become Minister

December 19

Parliament is voting by the smallest margin (44-43) to approve Austrian liberal politician Angelika Mlinar as new minister in Slovenia. Mlinar is an ethnic Slovenian and became a Slovenian citizen just days before the vote, while retaining her Austrian citizenship. She was a member of the European Parliament for Austria until July 1, 2019. Some critics have warned that it is unclear which country she would be loyal to if a conflict arises within the EU. Mlinar calls it a victory for “often degraded and neglected” minorities in Slovenia that she now becomes a member of the government. She is a minister without a portfolio.

November

Record seizure of heroin

November 13

A seizure of heroin worth more than € 50 million has been made in the port city of Koper, according to Hungarian police who conducted a raid across the border. The seizure of 730 kilos of heroin is the largest made in Slovenia. The heroin was found in containers from Iran. Slovenian and Hungarian police in collaboration with the EU body Eurojust had some heroin brought to Budapest in Hungary, where a major assault was made.

May

Conservative biggest in EU elections

May 26

In the elections to the European Parliament, a conservative electoral list with the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and the smaller Slovenian People’s Party (SLS) will be the largest with 26.5 percent and get three of Slovenia’s eight seats in parliament. The Social Democrats (SD) and the reigning Liberal Marjan Šarec’s list (LMS) receive 18.6 and 15.6 percent and two seats each. Conservative New Slovenia (NSI) gets 11.1 percent and one place.

February

Another minister resigns

February 27th

Environment Minister Jure Leben resigns and thus becomes the third minister to leave the barely half-year-old government. He has been criticized for having been responsible for the expansion of the railway between Divača and the port city of Koper in his previous role as infrastructure minister (see September 2017 and March 2018). During the tender, Leben chose a rail solution that was twice as expensive as the nearest competitor’s, without any clear reason. According to the ministry, it was due to an “administrative mistake”.

January

The Minister of Culture is leaving

January 28

Minister of Culture Dejan Prešiček resigns after employees in his department accused him of bullying and abuse of power. Trade union representatives demanded the week before his departure. Prešiček becomes the second minister to leave the government formed in September 2018. In November, Minister of Development Marko Bandelli was forced off after allegations that he had unduly interfered in local elections and caused delays in a report on EU funds. Despite the scandals, the government has strong support: a new opinion poll shows that just over 65 percent of voters give the government approval.