The Courier

Shop window in Ljubljana.

© Debra Percival

Slovenia’s route to independence after the break-up of the former Yugoslavia was less troubled then that of its Balkan neighbours (see box). Its current history seems full of firsts; the first state of the former Yugoslavia to become an EU member in May 2004, the first amongst its fellow batch of 10 EU newcomers to join the Euro-zone at the beginning of January 2007, and the first of the same group to take the EU Presidency.

Moving along the integration of its neighbours in the former Yugoslavia is high on the agenda for the six months. Croatia became an official candidate in 2004 and the candidacy of the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is also under scrutiny in Brussels. All the other former republics are potential candidates; Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. Slovenia also wants to assist these states in becoming members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which it joined on 29 March 2004.

Slovenia’s relations with Croatia are on a better footing since both countries referred a border dispute on the along its 50 km Mediterranean coastline to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

There’s a newness right from stepping off the plane at the upgraded Jože Pučnik Airport outside Ljubljana, just one of key projects to promote economic growth.

Sharing borders with Austria to the north, Hungary to the north-east, Italy to the south-west and Croatia to the south-east, Slovenia is a transport hub to all EU compass points: north-south, east-west and stands to gain in the freight sector. It is planning a refurbishment of its railways at an estimated cost of €8.9 billion, expected to be backed by government and private capital with some funds from the EU which has pledged €450 million to the project to date.

A changing economy

Towards the capital there are signs of an economy in transition. In the midst of the patchwork of small holdings of mainly maize and cabbage, an advertising billboard attached to a redundant feeding frame for cattle seems to symbolise this move from agriculture to services. It’s more glaringly obvious as you get closer to the outskirts of Ljubljana with its skyline of shiny, reflective glass.

Pharmaceutical and telecommunications companies are amongst the biggest players of the economy, says the Chamber of Commerce and Industry including; Lek Pharmaceuticals, Ljubljana; Krka Pharmaceuticals, Nopvo Mesto; Telecommunications Telekom Slovenije, Ljubljana and the retail group, Mercator, Ljubljana.

Trade is mostly with other EU countries, 67.9% of exports going to this market in 2005 with 17.2% to its former Yugoslav neighbours. In the same year, 80.9% of Slovenia’s total imports came from EU countries and 6.5% from countries of the former Yugoslavia, according to Government Information Office statistics.

Hikes in consumer prices were a particular worry for government over the summer months. Column inches in the Slovenian press analyse the reasons why basics such as milk and vegetables climbed almost overnight by 20%. Government statistics show that inflation peaked at 3.8% in July 2007, twice the 13-member Euro zone average. Some blame uncontrollable factors like high fuel prices, others, the rounding off of prices when the Euro came in. There are questions too about the pressure of public project spending triggering inflation.

The country has a lot vested in the EU to promote regional economic integration and pull in more foreign investors. Growing areas of the economy are technology-related industries, freight and knowledge-based services such as computing, finance and telecommunications, insurance and business services. Inward investment is mainly from Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands in descending order with most of Slovenian investment going to Croatia, the Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro in that order, according to data for the Public Agency of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments (JAPTI).

JAPTI feels tourism harbours a lot of economic potential (see separate article). Ljubljana’s Old Town has jaw dropping architecture. Each corner rounded is to turn a page of European history. The authorities of the capital city also have a fresh vision encapsulated in – ‘Ljubljana’ 2025 – promoted by deputy mayor, Janez Koželj. It’s a 20-year master plan for the capital including a nature park, a new railway and bus station, sports stadium and business and residential areas notably whole new urban areas such as Tobačna city, to be built on the grounds of an old tobacco factory.

www.ukom.gov.si
www.investslovenia.org

The carving of a nation

The Habsburgs held control over the peoples of Slovenia from the 14th century right up to the end of the First World War in 1918, although cultural and national identity during this 600-year rule took a foothold. The enlightenment reformation in Europe was especially important in the foundations of Slovene Literature.

The enlightenment period speeded up the development Slovenian national revival with the first detailed grammar of the Slovene language drawn up by Jernej Kopitar.

The 1848 ‘Spring of Nations’ led to the first Slovenian political programme, “Unified Slovenia” with the demand that all the lands inhabited by Slovenes be united into one province, Slovenia, with Slovene as the official language. The plan was for an autonomous province with its own provincial assembly within the Habsburg monarchy.

The Slovene representatives received a majority in the provincial elections. The transformation of the Austrian empire into the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in the same year resulted in Slovenia remaining in the Austrian part of the monarchy.

With the threat of a carve-up of Slovene territory towards the end of the First World War (1914–1918) there were attempts to try form a common state of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs living in the territory of the Habsburg Monarchy, embodied in the so-called May declaration of 1917. This was rejected by the Habsburgs. In the aftermath of the Austro-Hungarian defeat, the Croatian assembly in Zagreb and a national gathering in Ljubljana called in October 1918 for national freedom and the formation of an independent state of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in Zagreb. This State of Slovenes Croats and Serbs united with the Kingdom of Serbia to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in December 1918, which was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929.

This disintegrated at the onset of the Second World War and Slovenian territory was divided between Germany, Italy and Hungary. The Liberation Front of the Slovenian Nation was founded in Ljubljana in 1941 presenting armed resistance to occupying forces and the Communist party taking a leading role in the cause.

The assembly of representatives of the Slovenian nation decided to include Slovenia in the new Yugoslavia and two years later, the Federal Peoples’ Republic of Yugoslavia was declared, renamed in 1963, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) with President Josip Broz Tito at its head.

An independent Slovenia

Josip Broz Tito’s death in 1980 led to the end of the SFRY within 10 years. Slovenia called for independence and in 1988 the first political opposition parties were created. In May 1989 the declaration of the Sovereign state of Slovenian nation was followed in April 1990 by the first democratic elections where 88% voted for independence. There was a subsequent declaration on independence 25 June 1991. This prompted Yugoslav army attacks on the state. A truce followed a 10-day war. The Yugoslav army left and the EU formally recognised Slovenia mid-January 1992. UN membership was gained in May 1992.

Past meets present

Ljubljana’s rich past seems to stimulate contemporary creators. The Slovenian capital’s biennial of graphic arts, exhibiting printed matter, computer, web-based art, video and photography, is the biggest such event for reproducible art internationally and has been held every two years in Ljubljana since 1955.

And an old military prison of the former Yugoslav republic has been converted into ‘Celica’, a youth hostel in Metelkova, a zone of the city known as a meeting point for artists. Each of the 20 cells has been originally decorated with the help of 80 Slovenian and foreign artists.

Opened in 2003, you have to book your cells well in advance since it’s extremely popular with foreign tourists drawn by the romanticism of the more draconian aspects of Eastern Europe – military gaols. “We can whisper to each other through the walls,” said a fellow hostel inmate looking forward to a night of incarceration.

www.souhostel.com

Facts & figures

Size: 20,273 km square

Inhabitants: 2,010,377 (31 December 2006)

Nationalities: Slovenia 1,631,363, Italy, 2,258, Hungary 6,243 others 149,259 and unknown 174,913

GDP growth: in estimate 2006 (5.2%)

President of the Republic: At press time Lojze Peterle was leader in the first round of Presidential elections 21 October. A second round was expected to take place early November.

Prime Minister: Janez Janša (Slovenian Democratic Party). Government formed in coalition with the with New Slovenia – Christian People’s Party, and the Democratic party of Pensioners of Slovenia as coalition partners. Elections are held every 4 years.

National Assembly; 90 deputies (88 elected representatives of the parliamentary parties, one each from Italian, Hungarian national communities
(Government Communication office)

National Council: 40 elected representatives of employers, employees, farmers, tradesman self-employed and other interest groups non-economic sector.

Wines gaining a global reputation

Shelves in Slovenian supermarkets are not stacked with wines from the new world but ‘Produce of Slovenia’ fermented on home soil. Slovenian shoppers are loyal to wines from the country’s three main growing regions; Podravje in the north-east, Posavje in the south-east and sunny wines from the hinterland of the Mediterranean coast in the south-west.

There’s a chinking as visitors leave; the sound of bottles of great tasting finds uncorked during their stay. Wine growing has been going on for 2,000 years in Slovenia. There are all varieties of wines; dry to sweet, red to white and some that sparkle. “We have fantastic natural conditions for wine growing,” says Dušan Brejc, Director of the Commercial Union for Viticulture and Wine of Slovenia, at his office in Ljubljana.

Brejc says that Slovenian wines are on the wine lists of restaurants of New York, London and Berlin. So why are they rarely in major outlets in the EU?

Firstly, Slovenia cannot currently compete with the sought after easy drinking wines of the new world. “We could probably produce a blockbuster Chardonnay,” says Brecj, but neither the size of Slovenia nor its topography are in its favour.

Slovenia is a country of small-scale of producers, says Brejc. Some 20,000 wine growers have under 0.7 hectares of land, with only 400 owning over three hectares. “Sixty-six per cent of Slovenian vineyards are on steep slopes. It means that everything has to be done by hand,” explains Brejc. This raises the price per bottle above the UK sterling 4.99 buying barrier (approximately €7)*, which occupies a big share of the major UK market.

“State socialism was probably not a positive image for wine,” he adds. He says that wine producers in Slovenia are changing their marketing, including simple, clutter-free labelling with a more contemporary look.

Brecj adds that the fear of a fall in sales of Slovenian wine by 20% in the domestic market after EU membership did not happen, proving a loyal customer base at home. He now thinks the time is ripe to put Slovenia more firmly on the map as a wine buyer’s destination. And in 10 years time he says, why not a light, easy drinking wine to compete with the new world?

Tourism: A sleeping giant

Slovenia gets a lot of transit-travellers on their way to Croatia’s Mediterranean coast and other destinations. The Slovenian government says it has every attraction to make them linger longer in Slovenia and thinks tourism should play more of a driving force in the economy and attract more foreign investment.
To anyone who’s visited the country, this comes as no surprise at all. Just in Ljubljana alone, you are transported into other era by the sumptuous surroundings of the Old Town; the 12th century castle, Renaissance, Baroque and Secessionist buildings and the famous Triple bridge of the 20th century Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik.

Around every corner be stunned by another sculptural surprise, or take a leisurely pit stop at Vodnikov Trg (square) with the freshest chocolate-stuffed bread or a have a nip of Slovenia’s famous plum brandy in the university quarter near Kongresni Trg.

It’s only an hour by train to the Triglav National Park with Slovenia’s highest peak and at the foot of this Alpine range, the much photographed Lake Bled. You can take your pick of the health spas throughout the country or tourist farms where ‘potica’, a sort of cake filled with walnuts, poppy seeds cottage cheese honey will be served up. Then there are the caves of Postojna and Škocjan and primeval forests and casinos along the border with Italy.

With everything going for it, Slovenia should have no trouble in reaching its target of raising visitor numbers by 6% between 2007-2011, with 8% more revenue to come from the sector.

*1Euro = 0.69 sterling