Mit - Index

Mit - UVK_Sinfo_2008_11_št.15 - Index

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The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), best
known for the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle
accelerator, is also among its customers.
Instrumentation Technologies's sales of its Libera electron beam
positioning processor make it a leader in the market for particle
accelerator instruments. The company had already won a Silver
Gazelle in 2007.
Monting SK, a maker of machines for manufacturing rock and
glass wool, received the runner-up award this year, conferred by
French Ambassador Chantal de Bourmont. The Bronze Gazelle
went to the Mimovrste online store.
GeoPlIN SIGNS deal WIth eURoPeaN
GaS ComPaNIeS
On 22 October, Slovenian natural gas distributor Geoplin signed a
memorandum of cooperation in Bucharest, Romania, with eight
European companies managing pipelines.
With the memorandum, pipeline operators from Slovenia,
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Italy and Greece want
to further improve the supply of gas and thus contribute to the
development of a single EU natural gas market.
The memorandum envisages cooperation in the areas of
transparency and accessibility of information, planning crossborder
connections, harmonisation of standards, and business
processes at points between two pipeline operators.
Slovenia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Italy and
Greece are part of the Regional Gas Initiative, region southsoutheast,
within the framework of the European Energy
Regulators Group.
NUmbeR oF toURIStS vISItING
SloveNIa UP 3% IN Q3
The number of tourists in Slovenia in the first nine months of the
year has grown by 3% compared to the same period last year.
According to the national Statistics Office, 2.2m tourists visited
the country in this period.
The number of visitors from abroad has increased by 2% to 1.5m,
while the number of Slovenian tourists has grown by 6% to
767,851. The number of overnight stays has meanwhile risen by
2% to 6.9m. Foreign guests made for some 59% of these.
Broken down by country of origin, the largest number of overnight
stays was generated by Italians (17%), followed by Germans (13%),
Austrians (12%), and Croatians and British, both with 6%.
The number of people touring Slovenia in September has
meanwhile fallen by 5% to 252,126 in comparison with September
2007. The biggest drop was observed in the number of tourists
from abroad, which was down by 7% to 178,733. The number of
Slovenians getting to know their country meanwhile rose by 3%
to 73,393. The number of overnight stays in September dropped
by 4% year-on-year to 727,696.
FUel RetaIleR RePoRtS 21% RISe IN
GRoSS PRoFIt
Energy group Petrol issued a statement on 24 October saying
that its gross profit for the first three quarters of 2008 has risen
by over 21% to EUR 209m. Revenues at Slovenia's biggest fuel
retailer increased by 48% to EUR 2.2bn.
Volume-based sales of fuel increased by 24% to 1.8m tonnes in
21
the first nine months of the year. The group's operating profit
surged 26% to EUR 56.8m.
Alongside fuel sales, Petrol also reported a strong rise in sales in its
grocery division, with revenues up 45% to EUR 276m.
The group operates 310 petrol stations in Slovenia and 107 petrol
stations in the former Yugoslav republics. Shares of the group
outperformed the market on 24 October, falling 2.1% to EUR 365.62
on a day when the benchmark index was down nearly 4%.
SloveNIa 15th moSt ComPetItIve
CoUNtRy IN the eU, SayS RePoRt
Slovenia is the 15th most competitive economy in the European
Union as measured by the EU's Lisbon criteria, according to a
report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Sweden, Denmark and Finland top the list, while Slovenia is
ranked in the company of such countries as Cyprus and Portugal
ahead of it and the Czech Republic and Spain behind.
The WEF assessed the countries' performance according to eight
dimensions measured by the Lisbon Strategy.
These include an information society for all, developing a
European area for innovation and R&D, liberalisation, network
industries, efficient and integrated financial services, improving
the enterprise environment, increasing social inclusion and
enhancing sustainable development.
aGRICUltURe mINISteR SayS maNy CaP
ISSUeS RemaIN oPeN
Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc said in Luxembourg on 28 October
on the margins of an EU agriculture ministerial meeting that the
French EU presidency was harmonising different positions of the
EU Member States on the review of the Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP), but that many issues still remain open. The French
presidency wants to reach an agreement on the CAP review,
also called the Health Check, by year's end, Jarc explained. The
review is aimed at introducing certain changes in the system, and
therefore the Member States want to negotiate the best possible
position.
According to Jarc, the new Member States, including Slovenia,
presented a special declaration at the meeting in which they asked
that a different approach to funding new challenges in agriculture
be used in the new Member States. The minister added that the
open issues in the negotiations include modulations, milk and
state interventions.
Jarc believes that it is "not wise" that modulations - transfers of
funds from the first pillar of direct payments to the second pillar
of rural development measures - are applied to new EU members,
because there are neither expert nor political reasons to do so.
Regarding milk, the minister said that the majority of countries
could support a 1% increase in milk quotas at the annual level by
2015, when they will be completely abolished. Jarc sees a problem
in interventions in the milk and cereal industries. There have
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