Paul Kennedy to advise the Slovenian Convention Bureau

Paul Kennedy MBE, Director of Kennedy Consulting, has been appointed Strategic Advisor to the Slovenian Convention Bureau and its flagship – the Conventa trade show.
Miha Kovacic, Director of the Slovenian Convention Bureau commented: "Having Paul Kennedy aboard brings international expertise and knowledge to Slovenia. With his support we expect to raise the level of professionalism within the industry and visibility of Slovenia in the market as well."


The Slovenian Convention Bureau aims to promote Slovenia as a meetings industry jewel, only now being discovered by meeting, incentive and event planners. Its largest project in bringing Slovenia to the meetings industry map has been the creation of a meetings and incentive travel trade show specifically designed to showcase South East Europe - Conventa. It links together the countries of Southeast Europe in presenting their impressive meetings industry offer to the global market.


Kennedy said: "Like many in the global industry I knew little about Slovenia and more widely what this wonderful region has to offer planners. The quality of facilities, of service, real price competitiveness, safety and ease of travel is enhanced by the wide choice in the region and the sheer beauty of the countries themselves. Conventa offers the opportunity for the destinations in the region to act boldly and aggressively, to work both independently and in collaboration to make a significant impact on the market share in the meetings industry."


The second edition of Conventa will take place from 21 to 22 January 2010 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. For more information please visit www.conventa.info

Source:ftnnews.com

Medvedev coming to Slovenia to watch football

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev will visit new gas pipeline partner Slovenia to watch a football World Cup qualifier between the two countries.
The state-run news agency STA says Medvedev will arrive late Wednesday and meet briefly with President Danilo Turk before the two travel together to the football stadium in Maribor, northeastern Slovenia.

Russia and Slovenia are both eager to gain a berth at the 2010 World Cup.

Medvedev is attending an EU-Russia summit in Stockholm earlier Wednesday.

Slovenia on Saturday joined the South Stream pipeline project for carrying Russian natural gas to Europe.

Source:etaiwannews.com

Slovenia, Greece, Portugal and Uruguay earn places for South Africa

Slovenia (pictured) stunned Russia on Wednesday to qualify for the World Cup finals. Portugal Greece and Uruguay will also travel to South Africa next year.

Slovenia, Portugal and Greece qualified alongside Algeria on Wednesday for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the surprise of the evening, Slovenia claimed their ticket on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw thanks to a 1-0 home win in the play-off second leg against Russia.

Panathinaïkos' striker Dimitrios Salpingidis gave Greece their place for South Africa as his side beat Ukraine 1-0 in Donetsk (both teams drew 0-0 in the first leg).

Finally, Portugal's Meireles scored the winning goal in Bosnia as his side clinched a 1-0 away victory to qualify for their third world cup in a row. Portugal beat Bosnia 1-0 in the first leg.

Uruguay struggled to tame Costa Rica before booking their place in the World Cup finals with a 1-1 draw at home in the second leg of their South America/CONCACAF playoff.

2010 World Cup qualifiers

Source:france24.com

Italy, Slovenia ask EU to lift visa regimes for Albania, BiH

TIRANA, Albania -- Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Slovenian counterpart Samuel Zbogar have sent a letter to the EU asking members to speed up the process of visa liberalisation for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), local media reported on Wednesday (November 25th). Both countries failed to issue biometric passports and ensure full border control, which left them outside the current visa liberalisation plan for the Western Balkans. Instead, only citizens of Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro will enjoy visa-free travel next year as a reward for meeting standards set by Brussels

Source:setimes.com

Slovenia Signs Up to South Stream

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won Slovenia’s approval Saturday for the South Stream pipeline, undermining European Union efforts to reduce dependency on Russian gas and clearing the way for the project to start.

The seal of approval is the latest victory for the Kremlin as it seeks to counter the long-delayed Nabucco pipeline, which is backed by the EU to curb its energy dependency on Russia by pumping gas from the Caspian and the Middle East.

Slovenia’s approval brings the South Stream pipeline a step closer to being built, though its backers — Gazprom and Italy’s Eni — still have to raise billions of dollars to finance the project.

“We have now signed deals with all the European partners needed for this project to be completed,” Putin told reporters at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow after signing the cooperation deal with his Slovenian counterpart, Borut Pahor.

The accord was signed by Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Slovenian Economy Minister Matej Lahovnik. Putin and Pahor later watched the Russian national team beat the visiting Slovenians 2-1 in a World Cup 2010 qualifying match.

“We wanted to sign the agreement before our relations are spoiled after the victory of our team,” Pahor joked at Luzhniki Stadium, RIA-Novosti reported.

Slovenia joins Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Greece as a partner in the onshore section of South Stream. The 900-kilometer pipe, due to deliver gas by the end of 2015 and being built in partnership by Gazprom and Eni, will run under the Black Sea to the Balkans, where it will split into northern and southern routes.

With a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters per year, the pipeline is expected to cost between 19 billion and 24 billion euros ($28 billion to $36 billion). It is due to become operational in 2015.

“Thanks to Slovenia’s participation, Russian natural gas will reach the Italian border, the main target market for the [South Stream] project,” a Russian government source, who requested anonymity, told reporters.

Russia has been trying to persuade major European powers that support for alternative supply routes that bypass Ukraine — such as South Stream and another project known as Nord Stream — will ensure smooth supplies.

Putin, who has said Russia will cut gas deliveries to Europe again this year if Ukraine siphons off transit supplies, will travel to Ukraine this week to discuss energy with his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko.

Approval for the pipelines is a coup for Putin and a blow for Nabucco, which has been plagued by a lack of supply agreements. But Gazprom is facing an unprecedented fall in demand as some of its European customers switch to cheaper, liquefied natural gas and has yet to secure billions of dollars in financing for South Stream.

Slovenia had said in the past that it also supports Nabucco, which if built would transport 31 billion cubic meters per year from the Caspian region to an Austrian gas hub via Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Hungary.

Source:themoscowtimes.com

Slovenian Tourism Featured at WTM, Officials Happy with 2009 Figures

London, 10 November (STA) - The Slovenian Tourism Board (STO) presented the statistics for tourism in Slovenia in the first nine months of 2009 on the sidelines of the World Travel Market (WTM) in London in Tuesday, inspiring Marjan Hribar of the Economy Ministry to forecast for 2009 the second best result in the history of Slovenia.

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Source:sta.si

Slovenia gives Russia final piece of South Stream puzzle

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won Slovenia's approval on 14 November for the South Stream pipeline, undermining European Union efforts to reduce dependency on Russian gas supplies.
The seal of approval is the latest victory for the Kremlin as it seeks to counter the long delayed Nabucco pipeline which is backed by the European Union as a way to curb dependency on Russia by pumping gas from the Caspian and the Middle East.

Slovenia's approval brings the South Stream pipeline a step closer to being built, though its backers - Russian gas behemoth Gazprom and Italy's Eni SpA - still have to raise billions of dollars to finance the project. "We have now signed deals with all the European partners needed for this project to be completed," Putin told reporters at his Novo-Ogaryovo residency outside Moscow after signing the cooperation deal with Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor.

Slovenia is the fifth country to sign such an agreement with Russia on the South Sea pipeline, which will skirt Ukraine and cross Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia to Italy. With a capacity of 63 billion cubic metres a year, the pipeline is expected to cost between 19 billion and 24 billion euros ($28 billion to $36 billion). It is due to become operational in 2015. "Thanks to Slovenia's participation, Russian natural gas will reach the Italian border, the main target market for the [South Stream] project," a Russian government source, who requested anonymity, told reporters.
Gas politics
Leaders in the European Union, which imports more than a quarter of its gas from Russia, were dismayed in January when a row between Ukraine and Moscow left European Union customers without gas in the dead of winter. That dispute provoked calls for the European Union to diversify away from Russian gas supplies, though officials at Gazprom forecast EU dependency on Russian supplies will increase over the next decade.

Russia has been trying to persuade major European powers that support for alternative supply routes - such as South Stream and another project known as Nord Stream - will ensure smooth supplies. Both projects bypass Ukraine. Putin, who said Russia will cut gas deliveries to Europe again this year if Ukraine siphons off transit supplies crossing its territory, will travel to Ukraine next week to discuss energy with his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko.

Nord Stream, which will pipe gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany, recently received approvals from Denmark, Sweden and Finland, a sign that construction work may start next year. Approval for the pipelines is a coup for Putin, Russia's powerful prime minister who takes a keen interest in energy politics, and a blow for Nabucco, which has been plagued by a lack of supply agreements.
But Gazprom is facing an unprecedented fall in demand as some of its European customers switch to cheaper, liquefied natural gas and has yet to secure billions of dollars in financing for South Stream.
Slovenia had said in the past it also supports Nabucco, which if built would transport 31 billion cubic metres of gas a year from the Caspian region to an Austrian gas hub via Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Hungary. (EurActiv with Reuters)

Source:actmedia.eu