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04ISSN 1854-0805 June 2012

interview: Joe Colari art & culture: Nobel Prize winners visit Maribor Our eXcellence: Elan spOrts: Entire Slovenia is proud o Ane Kopitar

peOple: Matev Lenari slOvenian delights: Wine orange is the new colour

GOVERNMEN MEASURES ECONOMIC GROWH PACKAGES

T fom so


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3Sinfo Slovenian information

contents

editorialcontents

Under the sign o economic growth packages

One hundred days o oce are behind Prime Minister Janas Government. this period, the government has managed to bring in its revised budget proposavarious cost-saving measures and a package o measures aimed at enhancineconomic competitiveness. I it is possible to speak o success achieved during thpast one hundred days, this most surely applies to a shit in the way o thinking anto a realisation that in order to successully exit the crisis, it is necessary to actualldo something, said Prime Minister Jana when asked about the most importan

achievement o the present government so ar. In his words, this is precisely whmade it possible or the government, when dealing with the key projects o the pathree months, to earn its support rom social partners, i.e. employers and trade unionrespectively. Very soon, new steps are to ollow in the orm o key structural reormsuch as labour market reorm, health reorm, pension reorm and education systemreorm, which are crucial or the revival o Slovenias development potentials.

Joe Colari, president o the Krka management board and our interview guetoday, claims that or many years, the business environment in Slovenia has not beeso avourable or investment as it is now. As a result o the legislative changes, thpeople at Krka eel morally bound to invest more. Tus in the rst three months othis year, they have earmarked EUR 24.2 million or investments; they are preparindocumentation or the new EUR 200 million pharmaceutical actory Notol 2; in thsummer, they are about to launch the construction o a new EUR 70 million plant aKrko; and construction works are being stepped up in Moscow, where experimentproduction is about to start by the end o next year. Te value o this investment is EU135 million.

It is encouraging to note that Russian companies are seeking investmeopportunities in Slovenia, particularly in transport inrastructure. Te largest Russiainvestment in Slovenia, worth one billion euros, is the South Stream gas pipelinWorks on this project are expected to start by the end o this year.

In this number you will also nd an article on the company Elan, which has beegiven this years Most Innovative Brand 2012 award in the category o sports equipmenTe award is conerred every year by the German organisation Plus X Award. Elathus ranks alongside other important companies which were awarded prizes in othcategories, such as Adidas, Porsche, AEG, Blackberry, Buderus, LG, Opel and Sony, angoes down in history as one o the most innovative Slovenian companies ever.

Entire Slovenia is proud o hockey player Ane Kopitar. Kopitars LA King

delivered the Stanley Cup home or the rst time in team history. Kopitar is currentSlovenias brightest star and is making sports history or the country. His numerousuccesses have triggered real euphoria and many people stayed awake or mannights to watch him excel at his work.

Slovenia has a uture as an ecologically advanced boutique country, based osmall entrepreneurs and tradesmen. We can only compete in terms o quality anknowledge never with quantity, points out Bianca vorc Morris, creative directand owner o BeeZee Designs, the company that brought BeeZee EcoKid a ashiobrand or environment-riendly clothes, jewellery, toys and home decorations oadults as well as children to Slovenia.

In January, Matev Lenari, pilot, biologist, photographer and alpinist, set out a Pipistrel Virus SW 914 aircrat on a 100,000 km multi-stage tour around the worlAter some three months, he arrived back in his homeland, richer or a wealth new experiences, which he summarised in the ollowing words: Absolute laws becomrelative. Lie values become clearer. We are not aware enough that we live only in a tiny part o t

universe, which is also our only possible solution. I we destroy it, we have nowhere to go.

Sino Slovenian inormationEditorial:Government CommunicationOce,

Director:AneLogar, Gregorieva25, 1000Ljubljana,tel.+386 (0) 1 478 2630, ax+ 386 (0) 1 251 2312,www.ukom.gov.si

Editor-in-Chie:ValerijaObuExecutiveEditor:Vesnaarkovi, [email protected]

Editorial Board:MatejaMalnar tembal, JoeOsterman, PolonaPreeren,HanaSouek Moraa, Nataa Marvin, ManjaKostevc

PhotoEditor: JanezVidrihProduction:Nuit d.o.o., ranslation:Amidas, DZPS,Government ranslationand InterpretationDivision

Printed by:CollegiumGraphicumd.o.o., Slovenia, Numbero copies:4600Availablealsoat: www.ukom.gov.si/eng/slovenia/publication/sino

Coverphoto:Stane Jeri, www.slovenia.ino

GovernmentCommunicationOce: www.slovenia.siGovernmentCommunicationOce:www.ukom.gov.siGovernmentothe RepublicoSlovenia:www.vlada.si

SlovenianouristBoard:www.slovenia.inoSlovenianChambero Commerceand Industry:www.gzs.si

SlovenianChambero Crat:www.ozs.siPublicAgencyorEntrepreneurshipandForeignInvestments:www.japti.si

LjubljanaStockExchange:www.ljse.siStatisticalOceothe RepublicoSlovenia:www.stat.si

StatePortalothe Republico Slovenia: http://e-uprava.gov.si

5In ocus

gom m oom o

k

12Interview

Jo co

16Business

18Regional development

ljbj ub ro of

so oomy

22A letter

dy Kby, ao. pof. d. M Jzb

24Art & culture

eo c of c

nob pz Mbo

30Our excellence

e Mo o b 201 2

32Green corner

BZ eoK

34People

M l

38Sports

e so o of a Ko

41Society

so of oom

om mo

44Slovenian delights

w o oo

48Heritage

w o of Boj

Vesna arkovi, Editor

In ocus

Green corner

Interview

Art & culture

Heritage

People

Society Sports


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Government Communication Ofce 5Sinfo Slovenian information

Vesna arkovi, photo:SA

: focus :

Statements made by businessmen in connection

with the governments cost-saving measures

published in the business daily Finance on 11 May

monthly

commentary

Ane Logar, Director o the Government Communication Ofce

Te success o the negotiators and the understanding o all theain participants did not remain unnoticed. Te economy warmlyelcomed the agreement reached. Ater nine months o politicalcklash the disintegration o the ormer government coalition,motion o no condence passed, early elections ollowed by aatively long time to orm the new government this is the rstn o the ully unctioning government. Putting orward measuresbalancing public nances is a precondition or other measures

at should bring the country back to the path o growth andvelopment. Certain measures adopted in the rst three monthsve already put the government on this path. A change in tax lawsll send out a signal to investors that it pays to invest in Slovenia.e changes in the Corporate Income ax Act resulted in thecreased tax relie or expenditure on research and development to0 %, and relie or investment to 40 % without limiting the cost o

investment. In addition, the corporate tax rate was reduced rom 20to 18 %; this will gradually be reduced to 15 % in 2015.

Tis change will be ollowed by a package o measures toencourage economic growth. It is based on the package o measuresto improve the business environment, the nancial incentives toenhance economic growth, to implement the action plan or smalland medium-sized enterprises, to reinorce the public administrationand the judicial system and to eliminate administrative barriers.Te rst proposals o the law will be prepared in June, while thesecond part o the package will be prepared by autumn. Tat meansthat Slovenia will enter 2013 less burdened, more competitive andmore economically attractive to oreign investments. When therst results come up, the most vehement opponents o austeritymeasures will likely recognise that this is the only possible and rightcourse o action, although austerity is painul in the early stage.

ouch, ouch an auSterity package

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Slovenia has taken a step in the right direction by reachingan agreement on cost-saving measures. Tis government is notlosing ground. It is aware o the real situation and all the movesthus ar were steps in the right direction. It is important that thiswill to solve the diculties does not stop. It is important thatthe entire government ocuses on saving and that it does lose itsimpetus.

Matej Kova,IUS Sotware:

Te adoption o the budget ended uncertainties andcomplications with regard to the procurement procedure rom aperiod o temporary nancing. T e state must operate normallywhile spending less money. Tis will have a avourable impacton our clients rom private sector entities that partially ormostly deal with the state or with operations dependent on itsprocurement procedures.

Arjen van Dijkhuizen,an economist at ABN Amro:

Te Slovenian governments ambitions to reduce the decitare a positive signal to oreign investors; thereore, I welcome thegovernments aim to reduce the decit below 3 % o GDP or this year.Slovenia must also take urgent steps towards nancial consolidationin the uture and the agreement between the government and tradeunions is a good sign. Te credit assessment o Slovenia is currentlybetter than that o Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece.

Te nancial consolidation o public nances is certainly animportant signal to all companies that a stable ramework or theoperation o our companies may be expected and a signal to ourowners that it is worth investing in this environment in the uture.Not considering the tax on labour, I believe that the environmentin Slovenia is stimulating enough or making investments. In anycase, improvements both in the taxation o highly qualied workand in spatial management will have to be brought about.

It is essential that the government be aware o the situationand that it has adopted measures or aster economic growth. Itis expected that the adoption o measures will continue becausethere is no way orward without growth.

Te adoption o the revised budget gives a positive signal tooreign investors that Slovenia has taken concrete steps torwardits nances and is in a position to adopt cost-saving measures.

Egon Zakrajek,economist at theU.S. Federal Reserve(American central bank)

Botjan Gorjup,director o nances, BSHHini aparati

Branko Kastelic,Imos

Sao Polanec,economist:


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Speaking o successhieved during the past onendred days, this most de-ely applies to a shit innking and to the awareness

at in order to successullyit the crisis, it is necessaryactually take some steps,me Minister Jana said

hen asked about the mostportant achievement o the

esent government so ar.

In his words, this is preciselywhat has made it possible orthe Government to obtain thesupport rom social partners,both employers and tradeunions, when dealing with twokey projects o the past threemonths the adoption o therevised budget and the packageo cost-saving measures.

New steps will ollow verysoon, taking the orm o key

structural reorms, such as la-bour market reorm, health re-orm, pension reorm and edu-cation system reorm, whichare crucial to give Sloveniasdevelopment potentials newimpetus.

It is the Governments re-sponsibility that these keyprojects be careully preparedand carried out in cooperationwith social partners, deputies

ive meaSureS to increaSecompetitiveneSS

Te rst package o mea-sures to boost economic growthincludes measures to eliminateadministrative barriers, tackleSlovenias late payment cul-ture, improve the so-calledinsolvency law, attract invest-ments, ease the credit crunch,improve the governance ostate-owned assets and amendthe Small Business Act.

With a view to increas-ing competitiveness and kick-starting economic growth, theGovernment has decreasedcorporate income tax, whichwill gradually be reduced romthe current 20 to 15 percent by2015, and increased tax reliesor the investments o compa-nies and entrepreneurs. It hasalso amended the legislationon takeovers, thus increasingthe threshold to 33 percent othe voting shares in the oereecompany.

In boosting growth, theGovernment relies on the as-sistance o economic diplo-macy. It is aware that Slovenianeeds to increase exports andoreign investments. With thisobjective in mind, it monitorsthe work and success achievedby economic attachs in thisarea.

Ater the scal treaty on re-ducing the excessive state bor-rowing abroad was signed by25 EU Member States, Sloveniaalso started its discussion onhow to enorce the scal ruleor the sustainability o pub-lic nances. In mid May, theGovernment adopted a dratproposal or the Fiscal RuleAct, though this has not yetbeen harmonised by all deputygroups and, prior to its being -nalised, the National Assemblywill rst have to adopt a consti-tutional amendment.

Despite tightening the belt,the Government expressed itswillingness to provide a stateguarantee or the E 6 project,though subject to certain con-ditions. It has indicated that thisyears EU nancial perspectivewill not include the project orthe construction o the secondtrack o the DivaaKoper rail-way, since the project wouldnot be suciently prepared;consequently, the unds willmost likely be re-allocated. TeGovernment announced thatbudgetary resources will not beused or the purposes o savingthe construction company Pri-morje or or urgent recapitali-sation o NLB; it also annulledthe help which was promisedto osama d.d. by the previousgovernment.

: focus : ::

and civil society. Te PrimeMinisters words in the Parlia-ment are most probably not arrom the truth when reerringto the development in theserst hundred days when theGovernment negotiated andharmonised their positions as good training or what is toollow in the next 1360 days oits term o oce.

the amendment to thecompanieS act

will take into consider-ation a number o commentsand requirements made by theChamber o Crat and SmallBusiness o Slovenia. Amongthese, Minister Radovan erjavmentioned the limitation ooperation o sole proprietorsand companies that do nothold an open bank account, the

shortening o the time limit orthe deletion o a sole proprietorrom the register, the transero the company o a sole pro-prietor and a number o otheradministrative barriers.

Ater the National Assem-bly decided a month ago thatthe drat amendment to theinsolvency law, prepared bythe previous government, wasnot suitable or urther consid-eration, the Government willnow prepare its own proposal.According to Minister erjav, itwill take into account some othe previous governments so-lutions, inter alia a substantialreduction o the length o pro-cedures and the elimination oprovisions allowing individu-als to delay and abuse the pro-cedure. Te Government willocus on the rescuing o thehealthy parts o insolvent en-terprises that meet the condi-tions or existence and growth.

the amendment to thelegiSlation governing themanagement o tangibleaSSetS

will eliminate the barriersagainst non-fexibilities o saleso building land in industrialand crat zones that are ownedby municipalities. Tese nowhave to sell land to buyers with

Vesna arkovi, photo:SA

Government measures

economic growth packages

HE GOVERNMENS 100 DAYS: Savng and reorgansaton o p admnstraton

p ms Jz Js g, fs S , 100 20 m. i s , g s s s s

s ss ss.

Trade unions leader Branimir trukelj (let), Labour Minister Andrej Vizjak (centre)and Justice and Public Administration Minister Senko Pliani (right) shake hands.

An extraordinary session o the National Assembly dedicated to the 2012supplementary budget and the omnibus bill on the balancing o public nances.

Radovan erjav, Economic Development and Technology Minister


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: focus : ::

pology:On this page o the previous issue o Sino, an error was made in the spelling o the name o the Director-General o the UnitedNations Oce in Vienna, Yury Fedotov, or which we apologise.

ditorial Oce

e highest bid price only andve no instrument to seriouslynder speculative purchases.nister erjav has pointed outat the Government wishes

enable the municipalities toer this land at a signicantly

wer price, and expressed hislie that in this way the envi-nment would be created thatill allow investments that we

m to attract to integrate intoe space.

e amendment to thericultural land actll be similar in purpose.Te municipalities will have

e right o pre-emptive pur-ase o agricultural land whichll be part o areas that are orll become part o industrialnes. By amending anothero laws the Construction

Act and the Location o SpatialArrangements Act the Gov-ernment would like to create aconducive environment or in-vestors, which would accelerateand simpliy the procedure orobtain building permits, Minis-ter erjav notes.

He also announced theamendment to the Late Pay-ment Prevention Act, whichwill tackle the late paymentculture by introducing a newinstrument enorcement

drat or insurance o pay-ments by the debtor. In thisway, the creditor will claim hisdebt bypassing the justice sys-tem, the Minister explained.Te mandatory oset remains,while the maximum time lim-its or payment will be delet-ed rom the law and let to beagreed upon by the parties.

Te proposal o the amend-ment to the Act Governing theGuarantees o the Republic oSlovenia or Financing Com-pany Investments is the rstunder the package o measuresthat the Government is send-ing to the National Assemblyor debate. Te proposal waspresented by the Minister oFinance, Janez uteri, whosaid that the Governmentwould also enable the pro-vision o guarantees or the

working capital und.

the package o meaSureSalSo includeS amendmentSin the area regulatingthe management o StateaSSetS.

All current managers ostate-owned assets AUKN,Kad, Sod and DSU will be

Janez ter,the Min-ister o Finance,notes that the Governmenthas tackled changes to the i-nancial and tax systems, theeconomy and public inances.He adds that they will set up astate assets holding companyor the management o stateassets, which will be in com-pliance with the OECD prin-

ciples. he European BankingAuthority (EBA) required thatNLB raise EUR 320 million torecapitalise the amount nec-essary or the national banksto solve past issues and to in-crease loans to businesses. herecapitalisation o NLB shouldstart by the autumn. he EBArequires that NLB, along withother banks, increase theircapital by 30 June.

merged into one institution,within which several undswill be organised to deal withindividual state investments,Minister erjav announced.

Te Ministry o EconomicDevelopment and echnol-ogy is preparing some publictenders which will nanciallysupport the promising projectso enterprises both or invest-ments and in the area o thestrengthening o human re-sources and improving energy

eciency. A call or tenders orthe promotion o the invest-ments will be dedicated exclu-sively to technological equip-ment, pointed out Mr erjav,adding that buildings, ocesand everything which is notdirectly connected with thework post will not be eligibleor unds.

The austerity budget, which cuts spending or 2012 by EUR 1.1bn to EUR 9bn over original plans, is the rst step to recovery, which mustbe ollowed by measures to restart the economy, Prime Minister Janez Jana told parliament as it began debating austerity measures.

Janez uteri, Minister o Finance


6/27


Te Government is particu-ly eager to boost the con-uction sector; consequentlye calls or tenders or energy

ciency will be unded byropean unds that will beallocated rom those pro-

ammes which the Govern-ent is condent can no lon-r be carried out. Tere willo be some calls or tendersthe area o education and

ence.

e coSt-Saving packagell aect the maJority oe population.Te super law will aect

sector-specic acts. Te cutssome areas are signicantlys deep than was predicted,t will nevertheless stronglyect various groups. Te ma-ity o measures entered intoce on 1 June.Te largest part o the miti-

gated austerity package was in-tended or the complete elimi-nation o wage disparities, thisamounting to EUR 35 million.Te basic wages o public em-ployees and ocials (includ-ing deputies, ministers, statesecretaries, judges and stateprosecutors) decreased linearlyby 8% as o 1 June. Beore theend o 2013, negotiations musttake place on the mitigation omeasures regarding wages andthe elimination o irregulari-ties in the wage system. Most othe measures regarding amilypolicy are to be temporary butapplicable until and includ-ing the year ollowing that inwhich economic growth ex-ceeds 2.5% o gross domesticproduct.

a revenue levelhe new law includes a

provision regarding the in-

crease o the general rate oVA should the deicit in2013 not all below 3%, VA in2014 will be increased to theextent that the exceeded dei-cit is eliminated, but not bymore than three percentagepoints. A ourth income taxbracket is being introducedor 2013 and 2014, amount-ing to 50% i the net annualtax base exceeds EUR 69,313.he taxation on real estateworth over EUR one millionhas been increased to hal apercent, while the taxationon real estate worth over EURtwo million and not used orcommercial or public pur-poses has been increased toone percent during the crisis.At the revenue level, taxa-tion imposed on proits rombuilding land sales will takeeect ater grassland andsimilar suraces o lower val-

ue are turned into buildingplots. his measure was notlimited by the Government bylaw to the period o crisis. axon proit due to changes madeto intended land use will bepaid by the seller o land thathas been turned into a build-ing plot ater being sold andhas as such been entered intothe real-estate register. In thisway, the Government wouldlike to take advantage romproitable sales. he tax ratewill depend on the period othe change in the intendedpurpose o use: or less thanone year it will amount to25%, ater a year it will de-crease to 15% or ten years,and in subsequent years, atera urther three to ten years,the rate will drop to 5%.

: focus :

Regular Government Session


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interview

Vesna arkovi, photo: SA

JOE COlARI:FOR MANY YEARS, HE buSiNESS ENViRONMEN iN

SlOVENiA HAS NO bEEN AS cONDuciVE O iNVESMENAS iS cuRRENlY HE cASE

Reent hanges to eonommeasres have gven yo an ad-dtona mora mpets to n-rease nvestment. What are

these nvestments aot?In the rst place, the invest-ments planned were intended tostep up and modernise existingproduction and R&D capaci-ties and inrastructure. Krkaslargest ever investment theconstruction o Notol 2 a newplant or the production o solidorm medicinal products is inits initial phase. Te target ca-pacity o the EUR 200 millionproduction acility will be 4.5billion end products per year,accounting or almost a hal ocurrent production capacities.

Investment in the Krka sub-sidiary, Farma GRS d.o.o., whichwas established together withits partners in a project aimed atstrengthening the pharmaceuti-cal industry, is also underway.At Lona, new R&D and pro-duction capacities will be putin place. Te value o the over-all project is EUR 45 million,and has been partly nancedthrough the European Regional

Development Fund (approx.EUR 10 million). Te main aimo the newly ounded companyis to put inrastructure in placethat acilitates the developmento new products and technolo-gies in the areas o pharmaceu-tical chemistry and technology.

in smmer, yo are anh-ng the onstrton o a hem-a prodton aty n Krko.

Yes, this is Krkas strategiclocation and is aimed at ex-panding its own production oactive ingredients in Slovenia.We are planning to build a pro-

duction acility with relevantinrastructure. Not only will theKrko Sinteza 1 plant serve orthe production o pharmaceu-

tically active ingredients andprovide or maximum produc-tion fexibility, but will also al-low us to produce advancedingredients and intermediarysubstances in large series un-der controlled conditions, inaccordance with the Europeandirective on the registration,evaluation and authorisation ochemical substances (REACH).For this type o production, rel-evant inrastructure will be putin place, including the energysupply required or all newlybuilt acilities.

A number o minor-scaleprojects have either been com-pleted or are still ongoing, all owhich contribute to increasingour production capacities. Ac-cordingly, through reorganisa-tion o the premises in one oour acilities, we have createdthe conditions required or theproduction o semi-nishedproducts and the packaging oveterinary tablets. Tis invest-

ment has cost us EUR 1.4 mil-lion. In addition, we envisage agradual rise in the productiono ampoules to 130 million peryear.

Abroad, we are currently in-volved in the construction o anew production-distributioncentre, Krka Rus 2, in Russia.Te estimated value o the in-vestment is EUR 135 million. Teplants capacity, consolidatingKrkas status as a domestic phar-maceutical producer, will be 1.8billion tablets and capsules peryear. Construction is expected tobe completed in 2013.

Yo have ponted ot thatthe nvestment staton n So-vena s approprate, natray,or those who have money, and

that t has not een so nvest-ment-rendy or yearsFor a long time, the business

environment in Slovenia wasnot as conducive to investmentas it is now. Te act that atpresent and in general invest-ment activities are not boomingmeans we can get good pricesrom building contractors andequipment suppliers. In thecurrent climate, contractors arejust happy to get work, particu-larly i they are paid or it. Krkahas a reputation or paying ontime. An additional incentive orcompanies to invest has beenprovided by certain tax legisla-tion amendments which abol-ish the upper limit or the use oinvestment expenditure as a re-lie in relation to tax on prots.In the rst three months o thisyear, Krka Group earmarkedEUR 24.2 million or investment.An upturn in the investment dy-namic is expected in the comingmonths.

Some Sovenan ompanesompan that the redt rnhprevents them rom deveopngrther.

Te credit crunch has beenmost keenly elt by those com-panies that only have a presencein Slovenia. In act, Krka couldhave stayed with two millionpotential patients; however, thiswould have made it consider-ably smaller. Only a couple odecades ago, i.e. in the 1960sand particularly ater 1991, wemade a conscious decision toopt or exports because the do-mestic market was, and still is,

too small or Krkas ambitiousdevelopment plans.

in at, the Government

does not os soey on as-terty measres a rtsmthat has een eveed at theGovernment reenty; t hasaso adopted measres amedat enoragng nvestment andsness, enhanng the s-a envronment and nvest-ments even pror to the sav-ngs pakage; ths s expetedto rest n ertan dgetarynows. in the omng months,the Government ntends topropose addtona measresto strengthen dget revenes.How w these measres aetyor sness operatons andthe domest eonomy n gen-era and how do yo see themrom the perspetve o a s-nessman?

Te additional relies ap-plied to tax on prots regardinginvestment expenditure, invest-ments in development, and a2% tax rate reduction are veryencouraging or Krka. Krka ear-marks around EUR 150 to 200

million or investment and R&Dactivities each year. Tis willhave a positive impact on theadditional tax relies. In addi-tion to the measures intended toincentivise companies, it wouldbe a good idea to reorganise thepublic and state administra-tion in order or them to be asrational and cost-eective aspossible, so as to speed up rel-evant administrative proceduresand to make them more user-riendly. Nevertheless, in anyevent, companies need to relyabove all on their own knowl-edge and hard work.

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8/27


Among the measres amedmprovng the eonom st-on, most o the emphass wdevoted to those whh en-

ne eonom ompettve-ss; as a rest, aor marketorm seems to e essenta.Irrespective o what hap-

ns, the social partners willve to come to an agreement

the labour market issue.om a long-term social and so-tal sustainability perspective,

would be a positive move orem to get early agreement onese issues.

Yo are rnnng a ompanyat has not een aeted ye rss. What are the reasonshnd yor sess? What se essene o yor phosophy,hh yeds sh good rests?hat adve wod yo gve tompanes that are not dong soe?

I would not agree that Krkas not been aected by the re-ssion. However, it is true that,en our international businessentation, we have survived amber o crises in the past andrned much rom them. Tis is

obably why we can adapt to

adverse business conditions soquickly.

Te crisis has undoubtedlyhad an eect on the pharma-ceutical industry; proo o thiscan be seen in the many compa-nies that were once successulbut are now in great diculties.

Owing to the lack o moneyor healthcare, we are acedwith downward pressures ondrug prices. Despite the adverseeconomic conditions, we havemanaged to maintain our posi-tion as one o the leading gener-ic pharmaceutical businesses inthe world, and been successul

in creating a solid starting pointor this year and the next. Inorder to ensure the companysgrowth and development, it isvital that the companys ownR&D activities help create newproducts, that they are broughtto market, and, o course, thatthey are sold. Our company isvery sales-oriented. Tis doesnot mean that we neglect costcontrol; the key to growth issales, i.e. revenues. Our plansare optimistic. rends have re-vealed that the generic pharma-ceutical industry will continueto strengthen. Tis year, the

Krka Group predicts sales total-ling EUR 1.134 billion, meaninggrowth o 6%.

What s the ompettve ad-vantage that aows yo to doths?

In addition to motivated andskilled employees, I would like todraw attention to our fexibility.What is meant here is the speedwith which we bring our prod-ucts to market, as well as our re-sponse to market developmentsater the products launch. Speedand a fexible approach, whichare part o Krkas core values,

seem to be key competitive ad-vantages at present. Tose able toadapt quickly will not eel the e-ects o the crisis so keenly.

Providing advice to otherson how to address the prob-lems they ace is not easy, sincecircumstances dier betweenindustries. It is a truism, how-ever, that success doesnt hap-pen overnight and without hardwork. As already mentioned, thekey to a well run business liesin a ocus on selling interestingproducts and services o a highstandard, investment in devel-opment and production capaci-

ties, the continuous upgradingo knowledge and, above all, in-vesting in people, since they ul-l the companys objectives.

How do yo dea wth r-reny tatons?

Given the strong diversica-tion in our international busi-ness operations, we cannot avoidbeing exposed to fuctuationsbetween currencies; lately, thisapplies, in particular, to the Rus-sian ruble, Romanian leu, Polishzloty and Ukrainian hryvnia, aswell as several other currencies.In the long run, we try to pro-

tect ourselves against the risksby levelling-out the volume oclaims and liabilities with re-spect to a particular currency.From time to time, we decideon protection through nancialinstruments. Tis year, the rstquarter was relatively avour-able, since we had positive netexchange rate dierences.

We annot avod ths qeston whh s se-rta n natre.Why do some Sovenan ompa-nes not have sfenty am-tos pans to attrat nvestors? isths the at o managers, ata-

sm, a ear o oregn apta, orsomethng ese?

I have a eeling that, over thepast twenty years, we have beenlulled into a alse sense o secu-rity because, in the ormer social-ist world, we were placed amongthe best and nothing bad couldever happen to us. Regardless, weshould invest more in R&D ac-tivities and expand our sales net-works abroad, since opportunitiesare rather limited in the small Slo-venian market.

As or now, t wod perhapse est to e a tte t more op-tmst; nstead o jst ookngak to the past and thnkng othe mstakes we have made, sre-y t s etter to ook to the treand the opportntes t hods

wodnt yo agree?Certainly. What we need to dois take a look around the worldand roll up our sleeves, use ourcommon sense, and try to learn asmuch as possible rom past mis-takes; we should also look or op-portunities in these times o crisis.

Te state ndotedy needsa smart ndstra strategyadapted to market ondtons.Te eonomy s too ragmentedand weak, and gaps n market-ng know-how mean a reak-throgh n oregn markets sdft. Here, there seems to ea ot o room or mprovement.How wod yo se t whatmeasres wod yo take?

Slovenia can, although itdoes not have to, dene its keyareas o development, while theonus is on the business com-munity to provide products andservices or sale; certainly, theremust be a need or these prod-ucts and services in the market.Economic development can alsobe provided through a stimulat-ing scal policy which enhances

the competitiveness o Sloveniancompanies and ensures that asmany economic activities aspossible are carried out in Slo-venia instead o being moved toenvironments with more stimu-lating scal rules. Support canalso be given by those segments

o higher education and otherareas o training that relevant in-dustries really need.

What do yo thnk s pre-ventng anks rom endng? Doyo thnk t s the ak o goodprojets, that ents redt rat-ngs have aen too ow, or thatthe aton dspayed y red-tors s over-exaggerated? Whats yor vew o the rrent st-aton?

Te bad side o a loan is thatit has to be repaid, including in-terest. In times o prosperity, it isvital to keep the worst-case sce-nario in mind. Conservatism, to acertain degree, is welcome. Tatis why Krka is cautious with re-gard to borrowing.

Do yo agree wth the state-ment that soa sodarty nSovena s among the hghestn Erope and that ts wage n-eqaty s the owest?

It is dicult or me to com-ment on the social solidarity oparticular European countries.

Employability, or example,can be signicantly increasedthrough encouraging and a-cilitating the education and re-training o personnel in line withemployers needs on the labourmarket.

in a proaty, oregnnvestments aone w not eenogh to p the art ot othe md; tehnooga prog-ress and growth n prodtvtyseem to e essenta.

More work and, o course,know-how will have to be in-vested. Tis is a winning com-bination which creates morenew products and better busi-ness outcomes. Above all, onehas to bear in mind that run-ning a successul business is

like a long-distance run it re-quires constant training and therequent analysis o results. Tetimes when one could take sometime out to catch ones breath arelong gone, unortunately. In act,those times have never existed.


9/27

Government Communication Ofce

BusinessBusinessBusinessBusiness Nataa Buljeta, photo: STA

Government Communication Oce 17

Ater a ew years, the Hungar-ian low-cost airline Wizz Airis to return to Ljubljana JoePunik Airport, and will re-connect Ljubljana with Brus-sels and London. Te airlinewill start fying to CharleroiAirport, south o Brussels, on29 October, and will start fy-ing to London Luton Airporton 30 October. Should thesefight destinations prove to beattractive, Wizz Air will ur-ther strengthen its presence inLjubljana and set up its air basethere.Wizz Air, the oremost low-cost airline in Central andEastern Europe, which gener-ated a prot o EUR 40 mil-

lion last year, expects to carrymore than 70,000 passengersto and rom the two destina-tions mentioned above in itsrst year, and should create 70new jobs in Slovenia.Aerodrom Ljubljana also wel-comes the re-establishmento cooperation with Wizz Air.Te airline industry is under-going major upheavals and theentry o Wizz Air represents akey turning point in LjubljanaAirports urther development.Successul cooperation withWizz Air will also have a a-vourable impact on Sloveniantourism, and cooperation be-tween this Hungarian airlineand Adria Airways ehnika.

Te European Commissionsspring orecast or Slovenia isthat Slovenia will record a 1.4%reduction in GDP and a all inthe scal decit to 4.3% o GDPthis year. For the euro zone andthe entire EU, the EuropeanCommission conrmed its Feb-ruary growth orecast GDP inthe euro zone will decrease by0.3% and overall GDP growth inthe EU will be zero.Te European Commissionsorecast or Slovenia nextyear is that it will record 0.7%growth in GDP, and that its s-cal decit will be reduced to3.8% o GDP. Next year, theeuro zone is expected to record1% growth, while Europe asa whole will record growth o1.3%. In addition, the European

Commissions general orecastor the euro zone is that the s-cal situation will improve.According to the European Bankor Reconstruction and Devel-opment (EBRD), Slovenia willrecord a 2% decline in GDP thisyear and a urther 1.1% in thenext. In its orecast, the EBRDpoints to the credit crunch anda reduction in economic com-petitiveness as the two biggestdiculties, and is the most pes-simistic o all international in-stitutions in its orecasts.Tese orecasts are slightlydierent rom the orecastso the Institute o Macroeco-nomic Analysis and Develop-ment (IMAD), which predict a0.9% drop in GDP. According toIMAD, the European Commis-

e Slovenian Prime Minister,nez Janas, rst ocial visitroad was paid to Germany,hich is Slovenias most im-rtant trading partner. Slo-nias trade with Germany

mounts to around a th oal oreign trade; in 2010,de in goods came to around

UR 3.6 billion in both direc-ns. Slovenias exports tormany mostly comprise

ectrical machinery anduipment and their parts,dio and visual recording andproduction equipment, ande respective parts and ac-ssories (22%). Tis categoryproducts is also ranked rst%) in terms o imports romrmany.rmany is also an impor-

nt investor in Slovenia,rticularly in the area o in-structure (mostly railway

rastructure). Te Primenisters two-day visit start-

with a meeting with the

CEO o Deutsche Bahn AG,Rdiger Grube, and a discus-sion on establishing a logisticsholding between Slovenia andDeutsche Bahn.Prime Minister Jana was thenreceived by Chancellor An-gela Merkel, with whom hediscussed the reorm eortsbeing made in both countries.Tey agreed that sustainablebudgets and scal stability are

vital but insucient on theirown to achieve sustainablegrowth.With a view to urther im-proving cooperation betweenthe two countries, the Slove-nian Government has begunto adopt measures aimed atshaping such a business en-vironment, as this would bemore attractive or oreign in-vestment. Among other things,the Government reduced cor-poration tax and introducedtax relies or investments andtax holidays.

On 30 May, the Prime Minis-ter o the Republic o Slovenia,Janez Jana, met Alexey Miller,the CEO o the Russian energygiant, Gazprom. Teir discus-sions ocused primarily on theSouth Stream pipeline project.Miller brought the SlovenianPrime Minister up to speedwith the projects develop-ment a study o the wholeundertaking has been com-pleted, project documentationis being prepared, and work isexpected to begin at the end othis year. Tey agreed that theproject is o national signi-cance and that it will have apositive impact on energy se-curity in Europe.Te establishment o the SouthStream Slovenia joint ven-ture, which is jointly ownedby Gazprom and the Sloveniancompany, Plinovodi, is in itsnal phase. Te contract orestablishing the venture wassigned by Miller and the CEOo Plinovodi, Marjan Eberlinc,on 31 May in Portoro, wherethey met at the opening othe European Business Con-gress, where more than 200delegates and guests rom 24Member States o the Orga-nization or Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)discussed energy security andnew opportunities or naturalgas.

Gazprom and Plinovodi willeach have a 50% share in theventure, which will have itsregistered oce in Slovenia.Te company will be man-aged by two directors, onerom each partner. Accord-ing to Eberlinc, the easibil-ity study or the South Streampipeline route in Slovenia hasbeen developed and approvedby both partners, and will bespecied in more detail duringthe course o the siting pro-cedures, in accordance withSlovenian legislation. Te totalinvestment is worth approxi-mately EUR 1 billion.Te nal decision on the routeo the whole length o theSouth Stream pipeline will beknown by November. Te nalmap o the route is expectedto include Bulgaria, Slovenia,Serbia and Hungary, whileAustria has not been includedthus ar. In January, Gazpromdecided to begin constructionin December this year, and notin 2013 as previously planned.Te pipeline, the constructiono which is estimated to beworth approximately EUR 16.5billion and which should havea capacity o 63 billion cubicmetres o natural gas per year,is to be completed by 2015,and the rst supplies o gas areexpected to arrive by the endo that year.

Russian companies are seek-ing investment opportunitiesin Slovenia. Preliminary dis-cussions are underway on in-vestments in all types o travelinrastructure, rom railwaysand motorways to the Port oKoper. Te biggest Russian in-vestment in Slovenia, worthover EUR 1 billion, is the South

Stream pipeline. Last year thenumber o Russian tourists inSlovenia increased by morethan 30%. Te Russian am-bassador to Slovenia, DokuZavgayev, is convinced thatthe realisation o the packageo government measures willcontribute to the develop-ment o the Slovenian econ-omy and attract more oreigninvestors. Te largest Russianbank, Sberbank, which re-cently bought the Austrianbank, Volksbank, has enteredthe Slovenian market. Teorecasts or Central European

markets are better than thoseor Western European markets.Tere are many opportunitiesor Russian partners to makeinvestments and connectionsin Slovenia, to acquire someo our companies, even banks,thereby creating improved op-portunities or business in ourcountry, the President o the

Chamber o Commerce andIndustry o Slovenia, SamoHribar Mili, explained in hisspeech at the Russian-Slo-venian business conerence.Tere are also many opportu-nities or Slovenian exports tothe Russian Federation. An ex-ample would be the Automo-tive Cluster o Slovenia, whichgenerated turnover in the Rus-sian market o EUR 24 millionin 2009, EUR 70 million lastyear, and, together with com-panies in Slovenian-Russianownership, a total o EUR 110million.

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sions lower orecast concern-ing the movement o SlovenianGDP is, in particular, a conse-quence o diering expecta-tions in terms o import andexport trends and the resultingcontribution o internationaltrade to GDP growth. Econo-mists also estimate that Slo-venian GDP will not all below1.4%, as predicted by the Eu-ropean Commission, becausecost-saving measures havebeen already included in thestability programme, which

serves as the basis or econom-ic growth orecasts.Te cost-saving measuresadopted by Slovenia havesucceeded in reversing athree-year trend when thedecit remained at practicallythe same level each year. Evenlast autumn, the EuropeanCommission was still predict-ing a 5.3% decit. Te mea-sures were also welcomed bynance ministers and the EuroGroup president, Jean-ClaudeJuncker.

PM Janez Jana met Alexey Miller, the CEO o Gazprom.

PM Janez Janas rst ofcial visit abroad was paid to Germany.


10/27


reGiOnAL DeveLOPMent

Joe Osterman, photo: Te Regional Development Agency o the Ljubljana urban region archive

T ro dom ay of ljbj b o o bf b

m of tooy pk o ljbj. T fo m mm-

z o of oo; oy o

oo fo y o. T o b fo oo of om y, y o

by b y mo o f of y o o.

lJUblJANA URbAN REGION ENGINEO HE SlOVENIAN ECONOMy

Te Ljubljana urban regionis practically covered by theOsrednjeslovenska statisti-cal region. Tis region is ratherspecial compared to the twelveSlovenian regions in terms othe concentration o produc-tion industries, business enti-ties and nance in Slovenia. Itcovers an area in which about26% o the states populationlive. Data show that this regionis home to about 32,77% o allSlovenian companies whichgenerate approximately 45% orevenues yielded in the coun-try, and these companies em-ploy about 38% o all the peopleemployed. Te gross domesticproduct (GDP) per capita in theregion was EUR 24,660 in 2009,ollowed by the Obalnokrakaregion with EUR 18,848 GDPper capita. In terms o purchasepower standards in relation tothe EU average, the region hasan index o 122 or 2009 (i.e.over 22% above the Europeanaverage) whereas the Slovenianaverage index is 89; in Slovenia,only the Obalnokraka region with an index o approximately93 exceeds this average. Teserather ambiguous data whichreveal considerable dierencesbetween the regions (althoughthese dierences are small inSlovenia compared to someother countries) show thatcentral Slovenia is a very strongeconomic engine.

they are currently only waitingor the national spatial plan tobe adopted in order to be ableto begin with the implemen-tation o their developmentmeasures. Despite the legalhierarchy provided by the lawwhich denes the superior-ity o national plans, it is clearthat priority is usually given tothose who are aster and morewilling, since the arguments inavour o doing so are more o-ten on their side.

In considering such stableoundations that establishedthe Ljubljana urban region as ahard conglomerate o the cityand municipalities (by whichthe region has already start-ed to unction as an inormallandscape), the creation o de-velopment plans is signicant-ly aster and is likely to increasedevelopment priorities o thispart o Slovenia, even beyondthe present scope. One o thecritical weaknesses o usingEuropean unds in Slovenia istoo ew good projects prepared;this does not present a bigproblem in the Ljubljana re-gion. Tereore, the region hasin due course solved one o themost sensitive problems acingthe majority o other Slovenianregions which in some areaslead to a kind o disaster; it es-tablished waste landlls thatoperate according to all Euro-pean environmental standards

interesting inormation: Weare the only developmentagency established by one mu-nicipality (the Municipality oLjubljana); the 25 other mu-nicipalities in the region thenjoined, and they nance it on aregular basis.

It seems this is a very posi-tive development since the re-gion acts as a stable, mutuallyconnected entity, or which theagency itsel, within its bod-ies, can carry out the majorityo adjustments and, as a result,a number o tough time-con-suming negotiations are notnecessary. Tese bodies includethe most senior municipalityrepresentatives the mayors and, in various project groups,the municipalities expert as-sociates take an active part inresolving all details in con-nection with their municipali-ties, in direct cooperation withexperts. In 2007, the regionadopted the Regional Develop-ment Programme 20072013through which it establishedits development rameworksrelatively early. I n some places,these consequences can be ob-served and are benecial. Onthis basis, the City o Ljubljanaand a considerable number othe municipalities in the re-gion have already adopted theirspatial plans and the most im-portant operative developmentacts, so that, in several areas,

key to SucceSS: unity andcooperation

Tereore, it may seem sur-prising that only one develop-ment agency operates in thislarge urban region, as thereare our development agenciesin the considerably smallerGorika region (already pre-sented in the last issue o Sin-o) which, however, cooperatevery well.

Liljana Madjar who hasbeen managing the Ljubljanaagency since its inception,draws our attention to some


11/27


(RCERO) and according tothese standards, it participatesin the system o waste separa-tion and decomposition. Teseare signicant issues. Althoughthe director denies that the actthat plans are developed withinthe region is one o importantactors o this relatively avour-able course o events, the actsspeak dierently.

the biggeSt problem iStraic

Although the region hassuccessully resolved theaorementioned basic devel-opment elements, there is noshortage o problems requir-ing prompt solutions. Te big-

gest challenge is trac, andthe agency has been devotingmost o its attention to this is-sue. In 2009, a comprehensivestudy o trac was completedwhich, ater a lengthy period,included a careul analysis othe (random) developments othe last decades which have re-sulted rom a certain metropo-lisation o Ljubljana and theincreased passivity o its hin-

terland. Te great developmento the capital city which inthis area, brought about mosto its service, industry and -nance activities, ollowed byman power, created a situationthat arose as a consequence othe neglected development opublic transport and the un-bridled development o pri-vate transport when every day,about 120,000 passenger ve-hicles travel to the city (and atthe end o a working day leaveit), which cause, on the onehand, trac congestion and,on the other, a great ambitionto extend trac routes. Tedevelopment agency has pre-pared a strategic study whichcovers the entire region and

on the basis o which, tracshould be gradually regulatedin the coming decade so as toinclude public transport (bus,train and tram) through whichthe transport o the entire re-gion, especially its centre theCity o Ljubljana, would be sig-nicantly better developed interms o energy and environ-ment. In that respect, the agen-cy has already prepared exten-

sive operational plans whichoresee the establishment o 36Park-and-Ride sites, the sys-tem by which the majority opassengers in private vehiclesget to public means o trans-port at some point and thushelp improve trac fow andeciency. On this basis, manypolicies in the adopted spatialplans could be implemented.

entrepreneurShipdevelopment

Te agencys second de-velopment opportunity is topromote entrepreneurshipand good business initiativesin general. Te agency comesup with practical and directsolutions which are based par-

ticularly on the development opersonnel. In this respect, TeRegional o creative economywas developed where poten-tial entrepreneurs are trainedand supported to succeed andestablish their own enterpris-es. In a special way o grant-ing scholarship where a greatdeal o European unds areobtained, investment is madein young employees, entre-preneurs and experts by mak-ing direct contact with a utureemployer and early inclusionin a working process wherebythe way o granting scholar-ship is very encouraging orboth a receiver and employer.Te many urther educationalorms which, in one way oranother, are integrated into thework arouse great interest sothat all these orms o educa-tion are ully occupied, as con-rmed by the agency manage-ment.

What appears to be espe-cially innovative and deservesull attention is the agencysattempt to unite and link pro-duction potentials. Te cre-ation o mutually linked busi-ness chains and developmentnetworks, which represents anoptimal way o particularly thattype o production that is dis-tinguished by the highest valueadded, has, or several years,been the main motto o theagency where success was alsoachieved. Last but not least,they are orced by their direct

environment, as the surround-ing technology park, literally,poses challenges or connect-ing the number o relativelysmall business entities locatedthere. Tis is not the only rea-son: in the region, there aresome other similar technologyparks, development incubatorsand open activities which needintegration and close coopera-tion in order to be realised. Teagency has recently ocused itsattention on tourism, whichhas fourished in the region;our capital city has recordeda two-digit increase in tour-ist visits each year. Since theLjubljana hinterland is not wellknown, although it has in-teresting natural and culturalvalue, the integration in pro-

moting, organising cultural andtourist events and general tour-ist oers is one o the most suc-cessul areas the agency dealswith. Tis also partly reers tothe project the agency carriesout concerning the quality olie o related towns, payingspecial attention to Ljubljana,which, as the capital city, triesto compare with about twentyother similar European cities.At the same time, the agency

itsel as an independent entityhas been growing constantly; itis developing into a new mediacentre where everybody with acertain interest in doing some-thing can learn how an ideacan be realised. Tis representsan enormous scope o activi-ties or the 18 people workingin the agency.

europe helpS

Te director points out thatEuropean unds are o the ut-most importance in planningregional development, par-ticularly in the current situa-tion. During the very time othe crisis, which is character-ised by the credit crunch andenormous debts incurred by

Slovenian companies as wellas public expenditure restric-tions, which are refected ininvestment resources, therewould not be so many devel-opment opportunities with-out Europe. Tere were somecomplaints that the centralregion had been unsuccessulin drawing on European undsa ew year ago, which resultedrom the act that the central and most developed region

had practically no opportu-nity to use the European cohe-sion unds, which representeda large source o unds in itsneighbouring regions. oday,the situation is dierent; therelevant employees learned,with the help o the agency, theprocedures or the successulutilisation o European undsso that eciency in utilisingunds is on the increase, evenby more than once a year. Inthese precarious times, this isan excellent solution.

Te optimism shown bythis agencys young person-nel is almost contagious. In thepredominantly gloomy atmo-sphere o the economic crisis,when many people lamentover the situation, this rm be-

lie in development opportuni-ties is rereshing and benecial.And it shows results! oday, thecrisis is elt less keenly in Lju-bljana than in other parts oSlovenia. It appears that thisis the result o signicantlygreater unity, sel-condenceand the capacity o cooperationthat are present here. Cohesionand a sense o community pro-vide a basis or aster progress.

Lilijana Madjar, Manager o Ljubljana Regional Development Agency.


12/27


Te implementation o oreign policyshould always be a twoold process. Firstly,it requires a clear program and secondly itnecessitates to a certain extent the capabil-ity to react to the changing circumstances,along the adopted program. With otherwords, there has to be a comprehensibleunderstanding o oreign policy approachand goals as well as the ability to be cre-ative, to produce meaningul and substan-tial events. Additionally, it is good to havean institutionalized rame, which is at thesame time fexible enough to vibrate re-sults. Relations between Slovenia and ur-key could oer an example or such an ap-proach in pursuing oreign policy o a smallstate like Slovenia.

Bilateral relations between Sloveniaand urkey have been on the rise sinceurkeys recognition o the Slovene inde-pendence in early February 1992. In 2005the amount o bilateral trade doubled andrelations gained signicantly on momen-tum during the Slovene EU Presidency inthe rst part o 2008. In March 2011 theStrategic Partnership was signed, whichstems rom previous achievements andpaves the way or urther and all encom-passing deepening as well as enhancingo bilateral relations. Tis event marksthe milestone and has become the oreignpolicy backbone. It enables both coun-tries and governments to careully planactivities and produce events. Te idea orthe Partnership emerged during an inor-mal meeting, which I had with the PrimeMinister Erdoan in late January 2011 inErzurum. In the year 2012 the celebrationo the twentieth anniversary o the dip-lomatic relations adds signicantly to themomentum and substance.

Tree topics should be pointed outwithin this rame.

Firstly, an increased dynamics o highpolitical visits. Te urkish Prime Minis-ter Recep ayyip Erdoan visited Sloveniarecently, accompanied by seven ministers.

Tis was the rst visit o a Prime Minister tothe new Slovene Government and o urk-ish ever. Both delegations held detailed andvery concrete discussions. Te two PrimeMinisters will meet again next year in An-kara to hold intergovernmental ministerialsession. Prior to this the Joint EconomicCommission will meet in Ljubljana thisautumn and the Slovene urkish BusinessCouncil will meet in Istanbul.

Secondly, meetings and visits amongbusiness people rom various areas arewell on track. Lets have a look at ew ex-amples. Recently two urkish Companiesinvested in Slovene ones (Lesna SlovenjGradec and Farba Prebold), while or ex-ample Izoteh Ljubljana and Izober Kayserihave been cooperating or some time bynow. Discussion to upgrade cooperationwith the Port o Koper is under way andalso cooperation between alum and Cev-her is gaining on drive. A Memorandum oUnderstanding in the eld o energy is be-ing prepared and negotiations to concludethe bilateral agreement on social securitywill be launched soon.

Tirdly, public and cultural activities.During recent months there has been anumber o various activities around ur-key, promoting Slovenia and riendshipbetween the two countries. A special issueo the Diplo Atlas Magazine on Sloveniawas published in urkish, in 7.000 copies.Te urkish Prime Minister Erdoan, whenvisiting Slovenia, received the World Per-sonality o the Decade Award by Te In-ternational Institute or Middle East andBalkans Studies IFIMES rom Ljubljana.Te ceremony was broadcasted live onthree main V urkish channels. A serieso Slovene books is being translated tourkish language, celebrating the twen-tieth anniversary o diplomatic relations.Interviews in urkish national and localmedia are on the regular agenda. Te Is-tanbul International Advertising Festivalwas held in January or the second time in

a row. We are de acto witnessing the big-gest ever PR campaign and promotion oSlovenia in urkey.

Last but not least, the contribution o allve Honorary Consuls o Slovenia in ur-key (Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Gaziantep,and Iskenderun) is highly valuable and weare looking orward to the new ones wholljoin the group soon.

Te above presented and explained or-eign policy output could thereore serve asan example or an analytical case study. Itssubstance is known and dened; its pa-rameters are fexible and adaptable, thedynamics ollows an upward trend. Teriendship between Slovenia and urkeyshow that the scale practically doesntmatter; it actually inspires and encourages.

urkey recognized Slovenia on 6bruary 1992 soon ater Slovenia declaredindependence on 25 June 1991. urkish

mbassy in Ljubljana became operationalo 1 April 1993 and Slovenia opened its

mbassy in Ankara in September 1996.Since then, the bilateral relations

tween the two countries have beenogressing in almost all elds in a riendlyd constructive manner. Tis tendencythe relations has been promoted by the

gh level political dialogue between theo countries.Slovenia and urkey have developedmutually benecial and harmorious

operation atmosphere especially atere accession o Slovenia to the EU. Sloveniawell aware o urkeys geo-political

ength and historical advantages, andrceives urkey as a regional power and

kes diligent attention in cooperationth urkey. Following the mutual visits oe Presidents o the two countries in 2009d 2010, the ocial visit o the Primenister o Slovenia to urkey in March 2011

as highlighted by the urkey Sloveniaategic Partnership accord signed by

e Prime Ministers o the two countries.ategic parnership which envisages a

gular high level political dialogue as wella close cooperation on strengthening

ateral trade and investment, urkeysaccession, regional stability and peace

orts especially in the Balkans, combatingorms o terrorism and organized crime,

operation on environmental issues andergy security, intercultural dialogue,ucation, research and cultural issues.

Te recent ocial visit o urkishme Minister Mr. Recep ayyip ErdoanSlovenia on 7 May 2012 accompaniedseven Ministers o Government and

ree members o the urkish Parliamentas the resemblence and the properplication o the Strategic Partnershipcord. Almost all o the main elements oe bilateral Strategic Partnership accord

were discussed and reviewed by theurkish Prime Minister and his Slovenecounterpart. Prime Minister Mr. Erdoanalso visited the President o the SloveneNational Assembly Mr. Gregor Virant andthe President o the Republic o SloveniaDr. Danilo rk and had the opportunityto express and exchange views on bilateraland global issues. IFIMES, on the occasiono this visit, organized a ceremony wherePrime Minister Mr. Recep ayyip Erdoanwas presented the World Personality othe Decade Award by the Institute.

As to urkeys relations with the EU,Slovenia is among the supporters o theenlargement o the Union and urkeysEU membership, and this point is beingexpressed by Slovene ocials at thehighest level on every occasion. SloveneGovernment has conrmed its visionon urkeys accession to the EU at themeetings during the recent ocial visit othe urkish Prime Minister .

Bilateral economic relations have notyet been able to seize its potential level.In 2011, total trade volume betweenurkey and Slovenia was 966.660.000 USDollars, with the oreign trade balanceon urkish side. On the other hand, as oDecember 2010, 17 Slovene originatedrms were operational in urkey. urkishinvestments in Slovenia are small andmedium sized enterprises, unctioning inthe sectors o restaurant, textile, ready-to-wear, jewellery and tourism. urkishGovernment is encouraging urkishbusinessmen to explore investmentopportunities in Slovenia and to join handsor projects in third markets. Te JointEconomic Council Meeting between thethe two countries which is scheduled orthe second hal o 2012 will concentrate ontaking concrete steps to urther strengtheneconomic cooperation.

Slovene society is vastly interestedin urkey and has been increasinglytravelling to the country. In 2011, a total

Derya Ka nay, Ambassador o urkey to Slovenia

a MOdel partnership

Asso. Pro. Dr. Man Jaze, Ambassador o Slovenia to urkey

s p Fo poy Bkbo

Photo:personalarchive

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number o 41.870 Slovene citizens visitedurkey. On the other hand, as o 25 August2010, Slovene citizens were granted visaexemption or travelling to urkey ortouristic or commercial purposes whichhas been a positive actor in the promotiono tourism. Likewise, it is gladly observedthat, touristically, there is a growinginterest rom urkish people to Slovenia.

Te eects o ongoing positiverelations in all elds between the twocountries are also being elt in thecultural and educational spheres. Tereis a growing interest in Slovenia towardsurkish contemporary art and artists, lmand music. urkish artists and works oart are taking place in signicant artisticevents in Slovenia . urkey is participatingin the program o Maribor-2012 CulturalCapital o Europe with modern danceperormance and with traditional urkishdecorative arts.

Slovenes are also interested in urkishliterature and as a result o that Slovenepublishers are translating the works oeminent urkish authors into Slovenelanguage. Besides, urkish students whoare being educated in Slovenia within theramework o the Erasmus program, playan important role in the development osocial and cultural relations with Slovenia.

Prospering relations in all elds arenot only restricted with the bilateral level,but also display itsel in internationalinstitutions and platorms. Tis conceptionprovides close cooperation betweenurkey and Slovenia in many elds. Inthis context, outstanding responsibilitiesundertaken by the two countries in theinternational sphere, oer signicantopportunities in contribution to worldpeace and prosperity.


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art&culture

Hana Souek Moraa; photo: National Gallery archive and personal archive o Alenka Bartl

Aenka bart, costume designer

Joe Osterman, photo: SA

bed hosts PEN Internationa

For ty-ve years, she has designed over 500 theatre cos-mes, participated in over orty lm and television productions

d set up the oundations o the Slovenian Costume Design De-rtment at the Academy o Teatre, Film, Radio and elevisiond the Academy o Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana. You mayk who this costume design mistress is, blending abric and co-urs as i by magic. Tis is Alenka Bartl, a woman who in theords State Secretary Aleksander Zorn delivered upon the open-g o a major exhibition devoted to a retrospection o her opusennobled a proession, a school and the art o costume design.

Alenka Bartls creative career has been extremely varied.e was one o the rst Slovenian proessional costume design-s to have completed a university degree in ne arts and cos-me design. Even beore obtaining her degree in Belgrade, shed designed her rst theatre, opera and ballet costumes in the

ovenian National Teatre in Ljubljana in the early 1950s. Shevested great eorts in promoting costume design as an inde-ndent art genre in Slovenia and Yugoslavia. On her initiative,

the Zlata Arena award was also introduced in the area o costumedesign at the Festival o Yugoslav Film in Pula. She cooperated

with all the most important directors in the ormer Yugoslaviaand held several exhibitions both at home and abroad. She hasreceived numerous prizes and awards, including, among others,the Preeren Fund Award in 1972 and the Preeren Award or lie-time achievement in 1989.

Te exhibition, which is dedicated to her opus and producedin cooperation between the Slovenian National Teatre Museumand the National Gallery, is open or visits until 24 June. In theNational Gallery there are video recordings o perormances, -teen costumes and 330 costume sketches, with explanatory run-ning texts on her work, written by Ivo Svetina. In the words oMr Svetina, Director o the Slovenian National Teatre Museum,Alenka Bartl created a specic art genre in theatre perormance,thereby giving special importance to the hitherto overlooked roleo costume design. She showed us the importance o a costumewhich is not just a dress, but much, much more.

In mid-May, Bled hosted the 44th International Writers Meet-ing, an event that has become one o the most recognisable andreputable intellectual eatures o the town. Te President o thePEN International, John Ralston Saul, conrmed this by statingthat Bled is a place where new ideas or the urther work o thisassociation are being born, while hoping that it would maintainthis reputation.

Tis year, Bled hosted ty writers who took part in two round-tables in our days. A urther meeting was held by the InternationalPEN Writers or Peace Committee, which considered the situationo writers in various countries and draws attention to potentialviolation o their rights or even threats to their lie. On this oc-casion, they expressed their utmost concern over the situation inMexico, where one hundred people, mostly journalists and writ-ers, had been killed over the last ew months in conficts betweenthe Mexican authorities and the narco-maa; these conditions arethe cause o an increasing sel-censorship.

Moreover, PEN members are highly concerned about the situa-tion in the Middle East and Morocco, where writers are also amongthe most threatened people. Te Israeli participant o the meet-ing addressed the situation in Israel. While putting the blame orthe current situation on both parties involved in the confict, shestated that at least 70 per cent o Israelis want to live in peace. InMorocco there is an increase in sel-censorship, as its governmentrestricts the translation o literary works into oreign languages,

thus gradually narrowing the space or ree creativity and discour-aging the authors rom writing. It would be right and proper thatthis situation become a cause or global concern.

On the opening day, the participants o the meeting were re-ceived by the President o Slovenia, Danilo rk. In his address,he called on them to search or new paths towards the resolutiono the problems o mankind that, though untrodden or less used,could nevertheless lead to better solutions. Joining Mr rk onthis issue, the Slovenian PEN President, Marjan Strojan, pointedout that poetry indeed oers unclear answers, sometimes even inthe orm o dilemmas; thereore, the decision always lies withinus. Poetrys most proound message is that it reminds us that weare human beings, and that human beings have always been acedwith similar questions as we are.

At the rst round-table, entitled ransormation New Pathsor the Decline o Western Rationalistic Civilisation, the writers o-

cused on the issue o ethics. Te President o the Slovene Academyo Sciences and Arts, Joe rontelj, highlighted the question as towhere the unethical exploitation o human beings will stop as akey dilemma, and went on to emphasise that human dignity can-not depend on utilitarian criteria. Te ethic that promotes personalbenets o individuals cannot be a support or the uture. JankoPrunk spoke o the decline o the Western rationalistic civilisationthat we are currently witnessing and pointed out that in such mo-ments, new movements have nevertheless always sprung up andestablished new oundations. Sylvestre Clannncier rom Francetouched upon the excesses o intellect and pointed out the signi-cance o the intellect being attentive to itsel, while his colleague,Jean-Luc Despax spoke o neoliberalism and globalisation. Eliza-bet Csiscery-Ronay described how visitors rom the West perceiveHungary and spoke o a countrys right to decide on its utureindependently. Suggesting an urgent need or a revolution, onewhich would make an end to the current blockade o the spiri-tual, Zeki Ergas rom Switzerland was the last to appear at the rstround-table discussions.

Te second round table, entitled Perennial Modernity and theFuture o Writing, ocused on the issue o literary creation. Whilediscussing the relation between literature and contemporary soci-ety, the relevant conclusions o the participants considerably di-ered. For some, literature has become a supranational art, becausethe models enshrining it as the core o a national identity have dis-

integrated, while others supported the view that poetry neverthe-less possesses an integrating power bestowing signicant energyto nations. Certain participants, particularly the representatives othe countries that were a decade ago involved in murderous Bal-kan wars, nevertheless perceive literature as an indispensable in-strument o the consolidation o the national identity.

Te writers meeting was opened with a very pleasant eveningpresentation o literature and music rom the Prekmurje and Po-rabje regions works which are quite mysterious and, unortu-nately, still poorly known among Slovenes, despite the act thatthey have continuously received important awards. While theauthors Milan Vicenti, Joe Ftiar and Francek Muki presentedtheir works, other participants highlighted the signicance o pro-tecting small and endangered languages and dialects, such as thePrekmurje and Porabje dialects.

Marjan Strojan, President o Slovenian PEN


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&culture

Joe Osterman, photo: SA

Noe Prize winners visit MariorTe event which, among numerous other events, caused the

ost excitement in May in Maribor was a visit and lectures by ourbel Peace Prize winners. Te rst to be welcomed was the our-

enth Dalai Lama o ibet, enzin Gyatso. His rst speech was inbor Hall, the largest venue; later, he appeared in the large hallMaribor Teatre, together with the other Nobel laureates, Mu-mmad Yunus, Rigoberta Menchu um and Slovenian proessorka Kaje Bogataj, who won the Nobel Prize as a member o theCC Working Group on environmental issues.

In all respects, this was a great event, imbued with a peaceulcus on those universal themes that our present and uture livespend on: solidarity, openness, tolerance and sustainable humanvelopment.

Proessor Yunus gave a lecture on social entrepreneurship,hich he is convinced can help resolve many problems, since itaimed at meeting the needs o people and not at making prot.

Rigoberta Menchu um discussed the role o women in the e-ts or peace and showed in detail the situation in her homelandGuatemala, where violence and lawlessness have devastated theuntry and its people. However, through detailed presentationsrelevant inormation, her oundation has succeeded in signi-ntly raising peoples awareness o the problem o Guatemala.

Luka Bogataj talked about the possible uture scenarios inht o coming climate changes and warned o the wrong ap-oaches regarding the resolution o environmental issues. Incor-ct economic models, ecosystem losses, growth and inequalitythe worlds population, exponentially growing exploitation otural resources and the accompanying climate changes do noter much hope or the long-term improvement o the situationour planet. Key issues such as how to ensure 50 % more ood

d water and 30 % more energy should be at the centre o ourention every day.Te European Capital o Culture, Maribor 2012, has entered its

cond third. In times o crisis, when the atmosphere is becomingore strained due to the adverse economic conditions, the Mari-r cultural hub, in contrast, brings a positive and soothing eect

on our lives. Although this may not be the case with every one ous, the growing number o visitors and more intense media reac-tion to it raise hopes that our lives are not totally dependent onmoney.

On this occasion, it should again be mentioned that the ECCproject is still running, and is exceeding expectations in many re-spects; above all, this is a successul compensation or a act thatMaribor received almost nothing in exchange in terms o invest-ment. Maribor thus developed a new type o pattern in which themain value is given to a locally favoured cultural production and,in particular, to alternative ways o everyday cultural expressionrefected in the peoples daily lives and perormed as an experi-ment within the Urbane brazde (Urban Furrows) programme.

Tis context was given much attention during the discussionon the European capitals o culture in Vienna, which was organ-ised by the Slovenian cultural-inormation centre in cooperationwith the Eco-social estival Soho in Ottakring and the Soho or-ganisation. Te central question during the discussion was wheth-er the capitals o culture can make a contribution to sustainabledevelopment. In addition to the Maribor project, the discussionalso included the Graz project (2003) and the Linz project (2009),which are considered the most successul projects o this type.However, the dierences between them are considerable: the Grazproject was rather spectacular on account o its investments andmegaprojects; Linz placed more weight on its locally-favouredcultural production, while Maribor is trying to reach into the mostcommon places o individuals lives and to ennoble them throughart and culture.

In dening Maribor 2012, we need to mention the beautiuland high quality projects o the cultural embassies o every par-ticipating country, in particular those countries having a culturalcentre in Slovenia. Tese are the Institut Franais Charles Nodier,British Council Slovenia, sterreichisches Kulturorum, IstitutoItaliano di Cultura, Gthe-Institut Ljubljana, Instituto CervantesLjubljana, and several others that have made their contribution tothe Maribor cultural programme. Tank you, dear riends.

Joe Osterman, photo: Photo Anton Zelenc, photograph collection o the Idrija Municipal Museum

Idrija Mercur Mine on the UNESCOWord Heritage list?

Slovenia is a country with an interesting cultural and naturalheritage. However, the promotion o our heritage is relatively poor,and only two o our sites have been entered on the UNESCO WorldHeritage List thus ar: the kocjan Caves, which were granted thisstatus over three decades ago in the ormer Yugoslavia, and thepile-dwellings in Ljubljansko Barje, which were entered on theWorld Heritage List three years ago, together with some locationsin Switzerland. In recent years, Slovenia has invested much greatereorts in promoting the most outstanding examples o our heri-tage. Since Slovenia gained independence in 1991, there have beenquite a ew attempts at inclusion on the World Heritage List: rsto, Kras as a specic cultural landscape, then Fuinske planine(the iron oundry highlands) above Bohinj as a specic agricul-tural cultivation culture, then the industrial town o Idrija and,some time later, Franja hospital, where several hundred injuredpartisans ound shelter during the Second World War. None o theabove proposals or nomination, except the pile-dwellings pro-posal prepared together with Switzerland, was successul, main-ly owing to our lack o sucient maintenance and promotion o

these properties. However, these ailed candidacies neverthelesshelped our experts master the criteria that need to be consideredwhen submitting a nomination proposal or inscription. It was es-sential to learn that our own admiration o a site is not the mostimportant aspect, but rather the outstanding value o the monu-ment within the context o the development o our civilisation.

Te Idrija Mercury Mine complex, which, rom its very begin-nings, was considered one o the best o its kind along with asimilar mine in the Spanish Almadn ully meets these criteria.

Mercury is a very toxic liquid metal which is almost no longerused since it is dicult to degrade and remove, yet it has playedan extremely important role in the history o human technologicaldevelopment.

Termometers, various sensors, thermal switches and valves,incandescent lamps and luminaries in general are inventions thatwould not have existed without this metal, which has been re-placed by other, less toxic substances only in recent years. Bothmines have developed important specic eatures in the extrac-tion o this metal, because the miners were well aware o the threat

Franciskas Shat Building


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29Sinfo Slovenian informationGovernment Communication Ofce

&culture

Embassy o the Republic o Slovenia in Bern

Te Aps - A birds Ee View, anehiition o photographs Matev

lenari has opened in bernTe ocial opening o Te Alps A Birds Eye View, an

open-air exhibition o photographs by the Slovenian photogra-pher, pilot and environmentalist Matev Lenari, took place atthe prestigious Zentrum Paul Klee arts centre in Bern on 1 June2012. Te exhibition is the ruit o cooperation between the Em-bassy o the Republic o Slovenia in Bern, the City o Bern and theZentrum Paul Klee.

Te aerial photographs o the Alps rom Monaco to Sloveniaare exhibited on more than one hundred panels along the prom-enade beside the Zentrum Paul Klee. Te photographs are ac-companied by commentaries in German and English. Geograph-ical and environmental inormation, and ecological, cultural andhistorical texts are displayed on several additional panels, and aspecial panel presents the Pipistrel ultralight aircrat rom whichthe photos were taken.

Te one hundred and ty guests who attended the ocialopening were mostly Swiss, with some Slovenians resident inSwitzerland and diplomats. Te guests were welcomed by theMayor o the City o Bern, Alexander schppt, the SlovenianAmbassador to Switzerland, Bojan Grobovek, MSc, the direc-tor o the Zentrum Paul Klee, Peter Fischer, the author o theexhibition, Matev Lenari, and the author o the commentar-ies accompanying the photographs, Janez Bizjak. In his speech,Mr Grobovek stressed Slovenia and Switzerlands relationshipwith the Alpine region and cultures. He also said that the exhi-

bition is a Slovenian contribution to marking the twentieth an-niversary o Swiss recognition o Slovenia and the establishmento diplomatic relations between the countries. Te exhibition isundoubtedly having a promotional impact or Slovenia, as it hasbeen seen by many visitors to the Centre, which is a popular localand national attraction. Te exhibition very clearly puts Sloveniaon the map o Europe in terms o its geographical position andculture. Both the Pipistrel company, which already has an o-ce in Switzerland, and a olding bike launched by the companyStudio Moderna, are also being promoted through the exhibition.Mayor schppt emphasised that the exhibition was the resulto the close ties between Ljubljana and Bern, and that the rstpresentation o the exhibition outside Slovenia is in one o thecapitals o the Alpine region. Te act that the Zentrum Paul Klee,which is known or its selectiveness, was prepared to host theexhibition shows its quality, in terms o both the photographicand textual content.

A special panel displays all the exhibitions sponsors, whichinclude the Ministry o Foreign Aairs o the Republic o Slove-nia, and the ollowing companies: Studio Moderna rom Zagorjeob Savi, NLB Internanz rom Zrich, JYL rom Sion, the Sch-netzer Puskas architectural oce rom Basel, and Coristal AGrom Rudolstetten. Te Slovenian Mountaineering Associationriglav in Zrich also supported the exhibition, which is openuntil 31 August 2012.

sed by the substance they were dealing with. Te special devicesthe collection and cleaning o mercury developed in Spain and

our country are a true wonder o technical ingenuity and skill,ven that the history o mining goes back several centuries andms the basis on which the towns o Almadn and Idrija wereilt. Te mine in Idrija was closed down in around 1980 through

gradual process which set an example or the sensible and re-ectable conclusion o an industrial activity which deserves themost respect o history and the environment.

Slovenia, Spain and Mexico (which also has an important mer-ry mine) had submitted their nomination proposals to be con-ered or inclusion in UNESCO World Heritage List years ago, but

e committee responsible repeatedly requested that the propos-submitted be supplemented with new acts and data, in ac-

rdance with very strict criteria. Tis was also the reason whyexico abandoned its pursuit two years ago, whereas the othero countries have persisted in supplementing their proposals.the beginning o May, the International Council on Monumentsd Sites (ICOMOS) session, which was held in Brussels, nally

yielded some good news: our nomination le was given a posi-tive report or expert recommendation or inscription; this, how-ever, will be ultimately decided on by the responsible committeein Saint Petersburg at the beginning o this summer. We hope orthe best since the committee does not oten contradict the propos-als o its council. Inclusion in the World Heritage List would cer-tainly open up a whole new chapter or Idrija: regardless o the actthat, even today, Slovenia is investing considerable assets into themaintenance o the mine as a technical monument, the opportu-nities or obtaining additional unds would be enhanced, and themine would attract considerably more visitors than is currentlythe case. At the same time, our national pride would swell sincethe recognition o the outstanding value o the Idrija Mine wouldcorroborate the good reputation o Slovenias industrial prowessand diligent work, which is also pursued in other elds o industrythat Slovenians have mastered. In Slovenia, there are a ew moresites that would merit inscription on the World Heritage List (thenext is presumably Pleniks Ljubljana; we should also invest moreeort in promoting Kras).

Kamsti water pumping wheel at Josephs Shat

Restored steam-powered engine o Kleys pump


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OUR ExCEllENCE

Matja Nemec, photo: SA

Ean receives Mostinnovative rand 2012 award

o be rst in the world is a prerequisite orsuccess. Globalisation does not give awards orsecond place. Elan reaps its rewards or stayingcutting edge. It preserves its tradition and moves

orward in terms o innovation. Working withour own brands separates us rom multination-als. We do not compete on prices we competeon quality, the Minister o Education, Science,Culture and Sport, iga urk, said when receiv-ing the award or the most innovative sportsequipment 2012.

Te Elan Group is a leading producer andsupplier o sports and leisure equipment. It hasbeen present on the market or over 60 years.All Elans enterprises are devoted to the techni-cal development o products and progressivedesign through an innovative approach and ad-vanced technology. Te winter division at Elanmanuactures skis and snowboards, the marinedivision produces sailing equipment, while ElanInventa is a leading brand in providing sports a-cilities with all the equipment they require. AllElans production acilities are located in Cen-tral Europe. Skis and sail yachts are producedin Slovenia, and snowboards in Austria. Elanowns our companies which market its productsin Canada, Germany and Austria, Switzerlandand Japan, along with independent distributorsaround the world.

ocuS on innovation

In its long history, Elan has constantly keptabreast o new developments, with its expertspaving the way in the eld o innovations in theknowledge that their line o business brings newinnovation milestones every our to ve years.Te German organisation, Plus X Award, conersawards on brands that are distinguished by theiroutstanding achievements in the areas o quality,design, user experience, unctionality, ergonom-ics and environmental awareness. As highlightedat the press conerence held by Leon Koroec, amember o the Elan Management Board, thisaward is recognition o Elans ocus on innova-tion, demonstrating its strong belie that it isthrough innovation that you can best infuence

a companys business perormance in todaystough market conditions. I you have dedicationand a passion or what you do, then being inno-vative is not dicult, Leon Koroec explained.

Te award undoubtedly serves as a hint thatthe company, with its business vision and cul-ture, gives those who wish to invest in a newproduct the opportunity to do so. Elans Brandand Product Director, Luka Grilc, stressed thatthis award was recognition o Elans innovationsover the last 20 years because, ever since the rstwooden Elan skis were created in 1945, the com-pany has been oering athletes new eatures andimprovements every season.

high quality and deSign

Apart rom the Most Innovative Brand 2012award, which was presented on 10 May in Co-logne, Germany, the Plus X Award was also con-erred on Elan or the high quality and design oits Elan Amphibio 1

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