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Southeast Europe
September 22, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
is not that bad, and that the two could even be collaborating behind the scenes.
Nonetheless, parliament speaker and Democratic MP Andrian Candu has already called the Liberal Party’s initiative a PR move.
“The president’s resignation, or better said the suspension through impeachment, is a more complicated procedure, it is not carried out only through a decision. According to the procedure, a commission should be set up to
Slovenians prepare
to vote in referendum on Koper-Divaca railway expansion
bne IntelliNews
Slovenia will hold a referendum to ask citizens to approve a €1bn project on the expansion of the rail link between the port of Koper and the inland hub of Divaca on September 24.
The Koper-Divaca railway is strategically impor- tant as it connects the capital Ljubljana with the country’s sole Adriatic port, Koper. This is also the main maritime gateway for Hungary, handling over three-quarters of its container trans-ship- ments.
Slovenia’s largest planned infrastructure project, the railway faces opposition from some within the country. The biggest opponents of the project are lobby group Taxpayers Standing Our Ground and the main opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), which claim that the project would cost too much.
analyse the breach. Then, the findings are sent to the Constitutional Court which decides on the circumstances and them the parliament can make a decision,” Candu said, according to deschide.md.
“Even if an impeachment decision is adopted, which can last up to 30 days, a referendum should be organised. It is more complicated than a simple PR action such as that of our colleagues from the Liberal Party,” he added.
Slovenia's Koper port. The government wants to build a second rail track linking the port to the inland hub of Divaca.
Polls show a majority of Slovenians are likely to vote in favour of the project going ahead. However, an upset would be a heavy blow against Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar's government ahead of the 2018 general election.
Cerar has argued since the outset that the referen- dum is politically motivated. He says the project will accelerate the country’s economic growth, create new jobs and improve infrastructure. According to the rul- ing Modern Centre Party (SMC), the main argument in support of the law on the project is the fact that the rail track will be financed not only by taxpayers, but also by those who will benefit most from it, and that an independent body will supervise its construction.
However, opponents claim that the project is too expensive, that it will harm taxpayers and jeopard- ise the environment.