Prestigious 5-star hotels in the hearts of the world’s capitals, offering all the comforts and conveniences. Close to airports and shopping centres. These are the destinations that the Minister of Digital Transformation, Emilija Stojmenova Duh, chooses for her trips abroad and pays for with the Ministry-issued credit card, reports the online media outlet Preiskovalno.si (Investigative.si). In just ten months, she has spent more than 10,000 euros.
The Minister started travelling in October of 2022, when she went to Strasbourg and stayed at the Hilton Hotel – located in the immediate vicinity of the European institutions – for 180 euros per night, and she also spent 189 euros at the Compass Group restaurant.
In October, she also travelled to Belgium. She stayed for 408 euros at the Aloft Brussels Schuman, a Marriot hotel close to the European institutions and a minute away from the centre of Brussels. The hotel boasts ultra-comfortable beds and massage showers. And she spent 428 euros at the Brasserie Signature, a meeting place for artists and famous faces with quality Belgian-French cuisine, according to their website.
Prestigious hotels
A month later, she was in the Czech Republic, where she paid 240 euros for hotel services at Prague’s boutique Hotel Klarov, where you can meet superstars such as the Rolling Stones or Joan Baez – in the form of replicas, of course – or experience the charm of the French countryside in a private garden in the heart of the Czech world capital, and she paid 196 euros for food there. She paid 394 euros for a stay at the Palace Hotel Tokyo in the same month. It is a five-star hotel with luxury accommodations, seven restaurants, a spa, and an indoor pool in the heart of the metropolis. She spent 261 euros at the Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu, a restaurant rated four out of five stars on Tripadvisor. The restaurant is known as a filming location for some scenes of the blockbuster movie Kill Bill, and the food is said to look like something out of a movie, according to the website.
Also in December 2022, she travelled to Tallinn (Estonia), where she spent 460 euros for a night in a luxury five-star Swissotel, close to the airport, many sights, and shops. In December, she was also in Brussels, and her card was charged 916 euros at the Renaissance Hotel. In January, she was idle, and then in Paris last February, she spent around 640 euros in one day. She was staying near the Eiffel Tower, in the prestigious 7th arrondissement of Paris. The hotel offers a haven of tranquillity, the rooms are decorated in authentic Parisian style, the service is top-quality, and the bathroom features Provençal natural care products that offer moments of relaxation.
At the end of June, she travelled to China. The Minister spent 3,500 euros on transport and 600 euros on accommodation in China. She paid 1,605 euros for her stay in China with her Ministry-issued credit card.
In the same month, June of last year, she was also in Luxembourg, paying 548 euros for the Melia hotel and 130 euros for hotel services in her native Macedonia, which she left at the age of 16 to study in Slovenia. Just a week after her visit to China, she landed in Paris, staying in the same hotel in the heart of the French capital as she did in February, for the price of 443 euros. Last August, she also attended the Bled Strategy Forum and spent 812 euros at the Park Hotel on the promenade next to Lake Bled.
Expensive restaurants
The use of her Ministry-issued credit card further reveals that Emilija Stojmenova Duh likes to eat at Cubo, a restaurant in Ljubljana catering to the wealthier classes. The upscale restaurant is popular with businessmen and politicians, as it has separate booths for private meetings and gatherings, which raises its price in the restaurant market. Members of the Golob Brotherhood, which includes the Minister of Digital Transformation, also gather there regularly. After obtaining the Ministry-issued card in July 2022, she ate at the prestigious restaurant in question that very same month, spending just under 180 euros on the card. However, the amount spent does not show how many people the meal actually served.
She then visited the restaurant again in February and spent 200 euros there, and 194 euros in March. Her subsequent visits to restaurants show that she is a true gourmet, choosing top-quality restaurants with healthy food, prepared and served to a high standard. In September 2022, she made a stop at the prestigious Allucinante restaurant in Bucharest, which is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars by visitors. Last March, she spent 195 euros at a Mediterranean restaurant in Geneva. Last September, she paid 237.50 euros for food and drinks at the Rado restaurant in Tallinn, which is also recommended by the Michelin Guide. She also visited the Dvorni bar in Ljubljana the same month and left just under 100 euros there.
All this is revealed by the spending data on the Ministry-issued credit card, obtained by the aforementioned web portal. However, the statements obtained from the Minister concealed most of the data from July to October last year. Therefore, the portal has now requested this information under the Public Information Access Act.
Moja Dolenjska
