As we have already reported, the police recently launched an investigation into entrepreneur Tadej Von Horvath, a former member of the Social Democrats party (Socialni demokrati – SD), and the Spirit Agency, which is part of the Ministry of the Economy, led by Matjaž Han of the same party. The Agency made unusual decisions in the tender for the restructuring of coal mining regions. The unusual tendering procedures at the Spirit Agency, however, are apparently continuing during Han’s term of office.
A reader informed us about irregularities taking place in relation to the Call for tenders for co-financing the implementation of activities of Slovenian business clubs abroad in 2025 and 2026 (JR SPK 2025-2026) of the 20th of December 2024.
According to the reader, business clubs have not received any answers to date (we are in the middle of 2025) as to whether they are even in the running for the allocation of funds for the reimbursement of operating and promotional costs. The Spirit Agency, which falls under the Ministry of the Economy, controlled by the Social Democrats through Matjaž Han, has simply gone quiet.
“This is simply very unfair to business clubs that help Slovenian companies abroad and have certainly incurred quite a few expenses (salaries, business events, etc.) in the last six months. Apparently, the Agency and the Ministry of the Economy can afford to do anything. There should also be reasonable deadlines for all agencies and ministries,” the reader complains.
In March came the promise of imminent closure, then – silence
This is a public call for proposals, the purpose of which is to create and maintain a network of Slovenian business clubs already operating abroad and to encourage them to carry out activities related to the internationalisation of the Slovenian economy and the attraction of foreign investors to Slovenia.
On the 22nd of January 2025, Spirit’s website, where the information on the public tender is collected, amended the call documentation by formally updating some of the forms, and then on the 31st of March 2025 informed the applicants via the website that the selection of Slovenian business clubs was in its final stage and the results would be announced shortly. That was more than three months ago. To date, there have been no results.
So, what is going on?
It seems strange that the Agency has been delaying the publication of the results for so long. Applicants are now having to wait for the sixth month for the results to be finalised and published, even though they were promised in March that they would be known ‘soon’.
We have contacted the Spirit Agency and the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, under whose auspices it operates, asking them for answers. We will publish the answers when we receive them.
I. K
