Published by the Institute for Strategic Solutions (ISR)
- Who's asking
Asian investors are taking a closer look at SloveniaForeign companies own €24bn worth of Slovenian business, much of it from Austria and Switzerland. The agency that courts investors says the newest interest is coming from Asia.
- Freight expectationsSerbia is spending €1.3 billion on its Expo. Someone has to move it all in
Intereuropa will handle every vehicle, consignment and piece of equipment going into Expo 2027 in Belgrade, and coming out again.
- Mind the gapSlovenia's largest bank mulls the one Western Balkan market it does not have
NLB is preparing to open a representative office in Albania and would consider an acquisition if a bank came up for sale, the president of its management board told a business forum in Celje.
- Forest floorThe timber trade Slovenia has not built yet
Albania spent €349.3 million on wood imports last year. Slovenia has 2.2 million cubic metres of approved timber going uncut. It supplies €884,000.
- Neither here nor thereMaribor wants a bigger cut of what passes through it
Slovenia's second city is trying to turn geography into an economic model.
- PREKLOP 2.0Slovenia has plenty of plans. It could do with some decisions
Lightly indebted energy companies and willing banks are meeting a scarcer commodity. Projects far enough along to be financed.
- Sorted, not usedThe price of comfort
Slovenia recycles 59.8 per cent of its municipal waste, yet only 10.1 per cent of the material entering its economy comes from recovered sources. The gap is not a Slovene anomaly but a European one, and it has stopped being an environmental question.
- Diaspora economyThe Western Balkans diaspora is coming home to invest
For decades, millions kept their homelands afloat by sending money back. Now they're returning with something more powerful: investment, influence, and the means to build lasting economic transformation.
- Regional championsHow Balkan companies are redefining the CEE market
While Central Europe wrestled with German industrial slowdown, Western Balkan companies quietly pushed ahead with diversified exports, domestic consumption and regional stamina.
- Blue economyThe maritime transformation of Albania
With 440 kilometres of Adriatic coastline, Albania is finally claiming its place on the Mediterranean shipping map.
- Interview: Dr Mojmir MrakRethinking business in a multipolar world
Dr Mojmir Mrak on geopolitical shifts, EU competitiveness, and what Slovenia and the Western Balkans must do to survive a turbulent new era.
- Pipe DreamsPutin-proofing Europe. One cow at a time
The EU wants a sevenfold increase in biomethane by 2030 to replace Russian gas. It has the technology and the feedstock. What it lacks is the regulatory architecture to connect them.