This week, Moscow will see the renowned Gaidar Forum 2019 kick off, which is traditionally organized at the beginning of the year by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). The forum is attended by numerous prominent scientists, business people, entrepreneurs, decision-makers, representatives of the authorities, politicians, and public figures from many countries and international institutions. Mr. Sergey Myasoedov, Dean of the Moscow Institute of Business Studies, invited the President of the PanSlovenian Sharehodlers` & Investors` Association (VZMD) Mr. Kristjan Verbič to attend the three-day event, where he will take the opportunity to further strengthen his business connections and cooperation with other attending business representatives.

At the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD), where they decided not to actively take part in the latest attempt to name a candidate for the Governor of the Bank of Slovenia - at least until the President of the Republic of Slovenia makes his decision on that matter - they are extremely surprised at how ignorant the new candidate Mr. Boštjan Vasle is and how he’s beating around the bush with regard to the “recapitalization” of Slovenian banks in December 2013 (VIDEO) and the related contestable  expropriations or cancellations (VIDEO) of all (over 100,000) shareholders and subordinated bonds, who after 5 years, are still unconstitutionally denied the right to judicial relief and haven’t received any compensation, an unprecedented practice in civilized world (VIDEO).

Last week, the Brdo Congress Center hosted the 13^th Slovenian Economic Summit organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS) in collaboration with the European Commission Representation in Slovenia. This time, top 6 measures for economic excellency ware adopted, which together represent the key formula for achieving the ambitious 2025 objectives.

The annual meeting of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) and the German Investors' Association (DSW) concluded on Tuesday evening with the Shareholders-friendly Award ceremony accompanied by a gala dinner at the eminent Kurhaus in Wiesbaden. The award, which is presented by the Euroshareholders division of Better Finance in collaboration with the current local investor association, was given to German corporations MERCK and SAP. 

This year’s meeting of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) accompanying the traditional investor conference of the German Investors' Association (DSW), opened yesterday in Wiesbaden with a meeting of the Executive Board and the General Assembly. The General Assembly was attended by over 30 representatives of organizations, which are members of Better Finance, among others Mr. Kristjan Verbič, President of the PanSlovenian Investors' Association (VZMD), who is a member of the Executive Board of the prominent European institution.

The return from Cuba has marked yet another successful international tours the business-investor programs of the VZMD – Investo to Slovenia (investo.si) & International Investors' Network (invest-to.net), as part of which the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, took part in the annual meeting of the World Federation of Investors (WFI) in Paris and in the largest Cuban general fair FIHAV in Havana. Following October's active engagement at the assembly and international conference of the WFI at the Paris stock exchange EURONEXT, the VZMD President also attended numerous events and business meetings in Cuba in the middle of the last week.

This week, the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) has sent the Minister of Finance, Mr. Andrej Bertoncelj, a letter containing warnings as to specific articles of the bill of the Financial Instruments Market Act (ZTFI-1), which was drafted by the Ministry together with the Securities Market Agency (ATVP), and is being read in the National Assembly under urgent procedure.

In the letter, President of Better Finance, Ms. Jella Benner-Heinacher, and Managing Director of Better Finance, Mr. Guillaume Prache, note that it has been already the second time in less than two years that investors and minority shareholders are given limited options to mitigate costs incurred by the financial intermediaries. In so doing, they particularly put stress on the attempts to discontinue the "Share SUPPORT" at the VZMD, and on the unique costs, which are charged by the financial intermediaries in Slovenia for dividend payouts. The letter by Better Finance is to a great extent in line with the recent VZMD's warnings, as well as the  official response by the prominent VZMD's associates.

In addition to Minister of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia, the letter was also sent to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Dejan Židan, Prime Minister, Mr. Marjan Šarec, VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, Vice President of the European Commission in charge of Euro and Social Dialog, Financial Stability and Financial Services as well as Capital Markets Union, Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Justice, Ms. Vera Jourova, and Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, Mr. Olivier Guersent.

On Friday, the joint meeting of the World Federation of Investors (WFI) and World Federation of Young Investors (WFYI) at the Paris Stock EURONEXT marked the conclusion of the annual meeting of the WFI on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the French Federation of Individual Investors and Investor Clubs (F2iC). Original digital solutions developed by the F2iC were presented at the joint meeting to name but a few. 

It looks like the scandalous positions assumed by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia and the Securities Market Agency (ATVP) are shifting from modest silence (as for example in the case of calls for deterring craftsmen and entrepreneurs, and threats of nationalization) to concrete actions, as they advise shareholders, who are not fond of the proposed legislation, uniquely suited to financial elites, to transfer their accounts abroad!  The Minister of Finance Mr. Andrej Bertoncelj, namely responded  to constructive and well-supported suggestions by the VZMD by flatly expressing the following position: "Anyone can avoid the general prohibition to establish trust accounts imposed by the Republic of Slovenia by opening such accounts abroad." It has been a long time since such words last echoed on our ground, more precisely since the times of the Meeting of Truth at the Ušće in Belgrade, Serbia, when Mihajlo Švabić urged “disobedient” Slovenes to leave the country:  »All those Slovenes who are not in favor of contemporary Serbia and the brotherly united Yugoslavia, may as well move to Graz or Philadelphia.« Back then we had enough reason and sense of unity to ban such meetings in Slovenia. Should we now fall prey to an identical attitude acquired by our elected representatives and special agencies?! But the Ministry of Finance doesn’t stop there with its tips and tricks, as they act contrary to the European rules (Article 38 of the Regulation (EU) No. 909/2014), which expressly prohibit imposing additional restrictions on trust accounts in addition to those not valid on September 17, 2014.