In Stockholm today, at the premises of the local NASDAQ stock exchange OMX,  the General meeting of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance), takes place immediately after the last meeting of the current members of the Executive Board of Better Finance. The important voting General meeting has elected a new Executive Board of this influential European association, where the representative of Slovenia, the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič was elected for the third term.

Yesterday saw the beginning of the annual congress and conference of the German association Der Bund der Versicherten (BdV) in Berlin, which was also attended by the PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD) President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, at the invitation of the organizers. As part of this year's 4^th tour of VZMD's international programs, Mr. Verbič had arrived in Germany already on Monday evening to attend a few meetings, among others also with the representatives of the "sister-association" BdV which focuses on the protection of financial services users with an emphasis on various insurances, and collaborates with VZMD within the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance).

In addition to attending the conference, Mr. Verbič addressed the attendees at last night's evening reception as the Executive Board member and the official representative of the Better Finance. The federation will hold a voting General meeting on Friday in Stockholm, where the VZMD President will run for his second term on the Executive Board of this influential European association. In addition to Better Finance's annual General meeting, an international conference and numerous events and meetings will take place in Stockholm to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Swedish shareholder association (Aktiespararna).

Next week marks the beginning of this year's fourth tour of the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD) international business--investor programs: Invest to Slovenia – investo.si and International Investors` Network – invest-to.net, in the context of which the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, will visit Germany, Sweden and Chile.    

In Berlin - where Mr. Verbič was invited by the German sister association »Bund der Versicherten« (BdV) - he will attend the association's conference and the annual general meeting; following this, he will participate at an important voting general meeting of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) in Stockholm, where he will run for his third term on the Executive Board of this influential European association. In addition to the annual general meeting, an international conference and numerous events and meetings will take place in Stockholm to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Swedish shareholder association (Aktiespararna).

Following Wednesday's ceremonial conclusion of the 2^nd European Congress of Local Governments, the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD) President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, returned from the Polish town of Krakow where he actively participated, among others, at the "Investments as a Driving Force Behind Economic Development of the Regions" round table at the invitation of the organizers. During that time, he presented numerous opportunities of the Slovenian economic environment, as well as the activities and plans of VZMD's international business-investor programs: Invest to Slovenia – investo.si and International Investors` Network – invest-to.net. This was met with great interest by the participants, and Mr. Verbič yet again answered concrete questions. This included questions regarding the expropriation of investors in "Bank NKBM" shares at the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) which, unfortunately, seems to be a perennial issue in Poland when establishing business and investment relations with Slovenia.  

The VZMD welcomes the fact that also now the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia bolstered the opinion, voiced by the VZMD's associates since December 4, 2013 when they lodged the first initiative for a constitutional review of the amendment of the Banking Act (ZBan-1L) – that this law with which the self-proclaimed "domestic troika" nationalized as many as six Slovenian banks is unconstitutional and even to such extent that it violates a number of constitutionally protected human rights.

Yesterday, the competent authorities in Slovenia received letters with a call for action due to detrimental effects of abolishing registry accounts. In the letter the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, pointed out that the VZMD had been contacted recently by worried and anxious minority shareholders who have received alarming letters, had to take alarming phone calls and have received invitations to alarming meetings probably with the intention of burdening their continued ownership of own securities with disproportionate costs in order for the"financial industry" to yet again benefit from disproportionate earnings.

Given the fact that the President of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Miro Cerar, and the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Dušan Mramor, even after a little longer than a month have not responded to the open letter sent by the President of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance), Mr. Jean Berthon, and in the context of endeavors to begin solving the issues of the subordinated bonds and shares of Slovenian banks constructively, the PanSlovenian Investors & Shareholders Association (VZMD) also reached out to the international and global media which have not basically reported on the subject thus far.

A meeting of the Corporate Finance Standing Committee (CFSC) and its Consultative Working Group (CFSC CWG) took place yesterday in Paris at the headquarters of the European Securities and Markets Authority - ESMA, and was actively attended for the first time after his appointment to this important body by the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič.

At today's second public hearing in the case "Kotnik and others" which took place at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg due to the expropriation of shareholders and bondholders of Slovenian banks , the Advocate-General of the Court published his reasoned opinion in which he proposed the explicit answers to the questions posed by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, stating that the expropriation of the shareholders and bondholders of Slovenian banks was neither necessary nor unavoidable for the stabilization of the banking system and allocation of state aid.

After reviewing the Advocate-General's reasoned opinion, VZMD's associates and lawyers can repeat with reinforced certainty their position that it was not necessary for the Republic of Slovenia to amend the Banking Act as to allow for retroactive expropriation, since the Banking Communication is not a legally binding act on the EU member states. It has to be noted that the court in Luxembourg does not assess the conformity of legislation with the Convention on Human Rights, as this falls under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg. Nevertheless, it clearly arises from the reasoned opinion that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia will have to reach a decision itself assessing whether amendment of the Banking Act constituted a breach of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. Namely, the Slovenian courts must assess the content to determine whether the exceptional measures of the Bank of Slovenia were legitimate or not, taking into consideration all the protective regulation prohibiting the violations of ownership rights which the VZMD believes were severely infringed.