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This summary is provided by the STA:
Mark Boris Andrijanič appointed digitalisation minister
LJUBLJANA - Mark Boris Andrijanič, a 38-year-old law graduate who has worked for Uber, was appointed minister without portfolio for digital transformation in a 45:44 vote in parliament after presenting his vision for digital Slovenia before the Home Affairs Committee earlier in the day. He pledged to work for digitalisation to become a national priority and a project uniting Slovenia's society and politics. His priority will be to implement as many of the first 40 solutions recently proposed by the Strategic Council for Digitalisation under his guide in the fields of public administration, health, education and business.
EU justice ministers meet in Sloveia, Reynders urges appointment of EU prosecutors
BRDO PRI KRANJU - EU justice ministers met for an informal meeting discussing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in judicial proceedings, with Slovenian Justice Minister Marjan Dikaučič saying the debate centred around the need to put in place safety mechanisms to protect fundamental rights and freedoms. "The prevailing opinion was that algorithms must in no way replace judges." Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said the European Commission's goal was to protect fundamental rights of European citizens, including in law enforcement and judiciary. Children-friendly judiciary and adequate treatment of juvenile offenders were also on the agenda, while Reynders made a rewed appeal for Slovenia to appoint European delegated prosecutors, indicating action unless the government acts very soon.
EU presidency expects solid results on health union package
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia and its predecessors at the helm of the EU, Portugal and Germany, are working to finalise negotiations on three draft regulations that form the basis of the EU Health Union. The desire is to coordinate the regulations in trialogue with other EU institutions as soon as possible, Slovenian Health Minister Janez Poklukar said. The statement came after a high-level conference on implementing innovative solutions for resilient health systems that also featured the health ministers of Portugal and Germany, Marta Temida and Jens Spahn.
Tweaks to foreign policy strategy to be drafted by autumn
LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry said it will draft a proposal to "refresh" Slovenia's foreign policy strategy by the autumn and send the document to the government. It made the announcement after the Strategic Council for Foreign Policy, chaired by Minister Anže Logar, met for a second session in its current line-up to resume a discussion to upgrade the country's foreign policy strategy it started in March. The discussion focussed on a changed security and international situation in Europe and the world, cybersecurity and digitalisation, and business diplomacy.
National Council vetoes audiovisual services act
LJUBLJANA - The upper chamber of parliament vetoed amendments to the audiovisual services act whose core provision is a 6% levy on content providers to finance a new fund for the production of domestic content. The veto comes after sharp criticism by content providers as well as the Association of Slovenian Journalists. The councillors argued that the 6% tax was "covert taxation of Slovenian publishers and providers" that put them at a disadvantage compared to foreign providers, who only collect revenue on the Slovenian market but do not invest in domestic production, a notion which Culture Ministry State Secretary Ignacija Fridl Jarc dismissed.
Opposition calls on govt to resign or seek confidence vote
LJUBLJANA - Centre-left opposition groups called on Thursday on the government to either resign or seek a confidence vote, describing its decision to backtrack on two major bills as yet another proof that it no longer had a majority. All opposition leaders also criticised the government's new policy on the epidemic - no more lockdowns and increasing reliance on Covid certificates for access to more and more services - even as some acknowledged the decision to avert lockdowns was correct. Marjan Šarec, the leader of the opposition LMŠ party, meanwhile told the weekly Mladina on Friday that an early election would be the only right solution if the government was brought down.
Analysts say coalition hitting brakes in wake of referendum defeat
LJUBLJANA - Analysts commenting on the latest developments in parliament agree the government has acted rationally by postponing decisions on two controversial pieces of legislation on Thursday, even if they disagree about how weakened the ruling coalition is after the defeat in Sunday's waters act referendum. The coalition has hit a brake, had a sober rethink and took a decision not to exhaust itself in battles of unequals that are unnecessary, Rok Čakš, a political analyst and editor of the portal Domovina, said. Aljaž Pengov Bitenc said the referendum weakened the coalition and its authority despite its attempts to have the talk of the referendum defeat off the agenda.
Indication of flattening as 64 Covid cases confirmed, delta strain dominant
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 64 new cases of coronavirus for Thursday in 1,684 PCR tests, the second day that infections dropped on a weekly basis. The test positivity rate remained broadly flat as well, at 3.8%, show the latest figures released by the National Institute of Public Health. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 population rose by one to 33 and it is estimated that there are now 717 active cases in the country. Data released by the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food shows that the delta strain of coronavirus has overtaken alpha as the dominant strain in Slovenia in just weeks. In the latest round of sequencing a full 89% of the samples were delta. The surge is largely attributed to a huge outbreak among two groups of students who returned from a school trip to Spain in early July.
MPs pass changes to weapons act
LJUBLJANA - The parliament passed amendments to the weapons act that transpose the EU's firearms directive. Presenting the changes in parliament last week, Interior Ministry State Secretary Božo Predalič told the MPs the aim of the directive was to prevent terrorist attacks using firearms. The directive also deals with legal weapons that are not used in such attacks. Centre-left opposition finds some changes problematic, including an option of purchasing silencers.
New law reduces fines for speeding
LJUBLJANA - Fines for speeding offices are being reduced, while those for using a mobile phone while driving are being raised under amendments to the road traffic act passed by the National Assembly. The new law also regulates electric scooters, and introduce the possibility to turn right at a red light at crossroads with good visibility and elsewhere where this is possible. These crossroads are to be properly marked. The amendments were passed by 46 votes to one.
New vouchers redeemable from today
LJUBLJANA - A new batch of government-sponsored vouchers became available today to all Slovenian residents. Unlike the holiday-at-home vouchers issued last year, they can be used to pay for a variety of services and goods in tourism, hospitality, sports and culture, the sectors hit hardest by lockdowns. The vouchers are part of the government Covid-19 relief aid, and come in two amounts, at EUR 100 for adults and EUR 50 for those under 18. They are valued at EUR 192.2 million.
Mohorič wins his second stage at Tour de France
BORDEAUX, France - Slovenia's Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) won stage 19 of the Tour de France from Mourenx to Libourne after attacking 25km from finish, surging clear from a large breakaway group. The win of the 207km stage is his second at this year's Tour de France after he won the longest leg of 249 km on 2 July, and the fifth for Slovenia's riders at the world's No.1 cycling race this year. The remaining three are credited to Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), the defending champion, who remains in the overall lead.
