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A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here
This summary is provided by the STA:
Janša appointed prime minister-designate
LJUBLJANA - Democrats (SDS) leader Janez Janša was elected PM-designate, receiving the mandate to form his third government. Having forged a centre-right coalition with three more parties after Marjan Šarec resigned as PM, Janša won 52 votes in the 90-member legislature. The priorities listed by Janša in his address include cutting red tape, launching a fund in which state assets would be pooled to help finance public pensions, liberalisation of the economy and more competition in education and healthcare. The debate in parliament saw the members of the new coalition pledging to work for the entire society and rejecting criticism about the prospects of the new government being too far to the right. Hungarian PM Viktor Orban and Manfred Weber, chair of the European People's Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament, were among the first foreign politicians to congratulate Janša.
Slovenia and N Macedonia home ministers discuss migration
LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar hosted his new North Macedonian counterpart Nakje Chulev for a meeting that focused on illegal migration, including the situation on the Turkish-Greek border. The pair agreed that the situation on the Greek-Turkish border required close monitoring and united response, with regular exchange of information being of essence. The two ministers also discussed the situation in their own countries, both of which have been seeing an increase in illegal migration in recent years. Slovenian police registered more than 16,000 instances of people crossing the border illegally last year, an increase of more than 73% on the year before. North Macedonia saw the number of such cases increase by almost 46% to 24,000.
Ljubljana mayor, co-defendants plead not-guilty in Stožice case
LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković and six co-defendants pleaded not guilty in a case focussing on EU funds abuse and bank fraud in the construction of the Stožice sports park as they faced the Ljubljana District Court. A total of nine defendants are accused of criminal acts, including abuse of office, fraud of EU funds, fraud to acquire a loan and forgery of documents in the multi-million euro project. Two defendants did not attend the today's hearing and are to make a plea next time.
Charges against police dropped in hospital bribery case
LJUBLJANA - The prosecution has decided to stop further prosecution of four police officers implicated in a queue-jumping racket at Slovenia's largest hospital, according to the tabloid Slovenske Novice. The case is yet to go on trial after pre-trial arraignments in January 2019 because "the judge handling the case is currently also handling other older and higher priority cases", the paper quotes the court.
Slovenia joins group calling for strong single market
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia has joined a group of 15 mostly small EU member states that have called for a strong single market in the bloc in advance of talks scheduled for March on the strengthening of the economic basis of the union. "A well functioning single market is extraordinarily important for Slovenia as a small and open economy since it provides a large space for Slovenian companies and protects the rights of Slovenian consumers," the Slovenian permanent representation to the EU said.
Despite statutory raise, minimum wage remains almost unchanged, union warns
LJUBLJANA - Despite the fact that a minimum wage increase took effect in January, an analysis by the trade union confederation ZSSS shows only meagre increases in take-home pay. A fifth of employers analysed were in violation of legal provisions, while many other companies used a variety of moves to keep salaries nearly unchanged. Minimum wage went up from EUR 886.63 to EUR 940.58 gross on 1 January and the sum can no longer contain bonuses paid to workers alongside salaries. These now have to be paid on top of minimum wage.
Požar found guilty of libel in Melania Trump case
LJUBLJANA - Bojan Požar, the editor of news portal Požareport has received a judicial admonition for writing in 2016 that Viktor Knavs, the father of US First Lady Melania Trump, had been in prison for tax evasion. This comes after Požar was ordered to pay damages to Knavs in a related defamation lawsuit last year. Požar intends to challenge the decision.
New European short films on show in Ljubljana's Galerija Škuc
LJUBLJANA - Dozens of new European short films of various styles and approaches will be screened in Galerija Škuc until Friday as part of the European Film Days in Ljubljana - Europanorama 2020. Various genres, such as fiction, animation and experimental and documentary film, will be featured as up-and-coming directors from almost 30 European countries will be presented. The selected films will be screened in their original languages, with subtitles in English. All events will be admission free.
Doctor declared Delo woman of the decade
LJUBLJANA - Doctor Jožica Maučec Zakotnik, who has been involved mainly in preventive healthcare, won the woman of the decade title given out by Onaplus, the women's magazine issued by newspaper publisher Delo. Maučec Zakotnik has worked as a family doctor, a state secretary at the Health Ministry and a senior official at the National Public Health Institute.
Slovenia to play Greece, Kosovo and Moldova in Nations League
AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands - Slovenia will take on Greece, Kosovo and Moldova as they play in the third-tier segment of the Nations League, a football competition that has almost entirely replaced friendly fixtures, determined a draw in Amsterdam. Slovenia currently place 64th on the rankings of FIFA, football's global governing body, with Greece the only opponent ranked higher, at 54. Kosovo are in 115th place and Moldova in 175th.
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