Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Friday, 3 April 2020

By , 03 Apr 2020, 04:20 AM News
Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Friday, 3 April 2020 Flickr - Lionel Martinez CC-by-nc-nd-2.0

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Parliament passes EUR 3 billion stimulus package

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed by 53 votes to one a EUR 3 billion stimulus package aiming to cushion the impact of coronavirus on Slovenia's economy and society. The umbrella law brings financial assistance for companies and workers affected by the epidemic as well as for the self-employed, pensioners, students, large families and welfare recipients. To the dismay of the opposition, the law also includes an expansion of police powers to issue fines for violations of lockdown rules, erect road blocks, temporary limit people's freedom of movement and access sensitive personal data. PM Janez Janša announced a second package which will address businesses' liquidity problems and include corrections to the first law, while a third one would set out an "exit strategy after the government takes a decision on the end of the epidemic."

Motion to give army police powers voted down

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Defence Committee rejected Wednesday night a motion to give the Slovenian Armed Forces limited police powers to control the border that the government said was essential to help relieve the burden on police officers so they could better be deployed to help keep the coronavirus epidemic in check. The proposal to activate Article 37.a of the defence act was endorsed by the coalition and the opposition National Party (SNS), but this was not enough to secure the required two-thirds majority. The opposition said the measure was unnecessary in the current situation.

Number of coronavirus cases rises by 56 to 897, 16 deaths confirmed

LJUBLJANA - The number of coronavirus cases in Slovenia rose by 56 in a day to 897 by Wednesday midnight. The death toll increased by one to 16. A total of 112 patents were hospitalised, 29 of them in intensive care. Four were discharged from hospital. As many as 162 of those infected are care home residents and 32 are care home staff, the numbers going up by 25 and 2, respectively. To contain the spread, the Labour Ministry instructed the facilities to create separate zones for healthy residents, those suspected of having the virus and those who tested positive, but care homes said this would not be feasible everywhere.

PM says common debt instrument would send strong message of unity

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša called for a determined and coordinated action in the face of the coronavirus epidemic not only on national but on the European levels as well in an interview with the European Post. "In normal circumstances, and in principle, I am strongly against that those who perform better automatically support all others. But for this pandemic circumstances, issuing a common debt instrument would send out a strong signal of unity and solidarity," he said.

FM regrets Slovenia's low defence spending in past

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar expressed regret that Slovenia is lagging behind in NATO defence goals after taking part in a teleconferenced ministerial of the alliance, which focused on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Talking over the phone to Slovenian reporters, he said that past governments should have given more funds to the military and regretted they had not carried out the planned military equipment acquisitions. He said the current would now have to meet the commitment.

Minister Hojs discusses border measures with Johansson

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs talked with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johannson on the telephone, briefing her on measures taken at the border to contain the coronavirus epidemic. He noted good cooperation with the neighbouring countries, in particular Austria and Hungary, on the coordination of transit of cargo vehicles. He told the commissioner that Slovenia would not allow a hold-up of a large number of lorries on its territory.

Group of Slovenians return from US

NEW YORK, US - A group of Slovenians from the US boarded a special Hungarian plane in New York on Wednesday. After landing in Budapest, they were to be transported to the Hungarian-Slovenian border, where they were to be tested before going into a 14-day isolation or quarantine in Slovenia. The flight was organised by Hungary for Hungarians in the US, while the Slovenian Foreign Ministry and Slovenian diplomatic representatives in the US negotiated for Slovenians to join them.

Proposal in works to allow remote parliament sessions

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly may start holding online sessions, under a proposal sent to deputy groups by Speaker Igor Zorčič. Changes to the rules and procedures are planned to allow MPs to participate in sessions remotely, while the speaker, at least, would be at the Parliament House. Only this way will the National Assembly be able to carry on in circumstances such as the coronavirus epidemic, Zorčič tweeted.

Telekom sees 2019 profit eroded by buyout of media arm

LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije posted a group net profit of EUR 1.2 million for 2019, a fraction of the EUR 33.3 million it recorded a year before, largely due to a one-off payment over a now dissolved media joint venture. The company said that without the one-off charge for the media venture Antenna TV SL and the associated events it would have posted a 13% increase in like-for-like profit over the year before. Group net sales stood at EUR 675.4 million, which is 6% below the 2018 level.

NLB proposing no dividend payout for the time being

LJUBLJANA - The supervisory board of NLB okayed the proposal of the management board to convene a shareholders meeting for 15 June. The country's leading bank, which was privatised last year, announced shareholders would vote on a proposal that the entire EUR 228.04 million in distributable profit remain undistributed for the time being. "Depending on future developments, a partial payout of the profit could potentially still follow at the end of 2020 or later," the bank said.

Newspaper Delo and Siol news portal getting new chief editors

LJUBLJANA - Bojan Budja will take over as acting editor-in-chief of the daily Delo from Uroš Urbas on Friday. The publisher said he would also be acting editor-in-chief of the delo.si web portal and the weekly Nedelo, in addition to keeping his current job as the content boss of the tabloid Slovenske Novice. Meanwhile, Peter Jančič is to assume next week the post of editor-in-chief of the Siol.net news portal. Jančič was editor-in-chief at Delo in 2006-2007.

Hospital director resigns after contentious tweets

LJUBLJANA - Slovenj Gradec hospital director Janez Lavre resigned after finding himself in the limelight over a series of tweets which included threats to withhold coronavirus ventilator treatment to critics of the government. He said he was aware that the statements were inappropriate, offensive and unethical, and blamed them on the workload and mental stress in the face of events related to the handling of the Covid-19 epidemic. Health Minister Tomaž Gantar accepted the resignation.

High-school leaving exams not to delayed yet

LJUBLJANA - More than two weeks after schools in Slovenia switched to remote learning due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Education Minister Simona Kustec announced secondary school-leaving exams could not be carried out as scheduled. However, the National Exam Centre said that only the Slovenian language essay be moved from early May to 1 June, while the rest of matura exams would go ahead with the English exam on 30 May. It is not clear yet what happens with national exams at primary schools.

Poll shows increase in those deeming latest measures too strict

LJUBLJANA - The latest poll by Valicon suggests an increasing number of Slovenians deem the latest government measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic too rigid, with the proportion of those who think so increasing to more than 20% from 7% a week ago. Moreover, the share of those saying that the measures are not strict enough dropped from 40% to 27%. Most respondents (53%) still believe that the measures are appropriate. One out of seven believe the Covid-19 situation is improving.

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