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This summary is provided by the STA:
Coronavirus death toll in Slovenia rises to 30 as infections top 1,000
LJUBLJANA - Two persons infected with Covid-19 died in Slovenia on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 30. The number of confirmed infections rose by 24 in a day to 1,021, showed the latest statistics released on Monday by the government. The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital rose by six to 114 but was still below the end of March peak of 120. Of those, 30 were in intensive care, one fewer than on Saturday. The head of the Koper unit of the the Institute of Public Health Milan Krek said the current measures had helped turn the curve of new daily cases. He however urged caution, saying future behaviour will determine whether the epidemic calms or cases rise from 1,000 to 10,000.
Some industries could be restarted after Easter holidays
LJUBLJANA - The government is preparing measures to enable some industries to relaunch operations immediately after the Easter holidays if the current trend in the number of persons diagnosed with Covid-19 continues, government spokesman Jelko Kacin announced. "The government could examine as early as this week measures which would enable the re-start of certain braches of industry already after the Easter holidays, if this positive tend continues." Similarly, the Chamber of Commerce (TZS) hopes the first stores which have been subject to closure since 16 March will reopen after Easter. It thus plans to make an assessment of the situation this week and draft a proposal for their reopening.
Slovenia planning to issue three different bonds in near future
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is planning to issue 10-year and 3-year bonds and will look into the possibility of issuing 30-year bonds, with the Finance Ministry giving the mandate to organise the deals to Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. Considering previous experience, the sales may take place soon. Slovenia needs the funds so as to be able to cope with the coronavirus epidemic. The first stimulus package, passed last week, is worth EUR 3 billion and a new one is already in the works. However, the ministry did not specify how much money the government would raise this time.
Slovenia to ask for aid from EU Civil Protection Mechanism
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia is planning to ask for aid in the form of protective gear as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, and is also examining a possibility of asking NATO to help with air transport, Defence Minister Matej Tonin told Slovenian reporters in Brussels after a teleconference with EU defence ministers. The government could discuss the request for EU aid in the coming days. He also highlighted an agreement reached at international level not to send any new soldiers to missions and operations in the next three months, which will affect the Slovenian mission in Kosovo, where a new contingent was to be sent this month.
Slovenia supports joint statement on coronavirus measures
LJUBLJANA - Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič expressed support for the recent statement by a group of EU member states saying that the emergency measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic must be proportionate, in line with the constitution and implemented for a limited period of time. Slovenia's support in principle was announced after a video-conference of EU justice ministers. Slovenia has so far not joined the statement, which does not explicitly mention any country, but it is belives to target Hungary. The decision about joining it is in the domain of the Foreign Ministry, which said Slovenia does not have any problem with it, but would like it to be adopted by all 27 members as a sign of unity.
Support for referendum law reform appears sufficient
LJUBLJANA - Government-sponsored amendments transposing changes to the constitution into a law and setting down the National Assembly's course of action in case of a referendum initiative challenging a law that cannot be challenged under the constitution, are likely to garner the needed two-thirds majority on Tuesday. The Public Administration Ministry said the coalition had pledged its full support for the amendments to the referendum law, with only the opposition Left against. Under the amendments, the laws that cannot be challenged in a referendum could be promulgated as soon as the upper chamber's potential reservations ceased. Support for them was also expressed by President Borut Pahor, who promulgates laws. He said they would allow for greater efficiency in a democratic way.
Hospitals in Slovenia got nearly 70 new ventilators last week
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has been acquiring medical and protective equipment to better face the coronavirus epidemic for weeks. Last week, the Agency for Commodity Reserves delivered 66 mechanical ventilators to hospitals, as well as 1.83 million three-layer face masks and over 401,000 FFP2 masks. Economic Development and Technology Minister Zdravko Počivalšek wrote on Twitter that other institutions had also received masks. He is also very excited about the launch of mask production in Slovenia, saying that half a million masks would be produced this week alone.
President and ambassador mark Slovenian-American Friendship Day
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and US Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard met to mark the Slovenian-American Friendship and Alliance Day, with Pahor calling for the end of hostility among nations and for cooperation among nations against the Covid-19 pandemic. Blanchard, as quoted as saying by Pahor's office, said challenges ahead will be faced in cooperation, a tradition celebrated by the Slovenian-American Friendship and Alliance Day. The day has been celebrated for seven years, however this was the first time a ceremony was not held in the village of Andraž nad Polzelo, where a US aircraft was shot down in 1944 by the Nazis.
Bishops see civic maturity tested again like 30 years ago
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for Justice and Peace of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference recalled the first free multi-party elections in Slovenia 30 years ago likening the situation at the time to the coronavirus crisis in which the bishops see "our civic duty, responsibility" put to test again. The epidemic has brought down the "self-deception that nothing really bad can happen to us", Anton Stres, the conference's head and former Ljubljana archbishop, wrote in the message. The commission said the current developments were yet another warning of how decisive each election is "because through it we appoint authorities that in moments of crisis (...) almost everything depends on".
Several companies resuming production
NOVO MESTO/BEGUNJE/ŽIRI - Several Slovenian companies announced they would shortly relauch production after suspending or scaling it down amind the coronavirus epidemic. Caravan maker Adria Mobil will restart it on Tuesday after it temporarily suspended it in mid-March, with support services and management resuming their operations already today. Footwear manufacturer Alpina relaunched production to a certain extent after a ten-day shutdown due to demand, hoping the situation could soon go back to normal. Sports goods maker Elan's production meanwhile remains suspended. It said production could presumably be resumed after Easter, depending on the development of the epidemic.
Farm organisations urge measures to mitigate damage to sector
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian agriculture organisations raised concern about "huge" damage to business due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, urging the government to take a series of measures, including curbs on meat imports and increased purchase of produce for national commodity reserves. Farm organisations from the north-east of the country, the centre of Slovenia's farming sector, reported serious disruption in sales of meat, dairy and wine and the damage suffered by complementary activities such as farmsteads. They said many farms were unable to sell livestock and pigs due to a lack of interest by the purchasers at home and closure of foreign markets.
UEFA boss wants to see govt express a more optimistic view
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian lawyer and UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin believes Slovenian authorities should express a bit more optimistic view of the situation as the country is fighting the coronavirus epidemic. In an interview for sport newspaper EkipaSN, the head of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said he was sick of "everyday pessimism and apocalypticism" in public appearances of Slovenian politicians. Asked whether he was thinking about entering Slovenian politics, he said the job of UEFA president was where his mind was all the time, but confirmed he had been receiving such propositions lately.
OECD finds Slovenia a leader in public procurement transparency
LJUBLJANA - An OECD report has found Slovenia to be one of the most transparent OECD countries in the field of public procurement, yet it recommended it to open up its public procurement procedures to more experimentation and innovative methods. Slovenia was the fist public procurement case study for a group of experts from the OECD and the European Commission focusing on structural change to public polices in a project that saw the OECD partner up with the EU and the Slovenian government, the Public Administration Ministry said.
Fuel prices drop to one euro
LJUBLJANA - Administered fuel prices in Slovenia will further drop to eleven-year lows on Tuesday despite the government increasing excise duties today. Regular and diesel sold at service stations outside the motorway network will cost one euro per litre, the Government Communication Office said. The last time regular cost less than a euro was in April 2009 and diesel in May 2009 during the last financial crisis. The two fuels are now sold at EUR 1.029 and EUR 1.017 per litre, respectively.
Dystopian play about warehouse workers wins Grum Prize
KRANJ - A dystopian play by Tjaša Mislej about four workers working and living in a giant warehouse won this year's Slavko Grum Prize for best new Slovenian play. Four women are doing their monotonous job where no buyer or anyone else can see them. Their work in isolation is tedious and endless, reminiscent of work in a labour camp. Mislej will receive the award at the end of the 50th Slovenian Drama Week, which was postponed until further notice due to the coronavirus epidemic.
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