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This summary is provided by the STA:
Major easing of coronavirus restrictions planned for Monday
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will see a major easing of quarantine restrictions on 18 May. Tourism will reopen starting with smaller operations. The only facilities that must remain closed are accommodation facilities with over 30 rooms, accommodation for spa guests, wellness and fitness centres, pools and water parks. All shops will be allowed to open, while bars and restaurants will be able to serve patrons indoors again. The previously announced plan to re-open kindergartens, primary schools for the first three grades and the final grade, and secondary schools for final-year students on 18 May was confirmed as well. The majority of sports activities will be allowed to resume on 23 May, including practices and recreation in indoor facilities, and trainings and competitions in team sports.
One more Covid-19 fatality, two more infected
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded one more Covid-19 fatality on Tuesday, which raises the national death toll to 103, as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by two to 1,463, official data show. Only 38 patients diagnosed with Covid-19 were still being treated in Slovenian hospitals yesterday, two fewer than the day before after one was discharged. Nine remained in intensive care. As many as 1,147 tests for Sars-CoV-2 were conducted yesterday, or a total of 65,694 so far.
MPs demand explanations from govt about equipment procurement
LJUBLJANA - After two sessions dedicated to Slovenia's procurement of personal protective equipment, the parliamentary Commission for Public Finance Oversight asked the government to provide a list of all deals, deliveries and prices paid. It also demands to see information under which the government decided to use intermediaries and not buy the equipment directly from manufacturers and the names of those responsible for this decision. It decided to recommend that the Court of Audit look into equipment procurement.
Teršek and Zobec parties' favourites for top court judge
LJUBLJANA - Barbara Zobec and Andraž Teršek emerged as the front-runners for one vacant post on the Constitutional Court after President Borut Pahor met the deputy group leaders of the six largest parliamentary on the first day of consultations. Zobec, a Supreme Court judge and the only woman among seven candidates, was backed by the Democrats (SDS) and deemed acceptable by the fellow coalition New Slovenia (NSi). The other parties meeting Pahor today, one coalition and three opposition parties, are largely more in favour of constitutional law expert Teršek, with two of them explicitly against Zobec.
EBRD projects 5.5% contraction for Slovenia this year
LONDON, UK - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects that Slovenia's economy will contract by 5.5% this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, before rebounding to a 5% growth in 2021. This is the least pessimistic outlook for the country among the institutions that have already revised their forecasts in response to the coronavirus crisis. The EBRD expects the contraction to be driven to a large extent by a significant fall in exports.
Coronavirus crisis starting to affect banking sector
LJUBLJANA - The coronavirus crisis has started to affect the banking sector, as Slovenian banks reported only EUR 69.6 million in profit before tax in the first quarter of the year, less than half of last year's figure for the same period, the central bank said in a monthly report. "Although banks entered the crisis with high capital adequacy, good liquidity and other indicators, and even though their stability has been boosted ... we can expect that the serious situation in domestic and international business environments will have an increasingly pronounced impact on bank operations," it said.
Carinthian Slovenians urge reopening of border with Slovenia
KLAGENFURT, Austria - Gabriel Hribar, the leader of the only political party of Carinthian Slovenians, United List, urged the reopening of two border crossings between Slovenia and Austria so as to enable free movement of goods and services. Hribar appealed to both countries to open border crossings Pavličevo Sedlo and Jezerski Vrh. He noted that Austria has already agreed to open its border with Germany, which has far more coronavirus cases than Slovenia.
Austria opening four more checkpoints on border with Slovenia
GRAZ, Austria - Austria intends to open four more checkpoints on the border with Slovenia as it continues to ease measures adopted due to the coronavirus epidemic, Austrian press agency APA reported on Wednesday. Before the crossings Kramarovci, Cankova, Juri and Gerlinci in the east of the country can open for traffic as planned on Friday, the move will have to be coordinated with Slovenia.
Govt opposes plan to declare climate emergency
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure, Environment and Spatial Planning failed to take a vote on an opposition-sponsored motion to declare a climate emergency after more than eight hours of debate yesterday. The proposal was backed by three largest opposition factions as well as by the heads of the deputy factions of DeSUS and SMC, the two centre-left parties in the ruling coalition, but the government does not support the proposed resolution. Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak said a broader consensus was needed, while the issues were being tackled in a climate strategy.
Month-long military exercise in crisis response starts
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) are conducting a month-long series of exercises aimed at training its members to operate in crisis situations and respond in natural and other disasters, which the SAF force commander Mitja Škerbinc assessed as precisely what the Slovenian army needs at the moment. In what is one of the largest exercises of the SAF ever, started on Monday, Leap 2020 will take place in several locations around the country until 19 June. It will primarily deal with training for tactical procedures.
Austria decorates law professor Trstenjak
LJUBLJANA - Verica Trstenjak, a law professor and former advocate general at the European Court of Justice, received a state decoration from Austria for her efforts in strengthening relations between Slovenia and Austria and for her contribution in promoting European law. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen bestowed on her the Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class and Trstenjak was given the medal by Austrian Ambassador to Slovenia Sigrid Berka.
Minority newspaper celebrates 75th anniversary
TRIESTE, Italy - Primorski Dnevnik, the newspaper of the Slovenian ethnic community in Italy, marked its 75th anniversary with a special edition in which Slovenian and Italian presidents, Borut Pahor and Sergio Mattarella, shared their thoughts on the occasion. They note that Primorski Dnevnik has been connecting the two countries and contributing to the preservation of cultural diversity and the Slovenian identity in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
Hauliers demand aid, threaten road blocks
LJUBLJANA - The hauliers section of the Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS) called on Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec to have hauliers included in the pending third coronavirus stimulus package or risk "unrest and road blocks". "We were left out of the first corona package, then from the second and I hope the state will not allow us to also be excluded from the third," the representative of hauliers at the OZS Peter Pišek said.
Cinkarna Celje sees revenue rise but profit fall in Q1
CELJE - Cinkarna Celje, the Celje-based chemical company, saw sales revenue rise by 5% year-on-year in the first quarter to EUR 47.8% as net profit decreased by 12% to EUR 6.89 million. The company said demand had increased due to the absence of Chinese producers of titanium dioxide in the European market at the start of the year, while the pandemic and general panic in Europe in March triggered a stockpiling of pigment among buyers. However, figures turned down at the end of the first quarter.
Pharma wholesaler Salus buys stake in tech start-up
LJUBLJANA - Salus, a wholesale supplier of medicine and other pharmaceutical products, announced it had acquired a 10% stake in the tech start-up Medifit, which provides solutions for insurers, healthcare providers and patients. Medifit's products have included a platform with information on the services and waiting times in public healthcare. Salus said the investment was part of its 2018-2022 strategy.
Slovenians switch to food deliveries, bread baking
LJUBLJANA - During the coronavirus epidemic, Slovenians have mostly switched from buying food in shopping centres to frequenting local grocery shops and ordering food online, shows a survey conducted by the Nutrition Institute. Lockdown has changed shopping and dietary habits with almost two thirds of the respondents making bread from scratch. The number of households that get their groceries in shopping centres has been halved and almost 20% have been buying local.
Ljubljana Festival preparing to go ahead this summer
LJUBLJANA - Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the company behind Slovenia's largest summer festival is planning to go ahead with the Ljubljana Festival this year. Its director Darko Brlek told the STA that some changes had already been made but that everything would depend on restrictions in Slovenia as well as abroad. The festival should open on 2 July with Beethoven's Symphony No.9 and close on 31 August with the Philharmonic Orchestra from La Scala. All major events are to be held outdoors.
Return of sports competitions to start with golf and tennis
LJUBLJANA - Golf and tennis, which were also the first to be exempt from lockdown restrictions for recreational purposes in mid-April, will be the first sports in Slovenia to see a return to competitions. The golfers will start on 22 May and the tennis players a week later, but without spectators. The Arboretumu Ljubljana golf course north of Ljubljana will be the one to mark the relaunch of competitions with a three-day tournament that is part of the Slo Tour series.
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