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This summary is provided by the STA:
Central bank forecasts 6.5% GDP drop for 2020, 4.9% growth for 2021
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's central bank forecast for Slovenia's economy to contract by 6.5% this year before it bounces back to 4.9% growth in 2021 and 3.6% in 2022. This is the baseline forecast, there are also two alternative scenarios that factor in the gravity of the coronavirus crisis. Under the positive scenario, the economy would contract by just 4% this year and expand by over 7% in the next two years; under the negative scenario the economy would contract by 10% this year, followed by stagnation in 2021 and a slow recovery in 2022.
Slovenia fully opens borders to nationals of 14 more countries
LJUBLJANA - Citizens of 17 EU and non-EU countries may enter Slovenia without restrictions from today under new border crossing rules adopted by the government on Sunday evening. Citizens of neighbouring Austria, Croatia and Hungary had already been allowed to cross without any health restrictions under bilateral agreements. Now, the list has been expanded with Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Norway, Slovakia and Switzerland. Citizens of other EU and Schengen zone countries are still subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival unless they fall under one of what are now 16 exemptions.
Opposition announce to ouster motion against interior minister
LJUBLJANA - The opposition Social Democrats (SD) are drafting a motion of no confidence in Interior Minister Aleš Hojs after the ministry overturned a ban of a concert by Marko Perković Thompson, a Croatian singer glorifying the fascist Ustasha regime. The other three left-leaning opposition parties declared support for the ouster, while their comments and the draft of the motion suggest other grievances against the minister will be included. Hojs described the move as an ideological smear campaign, saying he was not responsible for the ban reversal decision, which the ministry took based on the Administrative Court's ruling. Similarly, junior coalition parties, while opposing the concert, do not hold Hojs responsible.
No new Covid-19 cases recorded on Sunday
LJUBLJANA - None of 211 coronavirus tests conducted in Slovenia on Sunday came back positive, show data published by the government. No new deaths were recorded either. Five Covid-19 patients remain in hospital, but none of them needs intensive care. So far, 1,485 coronavirus infections have been confirmed in the country, and 109 patients have died. A total of 293 Covid-19 patients have been discharged from hospital.
Coalition seek stricter vaccination rules
LJUBLJANA - Three coalition parties filed legislative changes under which children who skipped mandatory vaccinations could not be enrolled in publicly-funded kindergartens and schools, and those without all mandatory shots could not work in healthcare or at care homes or study and train for these professions. The changes would allow exceptions for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. Health workers and care home staff would also have to get flu shots every year. Vaccinations against measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis and hepatitis B are mandatory in Slovenia.
Logar holds virtual meeting with N Macedonian colleague
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar held a virtual meeting with his North Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov to call for further enhancement of bilateral relations and discuss the current situation and efforts of both countries related to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Logar and Dimitrov also called for the intensive political dialogue between Slovenia and North Macedonia to continue and assessed bilateral relations as excellent.
Slovenian and Italian defence ministers praise bilateral cooperation
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian and Italian defence ministers, Matej Tonin and Lorenzo Guerini, praised bilateral cooperation in defence and explored the potential for its further strengthening in a video call. Tonin and Guerini discussed close cooperation within NATO and shared a view the two countries cooperated successfully in international missions and operations, with Italy being Slovenia's key operative partner. Guerini invited Tonin to pay an official visit to Italy.
Slovenia welcomes rise in EU rural development funds
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Jože Podgoršek "greatly welcomed" a rise in rural development funds as part of the EU's post-coronavirus measures. Although it is too early to speak about concrete figures, compared to the EU's 2021-2027 budget as envisaged in the 2018 proposal, the shortfall seems to be much smaller, he told Slovenian Brussels-based reporters after a video call of EU agriculture ministers. He also argued for country specifics to be taken into account when setting goals in the EU's new strategies on food transformation and on biodiversity.
Delo poll: SDS support up, govt rating down
LJUBLJANA - Support for the ruling Democrats (SDS) grew by two percentage points and a half to 18.8% in the past month, whereas the opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) lost two percentage points to 11.8% in the latest Mediana poll for the newspaper Delo. All coalition parties except the SDS polled lower compared to May. The voter approval rating for the government slipped for the second consecutive month, with some 31% rating its job as positive or very positive.
Germany sending married ambassador couple to Slovenia
BERLIN, Germany - In a unique decision, Germany will send a married couple of ambassadors to Slovenia in August. Termed a family-friendly job sharing experiment by the German Tagesschau news programme, it will allow Natalie Kauther and Adrian Pollmann to take turns as ambassador every eight months for the next four years. Tagesschau says that this is the first such decision by the German Foreign Ministry in an effort to give its employees more flexibility. The couple had previously both held, at the same time, the title of deputy-ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Minister says diaspora ties enhanced during pandemic
LJUBLJANA - Helena Jaklitsch, the minister for Slovenians Abroad, believes the Covid-19 pandemic has done much to enhance ties between Slovenia and Slovenians living around the globe, and has offered an opportunity to younger generations. Commenting on the situation in neighbouring countries in an interview with the STA, she noted the issue of the minority's representation in the Italian parliament, and the issue of insufficient financing of Slovenian schools and kindergartens in Italy and Austria. In Hungary the biggest problem is strong assimilation. In Croatia, the legislation protecting the minorities is also not being implemented properly, the minister said.
Top court rejects prosecutors' appeal over temporary pay cut
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court has rejected the request by the Association of State Prosecutors for a review of the part of the legislation mitigating the impact of the coronavirus epidemic which temporarily cut prosecutor salaries by 30%. It argues that prosecutors have not fully exhausted other legal means, including a labour dispute. The prosecutors argued the pay cut undermined the fundamental constitutional values and the functioning of the criminal justice system. The 30% cut applied until the end of May and affected public office holders, except judges.
Govt adopts decree on holiday vouchers
LJUBLJANA - The government specified the use of holiday vouches with which it wants to help the tourism industry survive the coronavirus crisis, deciding that a voucher could be used in several instalments, not necessarily all at once, as initially planned. The vouchers are one of the main measures in the third coronavirus stimulus package, passed at the end of May. They will be distributed to permanent residents at an estimated cost of EUR 345 million to the state.
Fewer Slovenian bathing sites get top mark in 2019
BRUSSELS, Belgium - A report from the European Environment Agency shows 38 out of 47 natural bathing sites inspected in Slovenia received the highest mark for water quality last year, three fewer than in 2018. The European bathing water quality assessment report for 2019 analyses 21 coastal and 26 inland bathing sites in Slovenia, of which 80.9% received the excellent mark. Slovenia remains close to the top in Europe when it comes to the overall quality.
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