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This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenia loosens Covid-19 travel restrictions
LJUBLJANA - Passengers from red or orange-listed countries can avoid quarantine in Slovenia from today if they present a negative coronavirus test no older than 48 hours. Arrivals from orange countries in the EU or Schengen will avoid quarantine altogether, which also includes Croatian counties bordering Slovenia. At the weekend the government also amended its colour code for other countries, adding Serbia and Poland on the Covid-19 safe green list, while demoting Italy to what is now orange list. The changes apply from Tuesday. The Health Ministry said 80,630 quarantine orders had been issued so far, including 5,600 in the past week.
39 coronavirus cases on Sunday, two more fatalities
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 39 coronavirus cases from 909 tests on Sunday, a far better result than in the past few days. However, Covid-19 claimed two more lives, for the total death toll of 149. The latest cases bring the overall tally to 5,388, as the number of active cases fell to 1,639, show data from the government and the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org. The latest include 14 new cases at the centre for persons with mental disabilities in Črna na Koroškem, where 45 residents and 16 staff are now infected. With a record 920 new cases over the past week, the government may soon impose new restrictions, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs indicated.
Epidemic declaration once again mulled by Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - After Interior Minister Aleš Hojs indicated Slovenia could once again formally declare an epidemic, Health Minister Tomaž Gantar and Bojana Beović, the head of the government's Covid-19 task force, said the decision would be made based on the healthcare system's capacity and on the epidemiological situation in the coming weeks. Under Slovenian law, declaring an epidemic triggers a cascade of formal measures allowing the country to better allocate resources. If an epidemic is declared, this would be the second time after the perio between 12 March and 31 May since the coronavirus reached Europe earlier this year.
Pahor and Guterres discuss Nagorno-Karabakh
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor discussed with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres via a video call the latest escalation of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh, the situation in the Western Balkans and the Covid-19 pandemic. He pledged full support for the secretary general's efforts for the tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh to calm down and the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be solved peacefully. He also invited Guterres to attend one of the future summits of the Brdo-Brioni process, and once again pledged Slovenia's full support for multilateralism and the country's willingness to continue to closely work with the UN.
Logar discusses Covid-19 pandemic with Spanish counterpart
MADRID, Spain - FM Anže Logar met his Spanish counterpart Arancha Gonzalez Lay as part of a visit to Spain with the pair agreeing that the key to true and strong partnership was solidarity, connectivity and unity, especially in these challenging times of the Covid-9 pandemic. Slovenia and Spain are two friendly countries, allies, which have similar views on the situation within the EU and NATO, and share concern about many international issues, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said. Logar also met Meritxell Batet Lamana, president of the lower house of the Spanish parliament, to present Slovenia's preparation for its upcoming EU presidency.
Calls for unity mark 30th anniversary of historic constitutional amendments
LJUBLJANA - The 30th anniversary of constitutional amendments that were crucial on Slovenia's path to independence were marked with a ceremony at the Presidential Palace, which heard President Borut Pahor urging a return to the bipartisan efforts seen in that period. It was between 27 September and 4 October 1990 that the then Slovenian parliament adopted amendments 96, 97 and 98 to the constitution, which ended the use of Yugoslav constitution provisions uncompliant with Slovenia's constitution and gave the Slovenian parliament decision making powers in defence matters, including about military service, the Slovenian army's commander and about Slovenia's funding of the Yugoslav People's Army.
Slovenia's ambassador joins call for LGBTI rights in Poland
WARSAW, Poland - Ambassadors of 50 countries and international organisations in Poland, including Slovenia, urged respect for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community and other communities in Poland. "Although due to epidemiological circumstances the 2020 Warsaw Equality Parade could not take place at the foreseen date we express our support for the efforts to raise public awareness of issues affecting the LGBTI community and other communities in Poland facing similar challenges," said the ambassadors of most EU countries, the US, Canada, Israel, India and Japan in a letter on Sunday.
Support for SDS down in POP TV poll
LJUBLJANA - The Democratic Party (SDS) of Prime Minister Janez Janša saw its rating fall by two percentage points to 16.1% in the latest poll commissioned by the private broadcaster POP TV. The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) in second gained as much to 11.5%. The share of those who approve of the government fell to 36.9%, but even more has the proportion of those disapproving of it, to 48.8%. The coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) saw its support collapse to 1% in the wake of internal power struggle.
Over EUR 40m to be spent on improving access to healthcare
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will spend EUR 14 million in budget funds this year and another EUR 28 million next year to shorten waiting periods in healthcare, Health Minister Tomaž Gantar said. These funds will come from the national budget as part of the fifth coronavirus crisis bill and will be available to private healthcare providers which operate fully outside the public healthcare system. Additional money will meanwhile be provided by the ZZZS public health insurance fund, but only to specialist healthcare providers who already have a concession to work within the public health system.
Coalition to discuss Pivec dismissal
LJUBLJANA - Coalition heads are expected to discuss on Tuesday the dismissal of Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, a demand of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) after Pivec lost trust of the party's deputy group and top party bodies and resigned as party leader. PM Janez Janša is expected to hold another meeting with Pivec, Tomaž Gantar, the interim head of the party, told the press. He believes Janša will respect the decision of a coalition party, saying also that this would be the sensible thing to do.
Several large groups of migrants apprehended at the weekend
ILIRSKA BISTRICA/LJUBLJANA - Slovenian police apprehended several large groups of migrants on the border and inland over the weekend and arrested several smugglers, as migration pressure intensified before the typical winter lull. In Ilirska Bistrica area in the south-west a total of 144 migrants were intercepted on Sunday, a number typically recorded in the area in a week. A van with 22 migrants was pulled over in the east, near Ormož, and another with 34 migrants in Celje. Interior Minister Aleš Hojs commented that the figures showed "the organised market for migrant smuggling is in full swing" and that police were doing a good job.
Govt planning additional rise in funding for municipalities
LJUBLJANA - The Public Administration Ministry confirmed the government would propose an additional rise of the lump sum which municipalities receive per resident from the state, effective next year. After the April increase of the sum from EUR 589 to EUR 624 for this year, local government can expect EUR 628 next year. Both increases were envisaged in the coalition agreement, with the April rise resulting in EUR 73 million more in state funding for municipalities this year. The two main associations of municipalities welcomed the development.
Slovenia does not join Visegrad-led call regarding CAP direct payments
POZNAN, Poland - Attending an extended meeting of Visegrad Group agriculture ministers in Poland through Minister Aleksandra Pivec, Slovenia did not join a call reflecting the group's stance in favour of equalising common agriculture policy subsidies across the bloc. The meeting featured ministers from the Visegrad Group as well as Slovenia, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania upon the invitation of Polish counterpart Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski. Participants focused on the reform of the CAP after 2020 and signed a joint declaration, but Slovenia did not join the part referring to the external convergence of direct payments.
Cargo-Partner Brnik hub nearing full capacity
BRNIK - The Austrian logistics group Cargo-Partner announced expansion plans after its logistics centre at Ljubljana airport nearly reached full capacity in a year since the launch. Benefiting from the increased demand for air cargo transport due to Covid-19, the group saw record results in April, May and July. The group employs 3,150 people globally, about 150 more than a year ago. Slightly over 100 people work at the Brnik hub in Slovenia.
Coronavirus pandemic slashes Impol's H1 results
SLOVENSKA BISTRICA - Aluminium producer Impol saw its revenue drop 20% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to less than EUR 36 million. In terms of quantity, sales dropped by 13%, the core company said in its January-June report. Moreover, net profit was three times lower than in the same period last year, reaching only EUR 5.9 million. This comes after the group, which employs 2,400 people, first started seeing a slowdown in orders from the automotive industry in December, while the lockdown that followed in March created a number of problems.
Career highlight for Dragić as Heat make NBA final
ORLANDO, US - Slovenian NBA star Goran Dragić will play in the final of the NBA for the first time after his Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 4:2 in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The 34-year-old says his first NBA final will definitely be a career highlight, but one that is difficult to compare to 2017, when Slovenia won the Eurobasket. "When you play for your country, for your people, it is something very personal (...) But the path to the NBA final has been an extraordinary experience for me throughout the season," he told the STA. The first game of the final will be played in the NBA bubble in Orlando on 1 October.
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