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This summary is provided by the STA:
Near-record 1,656 coronavirus cases recorded on Thursday
LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,656 cases of Sars-CoV-2 were confirmed in 6,745 tests in Slovenia on Thursday, and two people died in hospital, said government spokesman Jelko Kacin. The number of active cases reached 11,434, according to the tracker Covid-19.Sledilnik, which also shows a near-record test positivity rate of 24.55% and a daily death tally of three. Meanwhile, 394 people needed hospital treatment, of whom 67 were in intensive care, Kacin said. To cope with a surge in admissions, UKC Ljubljana, the country's biggest hospital, suspended all elective procedures for a fortnight.
Foreign Minister Logar tests positive for coronavirus
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a routine test. Announcing the news, the Foreign Ministry said the minister was not displaying any Covid-19 symptoms, while he and his aides who had been in contact with him were self-isolating for the next ten days. Logar is Slovenia's most senior official to test positive so far. On Saturday his Austrian and Belgian counterparts, Alexander Schallenberg and Sophie Wilmes, confirmed to have tested positive.
PM Janša endorses Trump for second term
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša endorsed US President Donald Trump for re-election, adding his name to a list of foreign leaders who have come out in support of Trump during the election campaign, including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "We respect difficult, tragic personal life of Joe Biden and some of his political achievements years ago. But today, if elected, he would be one of the weakest presidents in history. When a free world desperately needs strong US as never before. Go, win, Donald Trump," wrote Janša in English on Twitter.
Minister expects defence investment to go ahead
LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin expects that a bill on a EUR 780 million defence investment by 2026 will be passed at the November session, which would allow the country to meet one of NATO targets. Speaking with Slovenian correspondents in Brussels after a two-day virtual NATO ministerial, Tonin said he expected a majority to vote against the opposition-sponsored petition for a referendum on the bill on Tuesday. Slovenia's defence budget is to increase from 1.28% of GDP in 2021 to 1.3% a year later.
Brussels responds to regulatory merger plans
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Commenting on a planned merger of regulatory bodies in Slovenia, the European Commission stressed the importance of the independence of national regulatory authorities from political influence and market interest. It said EU law protects the mandates of the heads of such bodies, with mergers not deemed a sufficient ground for early termination. "A re-organisation or merger of authorities is not regarded by the EU courts as a sufficient ground for early termination," it said.
Exceptions defined in more detail regrading curfew, crossing of regions
LJUBLJANA - The government has set more details regarding lockdown measures and exceptions to the ban on crossing Slovenia's statistical regions, as the whole country was declared a red zone on Thursday, including the coastal Obalno-Kraška region. Delivery of food, drinks, medications and basic necessities as well as room service will be allowed during curfew between 9pm and 6am. The curfew also does not apply for persons who are transiting the country or coming home from abroad.
Parents staying home with kids in lockdown to get pay subsidy
LJUBLJANA - With a week-long closure of preschools starting on Monday and many parents trying to figure out how to combine work and childcare, Social Affairs Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said the parents taking work days off to mind their children will be eligible for compensation amounting to 80% of their salary. Education Minister Simona Kustec added that parents would not be paying for childcare while their child was not in kindergarten. Childcare will be available to parents who must work and have no other childcare possibility.
Protesters suspend cycling rallies
LJUBLJANA - The anti-government protests held in the streets of Ljubljana each Friday for the past six months were discontinued temporarily due to the epidemic. A small group of the most vocal among the protesters announced the protests would continue through "a strengthening of the local networks, guerilla operations, the formation of a civil society alliance, the building of ties with experts, scientists, scholars", as well as protests from homes and balconies.
ZZZS to end year with EUR 121m deficit
LJUBLJANA - The ZZZS public health insurance fund expects to generate a EUR 120.7 million deficit this year, while next year, the deficit is to be at EUR 189.6 million. While this year's gap is to be covered by the fund, next year's is to be covered by the budget. The figures already include the effects of an annex to the general healthcare agreement approved by the government on Thursday valued at a total of EUR 80.8 million this year.
Return on state equity at 6.9% in 2019
LJUBLJANA - The return on capital owned by the state and controlled by Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) stood at 6.9% in 2019, 0.7 percentage points above the target. The goal was exceeded despite significant changes in the SSH portfolio. In a report for 2019, sent to parliament, the SSH noted that after the sale of banks the more profitable financial investments were reduced in its portfolio in favour of higher shares of strategic investments that usually generate lower returns.
Soldiers suing parliament over collective bargaining agreement
LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Soldiers (SVS) is suing the National Assembly over the non-implementation of the 2012 Constitutional Court ruling concerning the public sector pay system. The trade union demands the annulment of two annexes to the public sector collective bargaining agreement arguing that they are unconstitutional. The December 2018 agreement with the government raised the wages of most public sector employees by three brackets or exceptionally by two brackets. But it envisaged a pay raise by only one bracket for members of the SAF, which is why no trade union representing employees in defence signed the relevant annex. The SVS demands the annex's annulment.
Drafting of zoning plan for Postojna-Jelšane motorway starts
LJUBLJANA - The government decided on Thursday to go ahead with the national zoning plan for a motorway between Postojna and Jelšane, with the 38-kilometre section in fact creating a connection between the Slovenian motorway system and the Croatian port city of Rijeka, some 30 kilometres south of the Jelšane border crossing. The newspaper Delo reported that if the procedure ran uninterrupted, it would take about three years to approve the route, but that Pivka locals would likely object to the planned route.
AC maker IMP Klima salvaged by Dutch family company
IDRIJA - The IMP Klima Group, the Slovenian-based cooling arm of Swedish multinational Lindab, which faced liquidation, has been salvaged by the Dutch family company Orange Climate, as the takeover from the Swedish Lindab was completed a few days ago. The Godovič-based company, which its previous Swedish owner planned to shut down, has been renamed OC IMP Klima and will keep all of its products, agreements and contracts, and production facilities under the new owner. Lindab had planed to close down IMP Klima Group, which would affect 212 jobs in Slovenia and 14 in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Business sentiment down in October
LJUBLJANA - Business sentiment in Slovenia deteriorated in October after improving for five consecutive months. The sentiment indicator stood at -6.6 percentage points, down 2.4 points on September and 10.7 points year-on-year. The latest figure is 6.7 points below the long-term average, said the Statistics Office. The monthly decrease was caused by poorer consumer confidence, where the indicator was down by 1.1 p.p., and the services sector and retail, where the indicator lost 0.7 of a percentage point. The indicator of confidence in construction had a small but positive influence (+0.1 p.p.).
Artist Jože Spacal dies
LJUBLJANA - Jože Spacal, the internationally acclaimed artist who for almost 30 years worked as a set designer for the precursor to the Slovenian public broadcaster, died, aged 81, on Wednesday. Spacal, who studied the arts in Milan, received more than twenty awards for his work abroad, including at the 7th Norwegian International Print Biennial in Fredrikstad, and the 4th International Print Biennial Varna. During his time with TV Ljubljana he created over 300 sets, some of the greatest achievements in the art.
Architecture and design museum gets new head
LJUBLJANA - Bogo Zupančič was appointed new director of the Museum of Architecture and Design, succeeding Matevž Čelik, who has been at the helm of the museum since 2010. Zupančič was picked among seven applicants in an open call by Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti. Zupančič earned a PhD in architecture from the Ljubljana Faculty of Architecture in 2000 and has a wealth of experience in museum work on top of academic achievements, said the ministry.
Slovenians increasingly happy working from home, poll shows
LJUBLJANA - Almost half of Slovenians believe the economy will not recover from the coronavirus crisis before 2023, showed a survey conducted by the pollster Mediana. However, increasingly many people are also quite comfortable working from home. In July, almost one in five respondents expected the economy will get back on its feet in 2021 or sooner, and one in three respondents said it would probably not recover before 2023, but now, as the second wave hit the country, the share of the latter rose by 14 percentage points. A notable change was also detected in people's attitude to working from home.
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