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This summary is provided by the STA:
Daily coronavirus tally tops 1,100 on slower testing
LJUBLJANA - Despite slowed down testing on Sunday, Slovenia registered 1,115 new coronavirus cases as over 30% of the tests returned positive results, the highest rate yet. The country reported ten more Covid-related deaths for a total of 251. Presenting fresh data, government spokesman Jelko Kacin said Covid-19 hospitalisations had risen to 523 and the number of those in intensive care to 82. Kacin said the situation was worst in the north-western region of Gorenjska, where 43% of all tests were positive. National Covid-19 tracker site shows the rolling 14-day average per 100,000 is now 727.
PM not asking Logar, Koritnik to resign for failing to self-isolate
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša said after holding talks with Foreign Minister Anže Logar and Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik, who had not waited for their coronavirus test results in isolation, that he was not asking them to resign, as the government was working around the clock and was thus making mistakes. Logar's positive test was confirmed on Friday after he was routinely tested as he returned from abroad, while the media report that he met in the National Gallery its director Barbara Jaki while waiting for the test results. Koritnik had tested negative.
Stanislav Vidovič new Slovenian ambassador to Ireland
LJUBLJANA - Seasoned diplomat Stanislav Vidovič was recalled prematurely from the post of ambassador to the US today to become the country's new ambassador to Ireland. It is not yet clear who will succeed him in Washington, DC. The decree to post him to Dublin was signed by President Borut Pahor and published in the Official Gazette, while the Foreign Ministry told the STA that the procedure to appoint a new ambassador to the US was still ongoing. Vidovič's replacement in the US has been speculated about for months, with media reports suggesting he would be posted to the recently reopened embassy in Dublin.
Culture minister sees Friday's protest as death threat
LJUBLJANA - Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti denounced Friday's protest in which culture workers put up tables smeared with fake blood as a death threat against him and his aides, urging police to act in response to what he sees as extremely dangerous conduct. In a press release on Sunday the minister described the scene in front of his ministry as an "office after a murder: tables placed in the street sprayed with colour representing blood, names of co-workers clearly written on the tables".
Tone Peršak new Slovenian PEN president
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian PEN elected writer and former politician Tone Peršak its new president on Monday to succeed Ifigenija Simonović, who has served since March 2017. Peršak, 73, already served as Slovenian PEN president in the 2000s. He has also served as culture minister and the president of the Slovenian Writers' Association. He once said that "PEN has no tanks or much money, but it can speak, and we believe that words still have some power".
Post Pahor's appeal for cooperation, coalition-opposition divide persists
LJUBLJANA - Following President Borut Pahor's appeal for cross-partisan efforts to overcome the Covid-19 crisis, the coalition said that cooperation was already offered to opposition parties, but they mostly declined. The opposition meanwhile said it was willing to cooperate to stem the epidemic. On the other hand, the opposition parties reiterated today that their views had not been as acknowledged as they should have been, highlighting they were not supporting the Janez Janša government modus operandi.
Opposition seeks to secure school meals despite distance learning
LJUBLJANA - Four centre-left opposition parties filed a bill seeking to secure pupils warm meals while they are distance learning during the Covid-19 epidemic. They also urged the government to raise children's allowance by the amount of the subsidy for school meal during remote schooling. The bill, filed by the Social Democrats (SD), the Left, the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), would give local authorities discretion to organise home delivery if children could not come to school to pick the meal.
Kindergarten occupancy reduced to under 10% amid tightened lockdown
LJUBLJANA - More than 90% of kindergarten children stayed home or were put in other forms of care as kindergartens in Slovenia officially closed with the exception of urgent daycare. Municipalities are organising urgent daycare in different ways. While all public kindergartens in Ljubljana remain open and are not asking for any proof of urgency, some municipalities are asking for notes from employers and are giving priority to parents in so called essential professions. Only 9% of the usual number of children was recorded in Ljubljana's 23 public kindergartens. The principal of the Galjevica kindergarten Barbara Novinec told the STA this "shows parents are behaving responsibly".
EUR 472m debt deferred, EUR 387m in crisis loans approved
LJUBLJANA - Banks in Slovenia have approved around EUR 472 million worth of loan payment deferrals under a law that entered into force at the end of March as part of the first government stimulus package. By 16 October, banks had also issued EUR 387.3 million worth of liquidity loans needed because of the crisis, data from the central bank show. Companies have meanwhile made limited use of the state loan guarantee scheme with only EUR 31 million of the EUR 2 billion available approved by mid-October.
EUR 193m in public sector bonuses paid out in spring
LJUBLJANA - Public sector employees received a total of EUR 192.8 million in coronavirus crisis bonuses for work during the first wave of the epidemic between 13 March and 31 May. Now, in the second wave, those working in dangerous conditions will again be eligible for bonuses. Last year, public sector employees received just over EUR 355 million in gross bonuses in total, while this year more than EUR 352 million was paid out already in the first seven months because of the new crisis bonuses.
Postojna had legal basis to introduce tax for use of building land for Poček, court says
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court announced that the Postojna municipality had the legal basis to introduce a special property tax for the Poček military training ground to be paid by the state, or the Defence Ministry. This means Postojna's 2011 decree on the compensation for the use of land designated for construction in the provision pertaining to setting this tax for Poček was not in contradiction with the constitution. The government asked the court in 2016 to examine the decree of the municipality in which the bulk of the country's main military training area is situated. In its petition, the government referred to the 1984 building land act, which the court noted had since become invalid.
Audit finds irregularities under former Petrol management
LJUBLJANA - A special audit initiated by the shareholders' meeting of energy company Petrol last December has found irregularities in eight of a total of 30 audited deals concluded under the former management led by Tomaž Berločnik in 2015-2019. The auditor BDO Revizor believes the management could be liable for damages for some of the flaws and even points to elements of criminal liability. The transactions audited exceed EUR 1 million in total and include the acquisition and disposal of financial investments, other types of investments, and sponsorship contracts.
Ledinek Engineering going strong despite pandemic
HOČE - Ledinek Engineering, which exports its machinery and production lines for the wood processing industry worldwide, doubled its profit to EUR 3 million last year despite a drop in revenue. The company employing 180 people saw a 15% decrease in revenue to EUR 37 million in 2019 mainly because of a delay in a delivery of a major project due to problems on the client's side. The company is working on several major projects this year. It does not expect any major setback due to the pandemic.
Organisers happy with on-line MOS fair
CELJE - The International Trade Fair (MOS) was held as an online series of events and presentations for the first time this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The organisers are happy with the turnout, as some 30,000 visitors viewed exhibitors' presentation videos and the on-line platform of the fair was visited by 4,000-6,000 people every day. According to Celjski Sejem, the organiser of MOS, which was held between 8 and 22 October, this year's fair was ground-breaking. Exhibitors are happy that they were able to present their products or services as part of live presentations, and visitors were happy to be able to access providers quickly and also communicate with them.
Survey shows companies sure work from home here to stay
LJUBLJANA - A survey carried out in September and October by consultancy Kearney in cooperation with AmCham Slovenija had 96% of the polled companies saying they fully or partially agree that work from home will remain more frequent also in the long-term. The second poll of this kind, following the one in the spring, moreover showed companies are more optimistic in their forecasts than during the spring coronavirus wave. It showed that companies on average expect revenue to fall by 3% this year compared to 2019, which compares to a 15% drop forecast in the spring. The expected drop in employment fell from 6% to 3%, and the expected drop in investment changed from 13% to 4%.
Nova Gorica calls for coordination in border measures
NOVA GORICA/GORIZIA, Italy - The Nova Gorica municipality in the west and Slovenian minority organisations in Italy have called on the Slovenian interior and foreign ministries to coordinate anti-corona measures in the border area where cross-border ties are strong with the Italian government and Friuli-Venezia Giulia authorities. The authorities of Gorizia, just across the border, have already addressed a similar appeal to the Italian government.
Pahor's committee for climate policy meets in new line-up
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor met with his permanent advisory committee on climate change in the new line-up for the first time, agreeing that the Covid-19 pandemic must not be an excuse for returning to unsustainable practices detrimental to the environment and climate, but an opportunity to find innovative and new approaches. In an on-line talk, the committee and Pahor touched on the current situation and consequences of the pandemic for society, individuals and the environment, the president's office said in a press release.
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