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This summary is provided by the STA:
Logar stresses role of transatlantic cooperation post US election
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar highlighted the role of transatlantic cooperation as one of the EU's key endeavours and one of the priorities of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU next year. Addressing an online debate hosted by the STA ad the European Representation in Slovenia, Logar said Slovenia had the ambition to hold an EU-US summit attended by the US president during its presidency. Meanwhile, Janez Lenarčič, the European commissioner from Slovenia, said that Joe Biden's win provided an opportunity for improving transatlantic relations.
Janša takes part in Berlin Process summit
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša took part in a videoconference of heads of state of the Berlin Process as part of which the leaders of six Western Balkan countries signed declarations on Common Regional Market and Green Agenda. Commenting on his Twitter account, Janša said there had been open issues in the region for decades, some even for centuries. "We welcome steps forward, made during a #BerlinProcess. But, let's be frank, effective regional cooperation and EU perspective for all depends on how we solve a big picture," he added.
Lenarčič and Logar hail boost in EU-wide solidarity
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister and European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič agreed that solidarity had gained new momentum in the EU as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, as they addressed an online debate, organised by the STA and the European Commission Representation in Slovenia. The pair also noted solidarity with third countries, with Lenarčič noting the Covax mechanism, whose aim is a fair global distribution of Covid-19 vaccination. Logar also noted the significance of cross-border solidarity in other fields as well such as migration.
1,084 new coronavirus cases, 27 patients with Covid-19 die
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 1,084 new coronavirus cases from 4,457 tests on Monday as the increase in new cases continued to slow down. Nevertheless, hospitalisations remain on the rise, the latest government data show. There are now 1,171 people in hospital compared to 1,143 yesterday as incoming patients continue to outnumber discharged patients, with 196 in intensive care, up six from yesterday. The death toll climbed to 605 after 27 people with Covid-19 died.
Businesses object as health minister seeks new restrictions
LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Tomaž Gantar proposed the government tighten coronavirus restrictions further for two weeks as it meets to review lockdown restrictions on Thursday. He suggested closing further non-essential businesses and public transport. Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek indicated his opposition, while the Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged the government not to jeopardise jobs, offering data showing that fewer than 1% staff at companies are infected.
Health Ministry says vaccine to be available across EU simultaneously
LJUBLJANA - The Health Ministry reiterated that Slovenia's efforts towards securing vaccination against Covid-19 are conducted as part of the joint public order being led by the European Commission and involving all EU member states. It stressed that the vaccine or more of them, when approved, will be made accessible to all members state simultaneously. Slovenia will sign contacts with all vaccine producers with which the European Commission already has or will shortly sign contracts on supply pending a permit from the European Medicines Agency, it said.
Prospective DeSUS leader meets PM, potential aspirant
LJUBLJANA - Karl Erjavec, the favoured candidate for the presidency of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) at the 28 November congress, held separate meetings with PM Janez Janša and Jože P. Damijan, a potential candidate for prime minister. According to the commercial broadcaster POP TV, Erjavec met Janša on the prime minister's initiative to discuss his position on the current government. Meeting Jože P. Damijan, Erjavec told him DeSUS MPs were satisfied with the manifesto put forward by the alternative coalition.
Bank profits down a fifth in first nine months
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian banks posted a cumulative pre-tax profit of EUR 414 million for the first nine months of 2020, down a fifth year-on-year. The decline would have been much sharper, at -60%, were it not for the one-off impact of the merger of Abanka and NKBM, the central bank said in its month report. Despite the fallout from the escalating Covid-19 epidemic, "the liquidity and capital position of the banking system remains good," the report from Banka Slovenije notes.
Fewer companies going bust during epidemic
LJUBLJANA - During the coronavirus epidemic, there were fewer bankruptcies among companies compared to last year, show data by the AJPES agency for legal records. In the first nine months of 2020, 845 companies went bankrupt, down 16% on the same period in 2019 and a 21% drop on the same period in 2018. This is most probably because the emergency act to contain the epidemic and mitigate its consequences, passed during the first wave, extended certain insolvency procedure deadlines.
Industrial output down 3.6% in September
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's industrial output declined by 3.6% year-on-year in September. In the first nine months of the year output contracted by 7.9%, the Statistics Office said. All main categories of industry contracted compared to the year before. The most important segment, manufacturing, was down 3.6%, whereas output in energy supply was down 5.3% and in mining by 14.1%. At the monthly level, output was down by 0.4%, the first monthly decline after four months of growth.
Independence-era archbishop remembered on centenary
LJUBLJANA - Archbishop Alojzij Šuštar (1920-2007), who played a major role in Slovenia's independence efforts, was honoured with a book and symposium marking the centenary of his birth. President Borut Pahor described him as the "nestor of the process of reconciliation in society, a pillar of independence", saying he was among those without whom Slovenia would not have been a sovereign country today. Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenia's first foreign minister, counts Šuštar "among the great Slovenian generation who advocated an independent country and brought it to fruition".
Team led by Slovenian researcher creates pandemic predicting model
LJUBLJANA- A team of researchers led by Jure Leskovec, the Slovenian Stanford computer scientist, has created a computer model to predict the spread of Covid-19 based on people's travel habits and movements. They published their article in the journal Nature. They created the model based on data on mobile phone locations capturing the movement of almost 100 million people in 10 major US cities, identifying "superspreader" sites where more than 85% of all virus transmissions occur.
Police comms system hacker gets suspended sentence
LJUBLJANA - Dejan Ornig, who hacked into a police communications system five years ago as a student of the Faculty of Security Studies, has received a two-year suspended sentence. The Ljubljana District Court ruling is not final and the defence plans to lodge an appeal, Dnevnik reported. Ornig was found guilty of attacking an information system and forging a criminal police ID, despite his defence arguing that he thought he was doing this in collaboration with the police.
Belgian caught smuggling 16 migrants in a van
RAZKRIŽJE - A Belgian citizen was caught transporting 16 foreigners who illegally crossed the border in the north-east on Monday. The van with Belgian licence plates was pulled over by the Ljutomer police yesterday morning. After inspecting the vehicle, police found 16 foreigners in the van - two citizens of Iraq and 14 citizens of Egypt, the Murska Sobota police station said.
Family tragedy in Janče ends in triple murder and suicide
LJUBLJANA - Police are investigating a triple murder and suicide in what appears to be a family tragedy in the eastern rural part of the Ljubljana municipality. A 22-year-old appears to have murdered his 26-year-old sister and parents, aged 56 and 60, with a knife and a firearm on Monday. the information gathered so far suggests.
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