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This summary is provided by the STA:
Govt approves sweeping easing of coronavirus restrictions
LJUBLJANA - Following a gradual but persistent decrease in coronavirus infections and hospitalisations, the government formally established that Slovenia entered orange tier of restrictions. The government thus approved a sweeping easing, allowing movement throughout the country, gatherings of up to ten people, reopening of all stores and schools for all primary pupils and final year secondary school students from Monday. University exams will again be held in person. Testing for customers will no longer be required and skiers will need to provide a negative test once a week, not every day. The cost of testing for retail and services staff will be covered by the state. Curfew remains in place, though.
Slovenia scrapping internal-border checkpoints
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is scrapping checkpoints on internal Schengen borders starting from Saturday, which means it will be possible to enter or exit the country via all border crossings with Austria, Hungary and Italy, not just ten designated points. In addition, those who have recovered from Covid-19 or have been vaccinated against it with two jabs will be able to enter the country without having to quarantine or provide a negative coronavirus test, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs announced. Additionally, a new list of high risk countries is being added to the red list for Schengen and EU countries doing worse than Slovenia Covid-19-wise.
1,385 new coronavirus cases recorded, 10 patients died
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 1,385 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, the first time this month that cases rose on the week before. Ten patients with Covid-19 died, show the latest government figures. The positive cases come amid stepped-up testing as as over 26,000 tests performed yesterday, a fifth of which were the more reliable PCR tests. Just over 18% of PCR tests and under 2% of rapid tests were positive. The situation in hospitals continues to improve. There were 828 patients with Covid-19 hospitalised, down 36 over the day before, whereas the number of ICU cases dropped by three to 157.
Brussels downgrades Slovenia's GDP growth forecast for 2021 to 4.7%
LJUBLJANA - In its winter economic forecast, the European Commission downgraded Slovenia's GDP forecast for this year from 5.1% to 4.7%, projecting a rebound of 5.2% for 2022, an upgrade from the 3.8% in its previous outlook. The Commission estimated Slovenia's GDP to have contracted by 6.2% last year, which is an upgrade of 0.9 of a percentage point compared to the autumn forecast. The economic situation is expected to gradually improve as more people are vaccinated and restrictions are relaxed, leading to stronger growth in the second half of 2021.
Slovenian and Estonian presidents discuss number of topics
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and his Estonian counterpart Kersti Kaljulaid discussed a number of topics in a video call, including bilateral relations, international issues and the recent change of government in Estonia. The pair said the EU should close ranks to become more effective in relation to its partners, especially Russia and China, while also strengthening transatlantic relations. Pahor congratulated Kaljulaid on the prompt stabilisation of the political situation after the Estonian government resigned due to a corruption scandal a month ago.
Committee okays electoral bill implementing Constitutional Court ruling
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee endorsed a bill redrawing electoral districts in line with a 2018 Constitutional Court decision. MPs of the coalition Democrats (SDS), New Slovenia (NSi), Modern Centre Party (SMC) and opposition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) have backed the proposal. The MPs hailed the bill as a political compromise. Meanwhile, the MPs of the opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Left, Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) and National Party (SNS) voted against the proposal, preferring the idea to scrap electoral districts and introduce a preference vote.
Questions raised over national recovery and resilience plan
LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS, Belgium - The opposition is planning to see a plenary session to discuss Slovenia's national recovery and resilience plan, a document required to draw EUR 5.2 billion in EU recovery funds. Unofficial information from Brussels meanwhile suggested the European Commission expected the country to make a number of changes to its draft plan. This was denied by the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, which said the Commission had not discussed any of the countries' plans yet.
Govt secures funding for Italian, Hungarian minorities
LJUBLJANA - The government issued a decree on the co-funding of bilingual activities and the implementation of constitutional rights of the Italian and Hungarian minorities in 2021. Under the decree, nine municipalities and the Hungarian self-governing community in the municipality of Šalovci will receive almost EUR 2 million.
Božo Predalič new state secretary at Interior Ministry
LJUBLJANA - Božo Predalič, until now the government's secretary general, was appointed a new state secretary at the Interior Ministry as of Friday. The government at the same time appointed Janja Garvas Hočevar the government's acting secretary general. She has been Predalič's deputy. Predalič, who is considered a close aide of Prime Minister Janez Janša, holds a doctorate in law. He will succeed Anton Olaj after he was appointed police commissioner at the end of January.
Police: Hojs broke no coronavirus rules in Croatia entry attempt
LJUBLJANA - The police said that Interior Minister Aleš Hojs did not violate any government decrees when he attempted to enter Croatia on Monday. The minister he produced all the necessary statements and documents needed to cross municipal and state borders, as inter-municipal travel ban is still in place. Rather than being been denied entry when he travelled with his mother to Croatia on Monday, Hojs decided not to enter Croatia when asked to produce a negative coronavirus test, the police said.
RTV Slovenija boss challenging successor's appointment in court
LJUBLJANA - Public broadcaster RTV Slovenija director general Igor Kadunc filed a lawsuit over the appointment of Andrej Grah Whatmough as his successor on Wednesday. He argues that one of the key requirements for the post, a minimum of three years of managing major administrative systems, was not observed in the appointment procedure. He said the outcome of the suit would have no impact on the end of his term on 24 April.
Several potential bidders rumoured for OMV service stations
LJUBLJANA - Media reports suggest there is quite some interest in the 120 service stations in Slovenia that Austrian energy firm OMV plans to sell via a divestment of a 92.25% stake in the company OMV Slovenija. Polish oil giant PKN Orlen appears to be considering an acquisition, and other potential bidders include SOCAR, an Azerbaijan company which acquired 82 service stations in Austria in 2019, and Russian giant Lukoil, which is present in the region and acquired Crobenz in Croatia in 2010. OMV is the second largest operator of service stations in Slovenia with a market share of over 20%, compared to over 60% for market leader Petrol.
Petrol too starts charging for plug-in
LJUBLJANA - Seven years since it started offering charging of electric vehicles for free, energy company Petrol will start charging for the service on Monday. This is an important step for development and expansion of plug-in car charging infrastructure in the region, it said, adding it would like to set up more than 1,300 charging stations in the region by 2025. Drivers charging their vehicles with up to 22 kilowatt plugs will pay 25 cents for a kilowatt hour. The first to make the service of charging e-vehicles payable was Elektro Ljubljana in May 2019.
Concert organisers want coronavirus aid modelled on Austria's scheme
LJUBLJANA - An informal coalition of Slovenia's music sector urged the government to provide it financial aid amid the coronavirus epidemic modelled on Austria's "guarantee" scheme. It suggests gradual reopening of concert venues between 1 April and 1 July, when the music industry in the EU expects Covid-19 restrictions to be lifted. Concert promoters would like the scheme to be included in the next economic stimulus bill, while the Economy Ministry is still examining the proposal.
UEFA Under-21 Euro 2021 preparations all but completed
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Football Association (NZS) and four Slovenian cities that will co-host the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Hungary are finishing their preparations for what will be largest football event in Slovenia so far. It is not clear yet whether in-person audience will be allowed during matches. Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje and Koper will co-host the UEFA Under-21 Euro 2021 matches. Events and activities in the run-up to the tournament have been mostly moved to the virtual realm.
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