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This summary is provided by the STA:
Govt shortens Govt shortens curfew, shuts three regions
LJUBLJANA - The government shortened the curfew from between 9pm and 6am to between 10pm and 5pm, and imposed a ban on movement into and out of three regions with the highest coronavirus infection rates. Movement is being restricted to within the region in Obalno-Kraška and Goriška in the west and Koroška in the north, with several exceptions applying. The government also decided that only negative PCR test result will be accepted to avoid quarantine on entering Slovenia, except for exceptions.
Govt overhauls national vaccination strategy
LJUBLJANA - The government amended once again the national vaccination strategy, moving higher up on the list the age group of 60 and older, as well as the national Olympic team bound for Tokyo in the summer. The changes were made due to the changing epidemiological situation and will take effect on Monday. The national coordinator of vaccination logistics, Jelko Kacin, said it was realistic to expect that 70% of Slovenia's population, or all adult residents, would be vaccinated by summer, as the country expected to receive more than 250,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by the end of June.
Rising trend persists as 1,288 new cases, nine deaths confirmed
LJUBLJANA - New coronavirus cases continue to rise at double-digit rates as 1,288 cases were confirmed on Tuesday, an almost two-month high, the latest government data show. Nine Covid-19 patients died. There were 500 Covid-19 patients in hospital, down seven on the day before, while the number of ICU cases rose by three to 99, a one-month high. The cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents rose to 531 and the 7-day to 285, show data released by the National Institute of Public Health.
Slovenia summons Chinese ambassador over sanctions row
LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Foreign Ministry summoned Chinese Ambassador Wang Shunqing for talks in response to China's retaliation to EU sanctions due to human rights violations against Uyghurs. In the talks, the ministry described China's measures as unacceptable and expressed concern about human rights violations in Xinjiang and about the legislative changes affecting Hong Kong's autonomy. Talking with reporters in Brussels, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said China's actions contradicted the EU's fundamental values, and would not contribute to an EU-China partnership to boost investment cooperation.
Slovenia supports NATO's ambitious plans for the future
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Addressing reporters after a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said Slovenia supported NATO's ambitious vision until 2030 as proposed by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Logar noted in particular enhancing political cooperation and building a stronger alliance in the face of new types of threats. As for the proposed strengthening of the common-funded budget, Logar said Slovenia shared the view of some other allies that detailed data should be obtained first.
UK official opposes vaccine exports ban in STA interview
LJUBLJANA - UK Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands opposed any exports ban on coronavirus vaccines, as he talked with the STA in an interview during a visit to Slovenia. He also praised relations between Slovenia and the UK as very good. Vaccines have complicated supply chains and the best thing would be for everybody to work together, he said. "Any kind of vaccines exports ban would be a mistake," said Hands as he commented on the a possible ban by the EU.
IMAD upgrades growth forecast to 4.6% for the year
LJUBLJANA - The Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development (IMAD) has upgraded its economic growth forecast for Slovenia for this year to 4.6%, to be followed by a 4.4% growth in 2022 and 3.3% in 2023. IMAD, whose forecasts are used as a basis for state budgeting, had projected a 4.3% increase in Slovenia's GDP in its winter forecast, the reason for the upgrade being improved prospects in the international environment and businesses and consumers adapting increasingly to the new normal.
Culture minister grilled over culture and media policies
LJUBLJANA - The centre-left opposition lambasted Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti for his treatment of the self-employed culture workers and public media as the National Assembly debated for hours their motion to oust him. Rejecting all the accusations, the minister argued he had been working for the benefit of culture, saying the culture budget would be record high this year. The outcome of the vote, which will be taken on Thursday, is not clear yet but the motion is expected to be defeated.
Contentious provision removed from water bill
LJUBLJANA - The environment and economy ministries withdrew a planned provision allowing construction of manufacturing facilities which use hazardous materials in water protected areas. This is one of the two provisions in the amendments to the water law that environmental NGOs and other experts had criticised as unacceptable. NGOs welcome the move but said the other contentious provision, which allows construction of public infrastructure in coastal areas, should be withdrawn as well.
SocDem MP proposes international debate on fracking
LJUBLJANA - Dejan Židan, an MP of the opposition SocDems, called on Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec to convene an international expert discussion on hydraulic fracturing. The debate would establish what individual countries have done abut fracking. Židan noted that the opposition had filed three times a proposal amending the mining act to ban fracking, but the amendment was voted down. The ministry's proposal to change the mining act would ban high-volume fracking and allow low-volume fracking under certain circumstances.
EUSAIR strategy for further green development in region
LJUBLJANA - Representatives of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) presented the initiative's key achievements since June 2020 when Slovenia took over the year-long EUSAIR chairmanship. The chairmanship revolved around green cooperation and environmentally-friendly development, including protection of the marine environment, green infrastructure and ecosystem services. EUSAIR is one of the four EU macro-regional strategies.
Report: NBI investigating Court of Audit
LJUBLJANA - The news portals 24ur and Necenzurirano reported that the National Bureau of Investigation opened a preliminary investigation into the work of the Court of Audit in the audit on the purchase of medical and personal protective equipment in the spring of 2020. Court of Audit President Tomaž Vesel told Radio Slovenija that questions forwarded from the NBI led to believe that the bureau was interested in whether the court had grounds for launching the audit.
Pragersko railway hub gets EUR 40m in EU funds
LJUBLJANA - The Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy approved EUR 40 million in funds from the European Regional Development Fund to thoroughly overhaul the railway hub in Pragersko, north-eastern Slovenia. The investment is valued at EUR 90 million and is part of the European cohesion policy operative programme for 2014-2020.
Google.org funds Slovenian project promoting elderly digital literacy
LJUBLJANA - Google.org, Google's charitable arm, will donate EUR 134,000 to Slovenian organisation Simbioza to bridge digital gaps in elderly digital literacy in what is Google.org's first investment in Slovenia. Simbioza will raise awareness and promote digital skills all over the country through mobile classrooms equipped with computers, smart phones and other devices, and the mobile app Magda, the first mobile app for the elderly in Slovenia.
Slovenian startup launches all-in-one POS terminal
LJUBLJANA - Lab4Pay, a Slovenian fintech startup, has launched a point-of-sale (POS) terminal that vendors can use for traditional payment methods as well as digital payments such as cryptocurrency. The Elly POS accepts credit and debit cards as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay, several Slovenian electronic wallets and a number of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin. More options will be added.
Judge steps down after drunk-driving crash
LJUBLJANA - The president of the Maribor Higher Court, Miroslav Pliberšek, stepped down following media reports about him causing an accident while drunk driving. According to the newspaper Dnevnik, the 57-year old was driving under the influence at the end of January and caused an accident in Maribor. In his resignation letter to the president of the Supreme Court, Pliberšek said he was stepping down to protect the reputation of the Maribor Higher Court and the judiciary as a whole.
Prosecution rejects criminal complaints over STA funding
LJUBLJANA - The prosecution rejected criminal complains by the Journalist Trade Union against Uroš Urbanija, director of the Government Communication Office (UKOM), for suspending STA funding. It also rejected UKOM's criminal complaint against STA director Bojan Veselinovič, supervisors and former UKOM boss Kristina Plavšak Krajnc over the UKOM-STA contract on public service for 2020. Prosecutor Špela Brezigar said it was evident the dispute between the STA and UKOM resulted from different interpretations of the law, while criminal procedure was not designed to solve disagreements.
Documentary Film Festival gets under way online
LJUBLJANA - The 23rd Documentary Film Festival started online, bringing 20 feature-length documentaries and four short films until the end of the month. A special section will be dedicated to films by director Matjaž Ivanišin, a winner of the Prešeren Fund Prize. Five films will compete for the Amnesty International Slovenija award. The films will be available at Cinesquare.net. Discussions with directors will be aired by Cankarjev Dom on social networks and on radio station Val 202.
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