Slovenia, Italy, Croatia sign joint statement on cooperation in Adriatic
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his Italian and Croatian counterparts, Luigi di Maio and Gordan Grlić Radman, signed a joint statement on trilateral cooperation in the northern Adriatic. "We set up the foundation for strengthening cooperation in all areas that are key for all the three countries," Logar said about the statement. He said special emphasis had been placed by Slovenia on exercising its rights in the areas of exclusive economic zones in the Adriatic in line with international maritime law.
Slovenia expects unity in EU on implementation of agreements with UK
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia again raised the issue of UK work visa discrimination at a meeting of ministers for EU affairs on Tuesday, expressing expectation that EU countries will be united on the implementation of agreements with the UK. Complications in the ratification of the Brexit agreement do not contribute to this, said State Secretary Gašper Dovžan. Asked whether the agreement could be ratified by the end of the month, he said they were hoping for ratification.
Johansson to broach issue of media freedom on visit to Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson is due in Slovenia on Thursday for a two-day visit that she says is primarily aimed at backing Slovenia's preparations for its EU presidency in the second half of 202. She also intends to raise the issue of media freedom and pluralism. Slovenia should not underestimate the risk to its international reputation when it comes to this, Johansson told the STA ahead of the visit.
Hotels allowed to reopen from Monday
LJUBLJANA - With the improvement of the coronavirus situation and the government moving to orange tier, the government decided to lift movement between regions from Friday and ease restrictions for hospitality establishments. Hotels will be allowed to reopen on Monday and bars and restaurants in three regions in the yellow tier will be able to serve guests indoors. In nine regions in the orange tier of restrictions hospitality establishments will be allowed to serve guests outdoors while hotels and other accommodation will be open for guests with a negative coronavirus test. Events for up to ten people will be allowed and higher education will open for in-class lectures.
Week-on-week decrease in Covid cases continues
LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,034 coronavirus tests performed in Slovenia on Tuesday returned positive in what is a continuation of a downward trend in weekly comparison, show fresh official data. Hospitalisations decreased by 18 to 631 after 62 patients were discharged home yesterday. The number of intensive care cases was down by one to 155, while another four Covid-19 patients died.
Convalescents to receive only one shot of vaccine
LJUBLJANA - Those in Slovenia who have had a confirmed coronavirus infection will receive only one shot of a coronavirus vaccine six months after they had the disease, according to new guidelines issued by the national advisory committee on immunisation. The guidance was issued to vaccination centres recently after seven other European countries decided to do that, the head of the advisory body, Bojana Beović, told the press.
Recovery plan meets green targets, government official says
LJUBLJANA - Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Blaž Košorok provided assurances to MPs that the national recovery and resilience plan hits green targets as the document was discussed by the Infrastructure Committee. EU guidelines mandate that 37% of funds allocated under the plan - Slovenia is entitled to EUR 5.2 billion - be spent on projects that contribute towards the realisation of climate objectives. He said the commitment would be honoured.
Performance of courts declined in 2020
LJUBLJANA - The number of cases Slovenian courts processed declined by 12% in 2020 and the number of pending cases rose by 5% as only urgent matters were attended to for a significant part of the year. Overall, the courts are still able to process new cases on an ongoing basis, shows annual court statistics released by the Supreme Court. The report stressed that it is difficult to compare the annual figures given how extraordinary 2020 was.
Gregor Majdič elected new chancellor of Ljubljana University
LJUBLJANA - Gregor Majdič, a researcher behavioural neuroendocrinology and professor at the Ljubljana Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Maribor Faculty of Medicine, was elected new chancellor of the University of Ljubljana, defeating the incumbent Igor Papič, in a run-off. Majdič, who will start the four-year term with the new academic year on 1 October, sees the strong support for him was a vote for change toward a university that would be more active in society, including in climate policy.
National Institute of Biology creates gene therapy spin-off
LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Biology (NIB) has licenced its gene therapy know-how and technology to a spin-off called Niba Labs, which will develop and commercialise technologies for the characterisation and quantification of therapeutic viruses used in gene therapy. NIB director Maja Ravnikar said the new company, the NIB's second spin-off, would operate in the global market and collaborate with all Slovenian biotech firms in this segment. The revenue from the licensing of the technology will be reinvested into research.
Adria Airways HQ on sale at asking price of EUR 4.1m
LJUBLJANA - Adria Airways official receiver Janez Pustatičnik is collecting binding bids for the office building of the bankrupt Slovenian air carrier and the surrounding plots. The asking price is EUR 4.1 million without VAT and bidders have until 30 June to submit bids. Built in 2009, the four-floor Adria building comprises almost 4,400 square metres, and includes offices, classrooms, and a warehouse. It is surrounded by land and a fenced parking lot.
No building permit for Plečnik stadium, developer taking legal action
LJUBLJANA - After the Environment and Spatial Planning Ministry rejected at the end of March the a request for a building permit to overhaul a rundown Ljubljana stadium designed by acclaimed architect Jože Plečnik, the boss of developer BŠP, announced legal action. "We won't give up on the project in which we've put 14 years of effort, desires and money," Pečečnik told the press. Next week he intends to file criminal complaints and damages suits, and an appeal at the Administrative Court.
Vandals target the home of SNS head
LJUBLJANA - The gate of the home of Zmago Jelinčič, the head of the opposition National Party (SNS), has been vandalised. A stencil graffiti appeared on the door saying "Je suis" and an image of a chainsaw, with Jelinčič posting a photo of the graffiti on Twitter. In the tweet, Jeličič wrote that whoever had smeared his door had obviously not seen the warning on the door saying the owner was armed. This is only the latest in a series of acts of vandalism targeting public figures recently.
Reports: Violent protest instigator arrested in Austria for drugs
LJUBLJANA/KLAGENFURT, Austria - Anis Ličina, the man who had been charged with incitement to violent anti-government protests on 5 November 2020, was arrested in Austria the past weekend on suspicion of drug trafficking. He had also been charged with the same type of crime in Slovenia, media reported. The Slovenian police confirmed they had been notified by the Austrian police on Monday of an arrest of a Slovenian citizen based on a national warrant on suspicion of drug trafficking.
25-year-old gets 30 years for triple manslaughter
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana District Court sentenced Peter Gaspeti to 30 years in prison for killing his grandfather, grandmother and uncle with a knife in a village 15 km north of Ljubljana last June. The 25-year-old got 12 years for each of the three criminal acts for a combined sentence of 30 years after the court reclassified the charges from murder to manslaughter, taking into account Gaspeti's personality disorder, no criminal record, and no previous history of violent behaviour.
British citizen caught smuggling migrants after wild chase
ČRENŠOVCI - A 21-year-old British citizen was arrested on Saturday for illegally transporting a five-member family from Iraq after a wild chase during which he crashed into police vehicles several times. The man was apprehended by the Austrian police after escaping on foot after he was forced to pull over with flat tyres after driving through stingers set up by Slovenian police. The Iraqi family, who entered Slovenia illegally from Croatia, applied for international protection.
Slovenia's youth less worried about climate change than European peers
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's youth aged between 15 and 35 see climate change as the third worst global problem after environmental pollution and poverty, showed the European survey Climate of Change, which also sees 36% of them very or extremely worried about climate change, which is 10 percentage points below the average of 23 European countries. The other young Europeans meanwhile see climate change as the most pressing global problem, shows the survey that polled over 22,000 young people.
