Coalition MPs file proposal to dismiss Speaker Zorčič
LJUBLJANA - MPs from the coalition parties tabled a motion to dismiss Speaker Igor Zorčič, with the argument that he had joined at the end of March a group of unaffiliated MPs, which is not part of the coalition. The Democrats (SDS), New Slovenia (NSi) and Modern Centre Party (SMC) filed the motion a day after the ruling SDS's deputy group leader Danijel Krivec announced the coalition had collected 47 signatures to urge Zorčič to step down. The first attempt on 30 March failed as only 45 voted for the dismissal, one short.
Vaccination of all adults to start on Monday
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša announced that all adults under 50 will start to get vaccinated on Monday. "We will have enough vaccine for everyone by summer. Let's be responsible to ourselves and others, get vaccinated and hold out for a few more weeks. It is time for a normal summer," he wrote on Twitter. Jelko Kacin, the national vaccination logistics coordinator has said that Slovenia has at least 450,000 doses of vaccines 19 available in May, which will speed up the vaccination process.
Over 770 new coronavirus infections, three deaths on Wednesday
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged 774 coronavirus cases for Wednesday from almost 4,230 PCR tests for a positivity rate of slightly over 18%, an improvement from Wednesday last week. Three Covid-19 patients died, half Tuesday's figure, shows the latest government figures. Wednesday's daily count of new coronavirus cases compares to almost 920 new cases a week ago and to a positivity rate of just over 20%. The 7-day average of new cases dropped significantly - from 750 to 729 in a day. The situation in hospitals continues to gradually improve as the overall number of patients declined by 9 to 551.
Pahor talking EU enlargement to the region in Tirana
TIRANA, Albania - President Borut Pahor met his Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta as part of a whistle-stop tour of the region in preparation for the 17 May regional summit in Slovenia. In a renewed call for EU enlargement to the Western Balkans he said EU membership would make country borders less important and cancel out the need to change them. He said he expected the Brdo-Brijuni summit to send out a strong message on the importance of the enlargement process. He repeated that the process needed to be sped up bearing in not just specific countries but to the region as a whole.
Pahor calls for new momentum in EU enlargement to Western Balkans
PODGORICA, Montenegro -President Borut Pahor said after meeting his Montenegrin counterpart Milo Đukanović on Wednesday that a new momentum needed to be provided for the process of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, as there was a certain standstill. He added that his task was to find fresh ideas together with the leaders of the countries from the initiative about how to develop a new strategy for a faster enlargement of the EU to all countries in the Western Balkans. Pahor is on a tour to meet Western Balkan leaders ahead of the Brdo-Brijuni Process summit, to be held in Slovenia on 17 May.
Koper port to play major part in EU-wide military mobility
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Defence Minister Matej Tonin argued the EU should put political decisions into practice faster, as he attended an EU defence ministerial. The ministers discussed military mobility in Europe where the Slovenian infrastructure, in particular the Koper port, will play a major part. The project aims mainly to upgrade infrastructure such as bridges, railways and roads with the goal being to reduce the time it takes to move troops. Tonin hailed the agreement as a major success. "Military mobility is not just a matter of logistics, it is a strategic one," he said.
Minister Hojs discusses migrations in Poland
WARSAW, Poland - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs discussed migration issues as he met his Polish counterpart Mariusz Kaminski as part of Slovenia's preparations for the upcoming EU presidency. His ministry said in a statement that Slovenia and Poland advocate "elimination of the root causes of migration, and a greater role of the external dimension of migrations, foremost sending migrants back more effectively". The ministers agreed that together with the European External Action Service, the European Commission must "enhance talks with key partner states".
President urges political moderation in response to MEP letter
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor reiterated his appeal for political moderation as he responded to a call by four MEPs to use his authority to calm down the tense social atmosphere in Slovenia. It would be "very useful if everyone realised that things have gone too far in many ways and be able to take a step back so that we can then move forward more easily together," he said on Twitter. According to Pahor, it is necessary to find solutions to overcome the crisis and its numerous consequences, something the political class is responsible for to a great extent.
Tax changes designed to improve competitiveness
LJUBLJANA - Changes to three major tax laws adopted by the government are designed to improve the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy. While income tax changes alone are expected to reduce annual tax receipts by EUR 276 million, Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj says public finances remain sound. "Public finances are perfectly stable and aligned with the Stability Programme, on the basis of which we will be reducing the deficit in the coming years," Šircelj said, adding that the shortfall will be offset with higher economic growth.
Government secures EUR 5.1m to help out wine sector
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a decree on measures to remedy the market disruptions in the wine sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Like last year, the decree provides for temporary exceptional measures of crisis wine distillation and crisis wine storage for this year. Around EUR 5.1 million will be allocated for the two measures, including EUR 4.8 million for crisis distillation. The two measures will be financed by the sector-specific national financial envelope for wine, while additional funding will also be provided by the national budget.
Restrictions being stiffened for pet owners
LJUBLJANA - The government proposed a series of legislative changes to enhance pet owner responsibility and protect pets, including by making it illegal to tether dogs and put down healthy abandoned pets. "It's a significant step forward in protecting pets," Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek said as he set out the amendments to the animal protection act. The amendments would also restrict possession of exotic species based on a list of permitted and banned animal species.
MPs want systemic approach to coronavirus bonuses
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Oversight of Public Finances has called on the government to adopt a systemic approach to coronavirus bonuses for frontline staff after determining that the bonuses had not been distributed fairly in the healthcare sector and in aged care. The debate came amidst reports that bonuses were distributing unequally, with the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) claiming that some were by a factor of 30-40 larger than others. This appears to have happened because bonuses were distributed as a percentage of pay, not in nominal amounts.
Brussels expects swift solutions to STA financing
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission noted the Slovenian government's duty under law to secure suitable funding for the STA in response to the agency's questions about the fundraising campaign for the STA, calling for swift solutions to unblock the funding and preserve the agency's independence. "While such initiative is admirable and showing good cooperation within the media sector, public press agencies should not have to resort to these types of solutions for funding," Christian Wigand, the Commission spokesman for rule of law, said in a written response to the STA's questions.
Kangler seeks EUR 634,000 compensation over court proceedings
LJUBLJANA - Interior Ministry State Secretary Franc Kangler demands compensation from the state over a series of court procedures related to his stint as the mayor of Maribor which ended with acquittals or were stopped. The court proceedings were "pure political warfare. Somebody in Maribor co-opted the court to settle scores with me," Kangler said on Thursday as the civil procedure at the Ljubljana District Court wrapped up. The claim, which includes EUR 200,000 in compensation for lost wages and EUR 410,000 for emotional pain inflicted by years of court procedures, refers to five court procedures.
Govt official worried TEŠ will be forced to close as early as 2024
LJUBLJANA - Hinko Šolinc, the head of the Infrastructure Ministry energy directorate, is worried that due CO2 emission coupon prices will force the closure of Slovenia's coal-fired power station TEŠ much earlier than the currently planned date in the early 2030s, perhaps as early as 2024. TEŠ is the largest power station in the country, producing a third of Slovenia's annual electricity output. Its latest unit 6 was launched in 2014.
Govt and Ljubljana sign 2020-2023 cooperation agreement
LJUBLJANA - Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik and Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković signed an agreement under which the government and Ljubljana will cooperate on 29 projects in 2020-2023. The deal is in line with the law on the Slovenian capital city. In the next three years, the government is expected to allocate EUR 13.7 million for the projects in the area of Ljubljana which are of importance to the state. Janković hopes new projects will be added soon, which Koritnik is optimistic about.
Catholic weekly Družina celebrating 70th anniversary
LJUBLJANA - The Catholic weekly Družina (Family) is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, with the events coming under the slogan Always with You, which according to its leadership sends the message that the paper writes about all fields of life that its readership finds interesting and topical. The first issue of Družina was published on 7 May 1952 as a religious biweekly newspaper of the Apostolic Administration for the region of Goriška. In 1973, it switched to a weekly format. The anniversary will also be marked with a new website, although the role of the print edition remains important.
