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This summary is provided by the STA:
Janša sees EU's recovery and resilience as key to bloc's power
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša highlighted the EU's post-pandemic recovery and resilience as a clear response to crises as he presented the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency to parliament. He said successive crises since Slovenia's first EU presidency in 2008 had shown that "we've been poorly prepared for the majority of these crises, that there is a lack of certain common instruments that allow the Union to face crises". He hopes the time has come "for the EU to refocus on looking for strategic answers to strategic questions". His presentation elicited criticism from the centre-left opposition parties, with some describing it as short on detail and others expressing doubt about whether the government can deliver.
EU presidency, funds top agenda of EU Court of Auditors visit
LJUBLJANA - A delegation of the European Court of Auditors headed by president Klaus-Heiner Lehne started a three-day visit to Slovenia, with the Slovenian EU presidency's priorities and oversight of the spending of recovery and resilience funds topping the agenda. Lehne and PM Janez Janša also exchanged views on the EU's future challenges, while Lehne and Foreign Minister Anže Logar discussed cooperation with Slovenia's EU presidency. Talks with a National Assembly delegation headed by Speaker Igor Zorčič revolved around the role of national parliaments and the work of the Court of Auditors.
Slovenian military to prioritise climate and Western Balkans during EU presidency
BRUSSELS, Belgium - During Slovenia's EU presidency, the Slovenian Armed Forces will carry out tasks and activities in line with the presidency's priorities. The main focus will be on the impact of climate change on defence and military mobility, and the Western Balkans, where the emphasis will be on crisis response, Brigadier Milan Žurman, the head of Slovenia's Military Representation to NATO and the EU, said. Moreover, Slovenian military will focus on increasing cooperation between the EU and Western Balkan countries and among the countries themselves, improving potential civil-military cooperation in the event of natural and other disasters, and enhancing military mobility.
Minister wants unions at negotiating table, not at anti-govt protests
LJUBLJANA - Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said he was doing everything in his power to get trade unions back to the negotiating table after they quit the Economic and Social Council (ESS) in May, yet under the condition that they refrain from taking part in anti-government protests. The trade union confederations quit Slovenia's main industrial relations forum in mid-May, accusing the government of having practically abolished social dialogue. They were unhappy with several bills within the ESS's purview being sent to parliament without prior debate on the forum.
More restrictions on services lifted
LJUBLJANA - More restrictions on the services sector have been lifted. Casinos fully reopened today and there are no more restrictions on the number of customers in shops. The rule of reconvalescence, testing or vaccination remains in place indoors. Customers, including in shops, who can prove they have been vaccinated, tested or have recently recovered from Covid-19 no longer need to wear face masks indoors. Masks are also no longer obligatory for visitors or performers at outdoor or indoor culture events provided the rule of reconvalescence, testing or vaccination is heeded.
Eight positive coronavirus tests in Slovenia on Sunday
LJUBLJANA - Eight out of 604 PCR coronavirus tests came back positive on Sunday for a positivity rate of 1.3% while there were no deaths. The 7-day average of new cases and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents remained flat at 24 and 19, respectively. Hospitals are still treating 58 Covid-19 patients, two down from yesterday, including 16 in intensive care, which is also two fewer. An estimated 425 infections are still considered to be active.
PM warns 70% vaccination rate needed to avoid new lockdown
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša called for joint efforts to convince people to get vaccinated against coronavirus as he warned that a vaccination rate of 70% would have to be achieved until the end of the summer if Slovenia is to avoid new lockdowns. "If we do not achieve a vaccination rate of 70% by the end of the summer, everything will be closed in autumn," he told the National Assembly at the outset of the plenary session. "This is the only way to prevent having to pass legislation making vaccination mandatory for certain categories," he said.
Slovenia's jobless total down in June y/y
LJUBLJANA - A total of 71,094 people were registered as unemployed in Slovenia at the end of June, 5.4% down on May and 20.5% on June last year, in what is a nationwide decrease, show the Employment Service data. Employers reported 35% more job openings in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2020. June saw 3,532 new job seekers, a 4.6% drop over May and down 53.3% over last year's June. The Employment Service received 16,195 job openings in June, 23.4% more than in May and 54% more than in June 2020.
Survey: Climate change serious problem for most EU, Slovenian citizens
LJUBLJANA - As many as 92% Slovenians citizens consider climate change a serious problem, which is one percentage point below the EU average, the latest Eurobarometer survey shows. 11% of Slovenian respondents meanwhile consider climate change the most serious problem the world is faced with, which compares to the EU average of 18%. As for politics taking action to fight climate change for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050, 90% of Europeans and 89% of Slovenians said greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced to the utmost.
MFRR warns of attacks on media in Slovenia at multiple levels
LJUBLJANA - The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a coalition of press freedom organisations and journalism groups, stressed that media freedom was at risk in Slovenia. Attacks on Slovenian media take place at multiple levels, both legislative and administrative, and on social networks, the group said in Ljubljana as it presented its report released at the end of last month after a virtual fact-finding mission to Slovenia in late May and early June.
Warnings on illegal returns of asylum seekers in online debate
LJUBLJANA - The illegal returns of asylum seekers from Schengen countries are systematic, said the participants of an online panel discussion on Slovenia's contentious practices in the field of migration. They agreed that this was not an exclusively Slovenian issue, noting that changes that would put human rights at the forefront were needed. Turning asylum seekers back in Slovenia did not start with this government, but it has intensified under it, said Jošt Žagar of the Infokolpa initiative, which organised the panel together with the Border Violence Monitoring Network.
Suspect planning shooting spree pleads not guilty
KRANJ - A 20-year-old man suspected of having planned a school shooting spree pleaded not guilty as he appeared at the Kranj District Court, TV channel A Kanal reported. However, he did admit to having bought a pistol and an automatic rifle for EUR 5,000 on the dark web, for which the prosecution indicted him. At one of the coming hearings, a psychiatrist should tell the court whether the suspect showed diminished capacity when buying the weapons. If found guilty, he could get a prison sentence of six months to five years.
