Deal signed in Rome for Slovenia to purchase transport aircraft
ROME, Italy - Defence Minister Matej Tonin signed an agreement on the purchase of a Spartan C-27J transport aircraft with his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Guerini in Rome. The Defence Ministry said the value of the implementation agreement is roughly EUR 72 million, VAT included, where the basic price of the aircraft is EUR 48 million and the additional modules are valued at EUR 11 million. Tonin said the aircraft would serve not only the Armed Forces but Slovenia as a whole and the country would also be able "to share it with other countries".
Start of self-testing in schools largely problem-free
LJUBLJANA - Mandatory self-testing of children in primary and secondary schools students got off to a largely problem-free start. Reports from schools suggest the vast majority of parents consented to testing and only a small percentage of parents decided to switch to remote schooling in protest. There were a few small protests in front of schools in the morning. Police detected only three violations of public law and order, two in Maribor and one in Koper.
Slight weekly drop in new coronavirus cases, 19 deaths
LJUBLJANA - Another 4,276 people tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, a drop of 4.5% on the same day a week before. According to the National Institute of Public Health, the seven-day average of new cases dropped by 59 to 3,225, while the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population increased by 39 to 2,193. The number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients increased by 21 to 1,095, including 251 in intensive care, 15 more than the day before, government data show. Another 19 people died of Covid-19.
Police commissioner denies allegations of "purge"
LJUBLJANA - Police Commissioner Anton Olaj dismissed allegations of political staffing in the force after a trade union complained that recently adopted legislation had resulted in a "purge" in the top echelons of the police force. Olaj confirmed though that the terms of directors of internal units in the as well as the commanders of all police stations, more than a hundred staff in total, had ended in line with the new law. He said all the staff would stay on until selection procedures have been completed.
Slovenian Tourist Board director steps down
LJUBLJANA - Maja Pak, the long-serving director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, stepped down citing differences in views with Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek over the management of the organisation. Pak, a close aide of Počivalšek's, did not specify how her views differ from the minister's, but said she was leaving the organisation in top shape and proud of its achievements over the past seven years. Počivalšek thanked Pak for her effort but did not specify what the divergence of opinions was either.
Ministry denies allegation of tailored construction act changes
LJUBLJANA - The Environment Ministry denied media reports that it had commissioned a law firm to draft amendments to the construction act and that they were tailored to allow an MP from the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) legalise his house on the coast. The web portal of POP TV reported last week the amendments had been drawn up by the Neffat Law Firm, which represents DeSUS MP Branko Simonovič. The ministry said the changes, which it had drafted itself, would equally apply to all real estate owners, but the Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning denied the ministry's claim it had initiated the changes.
Support for sector transformation discussed at European Tourism Forum
BRDO PRI KRANJU - While there are reasons for the European tourism sector to be optimistic after a good summer season, there is still a long way until full recovery, speakers at the European Tourism Forum agreed, noting that the sector must become more resilient, sustainable and digitalised. The online event as part of an informal meeting of the EU ministers for tourism, saw addresses by Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, among others, and featured panel debates on the green and digital transformation of the European tourism industry.
Insurer Triglav reports 48% higher nine-month profit
LJUBLJANA - Triglav Group, Slovenia's largest insurer, saw its net profit in the first three quarters of the year increase by 48% on the same period a year ago to EUR 75.2 million as consolidated gross written premium rose by 10% to EUR 1.06 billion. The group expects to trump the initially planned annual profit target, to amount to roughly EUR 115-125 million. In 2022 the group plans to increase its written premium volume to over EUR 1.4 billion and profit before tax to EUR 120-130 million.
Housing prices surged in first half of 2021
LJUBLJANA - The latest semi-annual report by the Surveying and Mapping Authority (GURS) shows the prices of apartments and houses rising rapidly since the real estate market started recovering in March. In the first half of the year, they rose by around 8% year on year, the highest six-month growth since the 2008 real estate crisis. Prices of apartments in multi-apartment buildings rose record high in major towns, except Ljubljana. The median price for used flats at national level reached EUR 1,980 per square metre.
Biogas plants in spotlight over allegations of conflict of interest
LJUBLJANA/MURSKA SOBOTA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption is looking into the purchase of two biogas plants in eastern Slovenia in the aftermath of media reports suggesting the chairman of the bad bank may have been in a conflict of interest. The Hungarian group Pannonia Bio has recently bought two biogas plants, in Vučja Vas and Dobrovnik, one from Franci Matoz and one from the Bank Assets Management Company, where Matoz is chairman. Media reports suggest Matoz made a profit in the process.
Unions take state to ILO over occupational diseases
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest trade union association, ZSSS, announced it had filed a complaint against the state with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) alleging violation of Article 11 of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention over absence of regulation that would allow notification of most occupational diseases. The union says that since the country ratified the 1981 convention in 1992 it has only put in place a regulation on the procedure to notify asbestos diseases.
Students say current generation in unenviable position
LJUBLJANA - On International Students' Day, the Slovenian Student Organisation pointed to what it sees as an unenviable position of the current generation of students due to the Covid-19 epidemic and consequences of measures to stem it. The Statistics Office data show that 48.6% of Slovenians aged 19 to 24 study, which makes Slovenia an EU leader. In the 2020/21 academic year, almost 82,700 students studied in almost 870 tertiary education programmes, of whom 9.2%, or just over 7,600, from abroad.
Police boat retiring after 26 years of service
KOPER - After 26 years of service, Slovenia's oldest police boat made its final sail off the Koper coast before it is consigned to a museum. Built in Italy in 1994, the P-111 boat will be moved to the Park of Military History in Pivka on Sunday. Addressing a ceremony on the occasion, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs noted the symbolic value of the P-111 patrol boat for Slovenia's sovereignty. He is confident that police will get a suitable replacement for the boat next year.
