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This summary is provided by the STA:
Pahor urges progress in Prishtina-Belgrade dialogue
PRISHTINA, Kosovo - President Borut Pahor called for headway in the Prishtina-Belgrade dialogue as he held talks with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and PM Albin Kurti. He endorsed Kosovo's efforts to join Euro-Atlantic organisations and urged the country to continue adopting and implementing reforms, while emphasising the need to implement the Kosovo-Serbia agreements reached so far and to look for a comprehensive solution in relations between the two countries. The talks in Prishtina came a day after Pahor held talks in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić focused on the EU accession prospects of the Western Balkans.
LIBE committee discusses report on Slovenia mission
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) discussed a report on a mission to Slovenia it completed in October. The debate saw a heated exchange between Slovenian MEP Romana Tomc, who said the mission had missed the mark, and chair Sophie in 't Veld, who dismissed the criticism and urged the EPP to cooperate constructively. The publicly released report expressed deep concern over the climate of hostility and deep polarisation in Slovenia, which it says undermines trust in and between public institutions.
Zorčič and Bečić on Montenegro's European prospects
LJUBLJANA - Montenegrin parliamentary Speaker Aleksa Bečić started a three-day visit to Slovenia at the invitation of his Slovenian counterpart Igor Zorčič. The pair discussed primarily Montenegro's European prospects, with Zorčič saying that as the presiding EU country, Slovenia was committed to accelerating the EU enlargement process in cooperation with Western Balkan countries. He said Montenegro was an element of stability and a regional leader in terms of EU integration.
Kukovec clears last hurdle to becoming EU General Court judge
LJUBLJANA - Damjan Kukovec will soon become a judge at the EU General Court after Committee 255, which vets candidates for EU Court judges, endorsed his candidacy on Monday, President Borut Pahor announced on Twitter. Kukovec, a senior lecturer in law at Middlesex School of Law in London, was endorsed by the National Assembly in July and will join the second Slovenian judge at the court, Maja Brkan, who started her term in July.
Coalition NSi, SDS propose setting up school for officers
LJUBLJANA - The coalition New Slovenia (NSi) and Democratic Party (SDS) presented a bill last week to establish a higher education institution for military training. The school for officers would be part of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF), operating under the Centre of Military Schools. It would be classified as the first Bologna cycle institution providing interdisciplinary studies. These amendments would reduce the average age of officers on first duty from the current 28 to 23.
Slovenia setting up RescEU protective equipment stockpile
LJUBLJANA - The Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief will set up the RescEU stockpile of protective equipment on Wednesday. The first batch of face masks has been already received, and in 2022, the reserve is expected to provide supplies of protective masks, gloves, coats, aprons, goggles and visors. The first delivery to inaugurate the stockpile includes a million FFP2 masks and was received at the national logistics centre in Roje on Monday.
Coronavirus infections keep falling
LJUBLJANA - 1,034 people tested positive for coronavirus in Slovenia on Sunday, roughly a quarter fewer than the same day a week ago. Hospital figures remained stable but 19 more patients died of Covid-19, government data shows. As of this morning 1,156 people are treated in hospitals for Covid-19, including 281 in intensive care. According to the National Institute of Public Health, the 7-day average of new cases dropped to 2,318 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 to 1,821.
EU ministers adopt recommendations for blended learning in response to pandemic
BRUSSELS, Belgium - In response to the coronavirus pandemic, EU education ministers adopted recommendations on blended learning approaches which combine school site and other physical environments away from the school as well as digital and non-digital learning tools. The recommendations feature short-term measures as a direct response to the health crisis, whereas the long-term measures are designed to strengthen the education systems for a more resilient Europe.
NGO draws up amendments to communicable diseases act
LJUBLJANA - The NGO Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy has drawn up amendments to the communicable diseases act in cooperation with experts after parts of the law were found in breach of the constitution and the National Assembly failed to amend them by the deadline imposed by the Constitutional Court. The NGO sent the proposal to all parliamentary factions. Noting the fourth wave of coronavirus, it said it was high time that an appropriate legal basis for Covid measures was in place.
Public broadcaster's content plan for 2022 confirmed
LJUBLJANA - The Programming Council of RTV Slovenija confirmed the public broadcaster's production plan for 2022, which had been met with criticism from the broadcaster's news staff because several news shows are being cancelled and some moved to the lower-rated second channel. In a secret ballot, 17 councillors voted in favour, two were against and five abstained. A special resolution was added to the plan allowing a three-month transitional period for a gradual roll-out of the changes and additional adjustments in collaboration with the news staff.
Photographers warn about "harmful effects" of UKOM-STA contract
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian photojournalists and photographers warned the photography provisions of the recently signed public service agreement between the STA and the Government Communication Office (UKOM) is detrimental and "could lead to a complete collapse of the visual content market", urging a different solution. The warnings refer to the portion of the agreement which makes photos part of the STA's public service, thus making them free. This would lead to a collapse of the Slovenian photojournalism market, as other photographers and photojournalists would not be able to sell their work.
Over 60% oppose government in POP TV poll
LJUBLJANA - The voter approval rating for the government fell further in the latest poll commissioned by the commercial broadcaster POP TV. The proportion of those who approve of the government's job fell by 1.1 of a percentage point from October to 28.3% as the percentage of those who disapprove rose by 0.2 points to 62.2% in November. The ruling Democrats (SDS) remain in the lead but have lost 2.5 percentage points to 16.1%, after they gained 3.6 points in October.
STA to join new European Newsroom with 16 news agencies
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Slovenian Press Agency (STA) is one of the 16 European press agencies that will join forces in a common European press centre whose creation was announced today by the European Commission in a bid to strengthen the European media space. The pan-European Newsroom will be supported with EUR 1.76 million in EU funds and coordinated by the German news agency dpa. The project is due to start in January, while the Newsroom is expected to become operational in mid-2022.
Portal launched to increase presence of women in media
LJUBLJANA - A portal called Ona Ve (She Knows) was launched to increase the share of women appearing in Slovenian media and at public events. Half of Slovenia's population are women but they feature in only 24% of media appearances, ex-journalist and ex-ambasador Marta Kos, the chair of the association behind the portal, said upon the launch. The portal features more than 110 women experts which media outlets or event organisers can contact when looking for experts to appear on their shows to have more gender balanced line-ups.
Heating costs highest in Maribor, lowest in Celje
LJUBLJANA - The rising prices of energy in wholesales markets are already affecting retail prices of distance heating in Slovenia, which rose by an average 38% to EUR 118 in November in a year-on-year comparison. It was the most expensive in the municipality of Maribor and the cheapest in Celje, shows a survey by the Energy Agency. The price of heating went up the most in municipalities where the main source of energy is gas or coal. The Energy Chamber meanwhile warned the state should be prudent when introducing measures for mitigating the negative effects of energy prices for either households or companies.
Telekom quitting electricity retail business
LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije, the state-owned telecoms operator, will quit the electricity retail business as of New Year's, the second company to leave the retail market in the last few months amidst surging electricity prices. The company said the users must find new suppliers or switch to emergency supply provided by SODO, the distribution system operator, by 1 January. Telekom had a 2% share of the household market according to data by the Energy Agency and is the biggest supplier so far to call it quits. It entered the electricity retail market in 2016 and focused on households, offering bundles of telecoms services and electricity.
Printing sector to get higher wages
LJUBLJANA - Social partners signed an annex to the collective agreement for the graphical sector raising the lowest base pay in the sector as well as the compensation for meals during work time to mark 30 years since the signing of their collective agreement. The fourth annex was signed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) and the Association of Employers (ZDS) on behalf of employers and the KSS Pergam trade union and the Trade Union of Graphical Activities on behalf of employees.
Slovenian culture, sports, cuisine celebrated in Brussels
LJUBLJANA - A number of cultural, sports and culinary events presenting Slovenia will be held in Brussels this week as the country's EU presidency draws to a close at the end of the year. The highlight will be the Slovenian festival at the Schuman Roundabout, where achievements of Slovenian athletes, scientists and artists will be presented until Wednesday. This evening's opening event was addressed by Education Minister Simona Kustec and European Education and Culture Commissioner Mariya Gabriel.
Handke translator wins German-Slovenian translation prize
LJUBLJANA - Amalija Maček received this year's Fabjan Hafner Prize for translation from German into Slovenian for her translation of Peter Handke's 1994 novel My Year in the No-Man's-Bay. The translation took several years and the result is a "masterful translation artwork" very much in tune with the original, the Goethe-Institut Ljubljana quoted the jury as saying on Monday. The prize includes a EUR 4,000 cash prize, a one-month residency in Berlin, and a reading of the work at the Musil Institute in Klagenfurt, Austria.
