STA, 26 April 2019 - Some 75% of Slovenians who took part in the most recent Eurobarometer survey feel that being a member of the EU has benefited their country. On average 68% of Europeans feel this way, the highest share since 1983. However, 50% of respondents are displeased with the situation either at home or in the EU at large.

The research was conducted in 28 EU member states between 19 February and 4 March 2019 by the Kantar Public company. A total of 27,973 Europeans, including 1,032 Slovenians aged 15 years or more were interviewed for the survey.

Results show that the general sentiment of belonging to the EU has not weakened despite Euroscepticism. Some 61% of Slovenians and as many surveyed Europeans believe EU membership is a good thing.

Nevertheless, the challenges faced by the EU in the past have increased citizens' feelings of unease. Some 32% of Slovenians (27% of Europeans) see the EU as being "neither good not bad". The percentage of individuals who share that sentiment has increased in 19 countries.

Some 37% of Slovenians feel the EU is no longer on the right track, while 38% feel that way about Slovenia. On average, some 50% of Europeans feel that either the EU or their home country is not going in the right direction. Nonetheless, 51% of respondents in Slovenia and just as many in all of the EU believe their vote has the power to make a change.

When asked about the upcoming European elections, only one third of Europeans knew they were scheduled for May, and only 5% knew the exact date. Some 33% of Slovenians and 35% of all Europeans are very likely to turn out for the election, while 32% of Europeans remain undecided.

Citizens' opinions on which issues they find most relevant for the election campaign have changed in the past six months. In Slovenia, the fight against youth unemployment now ranks the highest (61% of respondents, 49% of all Europeans), followed by the economy and growth (55% of respondents, 50% of Europeans).

The issue of climate change and the protection of the environment is deemed the most important topic by 41% of respondents in Slovenia and by 43% of all Europeans.

Migration and the fight against terrorism are considered top issues by 32% and 21% of respondents in Slovenia, respectively, and 44% and 41% of Europeans.

In Slovenia, 41% of respondents named social rights of EU citizens and consumer protection among the most important issues for citizens. Food safety was highlighted by 38% of respondents.

Some 62% of Slovenians and 54% of all Europeans call for a more important role of the European Parliament.

All our stories on Slovenia and the European Union are here

STA, 25 April 2019 - Figures released by the Statistics Office ahead of Labour Day reveal that of the approximately 981,000 working Slovenians, 7% live below the poverty line, and 2% receive financial or material assistance from welfare organisations.

Employment most notably affects the material aspect of life. "Households with no working family members who have to support children, are at the highest risk of poverty. Some 70% of the members of these households live below the poverty line," said Karmen Hren, deputy director of the Statistics Office, at Thursday's press conference.

Some 17% of the unemployed Slovenians are recipients of financial or material assistance from welfare organisations.

Being out of a job also affects health; some 80% of the working population would describe their health as good or very good, whereas for the unemployed that figure is lower, at 60%.

Following students, the working population is the most content with their life. Among the employed and the self-employed, over half describe themselves as very happy, and 2% as unhappy. The unemployed and other non-active Slovenians are the least happy.

All our stories on employment in Slovenia are here

April 20^th is back again, a date that’s become synonymous with cannabis, and a time for celefWDXations and protests around the world, when millions will be burning or otherwise consuming the flowers of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica, also known as marijuana, although, as “Gape Agape” the person interviewed for this feature – a representative of the Slovenski konopljin socialni klub (SKSK)– said right at the start of our discussion:

We'd like to emphasize that we do not like the term marijuana, because it was too often connected with prohibition and the propaganda that had led to it. We prefer the term cannabis [konoplja, in Slovene]. Similarly, we do not like the term medical, but rather medicinal — in the sense of traditional healing with herbs and such. In this context, all cannabis is medicinal.

With the correct nomenclature noted, we set out to find out more about the work of SKSK, and the campaign of legal cannabis in Slovenia.

What’s the overall goal of SKSK?

We want to that everybody can use cannabis, and not only cannabis for self-healing. For this, it is imperative that people be able to produce their own supplies, self-supply – meaning be allowed to grow their own medicine in sufficient quantities.

To achieve this it is vital that the growing of cannabis is not – by default – treated by the law as if intended for criminal activities, but understood as the free-growing of naturalised herb.

What is the next step in achieving this?

We’ve already succeeded in moving the plant from group 1 (the most dangerous substances) into group 2 of the Decree on the Classification of Illicit Drugs. Next, we need to get cannabis and THC to group 3, or remove them both – which would be the best thing – from the Decree.

What would the benefits of legalisation be for Slovenia?

It is already legalised and decriminalised to a certain extent, but growing cannabis is still potentially (by default) treated as an offence or crime. We thus demand naturalization – meaning having no legal limitations for growing and using the plant.

The benefits of liberating cannabis this way – all the way – would be numerous: lots of new jobs in growing, processing and researching the plant. The possibilities of use, and therefore options for selling it and making money, are unlimited, since the plant can be used in medicine, cosmetics, food, and can even substitute for oil – as a fuel, for making plastic – at least partially.

Is there a foreign model you want to follow?

There is no existing model (that we know of) that would be good enough for us – none of them enables free-growing that we strive for. Self-supply is allowed in certain models, but the quantities allowed are far too low to make enough medicine to cure cancer, multiple sclerosis or other serious conditions.

All existing models are steps in a better direction, but we want cannabis to be free of any legal restrictions. When there are no legal limitations there are also no limitations for discovering new applications for the herb.

How do you feel about CBD?

If we put it (too) simply: CBD helps, THC heals. The basic difference between the two is that CBD helps heal inflammation (which is the cause of numerous serious health conditions) while THC gets rid of deformed/mutated cells (i.e.. cancer cells which are unable to die and reproduce incessantly). But they are just two major cannabinoids, there are several others that play important roles in healing the body; our body needs the whole spectre of substances contained in cannabis – entourage effect.

Talking about the great majority of the “legal CBD”, the main problem is that pharmaceutical products are “cleaned” of the THC due to prohibition/regulation. Consequently, everything is diminished: cannabinoids, terpenes and other healing substances. Another problem is that CBD, being legal, is advertised as cannabis itself, but it isn’t. Too many substances are missing to equate it to the whole plant. The endocannabinoid system in human body cannot work optimally without cannabinoids, especially THC.

What do you think will happen with cannabis in Slovenia in the next few years?We will continue to work on achieving our goal – liberating cannabis of all the legal restrictions so anyone can use it in any time for any purpose. So, we will work on increasing awareness of all the benefits of the plant.

When cannabis finally becomes free for people to grow and use, we intend to continue doing what we do now, and more: educating people, growing and processing plants, finding out and creating new ways of use, selling the products…

Are there any regional differences in attitudes to cannabis in Slovenia?

Yes, there are. The centre of Slovenia is less restrictive towards cannabis, the south-west is quite nice too. But in the north-east the cannabis-related offences are treated 70% as criminal deeds, and only 30% as offences, while it is just the opposite in other regions. In the north-east growing forbidden cannabis has quite a long tradition, and is therefore more strictly punished by establishment. But the situation is getting better everywhere.

strong>Which politicians or arties are most supportive of your aims?

None, except for the ZSi movement. We tried to cooperate with lots of them, like Levica (The Left) and Pirati (The Pirates), but none of them made any substantial difference. They might claim they moved cannabis to group 2, but there were more than 50 complaints about the first change of the before mentioned Decree.

http://sksk.si/article.php/PredlogUredbeOdgovor

If people want to help, what can they do? (add any contact details, events, places to give money, etc)

They can get educated: www.sksk.si

They can send us an email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

And visit our YouTube channel here, or our Facebook page here

Or they can support our work by donating at our bank account:

IBAN SI56 6100 0000 3512 814

Everybody can help in their own way in promoting cannabis, by growing it, using it, giving it a good name…

What do you have planned for April 20?

We’re going to paint Easter egg, of course...

However, on April 19^th ŠOU (Student Organization of University of Ljubljana) is organizing the Million Marijuana March and we’ll be there. You can visit us at our stand where you can get free Ruletka rolling papers and other material.

We don’t really support 4:20 – that one should smoke cannabis only after 4:20pm. We want people to use it any time they want, even to start in the morning, not only after finishing their job.

“Zu3 se NaFu3” (= feed yourself in the morning) is one of our mottos.

STA, 18 April 2019 - Slovenia boasts a rich heritage of Easter traditions, with some of them originating in the pre-Christian, pagan times. In the northern region of Koroška some of these traditions, unique to the region, are still preserved today although perhaps in a slightly more modern form.

Preparations for Easter, the biggest holiday in the Christian calendar, start two weeks before Easter Monday and the celebration continues until Low Sunday, the Sunday following Easter.

Many of the customs and rituals associated with Easter originate in the ancient Slavic mythology, with the Christianity only adopting them and adding Jesus Christ as the main figure and his resurrection as the reason for celebration, ethnologist Brigita Rajšter of the Koroška Regional Museum told the STA.

Some of the customs related to the main celebration of spring have died away, some have changed somewhat and many are still preserved in the region, she said.

How to make Slovenian Easter eggs

One such custom is the making of palms for Palm Sunday. In Koroška, the bundle of green branches and flowers is called pegl.

In some villages, people come together to make giant pegls, which reach more than 20 meters in length. Eight years ago, a record-long 34.7-metre pegl was made in Radlje ob Dravi.

In the past, children who ran with a blessed pegl around the house three times earned themselves a prize.

Traditionally, the branches from the palms were placed in gardens and fields to boost fertility. In the village of Črneče, children used to stick the blessed palms in the branches of their favourite tree.

One custom that is still alive today is the cleaning and tidying of homes and their surroundings during the preparations for Easter, which however have to be concluded by Wednesday before Easter. "Bringing order in disorder has a special meaning," Rajšter said.

Good Friday, observed by fasting, is the day when meals do not include any meat. On this day, women bake bread and traditional Easter deserts such as potica, šarkelj and pogača.

On Easter Saturday, the day starts with the blessing of the fire, which is used to smoke homes and stables. The torch with the blessed fire is then used to start a fire on which meat and eggs are boiled. In the evening Easter bonfires are lit.

While women and girls prepare the dishes for Eastern blessing, including ham, sausages, horseradish, coloured eggs, bread and various deserts, men and boys take care of the fire outside and set off makeshift mortars. It is an old custom imitating the cracking of rocks during Christ's resurrection.

In the past, when families were big, the oldest unmarried girl carried the Easter basket to church. They went on foot, carrying baskets on their heads. Traditionally, they decorated the basket with a bouquet, which they later used to decorate the table.

But not all dishes were allowed to be enjoyed as early on Saturday. Meat dishes could only be eaten after the morning mass on Sunday.

The traditional Easter breakfast in Koroška includes a boiled eggs salad, seasoned with horseradish, apple vinegar, pumpkin seed oil, salt and water. In the Mislinja area, ham and even potica are added to the mix.

While adults mostly look forward to Easter dishes, children used to eagerly anticipate Easter Monday, when they received Easter presents from their godfathers and godmothers.

In the past, these presents consisted of šarkelj with a coin in it, a coloured egg and possibly even an orange. Sometimes, the children would also get some new clothes.

Today, the custom is still very much alive. However, the presents have become much more valuable and could be a bicycle, roller skates or in-line skates.

Children would receive the present all the way to Low Sunday. In some parts of Koroška, some of the Easter dishes had to be preserved until then to repeat the Easter breakfast.

After Easter meals, families traditionally go out to play or take a trip together. Children used to play a very old game in which they divide themselves in two groups with those from one group asking the other how strong a bridge have they built.

Boys in particular liked to stage competitions involving eggs and coins. They would place the eggs on the ground and try to hit them with a coin. Whoever managed to get the coin stuck in the egg, won the egg.

In the village of Libeliče, five to ten boys would gather and put two narrow wooden boards on a small chair with a slot in the middle. They then rolled the eggs on it and then threw coins in them.

In Western Pohorje, children used to dig anthills to put coloured eggs in them and let ants "decorate" them with their acid.

STA, 18 April 2019 - The government endorsed the proposal to set down the Slovenian sign language as an official language in the constitution on Thursday, starting the procedure of enabling the Slovenian deaf and hearing-impaired community to fully exercise their basic human rights.

Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer welcomed the decision, saying that the deaf and hearing-impaired considered the sign language their native language and that its status needed to be regulated.

"Communication and language as well as the right to their use are essential for social inclusion and implementation of the basic human rights. Without communication an individual cannot fully participate in the society," said the minister.

She also pointed out that the decision carried a symbolic meaning, indicating that the government fully respected human rights and minority rights. "The society's development is measured in terms of the rights of the disabled," she added.

The sign language will be thus recognised as one of the official languages in the constitution pending approval by the National Assembly. Simultaneous interpretation of government statements into the sign language has already been standard practice at press conferences.

In case the National Assembly adopts the proposal, Slovenia will join four EU Austria, Hungary, Finland and Portugal, which have already given their sign languages the status of official language.

Entering the sign language into the constitution, the government is expected to recognise it as the native language of the community using it, to formulate and implement the language policies, protecting and developing the language, and to regulate the status of the deaf and hearing-impaired.

The proposal was put forward by the Association of the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired, which believes that the new status of the sign language would provide solutions for educational and employment issues of the community, such as enabling deaf children to be taught in and about their language.

The law on the use of the Slovenian sign language from 2002 gives the children the right to have an interpreter to a limited extent, but it does not grant the language the necessary status.

"Few know that the deaf community in Slovenia is among the least educated, well below the disabled average, but also below the country's average," said the association's representative Matjaž Juhart.

The minister confirmed that the government was considering reforming the law, while the association pointed out that today's endorsement recognised the sign language as equal to other official languages in what is the start of a long process.

The first grammar of the Slovenian sign language is expected this year, with the Culture Ministry earmarking funds for its development. The association has already compiled a dictionary of the language, containing around 16,000 entries.

There are around 1,000 deaf people and some 100 deaf-blind in Slovenia who use the sign language. Some 450 use cochlear implants, while around 75,000 people use a hearing aid.

STA, 18 April 2019 - The air quality in Ljubljana today is significantly better than it was decades ago, Nataša Jazbinšek Seršen of the environment department of the Ljubljana city told the press on Thursday. One reason the situation has improved so drastically because increasingly many people cycle rather than drive a car in the city.

Contributing the most to air quality, however, was the development of the city's heating system, Jazbinšek Seršen said.

In 2015, 74% of the population used the system and the goal is to raise this share to 80% by 2024.

In recent years, the concentration of PM10 particles dropped significantly. In 2006, the daily PM10 statutory limit was exceeded 155 times in the Ljubljana city centre, while last year it was exceeded only 51 times, during the heating season.

The main source of PM10 particles are individual furnaces, including those in neighbouring municipalities, as well as fireplaces, which are becoming increasingly popular again.

Another emerging problem is nitrogen oxide, whose level has been rising not only in Ljubljana, but in other European cities as well. Jazbinšek Seršen said the reasons for the increase had not been officially confirmed yet, but experts suspect diesel vehicles.

Ljubljana has been expanding its heating and gas supply networks, and replacing coal with gas. In renovating public buildings, it strives for energy efficiency.

The city is also introducing various measures to discourage the use of small furnaces.

How to spend from four to 48 hours in Ljubljana

The capital is also encouraging alternatives to cars. By 2020, it would like people to conduct 35% of their journeys on foot, 16% by bicycle, 16% using public transport and 33% by car. "We have already reached the target share for going on foot," said Vita Kontić, another municipal official.

In 2013, about 11% of routes in the capital were made by bicycle and the goal of 16% has probably already been reached, but "we need a survey to confirm this," Kontić added.

Counters on seven locations around the city recorded 3.81 million bike rides in 2016, and 3.74 million in 2017.

Ljubljana boasts 260 kilometres of cycling routes and more than 10,000 bicycle stands. Cycling is also possible on more than 10 hectares of surfaces for pedestrians in the city centre.

The bicycle renting system BicikeLJ also gave a big boost to the cycling culture in the city. The system is expected to get 20 new stations soon.

Currently, it has 59 stations for the 590 bikes available for rent. Since May 2011, more than six million rides were recorded. The system has some 33,500 annual subscribers and a total of 131,000 users.

How to rent a bike in Ljubljana

"Ljubljana boasts the highest number of bike rentals per number of inhabitants in the world," Kontić said.

In 2017, Ljubljana ranked eighth in the Copenhagenize Index of cyclist-friendliest cities in the world. The city eagerly awaits the new ranking to be released this year.

STA, 18 April 2019 - The level of precarious forms of employment among Slovenian youth is high, which is related to increasing fear of unemployment and stress, a study conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation has found.

Youth Study Slovenia 2018/2019, is the product of a broad survey conducted last year among 1,000 young people aged between 14 and 29, and is part of a project carried out in ten SE European countries (see more here).

"Individualism is increasingly prevalent among the youth, which is being manifested in many areas, from greater care for personal health to getting independent from parents faster, and increasingly individualist values," research manager Andrej Naterer from the University of Maribor said in presenting the study on Wednesday.

One of the findings is that in the period between 2010 and 2016 the number of young people leaving the country increased almost four-fold. It is the youth from wealthier families who tend to move out more often, which shows the pull factors are more important than the push factors.

Naterer said that at the same time youth immigration was increasing as well, with trends indicating circular migration.

When it comes to their values and opinions, young people are increasingly pro-European. Compared to their peers in other countries, they have very liberal values, but they are very supportive of the idea of a strong welfare state.

Researcher Miran Lavrič said that young people were worried about their health, had higher level of stress, which induced them to be active in sports.

"We are by far the most active in this respect, we have very active youth. Alcohol consumption has declined substantially as well so that Slovenian youth is increasingly responsible, in particular in the individualistic sense, because they feel they must take care of themselves in a very precarious labour market," said Lavrič.

The most surprising finding as pointed out by him was that among youth surveyed in all SE European countries, young Albanians are the happiest with their lives, whereas Slovenian youth are the least happy with their lives and with their physical appearance.

This is the second major youth study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Centre for the Study of the Post-Yugoslav Societies at the Maribor Faculty of Arts after the one in 2013.

A PDF of the full study on Slovenia, in English, can be found here