STA, 20 August 2021 - The government has confirmed a plan for a major new water source for the water-starved Istria region on the coast, a decision that has been welcomed by municipalities in the region but decried by local environmentalists as damaging for the environment.

The EUR 134 million project, confirmed by the government earlier this week, involves building a reservoir on Suhorca stream, and a smaller reservoir on the Padež, a larger stream of which Suhorca is a tributary.

The reservoir would supply water to three existing water supply systems in the region, which is typically very dry because of the karst terrain and, more recently, climate change.

The decision came after almost two years of public debates on the need for a new water source prompted by a train accident in mid-2019 during which a kerosene leak threatened to pollute water supplies for much of the region.

The plan was chosen over an alternative proposal to link up the three existing but separate water supply systems in the region, which would have reduced supply disruptions but would not have increased the overall volume of available water.

The coastal municipalities Ankaran, Izola, Koper and Piran have welcomed the government decision as a major step towards improving the reliability of supply.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, they said the decision was "not only a step towards sorting out water supply in Istria but also the start of resolution of one of the key national security issues."

Locals living in villages in Brkini, a hilly part of Istria where the streams will be dammed, have long opposed the project on environmental grounds and insist the project is hugely damaging.

They say untouched nature will be irreversibly damaged and the altered water regime will pose a risk to the Škocjan Caves, a UNESCO-listed natural wonder.

The government and the Environment Ministry "have clearly shown they don't care if unspoilt nature is irreversibly degraded, habitats and ecosystems destroyed, and the UNESCO status of global natural and cultural heritage lost," Mario Benkoč of the civil initiative Let's Preserve Brkini told the STA.

Brkini locals advocate the link-up of the existing water supply systems and urge the government to abandon the project immediately. A protest is planned in Suhorca Valley on Saturday.

STA, 19 August 2021 - Police have uncovered a criminal ring that has been smuggling migrants from Bosnia via Croatia and Slovenia to Italy. According to the Koper Police Department, the ring consisted of six members - four Slovenians, one Kosovo citizens and another of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

A lengthy criminal investigation, conducted by investigators from the Koper Police Department in cooperation with Italian and Croatian police forces, was completed on 4 August.

During the investigation, the criminal ring either attempted to smuggle or successfully smuggled at least 17 citizens of Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan into Italy via Slovenia.

The members, aged between 20 and 43, used hired vans to smuggle migrants, and also delivered them food, drinks and fresh clothes. The police estimate that the group earned between EUR 68,000 and 85,000, but the exact amount was difficult to determine.

The cost of smuggling from Bosnia to Italy was between EUR 4,000 and 5,000 per person, and the cost of transport from the Croatian border through Slovenia to Italy was around EUR 350 per person.

One of the suspects was arrested by Italian authorities after fleeing from Italian police patrols. After the arrest, he was found to be a Kosovo citizen using forged documents.

In the final phase of the investigation, Slovenian police officers carried out two house searches in the Ljubljana area. They arrested a 31-year-old Slovenian, and a 33-year-old Bosnian citizen with a prior conviction.

The two suspects have been remanded in custody in Koper for risk of repeating the crimes, while the other four will be free during the criminal procedure, Dejan Grandič, deputy head of Koper criminal police, explained for the STA.

The suspects face fines and prison sentences ranging from three to 15 years.

In the first seven months of the year Slovenian police recorded 4,495 illegal border crossings, down by just over 40% year-on-year.

Grandič said fewer cases of smuggling illegal migrants had been recorded this year in the area policed by the Koper Police Department, south-west, while the number of illegal migrants had increased.

The Police Department processed 2,068 migrants entering illegally from Croatia until the end of July this year, up almost 11% from the same period last year.

"There is also more cases when individuals cross the green border, helping themselves with navigation," said Grandič.

The bulk of illegal migrants in the Koper police area this year have been citizens of Afghanistan (621), Pakistan (465), Bangladesh (216) and Turkey (188).

As many as 967 illegal migrants have been sent back to foreign law enforcement, the bulk to Croatia, while there has also been in a rise in migrants expressing an intent to ask for international protection, especially Afghan citizens.

According to Grandič, organisers of illegal migrations usually already have a criminal record, while there are different reasons why people decide to transport illegal migrants, he explained. "They can be either people at the bottom of the social ladder, jobless, addicts, younger people who see an opportunity to earn a quick buck ..."

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Positivity rate remains high as 381 new cases of coronavirus confirmed

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 381 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, down slightly from the almost three-month high registered on Tuesday. The positivity rate remained high, at 17%. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 population jumped by 12 to 130. The situation in hospitals remains broadly stable with 56 patients in hospital, of whom 10 are in intensive care. Two persons with Covid died, government data showed.

Sale of most single-use plastics banned

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted on Wednesday a regulation banning the sale of single-use plastic products bar a few exceptions. Products to be banned include plastic cutlery, plates and straws as well as ear swabs, except for those used as medical equipment. Also banned are plastic stir sticks and balloon sticks with the exception of those intended for industrial use and not for customers. The regulation, which will enter into force 15 days after it is published in the Official Gazette, also prescribes the labelling of certain permitted single-use plastic items to raise awareness about recycling.

Govt adopts watered-down amendments to VAT act

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted on Wednesday a watered-down version of amendments to the act on value added tax (VAT) after its first proposal was defeated in parliament in July. The new version preserves some of the key solutions but is narrower. For example, zero-emission vehicles for business purposes will be eligible for full VAT deduction, hardcopy receipts will be printed out by merchants only at the request of customers, and foreign businesses selling goods and services in Slovenia will not have to register in the country if they only sell to other businesses that are registered for VAT purposes.

Hojs announces police assistance to Lithuania in facing migration

PORTOROŽ - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs met his Slovak counterpart Roman Mikulec to talk, among other things, about the issue of illegal migration from Belarus. Hojs said that Slovenia had already donated 10 kilometres of "technical obstacles" to Lithuania, and that two Slovenian police officers would be deployed there soon. The Interior Ministry added in the press release that Slovenian police officers would thus help their Lithuanian colleagues control the border with Belarus.

Two board members, two supervisors of national postal company quit

MARIBOR - Andrej Rihter and Vinko Filipič quit the three-member management board of national postal operator Pošta Slovenije, and so did supervisors Franci Mihelič and Aleš Buležan, with the former to coming to an agreement with the supervisory board to leave the management and terminate their employment contracts on Wednesday. The pair are on the board together with Tomaž Kokot, who took over as interim director general on 1 April after long-serving Boris Novak resigned on 30 March by mutual agreement with the new supervisory board.

Insurer Sava Re posts 35% profit growth in first six months

LJUBLJANA - Insurer Sava Re generated a net profit of EUR 43.5 million in the first six months of 2021, an increase of 35.3% compared to the same period last year. The group collected gross premiums of EUR 414.5 million, a growth of 10.9%, show unaudited interim results. This 10.9% year-on-year premium growth was predominantly driven by the Slovenian life business (96.8% growth) as a result of the acquisition of Vita, which contributed EUR 54.7 million in gross premiums written.

Equality ombudsman says PCT does not discriminate unvaccinated

LJUBLJANA - Answering an appeal from the Trade Union of Hospitality and Tourism Workers, Slovenia's equal opportunities ombudsman assessed that the requirement for people to meet the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) rule to access services, goods or venues is not discriminatory against the unvaccinated who could get vaccinated but have not. Miha Lobnik noted that discrimination meant treating somebody unequally for their personal circumstances which they cannot choose.

State forest company's revenue, profit down last year

KOČEVJE - The state-owned forestry company SiDG, which has been managing state forests since July 2016, reported revenue of EUR 56 million and a net profit of EUR 7.5 million for 2020, a drop of 15% and 34%, respectively, compared to the previous year. The volume of logging decreased as SiDG cut 1.14 million cubic metres of timber last year, compared to 1.29 million cubic metres in 2019, according to documents prepared for the company's annual general meeting.

Sale of Most Single-Use Plastics Now Banned in Slovenia, Large Fines for Offenders

STA, 19 August 2021 - The government has banned the sale of single-use plastic products bar a few exceptions. The relevant regulation, endorsed at Wednesday's correspondence session, also prescribes the labelling of certain single-use plastic items and their packaging to raise awareness about recycling.

Products to be banned under the regulation include plastic cutlery, plates and straws as well as ear swabs, except for those used as medical equipment. Also banned are plastic stir sticks and balloon sticks with the exception of those intended for industrial use and not for customers.

The regulation, transposing an EU regulation, also bans expanded polystyrene food and drink packaging and items made of oxo-degradable plastics.

Moreover, it sets out new rules for labelling of some single-use plastic products and their packaging to inform consumers on how to handle waste from such products.

The items that should be labelled include pads, tampons and applicators, wet wipes, tobacco products with filters, filters marketed in combination with tobacco products, and cups.

The ban will take effect fifteen days after the regulation is published in the Official Gazette.

Fines for non-compliance will range up to EUR 15,000 for legal entities, up to EUR 5,000 for sole proprietors and up to EUR 3,000 for the executive or proprietor in charge.

STA, 18 August 2021 - UKC Ljubljana, the country's largest hospital system, is getting ready to handle an anticipated surge in Covid-19 cases even as it performs all other health services to the maximum extent. The hospital is "ready for the challenge," said Matjaž Trontelj, the head of the hospital's governing board.

"This is a major challenge but one that needs to be handled. We have to find a balance due to the need to cut waiting times," he said after a session of the governing board.

The hospital currently has more than 250 beds ready for Covid-19 patients, according to Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of the infectious diseases department.

At the peak of the second wave of the epidemic, it handled 350 Covid-19 patients at the same time (at Covid and regular wards) plus 70 in intensive care units.

There are almost 200 ICU beds available in total, almost twice as many as the hospital had before the pandemic.

"We are probably ready [for the fourth wave], though perhaps not to the extent that we want since we really don't know what awaits us," she said.

Last year the hospital turned parts of the gynaecology department and orthopaedic department into Covid wards, but this is not planned this year. The desire is to perform as many non-Covid services as possible.

"If the scope of the epidemic is really too large, it may happen that some services be curtailed, but they won't be completely shut down," said deputy director general Jože Golobič.

All the latest data on COVID and Slovenia

STA, 18 August 2021 - An interpreter who had helped the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) on its mission in Afghanistan has made it to Kabul airport along with his family. They are now waiting for the first available flight out of the country, Defence Minister Matej Tonin told the broadcaster Kanal A on Wednesday.

The interpreter and his six-member family travelled four days to get from Herat to Kabul. It took them another two days to get to airport facilities guarded by US and Turkish troops, the N1 portal first reported.

According to N1, the Slovenian Defence Ministry is in regular contact with NATO allies to make sure the interpreter and his family are evacuated as soon as possible.

Slovenia will then take them in and grant them asylum status.

Minister Tonin confirmed the reports for the news show Svet, saying the family was waiting for safe passage to Slovenia.

He thinks evacuation flights will continue to be operated from the airport in Afghanistan's capital for some time. He said he had been told this by his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar on Tuesday when he met him in Istanbul.

The SAF had worked with another Afghan interpreter, who has not made it to the airport so far and neither has his family. Slovenia is willing to give all eight of them sanctuary as well.

"This is our moral duty as the interpreters had helped Slovenian soldiers. Now that their lives are at risk, Slovenia is helping them," Tonin said, adding: "For the remaining eight persons the evacuation will take more effort as they are not in Kabul."

Apart from these two families, Slovenia is also willing to welcome up to five Afghans who had assisted the EU out of solidarity with other EU countries, Foreign Minister Anže Logar announced today, adding that the country would not offer to take in any additional Afghan refugees beyond these for now.

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EU ministers agree on additional aid to countries bordering Belarus

BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU home affair ministers agreed at an emergency session to send additional help in the form of experts and technical support to EU members bordering on Belarus, which have been facing a wave of illegal migrants. They also urged the EU to provide additional financial aid, calling for stepped up control on the bloc's external border. "We agreed that the aid should be stepped up given their needs," said Interior Minister Aleš Hojs, the current chair of the EU Council of Home Affairs Ministers. "Due to the rapidly changing circumstances on the ground Lithuania needs additional help, and Latvia and Poland also need our help," Hojs said.

Slovenia ready to accept additional Afghan aides

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia is ready to accept up to five members of the Afghan staff that worked with the EU, to show solidarity with other EU member states, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said, adding that, for the time being, Slovenia will not offer to take in additional refugees from Afghanistan. The statement comes after a meeting of the EU foreign ministers on the situation in Afghanistan, where it was agreed that the member states should do their utmost to assist Afghans who have worked with the European Common Foreign Service over the past 20 years.

Afghan interpreter who helped Slovenian army arrives at Kabul airport

LJUBLJANA - An interpreter who had helped the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) on its mission in Afghanistan has made it to Kabul airport along with his family. They are now waiting for the first available flight out of the country, Defence Minister Matej Tonin told the broadcaster Kanal A. The interpreter and his six-member family travelled four days to get from Herat to Kabul. It took them another two days to get to the airport, the N1 portal reported. According to N1, the interpreter and his family be granted asylum status.

Slovenia with highest daily count in new infections since 25 May

LJUBLJANA - From a total of 2,228 PCR tests analysed on Tuesday, 385 came back positive for coronavirus, with the positivity rate increasing to 17.3%, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said. This is the highest daily tally of new confirmed Covid-19 cases in Slovenia since 25 May. The 7-day average of new cases rose by 20 to 218 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents by 11 to 118. There are currently 57 hospitalised patients, eight more than yesterday, while the number of patients in intensive care dropped by two to nine. Three Covid-19 patients died.

Ministry proposes self-testing for teachers in new school year

LJUBLJANA - Education officials would like to see in-person learning in the new academic year, said the Education Ministry after a meeting with head teachers, as it urged the government to green-light self-testing for teachers. This comes after the ministry proposed voluntary self-testing for secondary school students and pupils in the last three grades of primary school. It was decided today that the former would need to get tested once a week or more often if the epidemiological situation deteriorates. The decision on these requirements will be up to the government and its Covid-19 advisory group, which met this afternoon.
        
Slovenia's largest hospital preparing for surge in cases

LJUBLJANA - UKC Ljubljana, the country's largest hospital system, is getting ready to handle an anticipated surge in Covid-19 cases even as it performs all other health services to the maximum extent. The hospital is "ready for the challenge," said Matjaž Trontelj, the head of the hospital's governing board. The hospital currently has more than 250 beds ready for Covid-19 patients, according to Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of the infectious diseases department. At the peak of the second wave of the epidemic, it handled 350 Covid-19 patients at the same time (at Covid and regular wards) plus 70 in intensive care units.

LMŠ announces no-confidence motions against environment, justice ministers

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) has drafted motions of no-confidence in the environment and justice ministers, Andrej Vizjak and Marjan Dikaučič. Vizjak is alleged to have broken the law, ignored the fundamental environment principles and excluded experts when drafting the waters bill, said LMŠ deputy group leader Brane Golubović. As for the motion against Dikaučič, Golubović highlighted his action regarding the non-appointment of European delegated prosecutors and "keeping silent when the unconstitutional bill on infectious diseases was being adopted". The announcement comes a day after the SocDems (SD) announced a vote of no confidence in the education minister.

Defence Minister Tonin meets Turkey and Kosovo counterparts

ISTANBUL - Defence Minister Matej Tonin attended the opening of the IDEF International Defence Industry Fair on Tuesday, where he also met his counterparts from Turkey and Kosovo. According to a statement from the ministry, the main topics discussed were the situation in Afghanistan and the wildfires in Turkey. Tonin expressed his condolences to his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar for the deaths caused by the wildfires in Turkey. He was also briefed by Akar on current developments in Afghanistan, in particular the situation in the wider Kabul airport area.

SD proposes turning Covid aid into interest-free loans

LJUBLJANA - As the government has helped companies during the pandemic with financial aid which companies must now return if their results are better than anticipated, the opposition Social Democrats (SD) have proposed the government transform the aid into interest-free loans to preserve jobs. The party argues the situation has not yet calmed down with the fourth wave of the epidemic looming, so returning the aid prematurely will drain companies and jeopardise jobs. "We need jobs, these companies must be preserved," said Milan Cvikl, the head of the SD's finance council.

Survey shows majority supports PCT rule for healthcare workers

LJUBLJANA - The idea of introducing the recovered-vaccinated-tested (PCT) rule for entering public places is supported by 48% of respondents and opposed by 52%, according to the survey by the pollster Valicon. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of the respondents supported introducing the rule for healthcare employees. The latest #Newnormal survey also shows that the intention to get vaccinated is again significantly lower compared to the last measurement. In the first weekend of August, 62% of respondents reported intention to be vaccinated, down six percentage points from the end of July.

Slovenia Will Accept 5 More Afghan’s Who Worked With EU

STA, 18 August 2021 - Slovenia is ready to accept up to five members of the Afghan staff that collaborated with the EU to show solidarity with other EU member states, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said on Wednesday. For the time being, Slovenia will not offer taking in additional refugees from Afghanistan.

At an extraordinary meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on Tuesday, EU foreign ministers agreed that the member states should do their utmost to assist Afghans who have worked with the European Common Foreign Service over the past 20 years and bring them safely to the EU, thus avoiding possible reprisals by the Taliban regime.

According to Logar, there are between 400 and 500 persons who fall into this category. "The EU member states have expressed their willingness to share the burden in solidarity, depending on their size and reception capacity," Logar said, adding that Slovenia would take up to five persons.

Slovenia would accept these additional (up to) five Afghan EU collaborators alongside a group of 14 Afghan staff who have assisted the Slovenian Armed Forces and have already requested Slovenia's help and protection, as Defence Minister Matej Tonin explained on Tuesday evening.

Logar thus stressed on Wednesday that Slovenia was ready to accept those Afghans who have cooperated either with the Slovenian Armed Forces or the European diplomatic service.

On the possibility of accepting refugees from Afghanistan seeking shelter in Europe, Logar replied that Slovenia "will do what it takes within the EU solidarity formula, but will not offer take any additional burden in this respect for the time being".

Logar also said that there has been no major influx of migrants from Afghanistan so far, except to neighbouring countries. The EU will help the countries in the region that will bear the burden of these migrations, said the minister as he spoke to Slovenian correspondents in Brussels at a virtual press conference after Tuesday's meeting.

At the meeting, the ministers made it clear that there must be no repeat of the years 2015 and 2016, when more than one million refugees arrived in Europe, mostly from Syria.

"All the ministers have said clearly that we will not encourage a larger wave of migrants into Europe and that we will do everything in our power to limit this, if it occurs, to the countries bordering Afghanistan," Logar said.

The issue of migration to Europe, in particular from Afghanistan, will also be the subject of Wednesday's extraordinary virtual meeting of EU interior ministers and the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Slovenia in early September.

The EU foreign ministers shared the opinion that the EU must find a channel of communication with the Taliban regime, to be able to monitor and try to influence developments, to do everything to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorism again, and also to prevent human rights violations.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell also said after the meeting that the EU would have to engage in dialogue with the Taliban to prevent a humanitarian and migration disaster.

Borrell "recognised the fact that the Taliban have taken power in Kabul and as such, they are the only possible interlocutor in the pursuit of EU objectives", including those regarding the rule of law and the protection of human rights, Logar said.

For Logar, however, the tragic fact is that "after 20 years, the Taliban successfully invaded Kabul and took power practically with light firearms, inflicting a severe defeat on the international community and its efforts".

But if we want to preserve at least part of what the international community has achieved in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, it is necessary to use diplomatic channels as levers of influence, said the head of Slovenian diplomacy.

On NATO's failure regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban, Logar believes that the Alliance is in for some in-depth debate and self-reflection.

"This episode with Afghanistan is certainly not something that NATO can be proud of," Logar said, adding that it was "a very costly lesson for NATO's future behaviour, especially in areas with a history that differs from the Western value system".

STA, 17 August 2021 - Four centre-left parties are planning to file a motion to vote Education Minister Simona Kustec out of office, arguing that two weeks before the start of the new school year, it is still not clear how primary and secondary schools will organise the education process while the epidemiological situation in the country is deteriorating.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Tanja Fajon, leader of the Social Democrats (SD) after a meeting of the leaders of the other three parties - the LMŠ, SAB and Left.

Fajon told the press that the no-confidence motion could be filed to the National Assembly within a week.

"It's as if the education minister has not been here for the past year and a half," Fajon said in reference to what the opposition sees as Kustec's inaction during the coronavirus epidemic.

The four parties are mulling more such motions, including against Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak, which Fajon said would be panned by the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ).

The other three party leaders did not speak to the press.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport said it could not comment on the motion until it had been filed to parliament.

It stressed however, that preparations for the new school year had been in full swing and running smoothly since the start of the summer holidays.

The first meeting with all kindergarten, primary and secondary school head teachers will be held tomorrow, featuring representatives of the education and health ministries and some other key health and education institutions.

No major changes are planned compared to the last school year, except for the new requirement of compliance with the rule of having recovered from Covid or being vaccinated or tested, the ministry explained in a written statement.

The centre-left opposition has mounted an ouster motion against Kustec in spring, but she survived it in a 41:38 vote, as 46 votes are needed to sack a minister.

It is for now clear from previous statements by health officials that secondary schools students and kids in the last three years of primary school will have to self-test as was the case towards the end of the last school year. If the country enters tier red of restrictions, testing is to become mandatory and more frequent.