14 May 2021, 11:52 AM

Bidder Calls Suspension of TS Media Sale Bad News for Slovenia

14 May 2021, 04:50 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Friday, 14 May 2021

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Pahor endorses continuation of Prishtina-Belgrade dialogue

PRISHTINA, Kosovo - President Borut Pahor met his Kosovo counterpart Vjosa Osmani in the run up to the the Brdo-Brijuni Process summit in Slovenia. He said that as a "big advocate of the dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade", he expects the new authorities in Kosovo would be willing to provide the dialogue with a new momentum. Pahor announced that the leaders of the regional cooperation initiative would consult about a "fresher, more optimistic view of the European prospects of the Western Balkans".

C5 ministers call for coordinated border measures ahead of summer season

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - The foreign ministers of the Central 5, including Slovenia's Anže Logar, discussed possible relaxation of Covid-19 border restrictions during the summer season. They agreed that coordinating and informing each other about measures was necessary so that movement of people and business is not excessively restricted, and that until a digital green certificate is fully implemented in the EU, regional and bilateral agreements on recognition of vaccination certificates would be needed.

Slovenia urged to appoint delegated prosecutors

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia's upcoming presidency and the delay in the appointment of Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors (EPDs) topped the agenda as Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič met European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders on Wednesday. Reynders called Slovenia again to appoint the two prosecutors, after Kozlovič earlier said that she had done everything in her power to make the EPPO operational in Slovenia.

State secretary talks transatlantic ties with US official

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Stanislav Raščan stressed the role of the transatlantic partnership and pledged Slovenia's commitment to strengthen Slovenia-US ties as he had a video call with Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs at the US Department of State. Raščan confirmed Slovenia's strong and well-developed relations with the US, saying the ties and cooperation will be further strengthened.

Trade union confederations leaving Economic and Social Council

LJUBLJANA - Trade unions decided to leave the Economic and Social Council (ESS), the country's main industrial relations forum. The main reason is the "government's systematic violation of rules on the functioning of the ESS". Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said the door to continue dialogue remained open. Employers expressed regret, arguing the tri-partite dialogue was very important.

57 Slovenians so far repatriated from Venezuela

LJUBLJANA - A total of 57 persons of Slovenian descent have so far been repatriated from Venezuela. The repatriation project was launched in 2019 and those who arrived in the first round have completed Slovenian language classes. Many have found jobs and their children are in school, said Dejan Valentinčič, state secretary at the Office for Slovenians Abroad told the Commission for Slovenians Abroad.

Number of new coronavirus cases at almost 600 on Wednesday

LJUBLJANA - A total of 597 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in 4,636 PCR tests in Slovenia on Wednesday, which means 12.9% of the tests came back positive. Currently, 450 people are in hospitals, including 123 in intensive care, government data show. Four Covid-19 patients died and 45 have been discharged from hospital. While the first case of the Indian variant has been confirmed, health authorities believe is very unlikely to spread in Slovenia, not least because the British strain is currently highly predominant.

Telekom Group revenue, profit down in Q1

LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije Group generated EUR 157.5 million in revenue in the first quarter of this year, which is down 6% from the same period last year. Net profit dropped by 14% to EUR 9.7 million. The business operations were still affected by the epidemic, while the revenue drop is partly attributed to a drop in revenue from IT licenses.

SIJ group with EUR 50m loss in 2020

LJUBLJANA - Steel manufacturer SIJ posted a loss of EUR 49.9 million at group level at the end of 2020 on EUR 696 million in sales revenue, a drop of over 9% compared to 2019. The loss compares to 2019's net profit of EUR 44.9 million, which was an over 800% rise from 2018 largely resulting of the sale of poultry producer Perutnina Ptuj.

State increases stake in spa Olimia to over 98%

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) increased the state stake in the spa company Terme Olimia to 98.25% as part of efforts to create a state hospitality holding. SSH acquired a further 20.64% stake in Terme Olimia in a public takeover bid that run out on Monday, according to a notice published in the newspaper Delo. Offering EUR 27.50 per share, SSH paid EUR 4 million for the stake.

Spanish company Glovo to acquire Ehrana delivery platform

LJUBLJANA - Spanish start-up Glovo announced it would acquire one of the largest food delivery providers in Slovenia, Ehrana. The acquisition is expected to be formally completed in the next few months and the two companies are already planning their transition strategy. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

Former foreign owners of Adria Airways suspected of misdeeds

LJUBLJANA - The prosecution has requested an investigation against former German owners and management of Adria Airways for financial misdeeds due to which the Slovenian flag carrier ending up in receivership in 2019, news portal Necenzurirano reported. The portal names the suspects as former Adria Airways CEO Arno Schuster, his successor Holger Kowarsch, Klaus Platzer, who acted as financial advisor to the company, and Eggo Laukamp.

Bidder says suspension of TS Media sale bad news for Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - Responding to Telekom Slovenije suspending the sale of its subsidiary TS Media, United Group, one of the bidders, said that this was bad news for all foreign investors and even worse for Slovenia. "Our bid was very good and it is obvious that it is not possible to carry out in Slovenia an independent and fair tender whose objective is exclusively in the domain of economic interests," United Group's vice president of marketing and media Victoriya Boklag said.

Condemnation as Bosniak association leader comes under attack

LJUBLJANA - A group of NGOs and research institutions has condemned incitement of "racist and ethnic hatred" after Jasminka Dedić, the head of the Slovenian Bosniak Cultural Association, came under attack from right-wing media for comments she made for the Sarajevo-based newspaper STAV. "We understand the minister's conduct as pejorative and malicious ethnic and racist labelling of Slovenian citizens who are being denied the right to express political views as representatives of minority cultural associations," reads the letter.

13 May 2021, 15:38 PM

Investigation to Examine Actions of Adria Airways’ Final Owners for Financial Misdeeds

STA, 13 May 2021 - The specialised prosecution office has asked a court to formally open an investigation against former German owners and management of Adria Airways for financial misdeeds that allegedly led to the Slovenian flag carrier ending up in receivership in October 2019, according to a report by news portal Necenzurirano.

The portal names the suspects as former Adria Airways CEO Arno Schuster, his successor Holger Kowarsch, Klaus Platzer, who acted as financial advisor to the company from March 2016 to December 2017, and Eggo Laukamp, who from 2014 to 2018 served as director of purchasing at 4K Invest, the turnaround fund that bought Adria from the state in 2016.

The report says the prosecution has found evidence supporting the allegation that the quartet had siphoned EUR 3.5 million away from the carrier through consulting contracts. Once the court-led phase of the investigation is completed the prosecution will decide whether to file an indictment.

The portal reports that the law enforcement authorities have encountered major difficulties in trying to establish where the money from Adria has disappeared. It says the Germans had started covering their tracks when it had become clear the company's bankruptcy was inevitable.

They closed down companies in a intricate network leading from the UK to Germany and on to Luxembourg and Malta, a scheme that the portal says was designed not only to serve tax optimisation and to hide the real owners but also to make it harder to follow the money flows.

The alleged wrongdoing will have hurt some 2,900 creditors, who have reported more than EUR 150 million in claims in the receivership process. The official received admitted roughly EUR 88 million in claims, while the bankruptcy estate is much smaller, comprising EUR 2.6 million in cash and an estimated EUR 4.3 million in assets not yet converted into cash, according to the portal.

Since Adria went bankrupt, its operating licences have been auctioned off for EUR 45,000 to Air Adriatic, a firm incorporated by Slovenian produce importer Izt Rastoder, and the Adria Airways brand has been sold to Munif Otman Tarmum of the United Arab Emirates for EUR 33,400.

The carrier's flight school has been sold to an institute owned by Peter Jambrek, a jurist and chairman of the management board of New University.

An invitation to submit binding bids for Adria's office building and the appertaining land was published in April with the asking price set at EUR 4.1 million. The deadline for bids expires on 30 June.

13 May 2021, 14:08 PM

Strongest Demand for New Staff in Slovenia in Manufacturing, Retail

STA, 13 May 2021 - There were some 16,100 job vacancies available in Slovenia in the first quarter of the year, up around 3,500 from the last quarter of 2020. Employers were looking for new workers in 13 out of a total of 18 sectors monitored, but the strongest demand was in manufacturing and retail, the Statistics Office (SURS) said on Thursday.

Employers in manufacturing had some 1,200 vacancies more available in January-March than in October-December, while the figure for retail was 1,100.

Demand for new workers meanwhile dropped in healthcare, where there were almost 180 fewer vacancies available, and in water supply (-100).

However, the number of vacancies in the first quarter was still by 920 lower compared to the first quarter last year, when the Covid pandemic hit in mid-March.

"No recovery was detected in hospitality, where the drop was the sharpest, that of 41% in available jobs," SURS sad.

The bulk of vacancies available in January-March were advertised by employers with ten or more employees - around 10,200 or almost 64% of all vacancies in the country.

The number of occupied posts in the first three months remained at around 771,000 over the last three months last year.

The drop in the number of occupied posts at the annual level was sharpest in hospitality, by 18%, or around 5,700.

In comparison, the drop in manufacturing was around 4,900, or 2.5%.

13 May 2021, 11:23 AM

Ljubljana's Bicycle Rental System Celebrates 10 Yrs of Growth, 8 Million Rentals

STA, 13 May 2021 - When the bicycle renting system Bicikelj was set up in Ljubljana on 12 May 2011, there were 30 stations and 300 bicycles. Today, the system boasts 73 stations with 730 bicycles, while the plan is to expand it to over 80 stations and 800 bicycles by the end of the year, the municipality has announced.

On the first day, the municipality recorded 787 rentals, and to this day, 217,000 users have made eight million rentals, almost all of which shorter than one hour and therefore free of additional charge. The highest number of rentals in a day, 6,387, was recorded on 22 October 2019.

Although the pandemic lowered the number of rentals compared to recent years, the number of active users continues to rise, now standing at an all time high with 52,500 users or 17% of Ljubljana's population.

"The municipality is aware of health and environmental benefits of cycling, so it constantly upgrades the cycling infrastructure," Mayor Zoran Janković said on Wednesday.

Numerous sustainable mobility awards prove this, alongside the fact that since 2015, Ljubljana has been among the top 20 cycling-friendly cities in the world three times in a row according to the Copenhagenize Index.

These achievements will be presented at the Velo-City 2022, a world cycling planning conference Ljubljana will host from 14 to 17 June next year.

Bicikelj is operated by the billboard operator Europlakat through a public-private partnership. Europlakat is part of the JCDecaux group, which is the reason why one of its executive directors, Jean-Francois Decaux, visited Ljubljana on the occasion.

"Ten years ago, Ljubljana was the first city in Central Europe to introduce a bicycle renting system for its citizens and tourists through a public-private partnership. I'm very proud that Bicikelj has become one of the most successful systems in the world, with each bike being rented an average eight times a day," he said.

Over the years, Bicikelj's software has been updated. The mobile app BicikeLJ Official allows users to check the availability of bicycles and free spaces at each station. Rental is possible with the app or with the Urbana city card.

Learn more about how to rent a bicycle in Ljubljana

13 May 2021, 04:10 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 13 May 2021

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Restrictions eased as epidemic extended from 17 May

LJUBLJANA - The government eased several coronavirus restrictions, including raising the cap on gatherings to 50, and relaxing restrictions on hospitality, tourism, sports, culture and education. It also extended the state of Covid-19 epidemic by another 30 days from 17 May. Cultural, sports and other events as well as casinos will be able to reopen to 50% sitting capacity for visitors that have been vaccinated, tested or recovered from Covid-19. Opening hours for hospitality establishments are being extended to between 5am-10pm. Secondary schools and colleges are allowed to fully open.

Indian variant of coronavirus confirmed in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - The Institute of Microbiology and Immunology at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine confirmed it had confirmed the Indian variant of coronavirus in a sample taken on 20 April from a person who tested positive after returning from India. This was after the institute back analysed all Slovenian samples again after updating on 11 May the algorithm to sequence the new mutation.

Almost 730 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, two deaths

LJUBLJANA - A total of 726 out of 4,698 PCR tests came back positive on Tuesday, fresh government data show. 463 Covid-19 patients are in hospitals, including 127 in intensive care. Two patients died yesterday. The rolling seven-day average of confirmed cases dropped by 29 to 520.

Brussels upgrades Slovenia's GDP forecast for 2021 to 4.9%

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission upgraded Slovenia's GDP growth forecast for this year by 0.2 of a percentage point to 4.9%, while downgrading it to 5.1% for 2022, by 0.1 of a point from its previous, winter outlook. Recovery is expected to be driven by domestic demand and by investment, which will fuel demand for imports.

Slovenia urging sides in Israel to prevent further civilian casualties

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry responded to the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestinians by calling on all sides to prevent further civilian casualties. "Rocket attacks on #Israel as well as any form of violence are unacceptable and must end immediately. The only way to a peaceful solution is without violence. We call on all sides to prevent further civilian casualties," the Foreign Ministry said in a post on its Twitter profile.

Minister expects EU to have enough vaccine in coming months

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Health Minister Janez Poklukar expects the EU will have enough Covid-19 vaccine in the coming months to fight off the pandemic, and that a digital green certificate will also play an important role. Its first version could be available in Slovenia in June, allowing residents to travel abroad over the summer, he said after meeting European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides.

Vrtovec says Slovenia will be ambitious in energy, transport

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec wrapped up a two-day visit to Brussels where he met senior EU Commission officials by saying that Slovenia's upcoming EU Council presidency would be very ambitious in energy and transport. "We have important objectives, for which I am convinced will be attained, in particular in the field of e-mobility and decarbonisation," the minister told Slovenian reporters.

Hojs talks upcoming EU presidency with Hungarian counterpart

BUDAPEST, Hungary - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs met in Budapest his Hungarian counterpart Sandor Pinter, with the working visit dedicated to presenting the priorities in interior affairs during Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council in the second half of the year. Slovenia and Hungary have similar views when it comes to migration - they advocate progress in the external dimension and more effective refoulement, the ministry said.

FM Logar says Slovenia to join MED7 in autumn

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia expects to be invited to a summit of MED7, a group of seven Mediterranean EU countries, this autumn, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said as he answered an MP question about the country's plans to join MED7. He told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee he had received confirmation as he attended a session of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday.

Media Freedom Rapid Response plans mission to Slovenia in May

BRUSSELS, Belgium/LJUBLJANA - The partners within the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) project will conduct a virtual mission to Slovenia in late May and early June to assess reports on the deterioration of media freedom in the country over the past year. The virtual fact-finding mission will be led by the European Federation of Journalists and the International Press Institute in partnership with the Slovene Association of Journalists, and joined by other partner organisations.

EANA calls on Janša to settle dispute over STA

BERN, Switzerland - The European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) addressed an open letter to Prime Minister Janez Janša calling on him to resolve the dispute with the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). It expressed concern about Janša's tweet accusing STA director Bojan Veselinovič of being an accomplice to the "murder" of former STA editor-in-chief Borut Meško, which they see as "another blunt attempt to attack STA and its independence".

Court of Audit boss cleared of incompatibility of offices

LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption established that Tomaž Vesel's work for FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee is not incompatible with his office of Court of Audit president under Slovenia's integrity legislation, and terminated the procedure against him on Monday. His work for FIFA was questioned by some media and politicians as the court was reviewing Slovenia's public procurement of personal protective equipment last year.

Court hires detective to deliver mail to Janša

LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Dnevnik reported that the Ljubljana District Court hired a detective to try to deliver court mail to Prime Minister Janez Janša, who is not picking up mail related to the Trenta case. The case involves a piece of land in the Trenta Valley that Janša bought in 1992 and sold in 2005 for nearly nine times the price he paid, and for which an indictment against him and another two defendants was filed last autumn over abuse of office.

Opposition fails to exclude foreign capital from Koper-Divača project

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly narrowly rejected opposition-sponsored changes to the act on the construction of a new railway line between the port of Koper and Divača seeking to strike out the option that allows foreign capital to be invested in the project. Coalition MPs pointed to the role of foreign countries in the port's development. 43 deputies voted in favour and 44 against.

Telekom Slovenije suspends sale of TS Media

LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije announced it had suspended the sale a 100% stake in its subsidiary TS Media, whose portfolio includes the news portal Siol.net, while not disclosing the reasons. The state-owned telco published a call for expressions of interest in TS Media last November. According to data from the Slovenian Advertising Chamber, Siol.net is the second most popular web portal in Slovenia, trailing only 24ur.com.

38 Oshkosh tactical vehicles arrive in Koper

KOPER - The shipment of 38 Oshkosh light tactical vehicles for the Slovenian Armed Forces arrived at the Koper port on Tuesday. Slovenia purchased the four-wheeled vehicles from the US under a government-to-government deal signed on 12 November 2018, the Defence Ministry said. The purchase comprises 38 JLTV 4x4 vehicles fitted with M153 Kongsberg weapon station.

Cinkarna Celje sales revenue, net profit up in Q1

CELJE - Chemical company Cinkarna Celje saw its sales revenue rise by 5% to EUR 50.3 million in the first quarter of 2021 year on year, while its net profit rose by 8% to EUR 7.4 million. The management considers the results good and above the projections for the first three quarters.

Women's rally calls for freedom, democracy

LJUBLJANA - A peaceful rally marked the 78th anniversary of the end of the first women's protests held in the occupied Ljubljana, with dozens of protesters calling for freedom, democracy and a serious attitude towards the topical social issues that would shape the quality of life in the future. The authorities were also urged to protect the environment.

Carmina Burana staged by Edward Clug to premiere on Sunday

MARIBOR - The Carmina Burana cantata choreographed by Edward Clug will bring together 130 dancers, musicians and singers to the stage of the SNG Maribor opera and ballet house as it premieres on Sunday evening in a live broadcast on national television. Conducted by Simon Krečič, the show will also feature opera soloists, but there will be no live audience due to the Covid-19 restrictions. The performance will be thus broadcast live on Channel 2 of TV Slovenija.

Preparations for Giro d'Italia in full swing in Goriška region

NOVA GORICA/BRDA - The municipalities of Brda and Nova Gorica are all set for the 15th stage of the Giro that will take place on 23 May and will run from Grado to Gorizia across Slovenia. Numerous activities are under way to make this an unforgettable day, although it is not yet clear whether spectators will be allowed to watch the race from the sides

12 May 2021, 20:29 PM

Slovenia Eases More Restrictions, But Epidemic Extended Another 30 Days

Note: the end date wasn't clear in the STA report - we'll update this story when things are confirmed...

STA, 12 May - The government eased several coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday, including increasing the cap on gatherings to 50, and easing restrictions on hospitality, tourism, sports, culture and education. It also extended the state of Covid-19 epidemic by another 30 days from 17 May (ed. until 16 or 17 June – the report isn’t clear).

The cap on organised public events and public gatherings in- and outdoors will be raised from 10 to 50 starting on 15 May.

Exceptionally, more than 50 participants will be allowed under conditions prescribed by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) and on its prior approval.

Moreover, several decrees have been changed to allow cultural, sports and other events to reopen to 50% sitting capacity for visitors that have been vaccinated, tested or recovered from Covid-19.

The 50% capacity limit will also apply to cinemas and churches, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs has told the STA.

A further easing is that it will be made possible again to interrupt the quarantine imposed on entry into country after five days with a negative PCR test.

Meanwhile, the allowed opening hours for hospitality establishments are being extended to between 5am and 10pm, from 7am-7pm in force now.

While indoor tables will still need to be three metres apart, the distance between people seated at the same table is no longer prescribed, the Economy Ministry said on its Twitter profile.

Moreover, the four-per-table rule will no longer apply to families with children up to the age of 18.

The one-customer-per-20-sq-metres rule will no longer apply to children up to the age of 18 when accompanied by a parent or carer or for persons that need to be accompanied.

Campsites will be allowed to open up to 70% of available units, up from 30 units currently.

Casinos and gaming parlours are also being allowed to reopen between 5am and 10pm for visitors who can produce a proof of vaccination, negative test or recovery from Covid-19. Gaming parlours can be open to up to 50% capacity.

Easing will also benefit education, as secondary schools will be allowed to reopen next week for all pupils, who will no longer need to alternate between in-person and remote schooling.

Moreover, university students will be able to attend lectures in person from Monday, the Education Ministry has announced.

Face masks remain mandatory except for physical education classes. So remains weekly testing in force for staff, except for those who have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19.

The relaxation comes after Slovenia entered yellow tier of infections as Covid-19 hospitalisations fell below 500 and the 7-day average of new infections below 600.

However, the government extended the Covid-19 epidemic until 16 June [ed. we assume, but could be 17] as all the country's statistical regions continue to have incidence of cases above the prescribed threshold for the epidemic.

The government declared the epidemic for a second time on 19 October and has been extending it since by 30 days each time. In the first wave the epidemic was in force for 80 days, from 12 March to 31 May.

The conditions for the epidemic include the 14-day cumulative incidence per 100,000 residents above 104. It is currently at 423, according to data from the National Institute of Public Health.

Covid-19 hospitalisations and intensive care cases are also above the thresholds of 250 and 50, at 463 and 127, respectively.

The government today also changed the list of high-risk red countries by removing Slovakia, Israel and St Vincent and Grenadine, while adding Sudan. The changes, which also affect parts of Denmark, France, Greece, Norway and Spain, take effect on 15 May.

12 May 2021, 20:23 PM

Indian Variant of Coronavirus Found in Slovenia

STA, 12 May 2021 - Slovenia has confirmed a case of the coronavirus first detected in India, follows from the GISAID portal, which provides open-access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the novel coronavirus.

According to the portal, the Indian variant was confirmed by the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology (IMI) at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine in a sample taken on 20 April.

IMI head Miroslav Petrovec told the STA the Indian variant had been confirmed in one of the sequences deposited with the institute. The sample belonged to a person who tested positive on 20 April having returned from India.

The institute confirmed the Indian variant after back analysing all Slovenian samples again after updating on 11 May the algorithm to sequence the variants according to official Pango lineages as the B.1.617.2 variant was declared a new worrying genetic mutation.

In the latest screening of 576 samples taken between 26 April and 2 May the Indian variant was not confirmed, while the UK variant was confirmed in 90% of the samples.

Meanwhile, no new cases of the variants first detected in Brazil, South Africa or Nigeria were confirmed, nor the variant spread most widely in the French overseas department of Mayotte.

Nor have the California or New York variants been confirmed in Slovenia so far.

Between 24 February and 4 May the IMI, in cooperation with the National Institute of Public Health, sequenced 147 genomes of coronavirus from samples taken from vaccinated persons.

84 got infected more than two weeks after receiving the second BioNTech/Pfizer jab, and three after getting the second Moderna jab, while 60 caught the virus more than three weeks after receiving one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The genetic variants with the vaccinated persons were those that are frequent in Slovenia and in about same proportions as they appear generally in the population.

Maja Rupnik of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment, and Food said that given data from the UK, the Indian variant is similarly virulent as the UK variant and did not cause any worse symptoms.

She said he data available so far indicated the Indian variant was not as changed that the antibodies developed after catching Covid-19 or getting vaccinated would not work against the variant.

The labs sequencing genomes of the novel coronavirus enter their data into the GISAID database, a global scientific initiative that promotes rapid sharing of data from all influenza viruses and the coronavirus causing Covid-19.

The latest situation on coronavirus variants in Slovenia is to be presented at Thursday's Covid-19 press briefing.

The World Health Organisation has said that the Indian variant B.1.617 is more transmissible and thus cause for concern.

12 May 2021, 13:22 PM

Slovenia Will Wait for EMA Approval Before Vaccinating Children

STA, 12 May 2021 - The Health Ministry and the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ) told the STA on Wednesday that the vaccination of children and adolescents in Slovenia would start when the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gives its approval.

"We are currently waiting for the EMA's opinion on whether the vaccine is suitable for the age group of over 12 years. Once this is approved, we will start to promote vaccination in primary and secondary schools as well," said Mateja Logar, head of the ministry's advisory group on Covid-19.

On Monday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine for teenagers aged 12 to 15 years. This is the first vaccine in the US to be licensed for this age group.

EMA executive director Emer Cooke told several European newspapers on Tuesday that Pfizer's vaccine could be approved for the 12-15 age group in the EU later this month, although initially this was expected by June. She said that they were still waiting for data from a clinical study carried out in Canada.

12 May 2021, 11:57 AM

Ljubljana Court Hires Detective to Deliver Mail to Janša Over Abuse of Office Case

STA, 12 May 2021 - The newspaper Dnevnik reports that the Ljubljana District Court has resorted to hiring a detective to try to deliver court mail to Prime Minister Janez Janša, who is not picking up mail related to the Trenta case.

The case involves a piece of land in the Trenta Valley that Janša bought in 1992 and sold in 2005 for nearly nine times the price he paid, and for which an indictment against him and another two defendants was filed last autumn over abuse of office.

Until Janša receives the mail, the court cannot continue to decide on the defence's request to exclude members of the judging panel.

The documents the court would like to deliver to Janša are related to the request for exclusion of the judges.

Following its first request, Janša's defence counsel filed another two requests, so the court must successfully deliver all three replies before proceeding.

The Specialised Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against Janša over abuse of office last October, after five years of investigation.

Also indicted are Branko Kastelic, a former chairman of Imos company, and Klemen Gantar, a former director of Eurogradnje.

According to the unofficial information obtained by Dnevnik, the court had no problems delivering the mail to Kastelic and Gantar.

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