STA, 22 March 2021 - Bars and restaurants in the Primorsko-Notranjska region could start serving customers outdoors from Monday, having been promoted to tier yellow to join Posavje and South-East Slovenia, but only a few opened due to fear of new closures.. Stores in Obalno-Kraška are meanwhile allowed to reopen provided staff get tested weekly as the coastal region has moved to tier orange.

The government adopted the decisions on regions last week when the epidemiological situations in the Primorsko-Notranjska and Obalno-Kraška regions showed signs of improvement.

Outdoor serving in the three yellow-coded regions is permitted between 6am and 7pm. Prevention measures must be observed, including mask-wearing and weekly testing among staff and maintaining distance between tables. The exemptions from the mandatory testing are those who have recovered from Covid-19 or those who have been vaccinated.

A maximum number of patrons sitting at the same table is four. A customer may enter the establishment only to go to the restroom.

But despite the easing of restrictions, not many bars and restaurants in Primorsko-Notranjska actually opened today, fearing they would be forced to close again soon, a possibility mentioned by the head of the government Covid-19 advisory group, Mateja Logar.

Some also said it was rather cold to sit outside, so they offer takeaway instead.

The hospitality and tourism sectors are, however, very upset by Logar's labelling of the sectors as "less important". "We have been closed for more than six months, the economic damage is enormous. Data show that the hospitality and tourism sectors, and the related sectors generate 20% of the gross domestic product, which means they are extremely important economic sectors," said Blaž Cvar, the head of the Hospitality and Tourism Section at the Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS).

He added that Logar's statement was also a severe insult to about 40,000 people working in the hospitality sector.

According to Cvar, the OZS's Hospitality and Tourism Section has so far not received a reply to its question whether serving food and drinks outdoor indeed posed a threat to public health.

He said they expected the group led by Logar to present its methodology for determining which economic branches are more and which are less important.

gov.si

The entire country is meanwhile firmly planted in the orange tier. The coastal region has been upgraded to this level of measures, meaning inter-regional travel restrictions have been lifted.

From today, stores and repair shops under 400 square metres, real estate agencies, hair salons, beauticians, pet salons and expert training activities of up to ten persons in the region are allowed to conduct business as long as staff produce a negative test.

Pharmacies, gas stations, post offices, delivery services, automobile and bike repair shops and construction services may remain open regardless of staff testing.

Moreover, rallies of up to ten people are allowed across the country. The same goes for religious services.

The decree is effective until 26 March. The government will discuss the potential extension on Wednesday when it is expected to conduct its weekly review of the epidemiological situation and restrictions.

STA, 22 March 2021 - Nation-wide exams for primary school children in years six and nine were cancelled last year due to coronavirus, but they are planned to be held as usual this year. The exam is taken with a pen and paper, and it will be no different this year. But to test the option of taking it online, a special pilot project is being launched today.

From Monday to Friday, more than 40,000 pupils in forms six and nine at 441 primary schools will be taking the exam online - on a computer or a tablet - to get the ropes.

Every school has been assigned the day and several slots to carry out the e-trail exam, with the majority of kids to take it in a computer classroom at their school.

Up to 5,000 pupils will be sitting for the exam simultaneously, for which reason schools have been divided into two approximately equally large groups.

The pilot project is designed to test how the network works if used by several thousand pupils at the same time and which problems may emerge, Darko Zupanc, the director of the National Examinations Centre, said on Friday.

This should allow education authorities to see whether it would be possible for the exam to be simultaneously taken at all primary schools, or also at home.

Kids will be able to use various online tools to do the assignments, while they will have a chance to retake the exam on their home computer later on the same day.

The electronic exam will not be graded because it is not meant to test knowledge, so children will get no test results.

At the end of the exam, they will have to answer several questions on their examination experience.

Zupanc said the data obtained from this pilot project should facilitate development of systemic tools for exams and grading with new technologies, especially in case of distance learning.

The national exams for primary schools were introduced 20 years ago and were last year cancelled for the first time.

However, they are not compulsory and have no bearing on the pupils' final grades, but there is also an idea to introduce them for children in third form.

The exams are not meant for schools to compare how well their pupils are doing in comparison with other schools, but for individual schools to evaluate their own work, the head of the national commission for the nation-wide exams in primaries, Janez Vogrinc, said on Friday.

The exam is taken in three stages; children in year six will this year take it in their mother tongue on 4 May, maths on 6 May and the foreign language on 10 May.

But Slovenian Headteachers' Association president Gregor Pečan believes that in the given situation, the national exams for primaries should not be held this year at all.

A month and a half after primaries reopened following a four-month closure, gaps in knowledge are starting to emerge, he said at today's government Covid briefing.

Pečan also recalled that the exams had been cancelled last year while pupils had been distance learning only for approximately two months.

"The majority of headteachers and other educators maintain that what is needed more is peace and support to rectify the situation as soon as possible."

Although admitting not everything was as gloomy as some see it when speaking of "a lost generation", he said "very good planning will be needed to restore the situation this year and in coming school years to get the generations to the level we want".

For the same reason the headteachers are against organising various competitions for primary school children, urging "immediate suspension" of competition activities, which he said were now fully underway.

Pečan also touched on today's launch of testing whether national exams could be taken online, saying the information he had showed there were many problems.

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STA, 21 March 2021 - Slovenian alpine skier Meta Hrovat placed third in women's giant slalom at the FIS World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland on Sunday in what is her fourth podium finish in her career. New Zealand's Alice Robinson won the race.

Hrovat landed her second podium this season with today's third place after she already won bronze in giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The Lenzerheide slopes seem to be to her liking as she podiumed for the first time in World Cup races on this hill in 2018.

"This route really works for me. The upper part is challenging, I feel good there, I was already feeling my skis in the morning while warming up, and the result is here," she said after the race.

After the first run, the 23-year-old ranked second along with Italy's Marta Bassino, being behind Mikaela Shiffrin of the US by a mere 0.10 seconds.

However, in a surprising turn of events, Robinson, who was fourth after the first run, claimed victory in the end, toppling Shiffrin, who won silver. Hrovat trailed the winner by 0.48 seconds.

After many ups and downs this season, she ranked ninth in the World Cup women's giant slalom standings as the best Slovenian skier in the discipline. For the second consecutive season, Hrovat is also the best Slovenian female skier according to the final overall standings, scoring 252 points to rank 25th.

"The season ended on a high note," she said, adding that she would aim even higher in the next season.

Her fellow skier Ana Bucik failed to finish the first run today, skiing out of the race.

STA, 21 March 2021 - Slovenian ski jumper Nika Križnar won silver in a FIS World Cup women's individual event in Nizhny Tagil, Russia on Sunday, reclaiming the yellow jersey. Austria's Marita Kramer meanwhile clinched another victory on the hill of the Russian ski resort this weekend.

Scoring 232.3 points, Križnar toppled Japan's Sara Takanashi, who placed third today, in the World Cup standings and reclaimed the yellow jersey of the overall leader with a total of 751 points. Takanashi has so far bagged 746 points.

Križnar's first jump was 93.5 metres long, however she lost key points due to her flawed landing. The 21-year-old did better in the second round, jumping 94 metres to win silver.

In the Slovenian team Špela Rogelj was second-best, placing 13th. Urša Bogataj ranked 14th and Ema Klinec underperformed after her third place in the qualifying round, ranking 18th. Klinec retained her fifth place in overall standings though.

The team's head coach Zoran Zupančič could not be present at the event due to testing positive for coronavirus. Zupančič, who recently recovered from Covid-19, had tested negative before the team left for Russia.

As the Women Blue Bird tour kicked off with the Nizhny Tagil event, Kramer is currently in the lead, trailed by Takanashi (21.1 points behind) and Križnar (24.8 points).

Next weekend, the women's World Cup season will wrap up with two individual events and a team event in Chaikovsky, Russia.

STA, 21 March 2021 - Slovenia reported 516 new coronavirus cases in 2,849 PCR tests on Saturday for a positivity rate of some 18%. The seven-day average of new daily cases kept up its upward trend, standing at 808. Five Covid-19 deaths were recorded, show fresh official data.

A total of 6,843 rapid antigen tests were also conducted with all the positives there re-examined with PCR tests.

The number of persons in hospital totalled 473 this morning, up by 15 on the day before, including 93 patients in intensive care, up by five. 19 were discharged home.

The increase in hospitalisations is likely a result of both the rising trend in infections as well as the fact that the total of patients usually increases over the weekend as fewer of them are discharged then as a rule.

The seven-day average increased by six to 808. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents meanwhile stands at 500, up by seven.

In the past seven days, 5,690 infections have been recorded, some 16% increase on the previous 7-day period.

According to the tracker site Covid-19 Sledilnik, the latest deaths have brought the death toll to 3,972.

Since the start of the pandemic, Slovenia has reported 206,027 cases, of which 10,536 are deemed active, show data by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

STA, 20 March 2021 - The head of Slovenia's group of experts who advise the government on coronavirus measures has warned that the country is no longer just facing a new wave of the epidemic but is already at the start of the third wave.

"We're definitely no longer on the verge or facing the third wave, we're at the beginning of the third wave and we've started it with second-wave figures that are still high," infectious diseases specialist Mateja Logar wrote on Twitter.

She said experts have already said everything that they know. "Now it's up to each and everyone of us to do the maximum they can to make sure the crest is as low as possible."

Her statement comes after a week in which daily new cases rose on average by a fifth over the week before, indication that the country has entered exponential growth.

The rolling seven-day average of new daily infections exceeded 800 after well over a month, as the prevalence of more virulent variants of coronavirus continues to rise.

However, the situation in hospitals remains stable and hospitalisations are at less than half their peak. Deaths, while slightly higher than at the lowest point, are significantly lower as well as a majority of the oldest population, which is at highest risk of severe Covid or death, has been vaccinated.

The latest official data show over 182,000 have received the first shot of a coronavirus vaccine, roughly 8.7% of the population, and almost 104,000 have received both shots.

Moreover, more than one in ten Slovenians has had a confirmed infection. While this does not preclude a reinfection, it gives most of those infected at least a degree of immunity.

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Rising trend persists amid warnings third wave already happening

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 1,030 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, as new infections rose by around a fifth compared to the week before, a trend that has been going on for a week. The new cases however come amidst intensified testing and the latest figures indicate the situation in hospitals remained stable. Infectious diseases specialist Mateja Logar, who heads the government's expert group, however warned that the country is no longer just facing a new wave of the epidemic but is already at the start of the third wave.

Pahor, Erdogan discuss strategic partnership

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor spoke over the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mark ten years since the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement that they said had accelerated economic cooperation and deepened political dialogue. Pahor's office said Slovenia was seeking a more balanced trade and a rebound in economic cooperation after a dip caused by the Covid-19 epidemic. They also discussed EU-Turkey relations with Pahor urging "dialogue and a constructive resolution of issues in the East Mediterranean".

Hojs meets Belgian, Dutch, EU officials in preparation for presidency

BRUSSELS, Belgium/THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs held talks with senior Belgian, Dutch and EU officials Thursday and Friday as part of preparations for Slovenia's presidency of the EU. He met with Christine Roger, director-general of the Council General Secretariat in charge of justice and home affairs, his Belgian counterpart Annelies Verlinden and Secretary of State for Asylum and Migrations Sammy Mahdi, the Dutch ministers for migrations and justice, Ankie Broekers-Knol and Ferdinand Grapperhaus, and Europol's executive director Catherine De Bolle.

Church says all vaccines ethically acceptable in current circumstance

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Bishops' Conference said that all coronavirus vaccines were ethically acceptable for Catholics in the given circumstances, after earlier advising against the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on the grounds that cell lines from an aborted foetus had been used in its development. "Believers currently don't have a choice... [the Bishops Conference] is therefore of the opinion that they can be inoculated with any of the available vaccines."

Pivec returns to politics as president of new party, Our Land

MARIBOR- Five and a half months after resigning as the leader of the Pensioners' Party amidst an ethics scandal, Aleksandra Pivec, a former agriculture minister, has retuned as the leader of a new party, Our Land.The party has not revealed much about its platform except for the pledge to "connect all Slovenian lands" and pursue a policy of "forging ties, dialogue, cooperation and higher level of political culture". Pivec said "politics must abandon ideology and return to the people".

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STA, 20 March 2021 - Slovenia has spent billions to help companies weather the coronavirus crisis and keep unemployment low. Business associations say companies are currently in good shape overall, but they highlight pockets of problems, especially among SMEs and in industries that were shut down for a long time.

The state has put in place measures such as furlough payments, subsidised short-time work, coverage of fixed costs, new lending facilities, loan guarantees and a 12-month loan moratorium.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) says the current liquidity of the corporate sector is "relatively good" thanks in particular to loan deferrals, which GZS's chief economist Staš Ivanc estimates are worth a combined EUR 2.1 billion.

"Companies and banks will probably be able to agree a continuation of loan payments, but it is of course possible that this will not be viable in all cases," Ivanc says.

Loans that are more than 90 days overdue have in fact declined year-on-year and in December accounted for just 1.3% of all loans, show GZS data.

And a full 85% of companies polled by the GZS said they had a positive EBITDA last year despite the epidemic.

Another metric that indicates the economy is in good shape is the number of bankruptcies.

Last year a total of 1,125 bankruptcies were initiated, according to the Agency for Public Legal Records (AJPES), down significantly from the year before and the lowest figure since 2015.

In the first two months of this year there were 187, fewer than in the same period last year.

And central bank data show non-performing loans up only slightly last year, by 0.1 percentage points to 1.9% of total loan portfolio at the level of the entire sector.

Nevertheless, the central bank data also show a significant increase in the share of non-performing loans to the restaurant industry, which account for a tenth of all non-performing loans.

The Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS) says the epidemic has been hard on specialised stores as well as services activities such as restaurants and bars, which were either shut down or were severely constrained during the epidemic.

The OZS says the majority of SMEs had decided to retain staff on state subsidies rather than making layoffs, but despite the subsidies and the gradual reopening of all industries, it estimates it will take long before business is back to pre-pandemic levels.

"We expect the recovery to last long, two to three years. This is why we are appealing to the government to spend the bulk of EU economic recovery funds on industries that have been hit hardest," the OZS says.

The GZS's Ivanc notes that most of the measures which have propped up liquidity will be phased out this year. The coming months, when loan deferrals made last spring will expire, will be "a test of the resilience of companies and banks".

The country's largest banks are bullish.

"The situation in the economy is significantly better than we had dared to expect when the first wave of the epidemic hit... We do not expect major problems with loan payments," says Andrej Lasič, executive director at NLB responsible for large corporate and institutional investors clients.

Both NLB, the market leader, and NKBM, the runner-up, say they will work with closely with companies in industries such as tourism to find the best solutions on an individual basis.

"We're aware of the important role we're playing in mitigating the consequences of the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, which is why we are a responsible partner to our clients," NKBM said.

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

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FRIDAY, 12 March
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - PM Janez Janša pledged the government would respond to the third Covid-19 wave, which he said could realistically be expected, and implement key commitments in the coalition agreement, as he addressed reporters on the eve of his government's first year in office. "If there are no major surprises, we can make up for last year's contraction in GDP this year," he said.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's exports were down 2.8% year-on-year to EUR 2.9 billion in January and imports plunged 8.5% to EUR 2.5 billion for a surplus in external trade in goods of EUR 0.3 billion and exports-to-imports coverage of 113.7%, the Statistics Office said. Slovenia generated almost two-thirds of January's trade with EU countries.
        LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a revised national vaccination strategy at a correspondence session to provide vaccines to all residents with permanent or temporary residence, not just to Slovenian citizens. Soldiers were added to the nine groups to be prioritised for vaccines together with police officers. The strategy was originally adopted on 3 December and first revised on 1 March.
        LJUBLJANA - The Culture Ministry, which is responsible for Slovenia's media policy, responded to the 5 March public debate in the European Parliament on media freedom in Slovenia saying the Slovenian participants made "several incorrect claims". The response was sent to all EU institutions, the chair of the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group Sophie in 't Veld (Renew) and its members.

SATURDAY, 13 March
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - A letter by five EU prime ministers, including Slovenia's Janez Janša, addressed to the EU Commission and EU Council was released. The leaders of Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Bulgaria called for a summit on Covid-19 vaccines, pointing to what they see as unbalanced distribution. The letter was later also signed by Croatia's prime minister. The Commission issued a statement saying that member states were the ones negotiating the distribution with the starting point being the pro rata system.

SUNDAY, 14 March
        LJUBLJANA - Senior state and religious officials attended a memorial service at Žale cemetery for people who died from Covid-19, on the anniversary of the first such death recorded in Slovenia. President Borut Pahor expressed condolences to the victims' families and said the virus had not been defeated yet. A willow tree was also planted in memory of the victims.
        LJUBLJANA - Democrats (SDS) leader Janez Janša addressed a letter to his party saying it would work towards implementing the commitments from the coalition agreement and expected the same from the coalition partners. He said the SDS would not allow any eroding of the government's work any more. He added the majority of the opposition was destructive like nowhere else in Europe.

MONDAY, 15 March
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia temporarily halted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine pending a decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Health Minister Janez Poklukar said the Slovenian expert group for vaccines had not found reasonable grounds to stop using the jab, but proposed suspension as a matter of precaution. On Thursday, following the EMA's statement that the vaccine is safe and effective, vaccination with AstraZeneca was allowed to resume.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs warned against discrimination in relation to Covid-19 vaccination certificates. It is too early to talk about crossing borders with apps or certificates until most citizens have had access to a coronavirus vaccine, he said ahead of the EU Commission's unveiling of a proposal for a digital green certificate.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia advocated a stricter approach to dealing with third countries when it came to returning migrants from the EU as the bloc's foreign and interior ministers debated the EU's migration policy. The virtual session came after Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said the ministers should agree on third countries that need to be focused on in efforts to strengthen the return of migrants.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs told the press he was not optimistic about support among EU countries for Croatia joining the Schengen zone. He does not expect the Portuguese presidency to put the matter on the agenda again, but added he had no problems with putting in on the agenda during Slovenia's EU presidency.
        LJUBLJANA - Stricter rules to enter Slovenia kicked in for several groups, including people commuting daily to work outside Slovenia, in an EU or Schengen country. From Monday, they do not have to quarantine only if they produce a negative coronavirus test result no older than seven days. The measure applies to arrivals from red-listed countries.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor sent to parliament a proposal to appoint Tina Žumer a vice-governor of central bank Banka Slovenije. Žumer is a former employee of Banka Slovenije who now works at the European Central Bank.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor talked to Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu via video link, inviting her to visit Slovenia. The pair discussed a number of topics, including the pandemic.
        
TUESDAY, 16 March
        VIENNA, Austria - PM Janez Janša called for a "corrective mechanism" for the distribution of vaccines in the EU after talks with his counterparts from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic and Latvia. Such a corrective mechanism would mark a return in the distribution of vaccines to the point when it was agreed that the vaccines would be divided on a pro rata basis, measured by population size, he added.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - It was revealed Slovenia had not reached 100% of the vaccines it is entitled to in the first and second quarter of the year on a pro rata basis because it had not put in an order for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in December during a second round of joint EU purchasing. PM Janez Janša said that after he stepped in as health minister in December he ordered Slovenia additional quantities of vaccines where ever possible and regardless of the cost. The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMP) announced a motion to impeach Janša.
        KIEV, Ukraine - FM Anže Logar met his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to discuss Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency. Turning to relations with Russia, Logar assured Kuleba Slovenia would be a fair intermediary. Kuleba expressed the hope that Ukraine's voice would be heard during Slovenia's presidency. Logar also met Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal and parliamentary Speaker Dmytro Razumkov.
        LJUBLJANA - The centre-left opposition fell eight votes short of an outright majority needed for their motion to oust Education Minister Simona Kustec to succeed. Kustec, backed by 41 votes to 38, hailed the outcome as a realistic result of the political balance of power. The opposition claimed the minister should have acted more resolutely to return kids to school as soon as possible, Kustec and the coalition dismissed the criticism over remote schooling as politicking.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia continued to rank among NATO member states allocating the lowest proportion of its GDP for defence spending (1.1%), trailing the list by investment in defence equipment, a report for 2020 presented by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg showed.

WEDNESDAY, 17 March
        LJUBLJANA - The government amended several Covid-19 decrees as part of its weekly review of measures, including allowing rallies of up to ten people across the country. The Obalno-Kraška region was upgraded to tier orange with inter-regional travel restrictions lifted. Primorsko-Notranjska was promoted to tier yellow to join Posavska and SE Slovenia as the regions where hospitality establishments can open to serve customers outdoors.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Six European prime ministers, including Slovenia's Janez Janša, who previously called for fair access to vaccines, met European Council President Charles Michel via videoconference. Janša's office said they discussed additional vaccine deliveries and mechanisms to reach the target to have 70% of adults across the EU inoculated by summer. EU sources said the leaders expressed their concern over potential gaps in vaccine distribution among EU member states.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - Health experts urged politicians to tackle the Covid-19 epidemic as a united front as President Borut Pahor hosted a meeting featuring senior officials. The meeting, which both Pahor and PM Janez Janša termed as useful, agreed to meet on a regular basis once a month.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor talked with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier by phone. They discussed the Covid-19 response, noting the exceptional importance in the efforts of the EU and its institutions and close cooperation between member states. They called for more efficient and coordinated response to the delays in vaccine supplies.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša talked with the head of the Italian Northern League party Matteo Salvini, with the topics including strengthening cooperation between Slovenia and Italy, migration, and fight against Covid-19. As Janša tweeted, the pair also discussed the Conference on the Future of Europe and the current political situation in Europe.
        BERN, Switzerland - Measures to contain the pandemic, post-pandemic recovery, and Slovenia's plans for its EU presidency topped the agenda as Speaker Igor Zorčič visited Switzerland for talks with his counterpart Andreas Aebi, the chair of the parliament's EFTA/EU delegation Eric Nussbaumer and Swiss President Guy Parmelin. The Swiss officials were mostly interested in Slovenia's response to the pandemic.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's plans for parliamentary friendship group with Taiwan were put on hold. This was after the committee's former chair, SocDem MP Matjaž Nemec, said a friendship group would mean Slovenia "treats Taiwan as a state, which it isn't". Foreign Minister Anže Logar said Slovenia's relations with China were good and its stance on Taiwan remained unchanged.
        LJUBLJANA - The State Prosecution Council denied the allegation that the candidates it put forward for Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors were not meeting requirements on foreign language skills. The council said the two candidates met all the requirements. The government has failed to clear the appointments with suggestions the candidates do not meet foreign language requirements.
        LJUBLJANA - The consortium led by Slovenian builder Kolektor CPG was selected for the second section of the new railway between Koper and Divača after it had already won the contract for the first section as the only bidder left. The combined cost of the project is estimated at EUR 628.3 million.
        SLOVENJ GRADEC - The US multinational Adient announced it would close its Slovenj Gradec affiliate by the end of the year as a result of which 430 people will lose jobs. The company said that internal assessments and discussions with key clients had shown Slovenia was no longer considered a best cost country. Trade unions urged the government to take action.

THURSDAY, 18 March
        LJUBLJANA - While acknowledging that the circumstances were extraordinary, the Court of Audit found the government, the ministries of health, economy and defence, and the Commodity Reserves Agency inefficient in the PPE procurement. All five institutions were urged to take remedial measures. PM Janez Janša and Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek assessed the report as exonerating.
        LJUBLJANA - The defence ministers of Slovenia and North Macedonia, Matej Tonin and Radmila Šekerinska, called for a strengthening of defence ties as the pair met. They agreed to boost cooperation in NATO missions and set up a joint centre for the maintenance of OshKosh armoured vehicles.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor spoke via video link with his Slovak counterpart Zuzana Čaputova to exchange views on the battle against the pandemic and its ramifications. The pair stressed the importance of closer cooperation at the EU level. They also discussed the Western Balkans situation, EU enlargement and efforts to tackle climate change.
        LJUBLJANA - The government proposed for the STA supervisory board to dismiss Bojan Veselinovič as STA director, alleging workplace bullying and violations in the fulfilment of the agency's legal obligations. Veselinovič denied the allegations. The STA works council and trade union said there had been no reports of alleged bullying.
        LJUBLJANA - The government adopted an omnibus bill that would amend over a dozen laws and repeal dozens more in an effort to simplify bureaucratic procedures. The bill brings official registries of laws and personal data, electronic serving of official documents and new powers for state secretaries, while also introducing a cap on social security contributions at EUR 6,000 gross per month.
        LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that Slovenia would not accept a settlement with the British company Ascent Resources over the dispute about permits for the extraction of gas by means of hydraulic fracturing in the north-east of Slovenia.
        PARIS, France - The OECD said in a report that insufficient prosecution of foreign bribery in Slovenia is still a reason for concern and so are claims about political interference in law enforcement. The OECD is meanwhile happy with the protection of whistleblowers.
        LJUBLJANA - The government appointed Andrej Čuš, the leader of the non-parliamentary Greens, a new state secretary at the Economy Ministry. On 20 March, Čuš will succeed Ajda Cuderman, whose new job will be in the prime minister's office.
        LJUBLJANA - The government dismissed Mateja Vraničar Erman as Slovenia's high representatives for succession and appointed international law expert Miha Pogačnik to succeed her. Pogačnik has since last April led the government's legal service, while he served as high representatives already in 2005-2009.
        LJUBLJANA - The government appointed Joško Knez the acting director general of the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) to take over from Iztok Slatinšek on 1 April.

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: 

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