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This summary is provided by the STA: 

Motion of no confidence in government fails

LJUBLJANA - The Janez Janša government survived a motion of no confidence as only 40 MP voted in favour in a secret ballot, six too few. There were seven votes against and six invalid ballots; the majority of coalition MPs did not pick up the ballots. The motion was filed by five centre-left opposition parties, which nominated Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) leader Karl Erjavec for prime minister. The day-long debate saw the centre-left opposition argue that this was about a democratic Slovenia versus a slide into autocracy under Janša. The coalition highlighted the government's achievement in a difficult period. Janša said after the vote that the National Assembly had finally done the tallying and determined that not even all members of the Constitutional Arch Coalition (KUL) were in favour of the motion, adding the hashtag "meagre40".

244 new infections confirmed on Sunday, 11 patients die

LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,274 coronavirus tests were performed in Slovenia on Sunday, resulting in 244 positive cases, for a positivity rate of 19.2%. The number of hospitalised patients dropped to 738, as did the number of patients in intensive care, to 135, the latest data from the government shows. Another 11 Covid-19 patients died yesterday, which is one fewer than on Saturday. The latest epidemiological data put the 14-day incidence at 609.7 cases per 100,000 residents.

Slovenia expects 38,000 doses of vaccine this week, updates strategy

LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) expects new batches of Covid-19 vaccines this week, consisting of 21,060 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and 16,800 of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The NIJZ also updated the national vaccination strategy after a large chunk of over 85-year-olds has been vaccinated. The priority groups now are medical staff, employees and residents of care homes, people aged over 80, those over 75 and then those over 70.

Govt proposes public sector payment system changes

LJUBLJANA - The government unveiled a preliminary proposal for the overhaul of the public sector pay system. The sector is to be split into two groups. The first group would include departments and organisations solely dependent on the budget, which would be subjected to a binding set of rules of a centrally-led payment system. The second group would include those also funded by other sources, which would get more freedom in setting pay. The heads of both major public sector union associations said the division to two groups would undermine the entire pay system.

Slovenian military getting new, hi-tech wear and equipment

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian army will spend nearly EUR 8.5 million on new equipment, including underwear, boots, uniforms, backpacks and sleeping bags, in the next two years, the Defence Ministry said. The objective is to get new, more functional and lighter equipment. Some equipment has already been tested and is the best the commercial market has to offer, Colonel Anže Rode said.

Four bids received for spectrum auction

LJUBLJANA - The Agency for Communication Networks and Services (AKOS) received four bids for wireless spectrum, including bands set aside for 5G mobile networks. The bidders and their offers remain anonymous until the auction, which is scheduled for March or April. Spectrum in the 700 MHz, 1500 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 3600 MHz and 26 GHz bands will be auctioned.

Average net wage up by almost 7% last year

LJUBLJANA - The average monthly wage in Slovenia in 2020 reached EUR 1,856.20 gross, which is 5.8% more than in 2019 nominally and 5.9% higher in real terms. The average net wage was EUR 1,208.65 or 6.6% and 6.7% higher nominally and in real terms, respectively, the Statistics Office reported. The average gross wage in 2020 was higher both in the private sector (+4.4%) and the public sector (+7.8%) compared to the year before.

Value of construction work up 0.4% year-on-year in 2020

LJUBLJANA - Despite the Covid-19 epidemic, the value of construction work in Slovenia was up by 0.4% last year. The value of construction works on buildings was lower by 3.3%, as the work on residential buildings was up by 14.8% and work on non-residential buildings down by 9.4%. The value of construction work on civil engineering structures was up by 2.4%

Theatre producer Nevenka Koprivšek dies

LJUBLJANA - Nevenka Koprivšek, a major player on the Slovenian scene of performing arts, died suddenly at the age of 61 on Sunday. The actress and theatre producer in 1989 she became the first woman artistic director of Glej, an alternative Ljubljana theatre group, and she is credited with opening it up to international audiences. In 1997, she founded Bunker and she was also the director of the Young Lions festival.

Wood architecture on display in Tivoli Park

LJUBLJANA - A variety of buildings made of wood or with wood has been put on display at Jakopič Promenade in Ljubljana's Tivoli Park. Dubbed Wood Architecture Today for Tomorrow, it features an innovative, sustainable and inspirational use of wood in construction on 80 panels until the end of April.

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

STA, 15 February 2021 - The Janez Janša government survived a motion of no confidence as only 40 MP voted in favour in a secret ballot on Monday, six too few. There were seven votes against and six invalid ballots, whereas the majority of the coalition MPs abstained.

The motion was filed by five centre-left opposition parties, which nominated Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) leader Karl Erjavec for prime minister.

The day-long debate saw the centre-left opposition argue that this was about a democratic Slovenia versus a slide into autocracy under Janša.

Erjavec said his new government's goal would be "to make Slovenia a normal state again", while boosting trust in all three branches of power.

The coalition highlighted the government's achievement in a difficult period and accused the leftist parties of trying to abuse the coronavirus epidemic for political gain.

Janša said the government had done much more than the previous one despite the harsh epidemiological situation. He called the motion a "destructive farce".

Speaking after the vote, Erjavec said it was now just over a year to go until the next general election, and that is when voters will decide whether this government had done a good job. "If not before, the hour of truth will come when the next general election is held."

He said the people were dissatisfied with the coronavirus restrictions and the failure of cabinet members to obey by the rules that they put in place.

While the ballot was secret and it is impossible to know how individual MPs voted, the vote would suggest only one DeSUS MP supported the motion, reflecting a long-running rift between the party leadership and its deputy group.

Erjavec said DeSUS would remain in the opposition and he would now work on consolidating the party. He indicated that if any DeSUS MPs decided to ally with the coalition by signing a special cooperation agreement, they would remain MPs only as long as their current term lasts.

Janša, commenting on Twitter, said the National Assembly had finally done the tallying and determined that not even all members of the Constitutional Arch Coalition (KUL) were in favour of the motion, adding the hashtag "meagre40".

The partners in his coalition emphasised that it was now time to continue working after needlessly expending energy on this motion.

Modern Centre Party (SMC) leader Zdravko Počivalšek said on Twitter: "Now we could at least try to join forces for the serious challenges before us. Let's overcome the bad feelings and create the foundations for a different politics."

New Slovenia (NSi) leader Matej Tonin said the outcome made it clear that the government was strong. "Our work is directed towards containing the spread of the epidemic, to provide healthcare accessible to all, and to strengthen the economy.

STA, 15 February 2021 - Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) leader Karl Erjavec, a candidate for prime minister-designate, believes MPs have an opportunity to vote for normal and democratic Slovenia when they cast their votes in a secret ballot on the opposition-sponsored motion of no-confidence in the Janez Janša government later in the day.

Addressing the National Assembly on Monday, Erjavec said his new government's goal would be "to make Slovenia a normal state again", while boosting trust in all three branches of power, in experts and scientific facts.

He stressed that filing a vote of no-confidence in the entire government had been rather rare in Slovenia's parliamentary history.

But the left-leaning LMŠ, SD, Left, SAB and DeSUS did it because Slovenia has found itself in a decisive moment for its future - it is amidst a pandemic and the government's attempts to impose authoritarian democracy, he said.

"Today you are not deciding on Karl Viktor Erjavec," but between authoritarian Slovenia and normal and democratic Slovenia, he said in his address to MPs.

Erjavec believes the vote will be about whether the MPs allow the current government to continue weakening Slovenia's democratic achievements from the past 30 years.

Eleven months into its term, it is clear that Janša's government is not pursuing the goal of welfare of the country's citizens, he said.

Erjavec believes its authoritarian politics does not aim at strengthening constitutionally-guaranteed values, independent institutions or freedom of the press.

He also criticised the government for its approach to the pandemic, saying the measures "are often not based on expertise but are politically-motivated calculations".

By closing municipal borders, introducing "a police curfew" and closing schools the government has interfered in people's freedoms, he stressed.

While experts stress these measures bring no positive results, they serve the government to pursue the goal of "establishing a second republic".

The candidate for prime minister-designate announced his new government would focus on four pillars: health, solidarity, environment and development.

It would stabilise the healthcare system in terms of finance and organisation and abolish top-up health insurance.

Solidarity-wise, it would adopt a bill on long-term care and a new housing bill, while a bill on climate policy would be adopted to address environmental issues.

Development priorities would be increasing funding of R&D and culture and streamlining administrative procedures for business.

The new government would also overhaul Slovenia's foreign policy's strategic guidelines, announced Erjavec.

He also assured the MPs there was no politicking in his bid, "just a sincere wish to together stop that wrong politics".

Erjavec told the press before the day-long extraordinary session he counted on at least 43 votes while 46 were needed to vote the government out of office.

He is nevertheless happy the motion has been filed and MPs will have an opportunity to vote on Slovenia's future. A failure to oust the government would in his view mean the MPs have decided to continue current politics.

MPs from the five parties associated in the informal Constitutional Arch Coalition (KUL) largely echoed Erjavec's views, urging MPs from the ruling coalition to "pluck up courage" and support the no-confidence motion before Slovenia "wakes up in a second republic tailored to the SDS".

LMŠ leader Marjan Šarec rejected the criticism that it was irresponsible to topple the government during the epidemic, arguing the government abused the crisis as an alibi for its own survival so it was urgent to replace it.

He does not agree with those claiming a failure of the no-confidence vote would be a defeat for its proponents. "Defeat is here, we're watching it every day."

Similarly, Social Democrat (SD) deputy group leader Matjaž Han said the motion had emerged out of responsibility for citizens, who had been paying high epidemic bills due to the government managing the epidemic and the state "via Twitter"

Luka Mesec of the Left stressed as problematic three aspects of Janša's government: hate pouring into the society from the top, fuelling divisions and causing chaos; the rule of law being suspended; and nobody in the government taking responsibility for anything.

Maša Kociper, deputy group leader of the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), recalled the period before February 2013, when Janša's second government was ousted in a no-confidence vote.

Eight years later, Slovenia can witness the same patters of staffing, settling of accounts and enormous borrowing plus a threat of Orbanisation, she said.

The vote is expected to take place late in the evening and the government is expected to survive, although secret ballots can result in surprises.

STA, 15 February 2021 - All primary school students and final-year secondary school students from western and central Slovenia returned to school after over four months on Monday. Headteachers reported no major difficulties in organising classes. Most students are happy to be back. Schools in the eastern part of the country closed for a week-long holiday.

Quite a few adjustments were needed to avoid student contacts outside their classroom bubbles, so timetables had to be changed on very short notice, said Irena Kodele Krašna, the headteacher of the Danilo Lokar primary school in Adjovščina.

Headteacher of the Fran Erjavec school in Nova Gorica Lara Brun told the STA their transition from distance to in-person learning would be soft and in line with all health recommendations.

"I told the staff to have sympathy to their students, as returning to school is again a big change for them. So this week they should mostly repeat what they've been learning ... but foremost create an encouraging learning environment," she said.

Alenka Krapež, head teacher of the Gimnazija Vič high school, said their students and teachers were "happy, smiling and content". The school had no problems with coronavirus testing or organising of classes, noting that the same system had been used as last September, meaning each class being in their own classroom, distance keeping, use of face masks and airing of rooms.

The Gimnazija Franceta Prešerna Kranj secondary school is using a hybrid model of education, combining distance learning and classroom work. The system had been introduced because of frequent absences of many students who are musicians or athletes.

Head teacher Mirjam Bizjak told the STA they had some problems organising work but they were being tackled. She said gym classes for example would be held outdoors as much as possible.

Practical lessons are now also allowed for all students, so students of the Radovljica School of Hospitality and Tourism have lessons for one or two days a week at school and the rest from home, while the final grades have no more distance learning.

Head teacher Ivan Damjan Mašič said the biggest gap for students was not having had practical classes so they would try to make up for some of that first.

He said the school was big enough to have isolated bubbles and that nobody had any objections to masks. "Students are happy to be back at school. You can tell they missed socialising the most."

This was echoed by Andreja Ahčin, headteacher of the Biotechnical Centre Naklo. "The kind of combined lessons that we have now is quite a challenge for the teachers but we are happy that at least part of the students could return to school."

The importance of having students return to school and among friends was also stressed by the head of the DOS organisation of secondary school students, Maja Kalin. She said a survey conducted among secondary school students had shown 54% of them wanting to return to schools for the higher quality of education.

Quite a few of them had reservations, mainly concerns that they would put their family members in danger. Some also fear that taking a lot of tests in a short period of time to make up for the backlog would be stressful.

Dorms are also open again today. The head of the Kranj dorm for secondary school and university students, Judita Nahtigal, said their dorm had not been completely empty in the past months because of foreign students. But now that schools reopened, about a fifth of residents have returned.

STA, 15 February 2021 - The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) expects new batches of Covid-19 vaccines this week, consisting of 21,060 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and 16,800 of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The national vaccination strategy has been updated with regard to setting the priority groups, the NIJZ told the STA.

The priority groups for vaccination are medical staff, employees and residents of care homes and day centres for people with disabilities, people aged over 80, those over 75 and then those over 70 and particularly vulnerable patients with chronic disease regardless of their age.

After that the vaccine will be available for those over 65 and chronic patients older than 60, followed by employees in key services and the rest of the population, suggests the strategy obtained by the STA.

The list of particularly vulnerable chronic patients includes people with organ transplants, cancer, severe lung diseases, rare diseases that increase the risk of infection, people treated with immunosuppressives, those with conditions that increase the risk of infection, adults with Down syndrome, adults on dialysis and those with level five chronic kidney disease.

The NIJZ advisory body has recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged under 65 but also for the vaccination of bedridden persons at their homes, as unlike the mRNA vaccines it is more stable and thus easier to transport.

Currently, three Covid-19 vaccines are registered for use in Slovenia but given that their quantities are very limited, people cannot choose which one their will be inoculated with.

The mRNK vaccines of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are currently used for the vaccination of medical staff older than 65, and for people over 80. After that citizens older then 75 will be vaccinated with them and then those over 70 and particularly vulnerable chronic patients regardless of their age, and then those over 65.

The AstraZeneca vaccine will first be administered to health staff aged between 18 and 64, and employees and residents of care homes and day centres for people or youth with disabilities, and employees at prisons and other similar institutions of the same age.

After that, employees and students of special schools will receive the vaccine, along with particularly vulnerable chronic patients aged 18-64 and possibly also older with or without chronic disease if they express the desire to be vaccinated as soon as possible and if this is line with their doctor's orders.

After that patients aged 18-64 will be vaccinated, healthy persons aged 60-65, emergency services and the rest of the population, the strategy says.

STA, 15 February 2021 - The average monthly wage in Slovenia in 2020 reached EUR 1,856.20 gross, which is 5.8% more than in 2019 nominally and 5.9% higher in real terms. The average net wage was EUR 1,208.65 or 6.6% and 6.7% higher nominally and in real terms, respectively, the Statistics Office (SURS) reported on Monday.

The average gross wage in 2020 was higher both in the private sector (+4.4%) and the public sector (+7.8%) compared to the year before.

In the general government sector, it was up by 9.9%, including as a result of the payout of extraordinary bonuses related to the Covid-19 epidemic, SURS noted.

Activity-wise, it was up the most in healthcare and social security (+17.7%), while it was down the most in the hospitality industry (-3.8%).

The average gross wage was the highest in Central Slovenia, standing at EUR 2,057.92 or 10.9% above the Slovenian average. It was, meanwhile, the lowest in the Primorska-Notranjska statistical region (EUR 1,632.87).

In December 2020, the average gross wage was EUR 2,021.21 or 0.3% higher nominally and almost level in real terms compared to the month before.

The average net wage in the same month was EUR 1,314.62 or 1% higher nominally and 0.7% higher in real terms over November 2020.

In the private sector, the average gross wage for last December was 2.9% lower than that in November, mostly on account of end-year bonuses, SURS added.

In the public sector, this difference was 3.8% and in the institutional sector the average gross wage was 4.5% higher than in November.

The average monthly gross wage in December was the highest in the electricity, gas and steam supply, standing at EUR 2,947.41. It was the lowest in the hospitality industry, at EUR 1,203.63.

STA, 15 February 2021 - Bans on gatherings and travel between municipalities and regions have been lifted as movement throughout the country and gatherings of up to ten persons are once again allowed after Slovenia shifted to the orange tier of restrictions. All shops are now open as well.

A ban on travel outside one's municipality of residence was imposed in October with a number of exemptions, including for work, education, looking after sick persons and tending to property.

So far, gatherings in public spaces have been allowed for families and members of the same household, but from today they are capped at ten persons. Larger assemblies, events or rallies are still banned and the 9pm-6am curfew remains in place.

All shops may open as of today as well, under the condition that staff test negative for coronavirus. They will have to be tested weekly.

Restrictions have also been lifted in the sports and recreation world with contactless training allowed for individuals and groups of a maximum of ten athletes.

Physical distancing protocols should be heeded and coaches or trainers must produce a negative coronavirus test no older than 24 hours, vaccination certificate or a document attesting they have already recovered from Covid-19.

One of these documents must be also produced by users of ski lifts and staff in direct contact with clients in ski resorts, however in this case the negative test should not be older than 7 days.

Sports events remain spectator-free for now.

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: 

Downward trend continues as 329 new coronavirus cases, 12 deaths reported

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged 329 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, down a third over the week before, as the positive trend, in particular in hospitals, continued. Twelve Covid-19 patients died. Hospital numbers continued to improve as well. The number of Covid-19 patients declined by 24 to 739, the lowest since late October, while ICU cases dropped by 23 to 149, the lowest since early November.

Janša congratulate new Italian prime minister

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša congratulated Mario Draghi on becoming the new prime minister of Italy. "I am looking forward to further strengthening our good neighbourly relations and cooperation in many areas, both regionally, in Europe and globally," Janša wrote on Twitter.

Biathlon: Third gold for Eckhoff, men's pursuit title goes to Jacquelin

POKLJUKA - After winning gold in the sprint and mixed relay, Norway's Tiril Eckhoff dominated the women's pursuit on Sunday ahead of Lisa Theresa Hauser of Austria and the French biathlete Anais Chevalier-Bouchet. In the men's event French biathlete Emilien Jacquelin clinched the title with a perfect shooting record from Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson. Johannes Thingnes Bo of Norway won bronze.

Another podium for Slovenia's Lanišek

ZAKOPANE, Poland - Slovenian ski jumper Anže Lanišek won his third podium position this season as he finished second on the large hill in Zakopane, less than three points behind Halvor Egner Granerud of Norway. He is now fifth in the overall World Cup standings.

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

How did you come to live in Slovenia?

I moved to Slovenia in March 2018 to be with my fiancée, now wife, Anita, who’s a Slovenian national. I first met her via Couchsurfing in 2015. She asked me many questions about travelling around India. Unfortunately, we never met up at that time as I was out of Delhi on a tour, however we remained in contact. At the end of 2016 we arranged to do a month-long yoga teaching course in Rishikesh together and from there on it was a bit like a Bollywood movie … love at first sight!

After the course we did some motorbike touring up into Nepal before Anita returned to Prague. In 2017 she returned to India again for six months, during which time she lived with my family. Eventually, I joined her in Slovenia in March 2018 and we got married in India a year later, then came back to Slovenia in April to make our lives here.

What work have you been doing here?

Before COVID I was driving tourists around Slovenia, teaching yoga, Indian food cooking and Ajurvedic massages. I got into the first business in India, where my family has a travel agency, Adventure Holiday Tours in Delhi, India. Back home my work was to show visitors around the India organize their tours with our private English-speaking drivers. Our company has a great team of drivers, and a very good reputation online because we made sure that everyone enjoyed their tour with us. So when I came to Slovenia I started a similar company after I received my work permit – Adventure Holiday Tours, Tarun Sharma.

How was your business affected by the pandemic?

Since April last year we’ve only had three to five of giving tours in total for Slovenia. Luckily I was able to get the COVID support from the government since October, and I’ve been giving online yoga classes. However, this has badly affected our family business in India, as since April last year the country stopped tourist visas and nobody’s been coming to visit. And so no work for the drivers who’ve been working for my fathers company in Delhi, India.

Yes, you now have a project to help the drivers – can you tell us about that?

Sure, I’m trying to help the drivers and their families who’ve been working for my dad’s company over 10 years in India. They’ve been great to all the tourists visiting India and making sure they enjoyed their stay. Now since April last year they haven’t had any work. My dad helped them, but he also doesn't have any work now and so I want to raise some funds for them so that we can help them to open some other business and make a living until tourism starts again.

How can people learn more?

Here’s a link where people can read more, and also make a donation or just share the link to spread the message. Even just €10 provides a lot of help. https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/families-in-need-due-to-no-foreign-tourism-in-india