News

08 Feb 2022, 08:36 AM

STA, 8 February 2022 - Culture Day, a public holiday marking the anniversary of the death of poet France Prešeren (1800-1849), will be celebrated in Slovenia on Tuesday in a limited form, as there will be no traditional event at Prešeren's birth house in Vrba, and the recital of Prešeren's poetry will be broadcast on the radio.

One of the rare live events that will mark the holiday celebrating the Slovenian culture will be held at the Presidential Palace, which will host an open day for the public.

On the occasion, President Borut Pahor will address the citizens alongside one of the two recipients of this year's Prešeren Prize for lifetime achievement, translator Kajetan Gantar.

Prior to that, Pahor and Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti will lay a wreath at the monument to France Prešeren in Ljubljana.

The traditional recital of Prešeren's poetry will not be held in person this year, it will be instead broadcast live from the studios of Radio Slovenija, Radio Maribor, and Europe Square that straddles Italy's Gorizia and Slovenia's Nova Gorica.

Organised by the Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists, the broadcast will resound through the loudspeakers in the streets of Ljubljana, Maribor, Kranj, Koper, Celje and Nova Gorica and in front of Prešeren's birth house in the village of Vrba.

There will be no traditional celebration in Vrba this year, and hikes along the local cultural heritage trail have also been cancelled due to the epidemiological situation.

The local authorities and the tourism and culture centre have nevertheless invited people to visit the birthplaces of Prešeren and other important cultural figures on this day.

While the traditional Prešeren Fair in Kranj will also be held in a limited form, numerous cultural institutions around Slovenia have invited people to attend open door events and related events after the holiday.

On the eve of Culture Day, the Prešeren Prizes, the top national awards in culture, were conferred at a ceremony in Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana, with Gantar and conductor and musicologist Mirko Cuderman receiving the lifetime achievement awards.

08 Feb 2022, 08:29 AM

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Pahor meets pope to mark 30 years of diplomatic ties

VATICAN CITY, Vatican - President Borut Pahor met Pope Francis during an official visit to the Vatican to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Slovenia and the Holy See. The pair noted the importance of dialogue and discussed the situation in the Western Balkans, the Ukraine crisis, as well as bilateral cooperation. Pahor also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States. He also met his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella over a private dinner, which makes Pahor the first foreign head of state or government to meet Mattarella in the latter's new term.

Golob's party in lead in RTV Slovenija poll

LJUBLJANA - Freedom Movement, the party of Robert Golob, leads the field in the latest poll commissioned by RTV Slovenija, ahead of the ruling Democrats (SDS). One out of five respondents said they would vote for Freedom Movement, an increase of 6.8 percentage points from January. The SDS gained three points to 15% ahead of the opposition Left, which added 2.6 points to 7%. Golob also tops the ranking of most popular politicians ahead of President Borut Pahor and Speaker Igor Zorčič.

Daily Covid case count down for 4th day

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged 5,512 new coronavirus cases on Sunday as the daily tally dropped for the fourth straight day on the same day a week ago, this time by over a third. Another 18 Covid-19 deaths were reported. Government data shows 441 patients are hospitalised with Covid-19 as their main condition plus 116 at intensive care units. The former figure is up by 48 and the latter down by three from yesterday. The 7-day average of new daily cases dropped to 12,657.

Slovenia's excess mortality rate at 15% in 2021

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded an excess mortality rate of 15% last year, when the Covid-19 epidemic was in full swing. Fresh data from the Statistics Office shows the worst month was November, when 49% more people died than the average for the same period in 2015-2019. According to provisional data, a total of 23,177 people died in Slovenia in 2021, which is 2,589 more than in 2019 - before the outbreak of the coronavirus, but 839 (3%) fewer than in 2020. That year the excess mortality rate was at almost 19%.

Annual inflation speeds up to 5.8%

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's annual inflation ran at 5.8% in January, the highest since August 2008, picking up pace from 4.9% reported at the end of last year mostly due to costlier fuels and energy. Consumer prices rose by 0.4% from December, chiefly due to pricier food and gas, fresh data from the Statistics Office shows. Measured with the harmonised index of consumer prices, an EU-wide standard, Slovenia's annual inflation ran at 6%, up 0.9 percentage points from December.

Petrol set on becoming market leader in Croatia

ZAGREB, Croatia - Nada Drobne Popović, the CEO of energy group Petrol, told the Croatian newspaper Večernji List that, following last year's takeover of Crodux, Petrol aims to become the leading provider of motor fuels in the Croatian market. She projected that sales in Croatia will exceed those in Slovenia by 2025. With the acquisition of the Croatian chain of service stations, the Slovenian group become the second largest provider in Croatia by number of service stations and the region's leader.

Steklarna Hrastnik reportedly faces wave of resignations

HRASTNIK - A number of workers gathered in front of the headquarters of glass manufacturer Steklarna Hrastnik to protest to the company's management. Some workers also announced handing in their resignations, with the number unofficially expected to be between 40 and 60 - around 10% of the entire workforce. According to Radio Slovenija, the majority of the dissatisfied employees who have decided to terminate their contracts are foremen. The management said this was not an expression of wider discontent among the employees.

Culture Day ceremony celebrates top achievements in arts

LJUBLJANA - This year's main ceremony dedicated to Culture Day highlighted the constructive response of artists in any crisis. The Prešeren Prizes were conferred at the event on the eve of the public holiday, as philologist and translator Kajetan Gantar and conductor and musicologist Mirko Cuderman received the main national accolades for lifetime artistic achievement, and six Prešeren Fund Prizes for individual accomplishments were also conferred.

Slovenian mixed ski jumping team wins gold at Beijing Olympics

BEIJING, China - Slovenian ski jumpers Nika Križnar, Urša Bogataj, Timi Zajc and Peter Prevc won the gold medal in the mixed team normal hill event at the Winter Olympics to make history as the first nation to win the event in its Olympic premiere in Beijing. This is the third medal for Slovenia in ski jumping and in general at this Olympic Games.

Olympics: Kline 10th in downhill, Hrovat 7th in giant slalom

BEIJING, China - Boštjan Kline placed 10th in the Olympic men's downhill for what is the best ever achievement for Slovenian male alpine skiers in the discipline. Meanwhile, Meta Hrovat placed 7th in the women's giant slalom in an improvement on her previous best Olympic result in the discipline, the 14th place in PyeongChang in 2018.

Čadež's Steakhouse receives Special Mention in Clermont Ferrand

CLERMONT FERRAND, France - Animation filmmaker Špela Čadež has received a Special Mention at this year's Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival for her animated short Steakhouse in what is the tenth international award for the film, the Slovenian Film Centre said. Čadež is also a recipient of this year's Prešeren Fund Prize.

07 Feb 2022, 15:09 PM

STA, 7 February 2022 - Slovenian ski jumpers Nika Križnar, Urša Bogataj, Timi Zajc and Peter Prevc won the gold medal in the mixed team normal hill event at the Winter Olympics on Monday to make history as the first nation to win the event in its Olympic premiere in Beijing.

Slovenia finished a whopping 111.2 points ahead of the silver medal-winning Russia, while Canada (156.9 points behind Slovenia), whose ski jumpers are coached by Slovenia's Bine Norčič, surprisingly won the bronze medal in an event that saw four disqualifications due to outfit irregularities.

In the first series, when the favoured teams of Japan, Austria and Germany were disqualified, Slovenia led the pack with a 49-point advantage ahead of Norway, which was later disqualified in the final round.

This is the third medal for Slovenia in Beijing in ski jumping and in general, after Bogataj won the gold medal and Križnar grabbed bronze in the women's normal hill individual event on Saturday.

Prevc won his third Winter Olympic medal after silver in Sochi in 2014 on the normal hill and bronze on the large hill in the same competition, while this is the first Winter Olympic medal for Zajc.

Križnar, who is returning to Slovenia with two medals, said the atmosphere was nervous, also due to the disqualifications, adding that the Slovenian team tried not to think about that and to focus on their jumps.

"Despite all the fuss around us, we remained calm and performed well. I'm very proud of the whole team," she told reporters of the public broadcaster TV Slovenija.

Zajc added that it was "really a great day! All four of us had great jumps today and I can say that we deserved to win."

The double gold medallist Bogataj said that it was important that the Slovenian jumpers performed well despite "the weird competition, as disqualifications kept piling up."

Peter Prevc, to whom the medal comes as a consolation of sorts after the 4th place in the men's normal hill individual event, added that "it was difficult, but we made it" for the first time in the Olympic team event after Slovenia had been among the favourites there since 2013.

The mixed team event was the last competition on the normal hill at the Zhangjiakou Olympic venue. While female ski jumpers finished their performances at the Beijing Games today, their male counterparts are now moving to the large hill for the individual and team events.

07 Feb 2022, 13:17 PM

STA, 7 February 2022 - Interest among Slovenian businesses to get showcased at the Dubai Expo has been growing. The country's pavilion has hosted around 400,000 individual visitors, more than 200 delegations and over 100 business events so far, Slovenia's Expo commissioner Matic Volk said on Monday.

In terms of hosting representatives of the business sector, the numbers have already exceeded the plans made before the World Expo. "We are quite satisfied," added Volk.

Volk expects the current momentum to be maintained in the last two months of the Expo. "In the second half of February and in March, our programme is quite busy as well, as interest in the Dubai Expo is very high," he explained.

"More and more Slovenian companies see Slovenia's Expo pavilion as an excellent opportunity to assess the situation on the ground and the possibilities to enter the market in Dubai, the UAE and the wider region," said Volk.

The Slovenian team is also one of the most active in terms of the business side of the Expo. "Practically all of our business events were packed with foreign guests, which allows us to establish quality contacts at all levels," added Volk.

Several business agreements have already been signed at the Slovenian pavilion, and many negotiations are still ongoing, while Slovenia has also recently strengthened cultural and entertainment activities at the Expo.

The Slovenian National Day on Tuesday, coinciding with the Culture Day holiday in Slovenia, is planned as one of the highlights, with Foreign Minister Anže Logar and Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek in attendance as well.

The event will be marked by ceremonies at the Expo's main venue, Al Wasl Plaza, as well as at the Slovenian pavilion, and a concert showcasing Slovenia's cultural heritage and contemporary artistic creativity.

07 Feb 2022, 12:34 PM

STA, 7 February 2022 - Slovenia recorded an excess mortality rate of 15% last year, when the Covid-19 epidemic was in full swing, the Statistics Office said on Monday. The worst month of 2021 was November, when 49% more people died than the average for the same period in 2015-2019.

The excess mortality rate represents the excess of the number of deaths over the average number of deaths in previous years during the same period, the Statistics Office explained.

According to provisional data, a total of 23,177 people died in Slovenia in 2021, which is 2,589 more than in 2019 - before the outbreak of the coronavirus, but 839 (3%) fewer than in 2020.

The year before last was when the Covid-19 epidemic was at its worse in Slovenia, as the excess mortality rate was even higher than last year at almost 19%, with a total of 24,016 deaths recorded in 2020.

However, very high excess mortality was also recorded in November 2021, at almost 50%, followed by January and December 2021, at 28%.

In December last year, 2,287 people died in Slovenia, which is 951 fewer than in December 2020 and 419 more than in the same month in 2019. On average, 74 people died per day in December 2021.

A total of 1507 people aged 75 or over died in December last year, which accounts for 66% of the total number of deaths in that month. Compared to the average number of deaths in the same age group in 2015-2019, this number was 27% higher.

More on births and deaths in Slovenia in 2021 here

07 Feb 2022, 04:28 AM

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Week-on-week drop in Covid cases continues

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed another 7,458 coronavirus cases on Saturday in what continues to be a drop in Covid cases in weekly comparison for the third consecutive day, show fresh official data. Hospitalisations remain stable as a total of 393 patients are hospitalised with Covid-19 as their main condition at regular wards, up by two, and 119 at intensive care units, also up by two. Additional 16 people with Covid died, the government said.

Slovenia reiterates its support for nuclear in EU taxonomy

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has reiterated its support for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the EU's taxonomy of sustainable energy sources after the EU Commission unveiled the proposal calling for nuclear and gas energy to be included in the taxonomy. "Slovenia believes nuclear energy will be needed to maintain low-carbon energy production in the long run, not only during the transition period," the Finance Ministry told the STA.

Ski jumper Peter Prevc places fourth in men's Olympic individual

BEIJING, China - Slovenian ski jumper Peter Prevc finished fourth in the men's normal hill individual event at the Beijing Winter Olympics. He was half a point short to clinch what could have been his third Olympic medal after the two he won at Sochi 2014. Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi won the gold medal, Austria's Manuel Fettner the silver and Poland's Dawid Kubacki the bronze. Another Slovenian made it to the top ten as Timi Zajc placed ninth.

Boxer Ema Kozin suffers first loss as a pro

CARDIFF, UK - Ema Kozin, the best Slovenian female boxer, lost against American Claressa Shields on Saturday evening in Cardiff, UK in a fight for the world champion title in a number of categories in the female middleweight class. This is Kozin's first defeat of her professional fighting career. Shields, the two-time Olympic gold medallist and world champion, dominated all ten rounds of the bout.

06 Feb 2022, 09:11 AM

STA, 5 February 2022 - Slovenian ski jumpers Urša Bogataj and Nika Križnar made history at the Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou on Saturday, as Bogataj has won the gold and Križnar won the bronze medal. It is the first time that more than one Slovenian athlete has made the Olympic podium in the same event.

The other ski jumpers representing Slovenia were Ema Klinec, who finished fifth, and Špela Rogelj, who ended the final series in ninth place, which means all Slovenian ski jumpers finished the competition inside the top ten.

After finishing the first series as the leader, Germany's Katharina Althaus (236.8 points) won the silver medal, ranking between Križnar (232 points) and Bogataj (239 points), who set the new hill record with 108 metres in the first round.

"I haven't realised it yet, I don't know how this is possible. I am very happy," said 26-year-old Urša Bogataj in her first statement after winning the gold.

When asked what has changed since Friday, she said it was perhaps the first jump today. "I broke the hill record and I really enjoyed it, so I said to myself, I will just do it, and I don't care what happens," said the new Olympic champion.

Meanwhile, current world champion Ema Klinec (215.4) was fourth after the first series, but switched places with Japan's Sara Takanashi (224.1) in the end to finish fifth.

Špela Rogelj (184.2) was eighth after the first series, and although she did not manage to improve on her result in the final, she did not lose much, finishing ninth in the end.

Slovenia's ski jumping team, led by head coach Zoran Zupančič, has been excellent in all training sessions and also in today's trial series, when Križnar was first, Bogataj second and Klinec fourth.

"I just enjoyed today. I knew I had to smile and be happy, whatever happens. I sang a song to myself all day, and then I heard Urša singing it too. I'm so happy and I can't wait to go home and hug my loved ones," Nika Križnar said after the final.

"I am so happy for Urša, and I am really glad that she has done it. When you are standing next to your best friend like this, on an Olympic podium, it is even more special. We're going to have a hard time falling asleep tonight," she added.

"We both cried with happiness because we are good friends and roommates, we always have a good time together. I don't know how it is possible that we did it, but we just did," said Olympic champion Urša Bogataj.

"I liked this hill ever since the first jump I made here. I hope it can continue like this, because the team event will be very important as well, and I hope we can win some medals there too," she added.

The medals won by Bogataj and Križnar are the first ones for Slovenia at this year's Winter Olympics, and Bogataj became the first Slovenian after Tina Maze to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Slovenia now also has 13 bronze medals thanks to Križnar, and the total number of medals in ski jumping has risen to five.

This was the only individual competition for female ski jumpers at this year's Winter Olympics, with the mixed team event to follow on Monday.

06 Feb 2022, 04:32 AM

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenia's ski jumpers win gold and bronze at Winter Olympics

BEIJING - Slovenian ski jumpers Urša Bogataj and Nika Križnar made history at the Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou on Saturday, as Bogataj won the gold and Križnar won the bronze medal in the women's normal hill individual event. It is the first time that more than one Slovenian athlete has made the Olympic podium in the same event. The other ski jumpers representing Slovenia were Ema Klinec, who finished fifth, and Špela Rogelj, who ended the final series in ninth place, which means all Slovenian ski jumpers finished the competition inside the top ten. This was the only individual competition for female ski jumpers at this Winter Olympics, with the mixed team event to follow on Monday. The medals won by Bogataj and Križnar are the first ones for Slovenia at this year's Winter Olympics, and Bogataj became the first Slovenian after Tina Maze to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Slovenia now also has 13 bronze medals thanks to Križnar, and the total number of medals in ski jumping has risen to five.

Over 11,600 new Covid cases confirmed in Slovenia on Friday

LJUBLJANA - 11,680 infections were confirmed in Slovenia for Friday, eight less than the day before, shows data from the Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), which estimates there are currently almost 198,000 active infections in the country. The 7-day average of confirmed infections is at 14,004 and the two-week incidence per 100,000 population at 9,631. Government data show that 25 Covid patients died yesterday and that a total of 944 patients were in hospital this morning.

SPIRIT agency director resigns

LJUBLJANA - According to reports on Saturday by newspaper Delo, Tomaž Kostanjevec resigned as director of the SPIRIT agency for the promotion of entrepreneurship and investment on Friday. He reportedly changed his mind after handing in his resignation, but the members of the SPIRIT agency's board found that his irrevocable resignation could not be withdrawn or revoked. Kostanjevec also stepped down as a member of the supervisory board of the state-run postal company Pošta Slovenije earlier this week.

05 Feb 2022, 08:28 AM

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

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

FRIDAY, 28 January
        LJUBLJANA - FM Anže Logar said that Slovenia and Taipei intended to open mutual economic and cultural representative offices, noting Slovenia had not changed its position in relations with China. This came after PM Janez Janša's statements on Taiwan.
        LJUBLJANA - N1 news portal obtained a draft document of Slovenia's report on rule of law that it says contains value judgements reflecting the views of the ruling SDS as it problematises some judges' appointments. The document is part of preparations for the next EU's Rule of Law Report.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Janez Lenarčič, Slovenia's European commissioner, expressed the hope that forces which are sincerely in favour of fundamental EU values such as the rule of law win the Slovenian general election in April, as he warned against a return to one-party rule of the kind Slovenia had experienced in the past.
        LJUBLJANA - Trade unions representing staff in health and social care announced a strike starting on 16 February citing the government's failure to resume talks to resolve the remaining pay disparities as agreed.
        MARIBOR/CELJE/LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian police and the Financial Administration announced they had dismantled in cooperation with French security authorities and Europol an international criminal ring that illegally manufactured tobacco products in Slovenia and smuggled them across the EU.
        VELENJE - The Hisense Europe Group, which includes the Velenje-based maker of household appliances and TV sets Gorenje, said it was looking for new employees to respond to new orders. Hisense wants to hire between 250 and 400 new staff.
        LJUBLJANA - A new supervisory board of RTV Slovenija held its maiden session, electing as chief supervisor Borut Rončević, a board member appointed by the government. The new team will supervise the broadcaster's business operations until 2026.
        WILLINGEN, Germany - Slovenia won the mixed team event at the ski jumping World Cup in Willingen, Germany in what was the last try-out before the Olympic debut of this format. Two days later, Nika Križnar won the last women's event before the Beijing Olympics, setting a world record at 151 metres.

SATURDAY, 29 January
        LJUBLJANA - The government confirmed a EUR 200 million package of aid for households and companies to mitigate energy price hikes - a 106 million energy voucher scheme for households, aid for companies and farmers worth EUR 70 million, lower network fees for electricity and lower excise duties on heating oil and petrol. The GZS chamber welcomed aid for energy-intensive businesses, although it suggested it should have come sooner, the OZS chamber said it should be extended to include small businesses as well. Meanwhile, environmental NGOs were critical of subsidies for some large industrial energy consumers.
        LJUBLJANA - The government appointed Mitja Lainščak acting director of the Slovenian Research Agency, which is in charge of disbursing funding for science, after it replaced four members of the agency's board, a move criticised by universities. The previous board had twice proposed a candidate that the government rejected.
        LJUBLJANA - A poll commissioned by Dnevnik and Večer showed the ruling Democrats (SDS) would win 18.5% of the vote in the April general election, ahead of Robert Golob's Freedom Movement, at 16.2%, and the opposition Social Democrats (SD), at 9.9%.
        MARIBOR - Philosopher Lev Kreft's remark about people being the target of politicians rather than vice versa won the Spade of the Year title, given out by the newspaper Večer for the most apt statement capturing the spirit of 2021.
        ŠKOFLJICA - A 53-year woman sustained light injures after being attacked by a brown bear in the woods in the Pijava Gorica area, south of Ljubljana, in what was the second such incident in a week after two such attacks in 2021.

SUNDAY, 30 January
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor congratulated his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella on being re-elected for another term in office, saying he was looking forward to their continued constructive cooperation for the benefit of the two countries. Mattarella's re-election was also hailed by Tatjana Rojc, the Italian senator who is a member of the Slovenian minority.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's consolidated general government deficit, including those of the state budget, the health and pension funds and local government budgets, amounted to EUR 2.92 billion or 5.8% of GDP last year, 1.8 percentage points less than a year before, according to the Finance Ministry.

MONDAY, 31 January
        LJUBLJANA - The much criticised amendments to the penal code that could result in white-collar crimes becoming statute-barred relatively quickly were removed from the agenda of the January plenary session of the National Assembly at the request of the centre-left opposition.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša told the National Assembly that State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa had allegedly sent a letter to Brussels demanding that Slovenia should be asked to meet certain conditions in order to be paid out EU funds, which he labelled as bordering on a coup. Šketa denied the claim.
        LJUBLJANA - Companies report that access to most sources of finance improved last year, showed the latest survey by Banka Slovenije, conducted among 1,182 companies. Around 45% of them cited limited access to qualified staff or experienced managers as the biggest constraint on business operations.
        LJUBLJANA - The Blue Bird Prize for best novel for adults that has not yet been published went to Tina Vrščaj for Na Klancu, which will be published by Cankarjeva Založba this year. Vrščaj's novel, a story about family and love, was picked as the best among 60 texts. The award comes with EUR 10,000.

TUESDAY, 1 February
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia further restricted the use of PCR tests as a new testing protocol kicked in under which rapid antigen tests are already proof of infection. The certificate of recovery obtained in this way will only be valid in Slovenia for now. Over 23,400 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed, by far an all-time high, but this was to a large extent the result of the new testing protocol.
        LJUBLJANA - Validity of Covid-19 vaccination certificates for adults was limited to 270 days since the last prescribed full vaccination, which in most cases means from the second shot, a move in line with EU recommendations. On getting an mRNA booster, the certificate's validity is unlimited.
        LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court announced it had annulled rulings by two courts that rejected borrowers' request for annulment of contracts on loans in Swiss francs and for a refund of overpayments, in what is the first decision of Slovenia's top court related to issue of Swiss franc loans. The Bank Association said the decision was due to procedural reasons and thus refers to courts and not to banks.
        LJUBLJANA - Prestige Tourism, a company backed by a Hungarian fund, confirmed buying a 43% stake in Slovenian tourism company Sava from the private equity fund York pending suspensive conditions. Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said he would strive for the state to exercise the pre-emptive right to the stake.
        MARIBOR - The supervisory board of postal operator Pošta Slovenije appointed Tomaž Kokot the new director general of the state-owned company. Kokot, who stepped in as Pošta Slovenije's interim director in late March 2021, was given a full term of five years after months-long efforts to appoint him. Tomaž Kostanjevec, director of the SPIRIT agency, later stepped down as a supervisor, citing personal reasons.
        LJUBLJANA - The leaders of the four centre-left opposition parties held their first formal meeting with Robert Golob, agreeing they were aspiring to the same goal, which is a change of government and the situation in the country.
        LJUBLJANA - Igor Kadunc, the director of the Slovenian Press Agency, and Uroš Urbanija, the head of the Government Communication Office (UKOM), signed a contract on financing the STA's public service in 2022. UKOM said that the total annual amount planned remained the same as in the previous two years, in the region of EUR 2 million.
        LJUBLJANA - E-vignettes were fully phased in, replacing toll stickers, which are thus no longer valid on Slovenian motorways. The former are linked to an individual vehicle's registration number and their validity is no longer tied to the duration of a calendar year.

WEDNESDAY, 2 February
        LJUBLJANA - British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace met his Slovenian counterpart Matej Tonin. The pair discussed mainly the developments in Ukraine and the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "A bad peace is better than a good war," said Tonin, as Wallace again called on Russia to maintain dialogue and seek a way to de-escalate the situation.
        LJUBLJANA - MPs passed an act that distributes the cost of the surge in the value of the Swiss franc in 2015 between banks and some 32,000 borrowers who saw the cost of their debt in euros increase as a result. The act had been opposed by the government and by banks, which announced a constitutional appeal.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly ratified an agreement with the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation enabling the purchase of 45 Boxer APCs for the Slovenian military. The opposition Left then started collecting signatures for a referendum on the act, but the government is planning to challenge the initiative at the Constitutional Court.
        LJUBLJANA - Parliament passed the resolution on the general long-term programme for the development and equipping of the Slovenian Armed Forces until 2035. The procedure had been stalled due to a request from the Left for a consultative referendum, which was rejected.
        LJUBLJANA - MPs approved at second reading the amendments to the gaming act, which aim to liberalise the gaming market in Slovenia by scrapping most curbs on casino ownership and employee licensing and allow five instead of just two lottery organisers. The final vote on the changes will be held in March.
        LJUBLJANA - MPs rejected the bill on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. The government argued the proposal was to improve the current system, while a major part of the opposition said it infringed the protection of personal data and included overly broad powers in relevant investigating.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly rejected a report compiled by a parliamentary inquiry into alleged abuse in the prosecution of former Maribor Mayor Franc Kangler, who now serves as a state secretary at the Interior Ministry.
        LJUBLJANA - Five parties signed an agreement to jointly contest the 24 April election on the Connecting Slovenia ticket. The alliance comprises Concretely, the party of Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, and the non-parliamentary People's Party, Greens, New People's Party and New Social Democrats.
        LJUBLJANA - Aleksander Zupančič, the chief-of-staff to Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak, was appointed chairman of power grid operator Elektro Ljubljana. Zupančič, who is already a supervisor at the partially state-owned energy group Petrol, will start his four-year term on 6 February.
        KLAGENFURT, Austria - Education Minister Simona Kustec and Carinthia's Governor Peter Kaiser signed a letter of intent on cooperation between the Slovenian government and the regional government of Carinthia in higher education, science and research.

THURSDAY, 3 February
        LJUBLJANA - FM Anže Logar and his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevičs called for diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis and for the EU's unity on the issue as they addressed reporters after talks.
        LILLE, France - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs expressed opposition to France's proposal under which EU countries which do not wish to accept migrants would need to contribute financially but backed France's idea to create a Schengen Council to manage the passport-free zone as he attended a session of the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa issued a joint statement, noting the good bilateral relations, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Slovenia and Portugal.
        LJUBLJANA - Voters quarantining on election day will be able to vote during regular hours when polling stations are open, but the final decision on those in self-isolation will be made 25 days before polling day at the latest, said the National Electoral Commission after considering after-hours voting for the infected.
        LJUBLJANA - Staff employed in critical infrastructure, police force and defence will not be required to quarantine after a high-risk contact with a person infected with coronavirus, but will have to test daily at work for seven days and wear a FFP2 face mask, under a decision taken by the government.
        LJUBLJANA - The government issued a regulation to subsidise bilinguality and the exercise of constitutional rights of the Hungarian and Italian minorities in Slovenia in 2022, under which areas populated by the two communities will get almost EUR 2 million this year.
        LJUBLJANA - Police appear to have identified the person believed to have sent death threats to several politicians in mid-January, as media reports say the suspect is a man from Celje who is a member of the National Party (SNS), whose president was among those who received the threats. The suspect's party membership was revoked.
        LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed a EUR 6.6 million subsidy for the expansion of production that pharmaceutical company Lek is planning at its main site in Ljubljana. The entire project is valued at EUR 82.6 million. The facility is to manufacture liquid vials and pre-filled syringes.
        LJUBLJANA - News broke that Telekom Slovenije, the state-owned telecoms operator, had filed a lawsuit against the country's largest commercial TV channels, POP TV and Kanal A, in a bid to nullify an agreement under which it pays the broadcasters to include the programmes in its TV package.
        LJUBLJANA - A report by multiple European and Slovenian environmental organisations shows that Slovenia's recovery plan is among those marred by underinvestment in renewable energy and sustainable mobility, and by projects that could potentially damage the environment, the environmental NGOs Focus said.

05 Feb 2022, 08:26 AM

STA, 4 February 2021 - The Finance Ministry has unveiled a new draft law on cryptocurrency taxation. It proposes a 10% taxation rate and a general tax exemption on up to EUR 10,000 of redeemed cryptocurrency per year. The ministry expects public feedback by 21 February.

The proposal regulates the tax on cryptocurrencies, which are defined as a digital form of currency without an official status, issued neither by a central bank nor by another public authority.

The proposed solutions would apply to all natural persons who pay taxes in Slovenia, but not to legal persons and natural persons that hold cryptocurrencies as a business asset.

A natural person who buys and sells cryptocurrency in their own name and on their own account would not be considered to be carrying out a business activity, regardless of the number of cryptocurrency transactions carried out.

Under the proposal, the tax would be paid on the value of the cryptocurrency transactions realised in a calendar year. The exchange of cryptocurrency into fiat currency and the purchase of goods, services or other property with cryptocurrency would all count as redemption.

Meanwhile, a tax exemption would apply to a maximum of EUR 10,000 of the total amount of cryptocurrency realisations in a single calendar year.

The tax base would be determined by deducting the amount of the exemption from the sum of the value of all redemptions in a calendar year.

The resulting positive difference would then be reduced by normalised costs equal to 50% of this difference, with a tax rate of 10%.

If a person were to make a loss in a calendar year, they would have to prove this loss to the authorities and report it on their tax return.

Individuals would have to calculate the tax themselves, as the sum of the value of tax for each realisation of cryptocurrency during a calendar year. They would have to submit the data in an online tax return by 28 February for the previous year.

An individual who fails to submit a tax return or to provide adequate documentation for a set period of time could face a fine of between EUR 250 and EUR 400, while those who submit incomplete or false data could face a fine of up to EUR 5,000.

The Finance Ministry estimates that under this proposal, the state budget revenue would amount to between EUR 100,000 and EUR 500,000 per year in the first few years.

The first proposal on cryptocurrency taxation was put forward by the ministry in October last year.

At that time, the proposal also provided for a 10% tax for natural persons in the case of exchanging cryptocurrency for fiat currency and purchases made with cryptocurrency, without normalised costs.

The threshold for tax liability was set at EUR 15,000.

An alternative option offered at the time was to pay tax on the profits made, which would be the difference between the value of the cryptocurrency at the time of realisation and at the time of acquisition.

05 Feb 2022, 07:24 AM

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:

Nominee for central bank vice-governor rejected

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly rejected the appointment of Marjan Divjak as vice-governor of the central bank. The Democrats (SDS) proposed that the vote be postponed, but their motion was rejected and the vote went ahead with 44 voting in favour and 40 against in a secret ballot, short of the required super majority. The only party to speak up about the nomination was the opposition Left, which accused the government of trying to postpone voting whenever it realised it did not have a majority, having described Divjak as an "SDS insider" unfit to sit on the central bank's governing board.

MPs vote down bill that would bar Huawei from market

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly voted a bill on electronic communications, put forward by the government to transpose EU law, unfit for further reading. The bill would bar high-risk vendors from the market in a provision directed against Chinese Huawei. While not mentioning the vendor specifically, the bill would ban providers from using the equipment of high-risk suppliers if they are labelled by such by the government based on the opinion of the National Security Council. "We're talking of Huawei," said Jani Möderndorfer, an MP for the opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ).

Changes to communicable diseases act endorsed at first reading

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly confirmed at first reading amendments to the communicable diseases act authored by an NGO and formally tabled by a group of unaffiliated MPs that are aimed at making sure efforts to battle infectious diseases are in line with the Constitution. The bill was endorsed by 43 votes in favour and 31 against as the opposition was joined by the coalition NSi in supporting the bill. The coalition SDS claimed that if passed, the legislation would render it impossible for the government to fight an epidemic.

Environment protection bill passes first reading

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed an environment protection bill on first reading with Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak expressing the hope that what he described as an environmental constitution could be passed before the end of this parliament's term. The main goal and ambition of the bill is to consistently protect the environment through implementing the latest environment protection standards and tackling existing problems. Most importantly, the bill would transpose EU rules and new directives, especially on the expanded producer responsibility for packaging, he said.

Lower chamber fails to override veto on tougher language standard for bilingual schools

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly failed to overturn the upper chamber's veto on a bill raising the required level of Italian language proficiency for staff at Italian-language schools and kindergartens. While the coalition voted in favour, the centre-left opposition voted against, noting that Italy did not reciprocate and suggesting the bill was a reward for the minority MPs' support for the government. The vote was 44 in favour and 35 against, two votes short of the required majority.

Left abandons plan for referendum on income tax act amendments

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left announced it will withdraw its motion for a referendum on the income tax act after the government indicated the referendum could be held on the same day as the general election. The amendments will probably be passed during this government's term and the Left will strive to win the election and then "correct the law," Left leader Luka Mesec said. The news came after the coalition New Slovenia (NSi) launched a campaign promoting these amendments, which it said would include the collecting of signatures in the run-up to the official election campaign.

Janša talks Ukraine, Slovenian-Italian relations for Rai

LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša spoke for the Italian public broadcaster Rai on Thursday evening to note that, when it comes to the situation in Ukraine, Slovenia shared with other European countries the concern for peace in the eastern neighbourhood and the position that every country has a right to decide independently on its foreign policy orientation. He again made the case for the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans and lauded relations between Slovenia and Italy.

Teachers threaten strike if pay demands are not met

LJUBLJANA - Teachers in Slovenia are gearing up for a general strike in the education system, scheduled for March 9, unless their demands that include payment of additional workload related to the Covid-19 epidemic and an increase in wages for all employees in the system are not met before that date. The SVIZ teachers' union decided unanimously that the union's membership would take a vote next week on whether to go on the planned strike.

New proposal for cryptocurrency tax unveiled

LJUBLJANA - The Finance Ministry unveiled a new draft law on cryptocurrency taxation. It proposes a 10% taxation rate and a general tax exemption on up to EUR 10,000 of redeemed cryptocurrency per year. The proposed solutions would apply to all natural persons who pay taxes in Slovenia, but not to legal persons and natural persons that hold cryptocurrencies as a business asset. The ministry expects public feedback by 21 February.

Slovenia, Italy discussing joint promotion of Rebula wine

DOBROVO - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek held talks with his Italian counterpart Stefano Patuanelli. They discussed plans for the joint promotion of Slovenian and Italian wines from the border-spanning region, especially the Rebula white wine, known in Italy as Ribolla. "Today's meeting is a strong political signal to cross-border cooperation in the promotion of Rebula," Podgoršek said.

Exports up by 20% in 2021, imports by 31%

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's exports rose by 19.8% year-on-year to EUR 39.4 billion in 2021 and imports increased by 30.8% to EUR 42 billion, the Statistics Office reported. A trade deficit of EUR 2.6 billion was recorded, the highest in the last ten years. The export-import ratio was at 93.9%. Slovenia exported the most goods to Germany (17.3%), a country from where by far the most imports also came (14.9%).

Survey shows Slovenia's fuel market highly concentrated

LJUBLJANA - A survey conducted by the Competition Protection Agency (AVK) found the market of fuel retailers in Slovenia to be highly concentrated, which confirms the findings of a previous survey that the AVK conducted in 2017. New providers are thus unlikely to appear due to high entry barriers. No violations of law have been detected in the latest survey, but the agency did propose some improvements.

Dismissed Research Agency board members suing government

LJUBLJANA - The newspapers Dnevnik and Večer reported that the four members of the management board of the public Research Agency who had been recently dismissed by the government had filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court over the dismissal. They also request that the appointment of the substitute members be stayed, arguing the dismissals were carried out completely arbitrarily.

Iconic protest artist Marko Brecelj dies

KOPER - Marko Brecelj, an activist singer best known as the founder and frontman of the iconic progressive rock band Buldožer, died aged 70. Brecelj released a total of two albums and one soundtrack with Buldožer, contributing the socially charged and subversive lyrics for them before leaving the band to pursue a solo career. Brecelj remained active and provocative until the very end despite his grave illness and was known in recent years for his provocative protest performances.

Slovenian diaspora plans many events ahead of Culture Day

SZENTGOTTHARD, Hungary/GORIZIA, TRIESTE, Italy/KLAGENFURT, Austria - Slovenian communities abroad will or have held a number of events ahead of the Slovenian Culture Day on 8 February, including today's ceremony held by two Slovenian organisations in Hungary, which was attended by Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch. She will attend another ceremony on Sunday, organised by the two umbrella organisations of the Slovenian minority in Italy. Events marking the holiday will also take place in Carinthia, Austria.

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