Politics

30 May 2020, 09:04 AM

STA, 29 May 2020 - Several thousand people flooded the streets of the capital Ljubljana for what is the sixth Friday in a row that protesters, most of them on bicycles, expressed opposition to government policies. Smaller crowds also gathered in other cities around the country.

The nexus of the protest, held Fridays at 7pm, is the square in front of Parliament House and the adjacent streets, where the government, the president of the republic and several ministries are seated.

Many protesters were wearing banners targeting specific government policies, including its perceived crackdown on environmental NGOs in favour of large infrastructure investments, neglect of the arts, and irregularities in the purchase of personal protective equipment.

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For culture, for nature, for free media

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In front of the parliament, during a plenary at which the third economic stimulus package and several other key laws were debated, protesters staged a collective turning of backs in a message of no confidence.

Several large banners were unfolded in front of the Presidential Palace mostly focusing on environmental issues.

The protests are spearheaded by a loosely connected group of activists and organisations, including anarchists and environmentalists.

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Slovenia is not Hungary

One of the figureheads of the protests, theatre director Jaša Jenull, was involved in a minor altercation with the police in front of the Modern Centre Party (SMC) headquarters.

Police said he was violating public law and order by drawing a slogan on the sidewalk with chalk.

In Maribor, Večer newspaper reports several hundred people gathered chanting similar slogans. Smaller protests with a few dozen participants have been reported in cities including Lendava, Ptuj, Slovenj Gradec and Celje.

Slovenian protesters also received a message of support from the Slovenian community in the German capital Berlin, who cycled through the streets chanting slogans targeting the Slovenian government, according to social media posts.

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29 May 2020, 16:57 PM

STA, 29 May 2020 - After two months and a half of severe air traffic restrictions due to the Covid-19 epidemic, regular passenger transport services resumed at Ljubljana airport on Friday. The first flight was operated by Air Serbia with the airport expecting most airlines to return by early July.

The return will depend on efforts to lift border restrictions and promote the destinations, said airport operator Fraport Slovenija, adding that the airport had been forced to rationalise expenditure, including in investment projects, due to a major loss of revenue.

Following today's landing of an Air Serbia aircraft coming from Belgrade, Fraport Slovenija director Zmago Skobir said that other flights were to follow in the coming weeks.

The relaunch of regular services will take place in three parts: by 15 June, the airport expects to see the return of Lufthansa, Montenegro Airlines and a Polish carrier; by the end of June, Swiss Air, Air Brussels, Transavio and British Airways; and after 1 July, the return of other airlines.

Meanwhile, Iberia and Finnair have decided not to fly to Slovenia in this year's summer season.

Charter flights are also scheduled with key Slovenian tour operators announcing the first flights for the second half of July and in August.

Since Slovenia's border with Croatia has been reopened, flight services between Ljubljana and Dubrovnik are in the pipeline. Providing a connection with Greece is slated to be next.

Air Serbia Director General Duncan Naysmith said today that flights to Ljubljana meant resuming regional air traffic. Between 29 May and 21 June, the carrier plans to carry out eleven return flights. Air Serbia hopes that the demand will be big enough to warrant an increase in the number of weekly flights to Ljubljana.

Services will still be restricted this year given that carriers have been reducing their fleets. Skobir has pointed out that securing passengers' trust in the safety of air travel will be one of the key factors in resuming services.

Since international air passenger transport was banned on 17 March, Fraport Slovenija has recorded only 15% of normal revenue.

The operator has urged the relevant ministries to provide aid, however, according to Skobir, air transport has not seen any special stimulus measures designed to help mitigate the economic fallout so far.

What exactly cost-cutting efforts mean for employees Skobir could not yet tell. "The number of redundancies will depend on the forecasts of air carriers," he said, adding that the situation was uncertain.

The airport's major investment in expanding the passenger terminal is currently still planned to go ahead, however the project could be postponed due to the extreme circumstances.

All the anti-Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines, proposed by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), have been introduced at the airport to ensure the safety of passengers and staff.

Only passengers and staff can enter the terminal, mask-wearing is mandatory as well as using hand-sanitisers and maintaining physical distance.

Protective glass panels have also been set up to reduce contact between staff and passengers.

Temperature screenings have not been introduced so far since the institute has not deemed this measure obligatory or necessary.

Skobir added that in case the EU authorities proclaimed the measure mandatory, the airport would implement it.

The institute has also coordinated with the airport response protocols regarding potential cases indicating suspicion of infection with coronavirus.

In terms of passenger arrivals, all the measures in place for crossing Slovenia's land border apply.

The passengers arriving from Serbia, a non-EU country, today will thus have to be quarantined, except for Slovenian citizens, those owning a property in Slovenia or those with diplomatic passports, said Skobir.

Some 24 passengers, flying from Belgrade, landed at Ljubljana airport today, whereas about 40 flew back to Serbia on a return flight.

Among the first group was also a Slovenian who lives in Belgrade and tried to return to Slovenia multiple times during the epidemic but failed to do so until now due to lockdown measures.

The passenger reported that the flight had been without complications and that all the passengers had worn face masks with some even going as far as wearing gloves.

Government spokesman on coronavirus Jelko Kacin told the press at today's briefing that a total of twelve passengers arriving from Belgrade had to go into quarantine, whereas some preferred to return to their starting points after finding out about the measure.

Kacin pointed out that all the persons arriving from a third country had to undergo a mandatory quarantine period upon entering Slovenia regardless of their citizenship and residence.

29 May 2020, 11:42 AM

STA, 28 May 2020 - President Borut Pahor and parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič met on Thursday to discuss the required reform of the electoral law, urging all stakeholders to find a solution to implement the relevant decision of the Constitutional Court by December. Pahor said he would like to address the National Assembly about the issue in June.

The meeting comes after the heads of parliamentary deputy groups and Zorčič agreed yesterday to leave it to the relevant ministry to draft proposals for redistricting.

The reform has hit a standstill after a bill which sought to abolish electoral districts and introduce a preference vote at the level of the existing eight electoral units narrowly fell short of the needed two-thirds majority in parliament in March.

Pahor, who has so far coordinated relevant meetings and consulted representatives of the parliamentary parties, experts and other stakeholders, said today that, after the latest failed attempt, politicians should find a solution by December.

Changes are required in line with the Constitutional Court's ruling from December 2018 that gave parliament two years to re-establish the one-person-one-vote rule, distorted by huge differences in the sizes of electoral districts.

Pahor, Zorčič and heads of the parliamentary deputy groups agree that the Public Administration Ministry come up with a redistricting proposal, which would then be discussed in the National Assembly.

This requires a smaller majority, at least 46 votes in the 90-member legislature, but the president warned that this would nevertheless be "very sensitive work politically".

Pahor and Zorčič agree that a relevant bill should be tabled by deputies. "It must not happen that the vote on the bill becomes a vote on the government," the president said in a press statement after the meeting.

Pahor also informed the speaker that he would like to address the National Assembly at the June session about the electoral law reform as "currently the most important issue regarding democracy".

The two agreed that a solution which would implement the Constitutional Court's decision should be found by December, otherwise Slovenia could be in a situation where the legitimacy and lawfulness of elections and democracy would be threatened.

Pahor said he had also discussed the issue with Prime Minister Janez Janša, who agreed that a solution needs to be found by December. The president hopes that Janša's Democrats (SDS) will support the redistricting, as the party is against their abolition.

Zorčič assessed that implementing the decision of Slovenia's top court was a first-rate political issue which transcended the division to the coalition and opposition, so he believes that all deputy groups will start solving this issue.

Janša told the public broadcaster TV Slovenija in the evening that the Constitutional Court had not requested that electoral districts be abolished, but that their borders be changed so that they represented a similar number of voters.

The prime minister pointed to the vast differences in size of electoral districts, which puts candidates in unequal position. He believes that the problem is easy to fix and announced a solution "which will hold water" for the autumn.

29 May 2020, 11:36 AM

STA, 28 May 2020 - Dejan Židan resigned on Thursday as the president of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), and the SD presidency appointed MEP and SD vice-president Tanja Fajon interim head until the next electoral congress.

Handing over the party presidency to Fajon, Židan told the press that, in his eyes, the MEP was a "future Slovenian prime minister", while Fajon said her priorities would include enhancing cooperation on the centre-left.

The outgoing SD president noted that he had taken over the party after a "very bad result" in the EU elections, and that now the party was not wondering whether it would make it to parliament or whether social democracy had a place in Slovenia at all.

Židan said that the party had progressed in the last six years, significantly increasing the number of supporters, and that it was time to ask what steps it could make in order to grow into a leading party.

He said being replaced by Fajon was one of the options, and that the deputy group and the party's leadership were unanimous in supporting the proposal.

Fajon, who is convinced that the SD can do more, said she wanted to inspire trust as there was much distrust, apathy and dissatisfaction among people and to create policies together with citizens, including marginalised civil society groups.

She said she would soon invite opposition party presidents for a meeting, and assessed that the current, centre-right government was pulling Slovenia away from the core European countries, including by attacking the press and judiciary.

Židan is stepping down after exactly six years at the helm of the party. He replaced Igor Lukšič at the SD congress on 28 May 2014, after Lukšič resigned in the face of the party only securing one MEP - Fajon - in the elections to the European Parliament.

The 52-year-old began his political career as agriculture minister in the Borut Pahor government in 2010, going on to also serve as agriculture minister in the Alenka Bratušek and Miro Cerar governments. He served as parliamentary speaker under the Marjan Šarec government that was disbanded in March this year.

His climb in the SD was fast. After Lukšič succeeded Pahor as SD president in 2012, Židan became one of the party's four vice presidents. He became acting president in May 2014 and got a full term in January 2015.

The SocDems have been the third-ranked party in opinion polls for some time now, trailing the Democrats (SDS) and the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ). They have had to deal with competition from the Left and newly formed centrist parties, but support seems to have stabilised after the dive that followed their victory in the 2008 general election when they got 30.5% of the vote.

The party plummeted to 10.52% in 2011. It then got 5.98% in the July 2014 general election and 9.92% in the June 2018 election, forming a government in both cases. It was relegated to the opposition in March as a result of Šarec's resignation.

Fajon, 49, is a third-term MEP. She worked as a journalist at the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija before entering politics in 2009, including as its correspondent from Brussels.

28 May 2020, 18:43 PM

All our stories on coronavirus are here, while those covering covid-19 and Croatia are here. We'll have an update at the end of the day, and if you want newsflashes then we'll post those on Facebook

Two new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, no new deaths

Major easing of restrictions announced for Monday

Primary schools to fully reopen next week

Slovenia and Hungary open border for their citizens

Masks no longer mandatory, still recommended

Two new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, no new deaths

STA, 28 May 2020 - After conducting 631 coronavirus tests, two new coronavirus infections were confirmed in Slovenia on Wednesday in what was a second day of the daily case count exceeding one after two weeks of zero or one infections per day. No new Covid-19 fatalities were reported, show the latest official data.

The total of confirmed infections has thus risen to 1,473. The national death toll has remained at 108.

Seven Covid-19 patients remain in hospital care, including two in intensive care. One person was released from hospital on Wednesday.

The UKC Ljubljana hospital said today that one of the infected persons was an employee of the Ljubljana Clinic for infectious diseases.

As a result, some departments in the clinic will closed in the coming days, but there will be no disturbances in the unit for Covid-19 patients or the paediatric unit.

The person was tested after getting fever, and has been on sick leave since Wednesday.

So far, 77,210 coronavirus tests have been performed in the country.

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Major easing of restrictions announced for Monday

STA, 28 May 2020 - Major easing of restrictions has been announced for Monday as all tourism facilities will be allowed to reopen, and gatherings of up to 200 people will be allowed again. Gyms and spas will reopen as well, government spokesman Jelko Kacin told the press on Thursday.

 The changes to the government decree on the movement of people in public areas will enter into force on 1 June.

After reopening tourist accommodation with up to 30 rooms on 18 May, all hotels regardless of their size as well as spas, health centres, gyms and pools will be able to reopen next month.

Only night clubs and discotheques remain closed. Shops too will remain closed on Sundays and holidays, Kacin said.

The government said in a press release that the exceptions were filling stations and pharmacies, adding that the minimum working hours of food shops would remain.

The general restrictions for shops were lifted on 18 May. Bars and restaurants started serving patrons indoors again last week as well.

Employees are still advised to minimise contact with shoppers and patrons and it is the "responsibility of employers to provide employees with protective equipment and make sure guidelines are followed," the government added.

National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) director Milan Krek said that, as regards gatherings of up to 200 people, that this did not come without certain conditions, including the safety measures to prevent the spread of infection.

As the latest easing of restrictions concern tourism facilities, it has become pertinent how and when citizens will be able to make use of tourism vouchers which are part of the legislation currently discussed in parliament.

Kacin said that instructions for the use of vouchers were being prepared and that more about that would be presented by Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek on Friday.

Krek added that wearing of face masks was no longer obligatory, but a recommendation for protecting oneself from getting infected and preventing possible spreading of the infection.

"No one will run after you, no one will threaten you, or punish you. The virus will do this if you catch it," he said when answering a question about wearing of face masks in enclosed spaces.

Krek advised people to wear face masks in places where it is not possible to maintain social distancing, regardless of whether this is requested or not, be it in a shop, bus or an institution.

Face masks are mandatory for persons who are infected with coronavirus and those who take care of them, he added.

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Primary schools to fully reopen next week

STA, 28 May 2020 - Fourth and fifth graders will return to school on Monday, the first day when the Covid-19 epidemic will no longer be in place. Those in grades six, seven and eight will return on Wednesday, Education Minister Simona Kustec told the press on Thursday.

This represents a full reopening of primary schools after children in the first three grades returned to classrooms on 18 May and those in ninth grade this week.

Also as of 1 June, children from the first three years will no longer be split into smaller groups of up to 15 children per classroom, going normally back to their original classrooms with their original classmates, the minister said.

The same relaxation will apply to kindergartens as of Monday.

Distance learning will meanwhile continue for secondary school students, expect for those in their final year, who returned to classrooms on 18 May to prepare for the school-leaving matura exam.

This is because there are still some restrictions applying to secondary school dormitories, explained Kustec.

Social distancing of 1.5 meters will still have to be observed as well as all other precautionary and hygienic measures.

Children will not be required to wear masks, but teachers are advised to wear them.

Despite the return to classrooms, the instruction to teachers that children should get only one grade before the end of the school year remains in place.

National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) director Milan Krek said that despite the relaxation of public life, infection risks remain, so caution is needed.

In case of any respiratory infection, school children and teachers are advised to stay at home, he stressed, noting that if the virus appears in a school, it would have to be closed.

Schools closed on 16 March when the country went into lockdown four days after the epidemic was formally declared.

The Association of Head Teachers responded to the news by saying that the government had not given schools enough time to prepare, and that there would be problems in organising travel, meals and after-school activities.

"We are getting all these guidelines and circular letters too late. This one we received on Thursday and we are supposed to implement it on Monday," the association's head Gregor Pečan told the STA.

Pečan thinks that this shows a "great deal of disrespect for students and their parents, not to mention school employees and managers", as "people, health and lives are in play", so it is indecent to handle things this way.

Branimir Štrukelj of the SVIZ teachers' union was also critical, saying that teachers had not been consulted, which is a message from the government that they "do not have the right to participate in the creation of education policy."

He added that the responsibility of a potential spread of coronavirus due to this decision would have to be taken by those who had taken it, and not by head teachers and teachers.

Schools closed on 16 March when the country went into lockdown four days after the epidemic was formally declared.

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Slovenia and Hungary open border for their citizens

STA, 28 May 2020 - Slovenia and Hungary have agreed to lift restrictions on the crossing of state border for the citizens of both countries as of Thursday based on a favourable epidemiological situation in both countries and following successful diplomatic coordination, the Foreign Ministry said.

The announcement came after talks between the Slovenian and Hungarian foreign ministers, Anže Logar and Peter Szijjarto, who met at the Dolga Vas checkpoint.

The talks were dedicated to the current rules on the border, the coronavirus epidemic and the situation of ethnic minorities on both sides of the border.

The ministers assessed that Slovenia and Hungary are among the EU countries which have been the most successful in dealing with Covid-19, and called for the reopening of borders in the region as soon as possible.

Logar said the agreement reached today was an important diplomatic achievement. He said he was also happy with the conclusions of the talks on the issues of the Slovenian minority in Hungary and the Hungarian minority in Slovenia.

Szijjarto said the pandemic had shown how closely countries in central Europe were connected, especially neighbouring countries. Slovenia and Hungary reaffirmed their friendship, partnership and cooperation during this difficult times, he added.

According to Logar, the talks on the new border regime with neighbouring countries with a similar epidemiological situation were based on partnership and opinions of the National Institute for Public Health on which countries are safe.

He is confident that Slovenia will continue these talks in the coming days. If such a deal is reached with Austria, the borders with the country will open before 15 June.

Italy does not meet the epidemiological standards yet, and Croatia is working to create a regime that will make travelling easier for Slovenians who have real estate there or for other purposes, Logar said.

The ministers also discussed activities at the EU level, including on the current Commission's proposal for the multi-year financial framework, which includes setting up a recovery and resilience facility.

Logar argued for a rapid and ambitious agreement on the multi-year framework to fight off the consequences of the pandemic. Cohesion policy remains a priority for Slovenia, he stressed.

Szijjarto said that a new post-pandemic world order was being formed in which new dilemmas would cause new conflicts. "The Slovenian and Hungarian governments support each other; we will advocate the same views and help each other, be it with regard to illegal migration, preservation of cohesion funds, or the EU enlargement."

The ministers also reviewed progress in cross-border transport and energy projects, especially the power line between Cirkovce and Heviz, and the gas pipeline between Kidričevo and Nagykanizsa.

Logar will meet representatives of the Slovenian minority in Szentgotthárd today.

Hungary closed the border with Slovenia because of coronavirus in early March, and erected checkpoints through which limited goods transport was allowed into the country.

As of today all restrictions are lifted on the four existing border checkpoints: Hodoš-Bajansenye, Dolga vas-Redics, Pince (motorway)-Torniyszentmiklos (Orszagut) and Pince (local road)-Torniyszentmiklos (Helyi ut). The remaining points of crossing are to open on Tuesday.

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Masks no longer mandatory, still recommended

STA, 28 May 2020 - Wearing of face masks in closed public spaces is no longer mandatory in Slovenia, but it is still recommended according to guidelines by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

"The wearing of face masks is not an obligation, it is a recommendation designed to protect ourselves ... and to prevent transmission," NIJZ director Milan Krek told the press on Thursday.

In fact, masks have not been obligatory since 18 May, when a new government decree that allowed the gathering of up to 50 people in public entered into effect.

The decree no longer included the provision that made face masks mandatory, it is just that nobody appears to have noticed that the obligation was extinguished since the decree overrode a previous decree that made masks mandatory.

Instead, the new decree determines only that social distancing rules must be observed.

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28 May 2020, 14:22 PM

STA, 27 May 2020 - Slovenia will be eligible to receive EUR 5.071 billion from the EU's coronavirus recovery plan, shows an European Commission document, which has not yet been formally released. It will be able to receive EUR 2.579 billion in grants and EUR 2.492 billion in loans.

Slovenia will be able to draw the EUR 2.579 billion in grants from various instruments, not just the new recovery and resilience fund.

These include the new cohesion instrument ReactEU and the strengthened Just Transition Fund and the Regional Development Fund.

To receive the money from the recovery and resilience fund, a member state will have to draft a reform and investment plan setting out the expenditure, which will have to be approved at EU level.

The Commission will present the instruments in detail on Thursday, when the official breakdown by member state will also be published.

The Commission proposes a EUR 750 billion fund to help the economies of member states cope with the post-coronavirus reality, Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni tweeted on Wednesday.

EUR 500 billion will be earmarked for grants and EUR 250 billion for loans, but details are yet to be presented.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is presenting it to the European Parliament, which will then further discuss it.

The prime minister's office said that the proposal was a "step in the right direction" and that Slovenia would take a clear position on it after making a thorough analysis, supported with adequate calculations.

The office added that "Slovenia has always advocated an ambitious and future-oriented EU multi-year budget" and that the proposals presented by Von der Leyen would certainly be helpful in tackling the economic impact of the pandemic.

"By doing so, the European Union will contribute to the extensive efforts of member states for kick-starting the economy while also making a decisive step towards strengthening the internal EU market."

The office added that, when it came to the European Commission's proposal, Slovenia would be "particularly attentive to its priority areas such as cohesion policy."

Slovenian MEPs meanwhile said that Slovenia's success in drawing from the recovery and resilience fund would depend on the country's authorities, while assessing the entire proposal as a sign that there is still solidarity in the EU.

The European People's Party (EPP) MEPs believe that the EUR 5.1 billion for Slovenia is an excellent result and opportunity, and that the Slovenian government is able to draw such an amount in what is a demanding and responsible job.

Tanja Fajon and Milan Brglez (S&D/SD) said that Slovenia would need a good reform and investment plan and noted that the phasing of the funds would be conditional on priorities such as environment, digitalisation and resilience.

Klemen Grošelj (Renew/LMŠ) assessed that this is an opportunity for Slovenia to get very favourable funds for tackling the coronavirus crisis. They can significantly contribute to stabilisation and mitigation of consequences, he added.

27 May 2020, 16:46 PM

STA, 27 May 2020 - Slovenians have given the government's efforts to fight the coronavirus a generally positive mark, a poll carried out by market research agency Mediana showed on Wednesday. Over 43% are satisfied with the government's measures designed to fight the virus and their relaxation, whereas almost 34% are unsatisfied with them.

Of these, 15.5% are completely satisfied and 15% completely unsatisfied with the measures, respectively, which Mediana interprets as the measures being received quite well.

Slovenians are also somewhat split on how the government communicated the adopted restrictive measures and their subsequent relaxation to the public.

As many as 42% of those polled consider the communication either poor or slightly better than poor, and 43% see it as good or very good.

The respondents were also asked to agree or disagree with several claims about the government's tackling of the epidemic and its ability to address global challenges.

Almost 50% do not trust the government will take the right decisions for Slovenia, as opposed to almost 35% who trust it on this.

Conversely, as many as 53% trust it that it will be able to address future global challenges, while 32% do not, which Mediana says shows a rather pessimistic outlook.

Over 50% meanwhile agree with a claim that Slovenia has addressed the epidemic better than other countries, but almost 23% hold the opposite view.

Medians believes the last two figures give the government an overall positive mark about its action during the epidemic.

The agency said that as many as 39% of Serbians and 26% of Croats said their respective governments tackled the coronavirus crisis worse than other countries.

The survey was carried out online on 15 and 16 May polling 505 Slovenians residents aged 15 to 75.

Two new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, no deaths

STA, 27 May 2020 - A total of 809 tests for coronavirus were conducted in Slovenia on Tuesday, with two tests coming back positive which is the highest daily case count after two weeks of zero or one infections per day. No Covid-19 deaths were recorded, with the national death toll remaining at 108, show the latest government data.

Eight Covid-19 patients were in hospital yesterday, the same as on Monday, including two in intensive care. Two people were meanwhile discharged from hospital.

So far, 1,471 coronavirus infections have been recorded in Slovenia and 76,579 tests have been performed.

A total of 290 Covid-19 patients have been released from hospital until Tuesday.

27 May 2020, 09:19 AM

STA, 26 May 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša announced potential changes to tax legislation and media funding as he gave a weekly interview with Nova24TV, a broadcaster he has co-founded, on Monday evening. The group advising the government led by tax expert Ivan Simič will examine the possibilities for changes to the tax policy, he said.

"But some fast tax cuts could not be expected in this situation," he said, noting that due to the financial crisis ten years ago, the VAT had been raised.

He would also support an idea for every taxpayer to be able to earmark more than the current 0.5% of their income tax to an organisation to their liking.

"We'll be looking for a solution in this direction. First proposals can be expected by the end of the year," he announced.

Asked what the government could do about the compulsory payment of licence fee for public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, Janša said the Culture Ministry is already "working on some legislative changes".

"The least that could be done is distribute this enormous amount of money in a more just way."

He indicated that the public broadcaster could do "a much better job with considerably less money".

Janša also commented on a controversy about the police having accessed personal data of coalition politicians under the Marjan Šarec government to discredit them.

He said somebody had accessed the personal data of then leader of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) Karl Erjavec and of Modern Centre Party (SMC) leader Zdravko Počivalšek.

The order came from the then interior minister, said Janša, announcing that "it will be checked what had actually happened".

Boštjan Poklukar from the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), which led the government, was interior minister at the time.

Janša also discussed the previous government's action or inaction in taking the necessary measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

He said he would release his correspondence with former Health Minster Aleš Šabeder when the time came and if Šabeder agreed to it, indicating former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec had prevented the minister from taking action faster.

"So that people see what was going on and what the former prime minister was actually doing when he should have acted responsibly and take certain measures," Janša said.

Responding to the statement for TV Slovenija on Tuesday, Šarec's LMŠ labelled it fake news and Šabeder toned it down, with the public broadcaster saying he did not want to meddle in the Janša-Šarec dispute.

"We see the claim that Marjan Šarec tried to prevent anything to the former health minister as yet another case of fake news by Janez Janša and Nova24," the LMŠ wrote.

Šabeder meanwhile wrote it had been necessary and fair to promptly brief the new government, which was taking over during such an emergency, on the number of infected persons and on other vital developments and to coordinate the measures.

"This is also the main content of these messages," said Šabeder, adding that the situation had been very much war-like. He also said it had become clear that his team at the ministry had worked in the right direction, while the situation had been changing from minute to minute.

25 May 2020, 18:29 PM

STA, 25 May 2020 - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs has told the weekly Reporter that he expects the authorities to take action against the organisers of the mass anti-government protests on bicycles, which are taking place every Friday. He believes this is illegal during the coronavirus epidemic.

In an interview for the right-leaning magazine published on Monday, Hojs said that, under the law, the organisers of unregistered protests must cover the costs of security provided by the police.

The minister reiterated that the protests were illegal, "unless someone would try to explain that this was not a public gathering".

He noted that the relevant government decree said that public gatherings were prohibited, and that the latest version said that public events for up to 50 persons were allowed.

"If someone tried to explain that the protests are not public gatherings, they would go against their own common sense," Hojs said.

The police have and will be taking measures against the organisers under the law and based on the minister's guidelines.

"Although these were unregistered rallies, I expect measures against the organisers. These are the ones who had called for protests on social networks and TV studios, and even political parties were in on this."

The public assembly act stipulates that the organisers must cover the costs of police security in case of unregistered protests and Hojs expects that the police will exercise this option and charge the costs.

The minister also commented on the opening of the border with Italy, saying that it would not be fully opened until the epidemiological situation in the western neighbour was comparable to that in Slovenia.

He also pointed to what he believes are nonsensical legislative provisions preventing soldiers who help the police patrol the Schengen border from stopping or detaining illegal migrants.

Hojs said that the pandemic had halted illegal migration as the Serbian and Bosnian military had been consistently securing borders. Once this control is relaxed, a new increase in illegal crossings of the Slovenian border could be expected.

He announced that he personally would advocate the position that Croatia should be included in the Schengen Area, as this is in Slovenia's interest.

The minister also spoke of what he perceives as a "tremendous pressure" on the centre-left Modern Centre Party (SMC) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) to leave the coalition.

"They first took aim at the SMC, and when they realised that the party is rather solid, they went after DeSUS, but apparently DeSUS is not as labile as some thought either."

According to him, it is only a matter of time when the focus will shift on Defence Minister Matej Tonin, the head of New Slovenia (NSi).

The minister believes that the main reason for reports about the alleged dissatisfaction within the coalition parties was the "media interest of 'independent journalists'".

The possibility of an early election mostly depends on the prime minister and the balance of power in parliament. "In my opinion, Janez Janša is not someone who would throw in the towel," Hojs said.

24 May 2020, 09:18 AM

STA, 23 May 2020 - A potential second wave of coronavirus infections could occur in autumn or winter, but it is not very likely in summer, Bojana Beović, the head of the Health Ministry advisory task force for coronavirus, has told the STA. All efforts should be directed at preventing another nation-wide lockdown if the second wave occurs, she said.

The country will most likely be spared the second wave in summer months "given the current epidemiologic status and the fact that people hang out outdoors in summer and there is no school", the infectious diseases expert said.

However, in autumn the situation might change with the return to school and colder weather. Respiratory viruses thrive in such environments, added Beović, who also has fears about a potential simultaneous emergence of the flu and coronavirus.

"The second wave is a realistic possibility since the virus is still circulating and a large share of population is still susceptible to it. Even for that few percent of people in Slovenia who have recovered from Covid-19, one could not yet tell whether they are immune to a new infection," she said.

Slovenia has to get ready in the meantime, conduct extensive diagnostics in the summer and test every suspected case of infection as well as trace and isolate potential cases. The second wave could be postponed and major coronavirus spikes averted if efforts are stepped up in such a way.

The country's healthcare must prepare as well, focussing on mitigating staff shortages by training additional personnel, Beović urged.

UKC Ljubljana, Slovenia's central hospital, will be the only institution admitting Covid-19 patients in the future if the epidemiologic situation remains favourable. In case there is an increase in the number of new cases, UKC Maribor, Golnik and Celje hospitals will step in as well, followed by others if need be.

Nursing homes should carry on with a balancing act of heeding anti-Covid-19 measures while enabling some kind of normality, she added.

Given that only a small share of citizens have antibodies according to a recent nation-wide study, "any kind of a new wave is possible, including a major one", the expert warned, adding that the presence of antibodies might not even protect the person against another infection.

The possibility of the coincidental emergence of the second wave and a great number of flu infections is a reason for concern, Beović highlighted, saying that the quality of treatment declined if there was a great strain on healthcare.

Partly this could be prevented by ramping up flu vaccination, she said.

If or when the second wave hits, the state should make it its key priority to make sure that public life does not grind to a halt again, she pointed out, adding that people should learn how to live with the virus until there is an effective vaccine or medication.

That could involve the virus being here to stay, either in the form of additional waves of infections or seasonal respiratory diseases.

At the end of the month, the epidemic will be effectively over, but that does not mean Covid-19 is actually behind us and things can go back to how they were before, according to Beović.

The epidemic being over, the coronavirus task force, led by her, will be dissolved, she believes.

Politicians have taken experts' opinions relatively seriously, particularly at the beginning of the epidemic when the situation was dire, she said.

The easing of lockdown restrictions saw a few negotiations with experts urging a more conservative approach. A gradual easing has been hammered out generally speaking. Beović also confirmed that she was informed about the intention to declare the epidemic over.

"With hindsight a great many things were excessive at the time. But the epidemic slowed down precisely because they were excessive."

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24 May 2020, 09:07 AM

STA, 23 May 2020 - The coronavirus epidemic in Slovenia will have officially lasted 80 days, from 12 March to 31 May. It has had an unprecedented impact on society and economy, as evident from key indicators measuring the pulse of society.

The ranks of the jobless swelled from EUR 77,484 at the end of February to 88,648 by the end of April, according to Employment Service figures.

Growth slowed in May, but the jobless total has already exceeded 90,000 and many more are expected to be laid off in the coming months.

One of the measures put in place to help companies was subsidies for those temporarily laid off. The Employment Service has so far received requests for 268,348 employees, more than a quarter of the country's workforce.

Economic stimulus measures estimated at EUR 6 billion have been adopted so far, which is expected to help the economy weather the crisis but will upend public finances.

General government debt, at 66.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2019 after almost a decade of austerity, is projected to balloon to 82.4% of GDP by the end of this year, partially due to fresh borrowing and partially due to a sharp decline in GDP.

Instead of a general government surplus of 0.8% initially projected for the year, public finances are expected to record a 8.1% deficit, according to government projections.

Note: The data below is dynamic, and updated for the day you're reading this.

And while the Slovenian economy had projected to grow at a modest 2-2.5%, it is now expected to contract by anywhere between 5% and more than 8%.

One indication of the sharp slowdown is the amount of value added tax (VAT) the Tax Administration has collected. While the receipts dropped by 4% year-on-year in March, the decline in April was 25% as virtually the entire retail and hospitality sectors shut down.

Slovenia registered 1,478 coronavirus infections by 21 May and 106 deaths attributed to Covid-19. A total of 316 persons were hospitalised, of which 21 remained in hospital on 21 May.

Cases were confirmed in 154 of Slovenia's 212 municipalities, with major hotspots in nursing homes in Metlika, Šmarje pri Jelšah and Ljutomer. Four in five fatalities were among nursing home residents and more than a quarter of all confirmed cases were among residents or staff.

The epidemic peaked around the end of March. The highest number of new infections in a single-day came on 26 March (61), while hospitalisations peaked at 107 on 30 March.

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