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

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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.

STA, 4 February 2022 - A total of 11,668 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Slovenia on Thursday, down in weekly comparison, as 3,808 PCR and 103,514 rapid antigen tests were examined, reported the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), which has estimated that there are now 194,969 active cases in the country.

While the seven-day average of new daily cases was down by 730 to 14,381, the 14-day case notification rate was up by 90 to 9,251, show the latest figures by the NIJZ.

The estimated number of active cases in the country was up by 1,883 compared to the day before.

A new rule was introduced on 1 February under which rapid tests are automatically added to the tally without being double-checked with the more precise PCR tests.

A total of 418 patients are hospitalised with Covid-19 as their main condition at regular wards and another 113 at intensive care units.

In all, 963 infected patients are in hospitals, and 22 more Covid-19 patients died on Thursday, government data show.

Mathematical models point to a decline in the Covid-19 epidemic, but the virus could still surprise us, Nuška Čakš Jager, deputy chief epidemiologist with the NIJZ, said at today's press conference.

In Slovenia, the highest rates of coronavirus infections are currently reported in the 5-14 and 35-40 age groups. The number of infections is also rising slightly in the over-75 age group, Čakš Jager added.

Despite a slight increase in the number of infections in nursing homes, most people recover without symptoms. More and more infections are also being reported in schools, especially in the 6-14 and 15-18 age groups, and among pre-school staff.

Čakš Jager also presented data showing that significantly fewer deaths have been recorded in nursing homes compared to the previous waves of the epidemic, which the NIJZ attributes to vaccination.

All the latest data on covid and Slovenia

STA, 3 February 2022 - Slovenia strongly supports France's idea on the creation of a Schengen Council to manage the passport-free zone of the EU, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said today. He said the initiative enjoyed quite a lot of support but that it would probably take some time before decisions on the functioning of the new body would be made.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been striving for a more political management of the Schengenzone following the example of the Eurozone. France proposes the setting up of the Schengen Council, which would inspect the situation in the Schengen zone a few times a year and in case of a crisis.

Slovenia supports this, Hojs said, noting that it had become evident in the cases of Afghanistan and Belarus how quick coordination of political decisions could enable efficient action at the operative level.

Hojs told reporters in Brussels via video call that countries mostly supported the setting up of such a council but that it would probably take some time before decisions are made on how the council would make decisions.

The French presidency is to set up the council on the sidelines of a meeting of EU interior ministers in March.

Controlling the external borders is one of the priorities of France, which believes this is necessary before the Schengen zone could be expanded to Croatia.

An important step in this process will also be the adoption of the migration pact.

Hojs said Slovenia did not want such conditions to be made, because it was not clear what the fate of the migration pact would be, while it would like Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen zone.

EU interior ministers discussed in Lille today fresh ideas for speeding up the overhaul of the Schengen zone and ensure a breakthrough with the adopting of the migration package in the face of developments related to Afghanistan and Belarus.

STA, 2 February 2022 - Five parties signed an agreement in Ljubljana on Wednesday to jointly contest the 24 April election with the Connecting Slovenia (Povežimo Slovenijo) list, with the main points of the joint programme revolving around principles that promote the benefits for the economy, people and the environment. 

The alliance comprises the coalition party Concretely, which was recently created with the merger of the Modern Centre Party (SMC) and Economically Active Party (GAS), and the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS), Slovenian Greens, New People's Party (NLS) and New Social Democrats.

The agreement says that the presidents of the five parties will define the key steps of the election campaign in consensus and assist each other in all campaign activities.

Also to be taken in consensus are decisions regarding the formation of a joint parliamentary group and cooperation with potential allies after the elections. The agreement is valid until the end of the next term of the National Assembly.

SLS president Marjan Podobnik said the goal was to create a Slovenia that people voted for in the independence referendum, adding that the alliance would reach out to everybody and "no one will be left on their own."

The president of Concretely and Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said that the alliance was connected with the shared vision of what Slovenia's future should be like. "There are differences between us," but these can be overcome, he said.

"If we want to place Slovenia on top of the rankings of the most successful countries, we must show that we are serious about the new political formation," Počivalšek said, adding that the alliance promoted responsible social and economic development.

Slovenian Greens president Andrej Čuš said that in the last 30 years, environmental policy had not had the right people who could talk to each other about finding joint solutions, unlike in some EU member states that had progressive democracies.

Čuš said that the groundwater, water, air and living environment was being poisoned every day, and that the situation was the same in the National Assembly, adding that Connecting Slovenia would advocate for environmental issues.

NLS president and Interior Ministry State Secretary Franc Kangler said that the alliance created an atmosphere of dialogue, integration and unification, and that it would fight for a just and fair Slovenia.

"It is the responsibility of us all ... to create dialogue, to unite and not exclude anyone in the future," Kangler said, adding that Connecting Slovenia would be an important player in the political arena in the next four years.

Andrej Magajna of the New Social Democrats likened today's agreement with the formation of the DEMOS coalition 30 years ago, adding that Connecting Slovenia would focus on creating conditions for a Slovenia as had been imagined by DEMOS.

Alojz Kovšca, the president of the National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, and vice-president of Concretely, complained that politics had turned into a competitive sport where teams win by disqualifying other teams from the race.

The signing was also attended by former Constitutional Court judge and presidential advisor Ernest Petrič, Education Minister Simona Kustec and physician Tina Bregant, a former state secretary at the Health Ministry.

Bregant said that the healthcare system needed to be reformed, and that the alliance advocated "sustainable, modern, efficient and emphatic public health."

Connecting Slovenia will run in the election with a joint list of candidates, on which the slots for individual parties will not be precisely determined, and not all parties will have the same number of candidates. Non-party candidates will also run.

According to the official spokesman Marko Balažic, candidacies by electoral district will be determined based on opinion poll results. "All five parties have decided to jointly endorse those who will be recognised as the best."

Čuš said the five parties were properly distributed geographically, which was "a great relief", and Kangler added that, while there were major discrepancies in the number of candidates from individual parties, "this is not bothersome for anyone."

Today's agreement signature is the first formal conformation of a joint list by parties for the April general election.

STA, 1 February 2022 - Igor Kadunc, the director of the Slovenian Press Agency, and Uroš Urbanija, the head of the Government Communication Office (UKOM), signed on Tuesday a contract on financing the STA's public service in 2022. The deal maintains a system for the calculation of the relevant fee that is based on the actual amount of content the STA produces.

The two sides have thus "laid the foundation for the undisrupted continuation of the STA's work in this important year, when the agency is expected to work responsibly during the super election year", Kadunc told the STA.

The agreement "essentially follows the basics we have already established in the 2021 contract", he said, adding: "But we have committed in the [latest] contract to work intensively to ensure that the distinction between public service and commercial activities is in line with the state aid regime as defined by Slovenia's standards and by the EU."

Commenting on this, UKOM said in a press release that the total annual amount planned when it comes to state aid in the form of compensation for the financing of public service for 2022 remained the same as in the previous two years, at EUR 2,028,000.

UKOM pointed out that this amount "represents an advance payment which will be subject to adjustment by means of an annex to the contract once the STA has fully reconciled the accounting distinction between public service and commercial activities".

"The contract sets down the necessary such activities of the STA and sets a deadline of 30 June 2022 for the fulfilment of these commitments," UKOM said.

Under the current director, the agency has also started activities to establish cost accounting information "leading to the knowledge of the correct full cost price of services, that is the price for news (in full text) by editorial or content area and for an average news item, photo, etc.", UKOM added.

All this will be "the necessary basis for the new director to correctly implement the rules governing state aid for services of general economic interest on the one hand, and to manage the STA economically and efficiently on the other, and last but not least, for STA employees to be able to evaluate their performance at work".

UKOM said that in this way it would be clear where funds for the STA's public service go to. Moreover, it was again critical of former STA director Bojan Veselinovič and the STA's supervisory board.

Kadunc noted earlier that "unfortunately, no solution could be found for the picture service, but as soon as possible we will propose an amendment to the law that would more clearly classify photographs as a commercial activity, as is the case everywhere in Europe."

Currently, the STA is required to disseminate a portion of its photographs free of charge, a rule that has been criticised by professional photographers, as they noted this led to uneven footing in the industry.

Meanwhile, UKOM said that the contract complied with the requirements of the act on the STA, including free access to photographs.

The contract is based on the government decree on the STA's public service, adopted last year, which changed the way public service is financed by introducing payment by volume of production. The STA is challenging the decree in court, while complying with its provisions pending a final decision from the court.

Representatives of the STA staff welcomed the signing of the contract, as this provides at least basic financial security for the agency in 2022, they said. However, they maintain that the per-piece funding model based on the number of news items and photographs is unacceptable.

The STA's editorial board, workers' council, in-house trade union and representatives of STA desks wrote in a joint release that the model "pushes the need to provide as much content as possible, which is a misguided approach as it limits the possibilities of directing resources to more complex content with a higher added value".

The most problematic feature of this model or the contract in general, they reiterated, "is that it allows UKOM to arbitrarily decide which content it will or will not fund as part of public service". "This may lead to an impermissible indirect influence on editorial autonomy, which we will not accept," they said.

At the same time, this could also result in renewed financial instability of the STA, they warned, saying that the STA would not be paid more if it produced more than planned, but might be sanctioned if it under-produced or produced content that according to UKOM was not part of public service.

"The current complications surrounding the public service payment for the last two months of last year show that this could happen," they added.

Also responding to the developments, the agency's previous director Veselinovič welcomed the announcement of the basis for the STA's financing in 2022, but also pointed out that the signing of the contract had been delayed considerably, taking into account the STA law.

He denied UKOM's claim that only now it will be clear what the funds from the state budget intended for the STA are spent on, noting that the STA's operations had always been transparent and supervised.

He also dismissed UKOM's accusations against the agency's accounting, noting audits of the STA had found no irregularities.

After performing its public service without pay since the start of 2021, the STA signed the 2021 contract with UKOM in November 2021. The contract envisaged public funding worth EUR 2 million.

STA, 1 February 2022 - Validity of Covid-19 vaccination certificates for adults is limited to 270 days from Tuesday in line with EU recommendations, but can be extended with booster jabs. Also from today, a rapid test will be valid as proof of infection, but only in Slovenia.

For the fully vaccinated their certificates will be valid for 270 days since the last prescribed full vaccination, which in most cases means from the second shot. On getting an mRNA booster (Pfizer or Moderna), the certificate's validity will be unlimited.

For the recovered who had their first jab within 180 days after getting infected (or within 240 days after recovery by 14 September 2021) the certificate will be valid for 270 days since that inoculation. A booster will extend the validity indefinitely.

The certificate is also valid for 270 days for those who got the single-shot J&J Janssen jab followed by the AstraZeneca jab.

Even those who got vaccinated twice before getting sick and recovering from Covid-19 will have their certificates valid for only 270 days after the vaccination or for 180 days after the positive result of their PCR test.

The same will apply for those who got their first shot before getting over the disease and had their second shot after recovery.

Meanwhile, those who have received two shots after recovering from Covid-19 will under certain conditions have their certificate valid indefinitely.

This has caused some criticism, especially as experts say it does not appear to have an effect on a person's immunity in what order they received their jab, prior or after the infection.

"These are the rules of the game set by the EU and they may be slower to change than we'd wish them to," Janez Tomažič, an infectious disease expert has commented recently.

Also from today the period in which a re-infection is recognised is being shortened from at least 90 days since the first positive PCR test result to at least 45 days when a re-infection can be confirmed.

As a temporary measure Slovenia is adding a positive rapid antigen test as proof of infection that on recovery will be entered into Slovenia's Covid rapid test certificate. The latter will only be valid in Slovenia.

The validity of Covid certificates is being limited for travel within EU, but member states regulate certificates for access to public places, businesses or services themselves.

STA, 31 January 2022 - Slovenia is further restricting the use of PCR tests as of Tuesday with a new testing protocol under which rapid antigen tests will be enough to confirm a coronavirus infection. The certificate of recovery obtained in this way will only be valid in Slovenia for now, Health Minister Janez Poklukar said, indicating changes in this area as well.

By acknowledging rapid antigen test results as enough to confirm an infection, Slovenia is following the example of a dozen other European countries, the minister told a Covid press briefing on Monday, noting that Germany and Austria were also considering taking this step to help lift some of the burden off the laboratories analysing PCR samples.

PCR tests for travelling purposes will continue to be conducted as a payable service.

According to the minister, people who test negative in a rapid test despite signs of infection will need to self-isolate for 72 hours. If the symptoms persist, the person will take another rapid test and if the test is negative, they will visit a doctor in case of any problems.

If the test is positive, the infection is confirmed and the person receives the Slovenian digital Covid certificate.

The decision on who will still need to do a PCR test will be made by a GP. Vulnerable groups, such as patients with chronic disease, pregnant women, people with a weak immune system and children who are at risk of developing severe symptoms, will still be referred to PCR testing, Poklukar said.

The new Slovenian digital certificate will for the time being be used only in Slovenia but given some announcements and the fact that half of EU countries are switching to this new testing protocol, rapid antigen tests will probably soon be accepted as a valid mode to confirm a Covid infection Europe-wide, the minister said.

"We are counting on most of these (Slovenian) certificates to be in the future issued as European certificates of recovery," he said.

The minister also noted that the new testing protocol was temporary and in place while the number of daily infections is high.

General practitioners have welcomed the new testing protocol, noting that they currently dealt with significantly more Covid patients, which meant that patients with other diseases had restricted access to doctors.

In line with the new protocol, people with mild Covid symptoms will have access to diagnostics without the help of their doctors as most of the infected actually do not need a doctor, said Irena Vatovec, director of the Postojna Community Health Centre.

Paediatrician Denis Baš added that paediatricians too supported the changes under which children with mild or no symptoms can get their infections confirmed with a rapid test and stay at home, while children who are more at risk such as children with cancer, transplants, weak immune system, heart defects and babies under six months will continue to be referred to a PCR test by their doctor after consultation.

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

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FRIDAY, 21 January
        LJUBLJANA - Parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič and Defence Minister Matej Tonin announced testing positive for coronavirus.
        LJUBLJANA - Ana Bojinović Fenko, a professor of international relations, and Marta Kos, Slovenia's ex-ambassador to Germany and Switzerland, criticised PM Janez Janša's statements on China and Taiwan, as they spoke to the STA about the country's new foreign policy strategy before it hit parliamentary benches.
        VILNIUS, Lithuania - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs concluded his participation in a two-day conference on migrations where he argued modern surveillance systems and physical barriers should be used where necessary to improve border protection.
        LJUBLJANA - Interior Ministry State Secretary Franc Kangler denied allegations about his unwarranted interfering in the police work and staffing as he was interviewed by the parliamentary inquiry into suspected political interference in the police.
        GORSKI KOTAR, Croatia - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek and Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch met the members of the Slovenian community living in Croatia's Gorski Kotar area, discussing positive developments.
        LJUBLJANA - The Economy Ministry and the Slovenian Enterprise Fund awarded EUR 30 million to 311 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises for digital transformation of their business and production processes. The money will come from ReactEU mechanism.
        LJUBLJANA - The Environment Agency released an atlas of climate projections for Slovenia until the end of the 21st century to help stakeholders adapt to climate change. It features 2,250 graphic simulations for various meteorological, hydrological and agrometeorological variables.

SATURDAY, 22 January
        LJUBLJANA - One Slovenian and three Belgian citizens were injured in a hot air balloon accident, as they fell out of the basket when it hit the ground on the Ljubljana Marshes. The injured were taken to hospital, three of them with severe yet not life-threatening injuries. The cause of the accident is yet to be determined.
        LJUBLJANA - As many as 69 children suffering from multisystem inflammatory syndrome have been treated at Slovenia's only children's hospital since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic in March 2020 in what Ljubljana Paediatric Clinic doctor Tadej Avčin told N1 news portal made the two-million nation a world leader per capita.
        LJUBLJANA - Law entered into force under which retail businesses are no longer required to issue a paper receipt to the customers unless the latter ask for it.

SUNDAY, 23 January
        TRIESTE, Italy - SKGZ, an umbrella organisation of the Slovenian minority in Italy, expressed its gratitude to Italian President Sergio Mattarella for his role in national politics and relations with Slovenia as his term came to a close.
        LJUBLJANA - A poll released by commercial POP TV showed the ruling Democrats (SDS) five percentage points ahead of the opposition Social Democrats (SD) despite losing about a percentage point in a month to 16.3%. The Left trails in third at 7.6%.
        POSTOJNA - A bear attacked a 63-year-old man in the Postojna area during a hunting drive. He was left with a broken arm, rib injuries and several wounds on his back. As the bear attacked in defence of her two cubs, the Hunters' Association decided against proposing she be put down, but said Slovenia's 1,000-plus bear population was too large.
        TITISEE-NEUSTADT, Germany - Anže Lanišek placed second for the second consecutive day in the Ski Jumping World Cup event in the third podium finish for the 25-year-old in a row this season to climb to the 5th in the overall World Cup rankings.

MONDAY, 24 January
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Minister Anže Logar came out of the meeting of EU foreign ministers by calling for an all-out effort for a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine dispute. The Foreign Ministry said Slovenia was not planning to reduce its diplomatic staff numbers in Kyiv for the time being and was coordinating all activities with other EU countries.
        LJUBLJANA - The self-isolation period for most persons infected with Covid-19 was cut from at least ten to seven days provided they test negative on the 7th day and have not had fever or any other symptoms for 24 hours.
        LJUBLJANA - Energy trader GEN-I generated a record net profit of EUR 71 million last year on EUR 3.4 billion in revenue, according to figures presented by Robert Golob, the former CEO. The profit was up more than fourfold and revenue rose by 50%.
        MARIBOR - Marles Hiše Maribor announced Invera Equity Partners, a Dutch private equity fund manager, acquiring 58.2% stake in the company to consolidate its position as the leading manufacturer of prefabricated wooden buildings in Slovenia and make it a major player in Central Europe.
        LJUBLJANA - The Ministry of Public Administration picked Telemach as the provider of mobile telephony services, cell phones, and data transfer for the Slovenian public administration in 2022-2025 in a deal worth around EUR 6.6 million. Telekom Slovenije and A1 Slovenija reportedly submitted too costly bids.
        
TUESDAY, 25 January
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Janša highlighted Slovenia's good relations with all of its neighbours as they hosted the annual reception for the diplomatic corps, which was attended by some 85 diplomats. Pahor also put in his word for sincere ties with Russia and China.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia placed 41st among 180 countries in Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perception Index, its poorest showing since 2013, having slipped six spots and losing three points. The Justice Ministry said the ranking did not necessarily reflect the actual situation in the country.
        ZAGREB, Croatia - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs met his Croatian counterpart Davor Božinović for talks focusing on Croatia's accession to the Schengen passport-free zone, which Slovenia supports, and bilateral cooperation, mainly in preventing illegal migration.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed a record of 17,491 new coronavirus cases as the daily tally increased by 40% on the same day a week before amid climbing hospitalisations but decline in ICU cases. With 14 more deaths, the death toll rose to 6,268.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry into the government's response to Covid-19 interviewed former Health Minister Tomaž Gantar, who said in some cases the government could have acted better in dealing with the first two waves of the epidemic. He was critical of communication with the public, and of closure of schools while the economy kept running.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian tourism saw visitor numbers rise by 31% to over 4 million as visitor nights increased by 22% to 11.3 million in 2021. Both figures are still far behind the records of 2019. Domestic visitors accounted for 2.2 million of arrivals, which was largely attributed to tourism vouchers.
        LJUBLJANA - The Economy Ministry announced it will provide a total of EUR 640.7 million in development incentives this year to raise productivity through green and digital transition and even regional development. EUR 479.2 million will be in grants.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's Employment Service recorded a significant rise in applications for the employment of foreigners in 2021. It received a total of 52,281 applications, the most since the current system was put in place in 2015.
        STRASBOURG, France - The European Court of Human Rights' annual report showed the number of applications brought against Slovenia rising by 30% in 2021 to 234. Violations of the human rights convention were found in two judgments against the country.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's Civil Aviation Agency recorded 17 infringements related to flying unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, in 2021 with fines worth a combined EUR 10,900 issued in nine cases. This was the first year that new European legislation regulating drones was fully effective.

WEDNESDAY, 26 January
        LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob, the former CEO of energy trader Gen-I, was elected the leader of the non-parliamentary green party formerly known as Z.Dej but renamed Movement Freedom to challenge PM Janez Janša in the April election. Janša dismissed his bid as an "exam resit by Zoran Janković", a reference to the Ljubljana mayor's failure to form the government after his party, which also included Golob, won the 2011 election.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee got acquainted with the country's new foreign policy strategy, with Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan saying most of the changes were made because the international environment had changed. The opposition expressed some reservations, in particular about Slovenia no longer being referred to as a core EU member state.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan dismissed fears that the prime minister's recent statements on Taiwan may adversely affect the country's bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2024-2025, telling the Foreign Policy Committee the bid would be a good opportunity for Slovenia to show its advocacy of respect for human rights, international law and borders, for peace and stability.
        LJUBLJANA - Supreme Court judge Branko Masleša showed his diploma and bar exam certificate after being called on to do so by the Judicial Council amid allegations by some media questioning his qualification. In a detailed explanation he criticised the body for falling for politically-motivated imputation in some media, thus doing the harm to the judiciary as a whole.
        BREŽICE - The government visited the eastern Posavje region, home to Slovenia's sole nuclear power plant, with PM Janez Janša noting challenges in the energy sector as the top priority, but also the role of other efforts, including tourism development.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed amendments sponsored by the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) to reduce the cost of sick pay on the employer and self-employed at the expense of the public healthcare fund as fellow centre-left opposition parties voted against.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly voted down the opposition Left's motion to call a referendum on the government's purchase of Boxer armoured personnel vehicles from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, which means the National Assembly can now ratify an agreement for Slovenia to purchase 45 such vehicles.
        CELJE - Maksimilijan Matjaž, the Bishop of Celje, founded an office to admit complaints by the victims of sexual abuse committed by the clergy and other members of religious life in line with instructions made by Pope Francis in an apostolic letter in May 2019. The news came a day after Dovolj.je (It's Enough), a Catholic advocacy for abuse victims, urged appointing an independent commission of individuals of high moral integrity to investigate and crack down on this type of crime as soon as possible.
        LJUBLJANA - Marjan Divjak, the nominee for vice-governor at Slovenia's central bank, held a presentation at the Presidential Palace saying the regulator should actively participate in monetary policy-making in the eurozone, highlighting elevated inflation and climate change as the biggest future challenges.
        LJUBLJANA - The Manager Association picked Igor Mervič the Manager of the Year for transforming retailer Spar Slovenija from a company with four stores into the country's second largest retailer during his 28 years as director general. Mervič led Spar Slovenija between 1992 and the end of 2020. He is now a member of its supervisory board, and an adviser at the Spar multinational.

THURSDAY, 27 January
        LJUBLJANA - The OECD has urged Slovenia to encourage people to work longer and to reform its pensions system to make it financially sustainable while preserving pensioners' living standards, as it issued a new report based on a a two-year analysis of the country's pension system which ran in 2020-2021.
        LUXEMBOURG - The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) expressed concern about proposed changes of the penal code which it said could affect the effectiveness of the EPPO. The changes, disavowed by the majority of the parties since they were confirmed by the Justice Committee, would give prosecutors less time to investigate before cases became statute-barred.
        NOVO MESTO - Drug maker Krka saw a record EUR 1.57 billion in sales revenue in 2021 as net profit rose by 5% to EUR 304.7 million. This year Krka plans sales at EUR 1.61 billion and net profit at EUR 300 million, with EUR 130 million to go for investment.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Credentials and Privileges Commission backed Marjan Divjak to be appointed a vice-governor at Slovenia's central bank. The single issue raised against him was his role in the NKBM bank IPO and sale.
        LJUBLJANA - The government once again decided against appointing Lidija Tičar Padar as acting director of the Public Research Agency (ARRS). Instead, it replaced at four members of the agency's management board.
        LJUBLJANA - The investment promotion agency SPIRIT Slovenija presented the FDI Awards to the dairy Ljubljanske Mlekarne, the ICT company Comtrade and the paper mill Papirnica Vevče. Foreign investment in Slovenia rose by 2.4% last year.
        LJUBLJANA/LENDAVA - Slovenia joined observation of International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a number of events, including with the National Assembly being illuminated as part of the #WeRemember campaign. The main ceremony was the evening before in Lendava with President Borut Pahor calling for the preservation of peace, security, tolerance and coexistence.

STA, 28 January 2022 - Foreign Minister Anže Logar has told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee that Slovenia and Taipei intend to open mutual economic and cultural representative offices, the committee's chair Monika Gregorčič told the press after the session on Friday.

Gregorčič, an MP for the coalition Concretely party, said that Logar had told the MPs that a Slovenian economic and cultural representative office will be opened in Taipei and Taipei's reciprocal office in Slovenia. "It will be named Taipei," she stressed.

Opposition SocDem MP Matjaž Nemec said that the committee had reached a consensus on the two offices.

The committee also unanimously endorsed resolutions that Slovenia remains committed to the one-China policy, Gregorčič added.

"This message is undisputable, it comes from all political players and from the parliamentary committee in charge of this matter," said Nemec.

He believes that in this sense, Prime Minister Janez Janša is alone in his moves and in relation to China and Taiwan.

Today's session was held after Janša said in an interview with an Indian broadcaster that Slovenia was in talks with Taiwan on a mutual exchange of representative offices of the kind other EU countries had in Taiwan. He also criticised China's crackdown on Lithuania, prompting a harsh rebuke from China.

The committee also discussed an agreement Slovenia and Croatia have allegedly reached on the fishing regime in the Bay of Piran, as reported by Croatian media.

The committee urged the Foreign Ministry to continue implementing the border arbitration decision from 2017.

Nemec said that it remained unclear whether a potential fisheries agreement would affect the border arbitration award.

Minister Logar, on the other hand, only said when leaving the session that the "discussion was constructive".

"I didn't feel any major politicisation, which is good when dealing with important topics."

In a statement before the session, he said he could not present anything new to the committee about Slovenia's relations with Croatia or the fishing regime.

STA, 27 January 2022 - With public opinion polls being watched with increasing attention ahead of the April general election in Slovenia, pollsters say most voters make their final choice in the last month, even last week ahead of the election day where swing voters will have main say.

Talking with the STA, Andraž Zorko of Valicon and Nikola Damjanić of Ninamedia say the Slovenian electorate on the whole is as a rule tilted slightly left of centre and can generally be divided into three parts.

One part is engaged, decided voters, part are conscious citizens who turn out regularly at the polls but opt based on political developments each time, while a third group do not follow politics and as a rule do not vote.

It is hard to predict the proportion of swing voters but Matej Makarovič of Parsifal believes their share right now is sufficient for the outcome to remain open until election day.

There are two types of swing voters, swinging between parties and blocs. "The voters who see opposition to [PM] Janez Janša as the key reference point know exactly which bloc they will vote for, but they may be unsure about the concrete party in that bloc till the end."

The last week ahead of the election day will be the most decisive period. This is when polls typically give some general picture of what the result could realistically be.

The political arena is in a state of flux at the moment with new players making their entry such as Robert Golob and Speaker Igor Zorčič each with their own party and a new green party to be founded in February by two high-profile environmental activists.

Mediana's director Janja Božič Marolt says data and results of recent elections show new parties and faces appeal to voters, but it is hard to measure their mark in polls at the moment, in particular if the parties are not yet fully operational and it is not clear yet who their candidates will be.

"If polling attention is drawn to such parties this will be unintentionally at least partly suggestive and the parties' showing will be overrated. If they are not listed and respondents are let respond completely spontaneously, they won't even think of those parties, which will underestimate their result," says Makarovič.

In one such instance Zorko believes that the showings of the Connect Slovenia, an alliance of parties including Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek's Concretely and the party of former Maribor mayor Franc Kangler, and Our Land, founded by former Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, are underrated.

The emerging green party Vesna may also spring a surprise in the election with Zorko drawing parallels to the situation in Austria and Germany where green parties are in government.

Asked what the biggest draw for the voters is, whether personalities, manifestos or vote buying policies, Božič Marolt says experience shows Slovenians tend to become more alert to policies advocated by parties in their platforms when election time draws closer.

Zorko finds headlines, images and populist public appearances rank prominently in the instant consumer society. It thus did not come as a surprise to him when new parties with high-profile figureheads did well in recent elections.

Damjanić says new faces are seen as hope for change although Makarovič notes that "every new face so far has managed to disappoint most of their supporters".

One important factor in this election will be alliances, in particularly given the large number of parties. Zorko sees the centre-right having a competitive advantage there with Connect Slovenia setting out early enough to build an alliance and individual parties in that movement not targeting the same group of voters.

The situation is quite different on the other side of the political spectrum where most parties are vying for the same voters.

He finds the KUL alliance of four centre-left parliamentary parties ill-fated being that it made its bid too early on, and that it comprises the same parties that formed the coalition in 2018 that failed to hold on to power until the end of the term. The centre-left bloc will thus need to consolidate to be able to be a match for the centre-right.

Damjanić sees potential in alliances as well, noting that the centre-left voters who used to vote for Liberal Democracy, Zares and Positive Slovenia are looking for something new.

He does not expect any drastic surprise in the election, but he does believe one interesting development to watch for will be the involvement of civil society movements that could draw younger voters to the polling stations. He says the turnout could be higher than in the 2018 election (52.64%).