Politics
STA, 29 November 2021 - The rising prices of energy in wholesale markets are already affecting retail prices of distance heating. In November, the costs of distance heating were up by 38% on average. It was the most expensive in Maribor and the cheapest in Celje, shows a survey by the Energy Agency [Agencija za energijo].
In nine Slovenian municipalities - Ljubljana, Maribor, Kranj, Celje, Slovenj Gradec, Velenje, Jesenice, Ravne na Koroškem and Trbovlje - the average retail price of heating for a typical household in a multi-apartment building with the average annual consumption of 6.21 megawatt hours rose by 38% to EUR 118 in November in year-on-year comparison, the agency says on its website.
The price of heating went up the most in municipalities where the main source of energy is gas or coal.
According to the agency, the rising price of heat from distribution systems, which are predominantly gas-fired, is mainly driven by new contract prices for this source of energy source and by monthly purchases of missing carbon dioxide emission allowances. Meanwhile, the price of heat from distribution systems whose primary fuel is coal is most affected by high prices for emission allowances.
In November, the biggest annual surge was recorded in Marbor and Jesenice (by 77%), and in Trbovlje (by 43%).
In Maribor, the retail price of heat also went up by 18% in monthly comparison. At EUR 173.54 per megawatt hour, it is the highest among all nine municipalities included in the survey. Jesenice follows with EUR 166.18, which remained flat compared to October.
In Jesenice, the authorities agreed last week to reduce the variable part of the price for November and December by EUR 15, while talks on other solutions are under way as well.
In Celje, the price remains stable and the lowest, at EUR 83.75 per megawatt hour. The agency says this is mainly because a significant share of heat is obtained from waste processing and wood biomass.
The Energy Chamber warns that the state must be prudent when introducing measures for mitigating the negative effects of energy prices both for households and companies. There must be no interfering with market mechanism, the chamber said after Friday's session of its managing board.
The measures for mitigating the effects of energy price hikes must be introduced as soon as possible, as operations of certain companies are already seriously in danger, the chamber said, noting that distance heating systems were under big financial pressure.
"Short-term measures to mitigate the energy market situation must be targeted and temporary and must not affect the functioning of the market as a whole and the long-term competitiveness and investment capital of energy companies, which is key to the green transition to a climate-neutral society," the chamber stressed.
At the same time, the measures should help maintain the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries, especially those that have already made significant efforts to improve energy efficiency.
The chamber believes the state could also use the Climate Change Fund to cover the extraordinary costs of large energy-intensive industrial consumers who have contracts with domestic electricity producers.
The chamber also stressed that the current situation was ideal for all stakeholders to focus on longer-term measures, which could include investing in sufficient capacity or building new power generation units, including nuclear power generation units, and in all available renewable energy sources, as well as in the energy recovery from waste.
What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 19 November
LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed a bill on additional measures for curbing the consequences of epidemic, envisaging special one-off payments for the most vulnerable such as pensioners, old farmers without pension and people with disabilities, and fresh stimulus measures for business.
LJUBLJANA - The government proposed a compensation scheme for those who have suffered serious health damage as a result of a Covid-19 vaccine, a step Health Minister Janez Poklukar said was key to maintaining confidence in the vaccines. Compensation of EUR 60,000 would be paid to those who suffer a serious and permanent reduction in their vital functions after vaccination.
LJUBLJANA - The State Prosecution Council welcomed the government's decision to refer the council's pick of the pair of candidates for delegated prosecutors to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). Both the council and experts said such an act cannot be temporary. The European Commission said the appointment was a step in the right direction.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The EU's General Affairs Council endorsed conclusions highlighting the strategic importance of water, a move hailed by Slovenia as a landmark in water diplomacy and a major achievement of the Slovenian EU presidency.
LJUBLJANA - The MPs representing the Italian and Hungarian minority tabled legislation that would raise the language requirement for teachers and other staff working in bilingual schools and kindergartens.
SATURDAY, 20 November
LJUBLJANA - Simona Kustec stayed on as minister of education after a motion of no confidence in her was voted down following more than 14 hours of debate during which the opposition alleged that her management of the portfolio has been disastrous, especially when it comes to dealing with Covid-19 at school, and Kustec framing the vote as an attempt to silence women in politics.
LJUBLJANA - Hit the Road, a family road trip movie by Iranian director Panah Panahi, won the Kingfisher Award, the main award handed out at the Ljubljana International Film Festival. Panahi's debut feature is a multi-layered portrait of an Iranian family and Iranian society at large set in a road trip through north-western Iran.
SUNDAY, 21 November
LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs rejected allegations about the police organisation changes being an attempt to politicise the force. Hojs sees the new law as the first step towards a more professional police that would reduce any political interference, whereas the opposition maintains the opposite.
MONDAY, 22 November
LJUBLJANA - Marjan Dikaučič remained justice minister after 42 MPs voted in favour of a motion of no confidence, four short of the required majority. He was endorsed by 28 MPs as several deputy groups, including the junior coalition NSi, abstained.
OTOČEC - A plaque commemorating the Slovenian-Croatian bilateral meetings and cooperation, celebrating the 30th anniversary of independence of both countries was unveiled with prime ministers Janez Janša and Andrej Plenković stressing the importance of cooperation and friendly relations.
LJUBLJANA - The government decided to lend Croatia 40,950 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 in response to the neighbouring country's request for 40,000 doses.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor congratulated Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on his re-election. The presidents also discussed the Covid-19 pandemic, efforts by both Slovenia and Bulgaria to raise vaccination rates, and potential further steps in the search for a compromise solution on Bulgaria's blockade of North Macedonia's EU accession talks.
VIENNA, Austria - Foreign Minister Anže Logar said Belarus should remain high on the agenda of the EU and the international community as he condemned the Belarus regime and expressed support for democratisation of the country at a conference in Vienna.
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Local Court dismissed a case against author and comedian Andrej Rozman Roza over his involvement in a protest reading of the Constitution in front of Parliament House in June 2020. The court said that this was minor offence that did not endanger anyone.
LJUBLJANA - Igor Samobor, the director of Ljubljana's SNG Drama theatre, resigned due to what he described as government foot-dragging over the badly needed renovation of the building of Slovenia's largest theatre. Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti denied culpability saying the government wanted the project to be transparent.
LJUBLJANA - The retrial in the infamous sawn-off hand insurance fraud case saw Julija Adlešič - the woman whose hand was sawn off - her partner Sebastien Abramov, and his parents all pleading guilty and receiving prison sentences. Adlešič and Abramov will spend 19 and 29 months in prison, respectively. Both have already served most of their sentences in custody.
TUESDAY, 23 November
MURSKA SOBOTA - The government toured the north-easternmost region of Pomurje, discussing various projects, including in agriculture, the leading industry in the area, as well as efforts to convince young people to stay in the region. Apart from visiting companies in the region, PM Janez Janša met representatives of the Hungarian minority in Pomurje and visited the Murska Sobota diocese of the Evangelical Church in Slovenia where he met Bishop Leon Novak.
LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Janez Poklukar and the head of the Medical Chamber Bojana Beović warned about the possibility of the fifth wave of Covid infections, with Poklukar saying he thought that another wave could emerge in February next year as a result of an insufficient vaccination rate. Beović said that the Covid pass mandate could be amended to make booster doses mandatory.
LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs hosted a meeting of the ATLAS Commanders Forum, attended by representatives of the special police units from the EU member states. Hojs said that terrorism was placed high on the EU priority list and that the role of ATLAS network was important as well.
STRASBOURG, France - Foreign Minister Anže Logar raised concern about the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina as he addressed the European Parliament on Tuesday evening. Logar, who took part in the debate on behalf of the Council of the EU, called on the country's political leaders to give up provocative and divisive rhetoric and actions
LONDON, UK - Slovenian artist Jasmina Cibic won the 2021 Jarman Award handed out by Film London, worth EUR 10,000. The jury highlighted her projects NADA and The Gift, which was recently screened at the London Film Festival.
WEDNESDAY, 24 November
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The College of the European Public Prosecutor's Office appointed Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir as Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors for five-year terms, same as all the other delegated prosecutors. Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry put forward amendments to the act on the public prosecution that would give the government greater say in the appointment of Slovenian prosecutors, which the opposition labelled as as yet another attempt by the government at undermining the rule of law and subordinating all social subsystems.
LJUBLJANA - Hosting his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister Janez Janša pledged Slovenia's support for Poland in light of the migrant crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border. He said the EU should fund all measures to protect the bloc's external borders, arguing that physical barriers at the borders have proved to be effective in preventing illegal migration and violence.
STRASBOURG, France - The European Parliament conducted a debate on fundamental rights and the rule of law in Slovenia. MEPs acknowledged there have been positive steps made recently, but they also criticised the government for delays, in particular in the appointment of European delegated prosecutors.
LJUBLJANA - The parliament passed an opposition amendment to the act on emergency measures in healthcare, introducing financial compensation for the self-employed, partners in companies and farmers in the event of a quarantine order due to Covid-19 or subsequent childcare obligations.
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša reiterated his call for vaccination against Covid-19 as he indicated in an interview with the Catholic Radio Ognjišče that a tightening of restrictions was not in the cards at present.
LJUBLJANA - Police dealt with 8,144 instances of illegal crossing of the border in the first ten months of 2021, nearly 39% fewer than in the same period last year. The most frequently processed illegal migrants were from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who accounted for almost half of the total number.
THURSDAY, 25 November
LJUBLJANA - The daily number of new coronavirus cases had been dropping in Slovenia in the past week with the latest figures available showing 2,668 new daily coronavirus infections, about a thousand fewer than a week ago. However, the situation in hospitals remains critical with the number of ICU cases hitting a record 286.
LJUBLJANA/PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Prime Minister Janez Janša called for stronger cooperation in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as he addressed the Asian-European Meeting (ASEM) by videolink. He said this was crucial for an effective response to crises.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU ministers in charge of competitiveness clinched a political agreement on two key digital acts - on digital markets and services at a session chaired by Slovenian Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and Digital Transformation Minister Mark Boris Andrijanič. Počivalšek lauded the agreement an important milestone on the path to create a more open and competitive digital market.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed the government's proposal to raise the cap on state budget expenditure for this year by EUR 670 million to nearly EUR 15 billion. The government said the rise was to allow the financing of Covid-19 response measures to continue undisrupted, but the centre-left opposition argued the government had lost a grip on public finances.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly unanimously passed an act prohibiting the sale of certain plastic products, including disposable products, with the aim of reducing the quantity of discarded packaging and, consequently, improving public health.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly backed a proposal for a ban on hydraulic fracturing in Slovenia, tabled by three centre-left opposition parties, on first reading in what is the fifth attempt to thwart British company Ascent Resources's fracking plans in the north-eastern Prekmurje region.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly failed to muster the majority needed to pass a declaration to support the European Parliament's 2009 resolution on European conscience and totalitarianism in what was the fifth attempt by the ruling Democratic Party (SDS) to endorse the resolution condemning all totalitarian regimes.
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted amendments to the medical services act that facilitate licensing of doctors, transfer the jurisdiction of professional exams to the Medical Chamber and simplify hiring of foreign doctors with regard to Slovenian language skills.
LJUBLJANA - Mercator, Slovenia's largest retailer, recovered from last year's deep loss as it posted a net profit of EUR 12.6 million for the first nine months of the year. Sales revenue was up by almost a percent to EUR 1.63 billion, shows the group's earnings report.
STA, 27 November 2021 - Slovenia's national advisory committee on immunization has decided to recommend a booster shot of a vaccine against Covid-19 to all adults, that is everyone aged 18 or over.
The body has decided to expand the booster shot recommendation to all adults at its latest session after initially recommending boosters in particular to over 50-year-olds, particularly vulnerable people with chronic conditions regardless of their age, care home residents, family members of immunocompromised persons or vulnerable chronic patients and those exposed to the virus at their work.
Booster shots had been earlier also recommended to those who had been fully vaccinated with viral vector vaccines at least two months after they have been fully jabbed.
According to the National Institute of Public Health, more than 281,700 people in Slovenia have already received booster shots.
STA, 25 November 2021 - Journalists of the news programme of the television arm of RTV Slovenija protested on Thursday against the relevant draft programme and production plan for 2022, calling on the programming council of the public broadcaster to reject it and adjust it so that it "appropriately implements the mission of RTV".
TV Slovenija journalist Igor E. Bergant told the protest press conference that the draft plan had not been significantly changed compared to its initial format despite remarks from the news programme journalists.
The key remarks and warnings remain, with certain changes "in the expert opinion of the news programme journalists being detrimental to the mission of the public institute", as cancelling and relocating shows "is reminiscent of some other times."
According to Bergant, the problem is that the plan is not well worked out in certain segments, and it is completely unclear how it could be realistically implemented at all even if the greatest possible effort was invested.
He believes that the changes do not solve the issue of ratings, as claimed by the management of RTV Slovenija as the initiators of the changes.
"Informing is not the only one, but is certainly one of the key missions of European radio-television services, where ratings are not and must not be the only or the main criterion," Bergant said.
He noted that the news programme journalists at TV Slovenija were not afraid of changes as such, as they wanted to work "even more, even better and in better conditions," while adding that the proposed changes did not enable this.
"The initiators even explicitly speak about an experiment," Bergant said, adding that now was not the time for experiments as RTV Slovenija is facing financial difficulties, but to "focus on what is already known".
The journalists also noted that the issue was not about individuals or politics or about problems with communication, but about an "ill-advised, and partially unprofessional" and "uncoordinated plan".
Manica Janežič Ambrožič, who stepped down as the TV news programme editor-in-chief in mid-October over the plan, said that the shrinking of the programme and moving some of the shows to channel 2 undermined the role and message of RTV Slovenija.
Janežič Ambrožič, who continues to serve as the acting editor-in-chief, noted that "134 colleagues ... think that the planned thorough changes are a step in the wrong direction."
She stressed that the journalists did not stand united because they feared change, but because the plan was an "extremely risky business", adding that changes needed to be "professionally reasoned, discussed and coordinated production-wise."
Also showing up at the protest press conference were many journalists from other media outlets, while support has also been expressed by the expert public.
According to the TV Slovenija news programme journalists, the appeal to the RTV Slovenija management to rethink the draft plan for next year has been signed by 126 out of a total of 143 journalists.
TV Slovenija acting director Valentin Areh rejected the claims by journalists about the news content being shrunk under the plan, adding that the idea was to put the interest of viewers first.
"The news programme of TV Slovenija is in a serious crisis, and ratings for a majority of shows are dropping ... which is why we decided for programme changes modelled after the most successful public broadcasters such as the BBC, ZDF and ORF," he said.
Areh, who is puzzled by the journalists "requesting that nothing must change despite the drastic drop in ratings", added that the management was obliged to take measures and take the wishes and interests of viewers into account.
The Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts meanwhile expressed support for TV Slovenija journalists, saying that the management should lend an ear to the remarks of employees, who should have the main say in such matters.
"Given the currently very chaotic management of the institute, which is becoming increasingly susceptible to informal pressure from external actors and their private interests, the position of the employees is where reasonable reflection should be anchored," adds the statement signed by almost 80 members of the centre.
The programming council of RTV Slovenija is expected to start discussing the plan next Monday.
STA, 25 November 2021 - Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti has acknowledged that the renovation of the SNG Drama theatre in Ljubljana will be delayed, which was the reason for the resignation of theatre's director Igor Samobor. Simoniti indicated this was because the ministry wanted to clear up certain issues to make sure the project is transparent.
Speaking for the Odmevi late-night show on RTV Slovenija on Wednesday, Simoniti dismissed Samobor's claims the ministry did not communicate with the theatre. He said he had met Samobor four times, but he did reject a one-on-one meeting given how complex and expensive the project is.
Related: Floods Close SNG Drama Ljubljana and Moderna Galerija Until Further Notice (Video)
The renovation was initially estimated at EUR 60 million, whereupon the price tag dropped to EUR 45 million. "These are exceptionally high figures that demand precise answers to the financiers - the state, which the minister is responsible for."
The draft of the new culture programme says, according to RTV Slovenija, that the start of the renovation will be pushed to 2023 and the new estimated price is EUR 21 million.
Simoniti did not specify why the ministry was allocating less money for the project. He said it simply provisionally set aside EUR 21 million, the figure set down in the last national culture programme.
An audit of the project that he demanded concluded that it is impossible to determine a precise price, the project designers put the price tag at EUR 43 million. "I'm afraid if they are setting such prices, the figures would be significantly higher and there would be an inordinate number of annexes to the agreement."
The ministry wants a "transparent and clear picture of what this is about," according to Simoniti.
There are also several outstanding issues concerning the project, according to him, for example the status of certain plots of land and the consent of local residents. Simoniti said there were also questions about plans to build deep underground, which posed a potential threat to the Drama building and the nearby German House.
The comments come after Samobor tendered his resignation on Monday due to what he described as government foot-dragging over the badly needed renovation of the building of Slovenia's largest theatre.
Samobor said one of the reasons for his decision was the probability that there is certain personal animosity between him and the minister, but Simoniti dismissed that as a "not too precious propaganda move" and noted this was not Samobor's personal project but the responsibility of the state.
STA, 24 November 2021 - The College of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) appointed on Wednesday Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir as Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors for five-year terms, same as all the other delegated prosecutors, in a move welcomed by the prosecutors and the EU Commission.
"We are extremely pleased to have been appointed European delegated prosecutors for a full five-year term and therefore given an opportunity to take part in this project," Frank Eler and Oštir told the STA.
"We thank the European Public Prosecutor's Office for the trust it has shown us. Regardless of all complications in the appointment procedure we would, above all, like to focus on further work in the prosecution of crime against the EU budget," they added.
Slovenia's Supreme State Prosecutor's Office welcomed the EPPO's decision as well, reiterating its stance that the pair were good candidates who had met all the conditions to be appointed European delegated prosecutor.
The decision has ended "delays in the fulfilment of Slovenia's agreed obligations," the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office said, noting that with Frank Eler and Oštir's appointments, Slovenia would finally fill in the gap that had beset the EPPO and "join the common efforts to protect the EU's financial interests in the country".
European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova congratulated Frank Eler and Oštir on their appointments, posting on Twitter: "Good news, now we have Delegated Prosecutors from every participating country."
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders shared the sentiment, saying: "After several exchanges I had with the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša and the Minister of Justice Marjan Dikaučič, I am happy that we now have delegated prosecutors in all member states participating in the EPPO."
The EPPO received the Slovenian government's proposal to appoint the two candidates on Friday after the government decided last Thursday to refer the State Prosecution Council's pick of Frank Eler and Oštir.
According to the government, the decision is temporary, in place only until the appointment procedure in Slovenia is completed, a stance that has been disputed by experts.
The government argued that it had taken note of the procedure so far and established that it had not been carried out in line with the state prosecution act due to an insufficient number of applications.
The decision to nominate the selected candidates on a temporary basis has been thus made to avert substantial damage to Slovenia that could be caused by the delay in the appointment, the government said.
However, following the assessment of Frank Eler and Oštir, the EPPO decided this morning to appoint them as full-fledged delegated prosecutors, each for a period of five years, same as delegated prosecutors from all the other EU countries participating in the EPPO.
This comes after the office highlighted on Monday that national authorities only proposed the candidates, but it was up to the EPPO's College to decide on their appointment. "This is key to our independence," the EPPO said.
The State Prosecution Council said that the appointments of Frank Eler and Oštir for a full five-year term "mean the confirmation of the legality of the council's proposal".
However, Janša said today that "nothing is happening that has not been agreed on". "If there is anything left that is unclear, it will be cleared up in the next months," he said at a press conference he held with the Polish prime minister today.
Justice Minister Marjan Dikaučič told Radio Slovenija that Slovenia had been all along striving to fully join the EPPO's efforts as soon as possible by appointing European delegated prosecutors. "Today's decision settled that," the minister said.
The office was launched in June to investigate and prosecute EU budget fraud and other crimes against the bloc's financial interests. A total of 22 member states take part in the EPPO, including Slovenia, which was the last country to propose its delegated prosecutors.
STA, 24 November - Organisations representing employers and trade unions on the Economic and Social Council, the main industrial relations forum, have issued a joint call on Wednesday urging people to respect Covid-19 restrictions and get vaccinated.
Slovenia is in extremely difficult situation because of Covid-19, said the organisations, including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), the Chamber of Commerce (TZS), the Employers' Association and the ZSSS, Pergam, KS 90, KSJS and several other trade unions.
"We must realise that only responsible action by each individual and by all of us together can reduce the spread of infections and enable our life to return to normal," they wrote.
Higher vaccination rates can contribute the most to containing the spread of Covid-19, or at least faster recovery from the disease, and thus to relieving pressure on healthcare, which is on the edge of its capacities.
The employer associations and trade union thus urged people to be consistent in showing and checking the required documents on meeting the recovered, vaccinated, tested rule.
Companies should keep records on self-testing of employees and all citizens should be consistent in using protective masks, keeping a distance, hand sanitising and ventilating offices, they said, adding this was the only way to keep businesses running.
They warned though that government measures for preventing the spreading of Covid-19 must be clear, logical, sensible, proportionate and undiscriminating, and presented to the people on time and in a clear and understandable way.
STA, 23 November 2021 - Slovenia logged 3,394 new coronavirus cases for Monday as infections kept receding week-on-week for the fourth consecutive day. However, Covid-19 has claimed 23 more lives and ICU cases keep climbing, data released by the government show.
A total of 1,154 patients were hospitalised with Covid-19 this morning, eight fewer then yesterday. However, the number of those treated in intensive care increased by ten to 285.
The latter figure is just below the current Covid ICU capacity of 288 beds but the capacity is expected to be expanded.
With the daily count of newly confirmed infections dropping by 10% from the same day a week ago, the rolling 7-day average dropped further to 3,090, down by over 50 from the day before.
The cumulative 14-day incidence was still slightly up, by two to 2,125, and the estimated number of active cases rose by about 50 to almost 44,800, according to the National Institute of Public Health.
The PCR test positivity rate remains high at 46%.
Vaccination is progressing slowly, with 1,139,108 people or 54% of the population fully inoculated. This means 64% of adults or 75% of the over 50-year-olds.
According to the government, 242,219 people have received a booster shot.
Get all the latest data on covid and Slovenia
STA, 22 November 2021 - Igor Samobor, the director of Ljubljana's SNG Drama theatre, has resigned due to what he described as government foot-dragging over the badly needed renovation of the building of Slovenia's largest theatre.
In a resignation statement circulated Monday, Samobor says preparations for a renovation and extension of the theatre's building in the centre of Ljubljana had been proceeding since 2012, but then ground to a halt when Vasko Simoniti became the culture minister last year.
An architectural design has been selected, an adjacent building purchased and everything was ready for the acquisition of a building permit, but then Simoniti deferred financing despite the theatre having fulfilled all its obligations, according to Samobor.
Samobor accuses Simoniti of a series of "arbitrary decisions" and says it is impossible to act in such an environment. He decided to resign because "there is a chance that the negative attitude by the minister is of a personal, not general nature".
The SNG Drama theatre is in bad shape and was severely flooded during record rains that hit the Slovenian capital in late September, highlighting the need for renovation.
Samobor, a prominent actor, was named director in April 2013.
STA, 22 November 2021 - Slovenia's Education and Sport Inspectorate carried out 121 inspections in November to find 11 cases of irregularities in compliance with measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Chief Schools Inspector Simon Slokan said on Monday. One school was temporarily shut down for non-compliance.
Slokan reiterated that "the introduction of self-testing in schools is a specific situation that we have not seen before". Since the self-testing measure came into force last week, the inspectorate carried out 43 inspections and found major non-compliance in five cases.
"These five schools did not arrange self-testing for children, they failed to obtain parental consent, and did not properly arrange distance learning for children without consent," Slokan explained.
The inspectorate issued verbal warnings to those schools and urged them to take immediate action. They were later subjected to re-inspections, and it was mostly found that they have started addressing their issues.
Only one school failed to follow the inspectorate's warnings, and the inspectorate ordered by decree that the whole school switches to distance learning until 3 December or until irregularities are resolved.
The Education Ministry confirmed to the STA that the school in question was a private school in central Slovenia, but added that more information could not be disclosed.
Meanwhile, the inspectorate found that 38 out of 43 schools made excellent preparations for the implementation of the measures. Slokan also reiterated that head teachers and school staff are not the ones who set the rules, but have a responsibility to respect and implement them.
Threats, protests and unnecessary pressure from parents are only bringing unrest - with the children feeling the brunt of it, said Slokan, reiterating his call for parents to be held accountable. He believes that the common goal of everybody is quality education.
"The inspectorate will continue to ensure that everyone entering a kindergarten or school complies with all required measures, because this is the only way to ensure a safe and stimulating space for all and that lessons can continue to take place in schools," concluded Slokan.
The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 19 November 2021.
Mladina: Signs of optimism upon Janša's looming defeat
STA, 19 November 2021 - Mladina says in its latest editorial that with the announcement of the election date, a countdown has started in Slovenia and in the EU as well, an "increasingly optimistic countdown to the end of a painful period of authoritarian rule".
Under the headline 155, Mladina says that the majority of politically active people are counting down the 155 days left until the election, and compares Slovenia's situation to the final period of President Trump's rule in the US.
Turning to Prime Minister Janez Janša, the commentary suggests that his recent behaviour reflects "a man whose plans have all fallen through and who has experienced rejection everywhere".
"Janša is defeated, and he knows it. We have never seen anything like this in the history of the rotating EU presidency: other EU leaders and representatives making it so clear to the PM of the country holding the presidency that they despise him."
"But his defeat at home is even greater. He has failed to break the media and the judiciary, he has failed to establish a cult of personality, he has failed to overturn the mood of a society so clearly opposed to the Slovenia he would like to create."
"Janša is now counting only on the government's alleged economic success, that is the only thing he talks about in an attempt to cover up the completely misguided fight against the epidemic, which is taking on frightening proportions."
Mladina adds that despite all the government's interference in various state institutions, certain forms of optimism, strength and rebellion are spreading through Slovenia's society, a certain "mockery at the autocratic ruler and his followers".
"As we are in the midst of an epidemic, it is hard to laugh - but the sentiment is there. Laughter is a sign of freedom, and the beginning of laughter signals the end of fear," concludes the commentary.
Demokracija: Fight against heirs of Communism
STA, 18 November 2021 - Demokracija magazine argues in Thursday's commentary that it is time to fight against the heirs of Communist ideology, which it says stages "media pogroms and show trials" whenever a government is not led by "red monsters disguised as social or liberal democrats".
These people perceive themselves as democratic advocates of liberty, and yet they designate everyone who disagrees with them as authoritarian enemies of democracy. "In their mental processes, shaped through decades, the (bourgeois) right is bent on racism and fascism, whereas the middle class, the pillar of the free market system and the engine of development, remains their biggest enemy."
According to the commentator, the time has come to determine whose country Slovenia is. "Do the 'proud heirs of the League of Communists' really have the exclusive right to bypass all the rules ... and terrorise others in the streets? Who will stop these guerrilla actions by leftists, concealed behind nice-sounding names of NGOs?"
History shows that red revolutions have always been deadly for good, God fearing people, that they have only brought devastation and sadness, Demokracija says.
"Nowadays a coordinated and systemic attack is carried out differently than it was a hundred years ago, but the consequences are the same. Our future demands that we fight, and that we remember the legendary times of this generations for actually liberating [the country], not only making it independent."
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