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

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FRIDAY, 5 November
        LJUBLJANA - Amidst surging infections, the government decided to tighten Covid restrictions instead of imposing another lockdown. New restrictions, applicable from 8 November, include an expansion of the Covid pass mandate, restrictions on opening hours of bars and restaurants, closure of night clubs, and a ban on gatherings.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor announced plans to call the general election for 24 April, the earliest possible date for a scheduled election. Centre-left opposition parties said they would want the election to be held early, but the ruling coalition parties said they were happy with the date.
        LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court struck down a provision of the infectious diseases act that formed the legal basis for the closure of businesses during lockdowns. It gave the National Assembly two months to amend the act in line with its decision. In the intervening time, a different provision of the act can be invoked.
        LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court ruled in a procedure initiated at the request of the Supreme Court that parts of the Judicial Council act are unconstitutional. The court held that the regulations on disciplinary procedure, when it is initiated by the Judicial Council, do not meet the standards of objective impartiality.
        LJUBLJANA - The supervisory board of Elektro Ljubljana, Slovenia's largest electricity distributor, dismissed on Friday the company's chairman Andrej Ribič. Ribič said he had been offered an early departure at a meeting held in the parliamentary offices of the SDS but declined, which is why he was axed. He will challenge his dismissal in court.
        LJUBLJANA - Mimovrste, Slovenia's largest online retailer, has been acquired by Polish shopping platform Allegro. The latter bought Mall Group, which owns Mimovrste and WE/DO, from PPF, EC Investments and Rockaway Capitaly.
        LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković entered a not guilty plea at an arraignment hearing at the Ljubljana District Court in a case of tax evasion concerning the sale of retailer Mercator shares in 2006. His two sons also pleaded not guilty but they did not attend the hearing.

SATURDAY, 6 November
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar was admitted to University Medical Centre Ljubljana for appendicitis. He had surgery and was released from hospital a few days later.

SUNDAY, 7 November
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša met with Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina presidency, to discuss the political situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the region. Janša described the meeting on Twitter as a substantive exchange about the situation in the country.

MONDAY, 8 November
        GLASGOW, UK - The COP26 climate conference is a key step for the future of our planet and younger generations, Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak said at a press conference in Glasgow, speaking alongside European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans. "It's time we act responsibly and move up from good intentions to concrete actions," Vizjak said.
        LJUBLJANA - STA director Igor Kadunc and Uroš Urbanija, the director of the Government Communications Office (UKOM), signed an agreement on the STA's public service valid until the end of the year, ending an impasse that lasted almost a year. Kadunc said this sorted out matters for this year, but everything was still open for 2022.
        LJUBLJANA - Matej Accetto was elected president of the Constitutional Court after his peers voted to give him a three-year term at the helm of Slovenia's top court. He will take over from Rajko Knez on 19 December.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) called Call to Action - Environmental Protection in All Policies, with Slovenia serving as the leading EU member state in the initiative, which aims at declaring an environmental crisis in the EU.

TUESDAY, 9 November
        LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Policy Committee okayed the government's plan to conclude an agreement with the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation for the purchase of eight-wheeled Boxer armoured personnel carries (APCs). The government intends to purchase 45 Boxer APCs, produced by Germany, for what is the currently estimated price of EUR 412 million.
        LJUBLJANA - Chaired by Slovenia's Andrej Šircelj, the EU finance ministers relaunched the discussion on reforming the fiscal rule, which had been on hold since the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic. The Slovenian presidency said interest had been shown for further talks on how to ensure greater simplicity and transparency of rules and favourable conditions for further recovery.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian hospitals warned they were filling up fast with Covid patients as the country reported thousands of new cases every day. ICU occupancy rate is projected to peak on 24 November at over 250, significantly higher than at any point during the pandemic.
        LJUBLJANA - The association of Slovenia's urban municipalities called on the National Assembly to pass legal basis to allow the government to adopt scientifically supported measures to contain the Covid outbreak. The mayors suggested considering introducing the reconvalescent-vaccinated rule (PC), arguing the country is a "hostage of a minority of 200,000 people who oppose vaccination".
        LJUBLJANA - The shareholders' meeting of GEN-I, Slovenia's largest power supplier, failed to re-appoint Robert Golob as CEO after the supervisory board of Gen Energija, which owns half the company, did not give its consent for the reappointment. Golob later accused the government of trying to get rid of him because Gen-I had produced a decarbonisation plan that the cabinet did not wish to accept.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's Jewish community has finally got a place of worship as the Ljubljana Synagogue opened in a residential building in Trubarjeva Street in a joint effort by the Austrian Jewish community from Graz and the Slovenian Jewish community.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium/LJUBLJANA - The European Commission said it would keep a close eye on the situation at the STA after the agency signed a public service agreement for November and December with the Government Communication Office. Spokesman Christian Wigand said the Slovenian authorities must ensure that the independence of the agency is fully preserved.
        GLASGOW, Scotland - Slovenia ranked 50th on the Climate Change Performance Index ranking for 2022, an improvement by one spot, however scientists warn that the country's performance in fighting climate change is still quite poor.
        MARIBOR - More than a hundred criminal investigators from across the country conducted a series of house raids as part of a criminal investigation into allegations of bribery and abuse of office. Two doctors were detained on suspicion of taking bribes to issue more than 10,000 illegal medical certificates over several years.

WEDNESDAY, 10 November
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly appointed Rok Svetlič a judge on the Constitutional Court. Svetlič received 46 votes with only 46 MPs picking up their ballots because the centre-left opposition boycotted the vote. The coalition was joined by the SNS, DeSUS and minority MPs in endorsing the candidate.
        LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin announced that Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak could no longer count on the support of his party New Slovenia (NSi) following the statements he made in a leaked conversation with a spa company boss 14 years ago. He said it would be best if Vizjak resigned.
        LJUBLJANA - Some 35,000 health and social care employees will benefit from a pay rise under an agreement initialled by two trade unions representing the staff and the government valued at nearly EUR 123 million. The deal brings higher wages to more than 80% of the employees in healthcare, 80% of employees in social care and 40% of support employees in those two activities.
        MARIBOR - An employee of the Specialised State Prosecutor's Office was arrested on suspicion of having leaked confidential information to key members of the Slovenian cell of the Kavač Clan, a Montenegrin crime syndicate. The woman, reportedly a secretary, had access to confidential information about orders for house searches and covert surveillance measures.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will donate 300,000 shots of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Moderna to Covax, the global initiative aimed at equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, the government decided. Africa was designated as the priority region.
        LJUBLJANA - The prosecution dismissed a report against former STA director Bojan Veselinovič over alleged abuse of office related to a compensation contract with the newspaper publisher Dnevnik. Veselinovič said he had expected such a decision because the report had no merit.
        LJUBLJANA - Ljubo Žnidar, an MP for the coalition Democrats (SDS), resigned. The party said he stepped down for personal reasons and decided to continue his professional career in the corporate sector.

THURSDAY, 11 November
        LJUBLJANA - Students who refuse to wear masks or self-test will study from home under new rules that will enter into force on 15 November, Education Ministry State Secretary Damir Orehovec said after schools expressed concern over the lack of a legal basis for action against those who violate rules.
        LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša dismissed the opposition's allegations about government misconduct during the course of the coronavirus pandemic, telling a parliamentary inquiry that its decisions were based on opinions by experts.
        LJUBLJANA - NLB bank reported net profit almost doubling to EUR 205.5 million in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the year before. CEO Blaž Brodnjak said the results enabled the bank to "to search for new growth opportunities" in the bank's home region in SE Europe, including potential mergers and acquisitions.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission projected in its autumn economic forecast that Slovenia's GDP would expand by 6.4% in 2021, a 0.7-point upgrade from its July forecast. In 2022, the country's GDP is to grow at 4.2%, a downgrade of 0.8 points.
        LJUBLJANA - XLAB, a company providing remote desktop access and solutions for IT-automation and digital transformation, won the Delo Business Star award. The jury praised it for its good reputation in the IT industry and its ability to market products on foreign markets.

STA, 12 November 2021 - The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has welcomed the signing of a contract that ended the financial crisis at the Slovenian Press Agency (Slovenska tiskovna agencija - STA), while raising concerns that the current conditions of the deal could leave the STA in a financially weaker position in the long term as it performs its vital public service.

The MFRR noted in a press release on Friday that the agreement between the new acting director of the STA and the director of the Government Communication Office (Urad vlade za komuniciranje - UKOM) "brings to a close a gruelling 10-month crisis".

During the crisis, the "STA was forced to operate without legally-mandated state funding for 312 days and narrowly avoided bankruptcy," it said, noting that UKOM had been repeatedly appealed to reinstate the financing and the issue raised at the EU level.

"While our organisations welcome the end of the immediate crisis, the issues for the STA are far from over. Ultimately, these payments were always due to the agency under two separate laws," the MFRR said.

It noted that several outstanding issues in the contract needed to be resolved and a new business plan and agreement for 2022 need to be approved.

"Moving forward, based on UKOM's handling of this dispute, we also retain concerns that its new oversight of STA's financial activities could infringe on editorial independence. Observation must not morph into interference."

The MFRR added that the crisis had left the STA "drained psychologically as well as financially", and that, "despite pressures and smears from top government officials", its journalists had continued to work with great professionalism and dignity.

The press release also takes note of the crowdfunding campaign for the STA of the Association of Slovenian Journalists (DNS) and the Slovenian Journalists' Union (SNS) that has raised a total of EUR 385,000 to keep the national press agency afloat.

"However, the unavoidable conclusion is that this funding crisis should never have reached this point. We maintain that this manufactured dispute was driven primarily by an effort by the government to try and exert greater control over the STA."

The statement has been co-signed by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), International Press Institute (IPI) and OBC Transeuropa.

STA, 12 November 2021 - A potential new lockdown would cause the state to go bankrupt, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said on Friday during a government visit to the south-east Slovenia. He said the Covid crisis was not over yet, so everyone should join forces to find solutions as "there will be no more state aid".

Speaking at a debate in Novo Mesto hosted by the regional branch of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Novo Mesto Development Centre, he pointed to the different dilemmas regarding the proposals for restrictions to deal with the medical crisis.

He urged people to act in a responsible way to preserve their own health and the health of others, and said that Covid-19 was being abused for a "sick battle against the establishment".

The latest Covid restrictions are the last attempt at restricting the medical crisis, he said, adding that he was advocating the introduction of the PC rule, meaning only those who have recovered from Covid or have been vaccinated would get the Covid pass.

"We cannot not allow for a handful of people to hold the country hostage," he said, adding that another lockdown would not work.

Počivalšek also presented to local business executives the options for drawing EU funds from the recovery and resilience fund, as part of which the Economy Ministry expects EUR 427 million in grants for investments.

On the sidelines of the debate Počivalšek hinted in a statement for the STA that the validity of tourism vouchers could be extended beyond this year if their use will not be possible due to Covid restrictions. He said a decision on this would be made before the end of the year.

As part of the government visit, Počivalšek visited several companies in Ribnica, Kočevje and Novo Mesto today.

STA, 12 November 2021 - Primary and secondary school students will start self-testing on school premises on Wednesday, the government decided on Thursday as it delayed the 15 November start by two days. Testing will be carried out three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, and will count as a Covid pass for children.

The decree the government changed last evening also says that parents will have to sign a consent to allow their children to self-test at school.

Vaccinated school children and coronavirus convalescents will not be required to self-test.

The children whose parents will opt against at-school self-testing will switch to remote learning, under a decision taken by the education minister.

However, these parents are not entitled to compensation for wages if they take days off from work to stay home with their children.

The Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs explained that parents deciding not to allow children to be self-tested is not an external or unexpected event beyond their control as defined in the law on on healthcare emergency measures.

"If a parent wants to stay at home with the child, they will have to make other arrangements with the employer," the ministry added.

By self-testing at school, children will meet the PCT (reconvalescent-vaccinated-tested) rule, which is also required for extra-curricular activities, the decree says.

At-school self-testing will be carried out under the supervision of a person assigned by the head teachers.

Special needs children will also have to self-test, albeit at home.

STA, 12 November 2021 - Slovenia confirmed 3,431 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, the second day in a row that cases declined compared to the week before. The positivity rate declined slightly as well, to 37.6%. However, hospital figures continued to rise, and the number of ICU patients is higher than at any time during the pandemic.

The number of Covid-19 patients at intensive care units rose by three to reach 215, whereas the overall number was up by 34 to 954. A total of 14 patients with Covid-19 died.

The latest data by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) show the 14-day case notification rate per 100,000 population at 1,938, up by 44 from yesterday. The seven-day average of daily cases stands at 3,140, down by 44.

The Jožef Stefan Institute meanwhile says that judging by the positivity rate, "the fourth wave of the epidemic has probably reached its peak".

The number of Covid patients in intensive care is expected to peak in the last week of November at more than 250, the research centre says on its website, adding that the 300 figure will probably not be surpassed.

"It is now key to consistently observe the reconvalescent-vaccinated-tested (PCT) rule and all the other measures so that the epidemic curve does not start rising again."

The institute has calculated that infections are currently spreading at the reproduction rate of about 1, meaning one infected person infects approximately one person.

All the latest data and charts on covid and Slovenia

STA, 11 November - Prime Minister Janez Janša dismissed the opposition's allegations about government misconduct during the course of the coronavirus pandemic, telling a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday that its decisions were based on opinions by experts.

Opposition MPs quizzed Janša about multiple aspects of government actions, ranging from the decision to roll out mass rapid testing, to the purchase of vaccines and the rationale behind measures that some MPs said had been put in place overnight without giving people adequate time to prepare.

He said mass rapid testing has been rolled out based on the advice of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), the Health Ministry and the ministry's Covid-19 expert group.

Asked whether he had known about rapid antigen tests being unreliable, which is supposedly evident from minutes of meetings of the Covid-19 expert group, Janša said it was general knowledge that rapid tests are more unreliable, which is why all positives are double-checked with PCR tests.

There was a scandal early on involving the supply of rapid tests by Majbert Pharm, some of whose owners had ties to Janša's Democrats (SDS) in the past and had bragged on social media what a "killer deal" they had signed with the state.

Questions have been raised about how their tests were verified, including by a doctor who used to work at the National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food and recently came out with accusations that the process was not up to standard.

"I did not write the criteria, the competent services did," said Janša, who also denied having personally decided that the Majbert Pharm tests would be verified at that specific lab.

Janša did acknowledge that there may have been abuses in hazard pay received by public sector employees, but he said the heads of institutions were in charge of determining the bonuses and they were responsible for their actions. Abuses that have been detected have already been sanctioned, he said.

One opposition MP alleged that Slovenia had initially opted to prioritise the AstraZeneca vaccine because it was cheaper than the jab produced by Pfizer, but Janša said this was not the whole story.

"It was not just because this vaccine is significantly cheaper, it was also because it seemed at the time that this would be the first vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)."

Then, when he provisionally took over as health minister after the resignation of Tomaž Gantar, he learnt that the EMA would probably approve the Pfizer vaccine first.

"The same day I ordered the ministry to change the strategy and that Slovenia should order all vaccines available, regardless of the price."

As for allegations that the government is taking measures overnight, Janša said experts were always consulted, and sometimes decisions were not adopted the same week even when experts proposed that they should be.

This was Janša's second testimony in front of the commission. Chair Robert Pavšič said he would be invited to testify again.

STA, 10 November 2021 - Some 35,000 health and social care employees will benefit from a pay rise under an agreement initialled on Wednesday by two trade unions representing the staff and the government. Hospital nurses can expect the highest rise, of three to six wage brackets. 

Valued at nearly EUR 123 million, the deal brings higher wages to more than 80% of the employees in healthcare, 80% of employees in social care and 40% of support employees in those two activities, or a total of 200 different jobs.

The agreement was initialled on Wednesday by Health Minister Janez Poklukar and Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj, and the heads of the two trade unions, who said negotiations would continue to tackle other issues.

The rises, unofficially ranging from 4% to 25%, will become effective after the respective collective bargaining agreements are signed, which is expected to happen by the end of the week.

"Today, we are a step closer to the goal of a fairer remuneration of work performed by employees in healthcare. We'll resume talks to attain fair pay and decent work conditions for other jobs," said Slavica Mencingar, the head of the union of nursing staff in healthcare.

Irena Ilešič Čujovič, the head of the union of health and social care employees, said the pay deal would have to be followed up by adoption of work standards and norms, which they expect to happen by the end of the year.

The percentage of the pay rise will depend on the job, with the highest increase of between three to six brackets to benefit hospital nurses, in particular those working in intensive care units.

In social care, wages will be raised by four brackets. The rises will mainly benefit nursing staff at care homes, as well as staff in day centres, social services and home care.

Labour Ministry State Secretary Mateja Ribič was quoted by Radio Slovenija as saying that each bracket represented 4%, and that the staff who will have their pay raised by four brackets can count on about 20% higher pay.

According to Ilešič Čujovič, higher wages will also benefit psychologists, social workers and administrative staff in healthcare.

"We have at least started changing valuation of jobs in Group J to address cleaning, kitchen, laundry staff, receptionists and maintenance workers as indispensable links," the trade unionist said, adding that talks would resume in January.

Both her and Mencingar thanked Health Minister Poklukar for his commitment to talks, while Poklukar said the deal was but the beginning of normalisation of staffing situation in health and social care.

The goal is not only to prevent staff from leaving but also to boost staffing. However, Poklukar said the staffing crisis that had been deepening for years could not be fixed overnight.

The Labour Ministry has valued the financial impact of the agreed rises in social care at EUR 37 million, of which EUR 4 million is to be secured in the state budget and the public health insurer ZZZS is chip in EUR 17.4 million.

The difference is the amount that will affect prices of institutional care. Due to higher labour costs, these will increase by 5.6% on average, the ministry told the STA.

Meanwhile, the financial impact of the deal for healthcare is estimated at EUR 85.95 million, which is to be fully covered from the Health Insurance Institute (ZZZS).

STA, 10 November 2021 - The Slovenian Association of Journalists (Društvo novinarjev Slovenije - DNS) has come out in defence of fellow journalists with the news portal Necenzurirano.si who are facing increasing pressure from a tax advisor.

Rok Snežič has brought 39 defamation suits against three journalists of the outlet over their articles about his business dealings and his role in a loan taken out by the Prime Minister Janez Janša's Democratic Party (SDS) in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2017.

The DNS notes that this was the first example in Slovenia of a form of pressure known abroad as Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), actions designed to silence criticism and dissent.

However, Snežič, who Necenzurirano claims has close ties with Janša, has now stepped up his pressure, reporting the journalists to the National Bureau of Investigation and the Financial Administration.

"He alleges they conduct their business unlawfully, are supposedly funded with money of suspicious origin, get paid in cash and other irregularities which the journalists say are false accusations and fabrications with no basis in facts," the DNS said.

The association does not wish to deny those who are hurt by journalists' articles their legitimate right to defend their good name, but it believes the latest "is only a new, graver form of pressure".

The association believes that Snežič has ties to the police as well as to the Financial Administration in what they see as "potential abuse of repressive institutions with the intention to silence journalists".

"Such manoeuvres are frequent in European countries with authoritarian governments and seek to silence critical journalists by criminalising their work and personalities. The goal of such pressure is to suppress all critical media and other critical voices in society."

The association will notify its international partners and relevant institutions of the matter, arguing that such continued stepping up of pressure on journalists jeopardises media freedom.

The case of the Necenzurirano journalists was also mentioned in the latest annual report by the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists, issued in April.

STA, 10 November 2021 - The National Assembly changed the law on the establishment of municipalities to grant Krško the status of urban municipality in a 65:11 vote on Wednesday. Krško has thus joined Slovenia's eleven urban municipalities, the biggest of which are Ljubljana and Maribor.

The proposal for the status change was filed in September by opposition National Party (SNS) MP Dušan Šiško, who today stressed Krško was the geographic, economic, transport, administrative and cultural centre of Posavje region.

It has many development and administrative services, and three big power stations, including the Krško N-plant, which also makes it the country's energy centre.

With some 26,000 residents, Krško, which lies in the east on the border with Croatia, is one of the smaller urban municipalities.

With a population of two million, Slovenia has 212 municipalities, of which 12 urban ones - also Kranj, Koper, Celje, Novo Mesto, Velenje, Nova Gorica, Ptuj, Murska Sobota and Slovenj Gradec.

While Ljubljana is the biggest with 294,000 residents and Maribor has also more than 100,000 residents, Slovenj Gradec is the smallest with around 16,600, 2019 statistics shows.

Under local government legislation, an urban municipality must have a town with at least 20,000 residents and at least 15,000 jobs, half of which must be in services and the knowledge-based economy.

It must be a geographic, economic and cultural centre of its area, and the state can delegate some services related to urban development onto it.

STA, 9 November 2021 - Slovenia's medical organisations have made an urgent appeal to citizens to do their best to avoid requiring urgent medical assistance over the next month or two, warning the healthcare system is about to collapse. 

The pressure of Covid patients on the health system is so huge, patients at the moment can no longer get some of the services that had been available before, heard the press conference following a meeting of medical organisations on Tuesday.

Over the next week they expect the situation to aggravate so that doctors at critical points in the system would be simultaneously attending to two patients in need of a ventilator, as there would not be enough staff that can help such patients or suitable beds, said Igor Dovnik, the head of the Association of Private Doctors and Dentists.

Bojana Beović, the head of the Medical Chamber, could not rule out the possibility that doctors might need to choose who got intensive aid, a situation that she said was one of the hardest that could happen to a doctor.

She said staff shortages were acute. All the staff was mobilised at the moment to be deployed where is urgently needed, in particular intensive care units, which need highly qualified staff. However, despite an all-out effort to ensure suitable level of care, the capacities are already stretched.

"This is an alarming situation that we can cope with through maximum solidarity of all health workers on the one hand and solidarity of people on the other who will understand the situation and contribute to making the situation manageable in some way," said Beović.

"Life is open, there are traffic accidents, accidents at work, other infections," she said, warning the workload is bigger than a year ago when the country was shut down. "If we want a normal life, keep schools, the economy open, we must be aware there's a price to this. We must do all activities in a way not to make that price too high."

The organisations, including the trade union of doctors and dentists, called on everyone to do their bit to avoid needing medical aid over the next month or two, including by avoiding situations or activities that could result in injury such as sports or reckless driving, or risking getting any infection.

Dovnik urged everyone who have not yet got vaccinated against Covid-19 to do so, and recommended getting a flu jab as well. "I don't think we could be so lucky to avoid flu two years in a row," he said.