STA, 15 October - Manica Janežič Ambrožič, the TV news programme editor-in-chief at public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, stepped down on Friday. She said she had decided to do so because she disagreed with changes to the programme and production plan for TV Slovenija's news programme for next year, RTV Slovenija said in a statement.

The RTV Slovenija management labelled her move as a "complete surprise", and TV Slovenija acting director Valentin Areh urged her not to step down today.

The public broadcaster also said that minor changes to the programme and production plan were necessary because of a lack of staff and a drop in ratings of news shows.

For the time being, Janežič Ambrožič will stay on as acting TV news programme editor.

According to some media reports, most of the changes for 2022 concern the news programme, with some news shows to be cut short and some cancelled.

TV Slovenija's news programmes staff and the Slovenian Journalist Trade Union (SNS) regretted Janežič Ambrožič's resignation.

Both are worried about the planned cut in news programmes, which the SNS believes will take the public broadcaster away from European standards.

TV Slovenija's news staff are aware that some changes are needed but are afraid the planned ones are "too radical", so they expect a "thorough discussion".

The SNS meanwhile understands the reasons which led the editor-in-chief to step down. "Cancelling the morning news, shortening the main daily news Dnevnik, and cancelling the majority of news talk shows takes RTV Slovenija away from the leading public European services and lowers standards for Slovenian viewers."

The union thus urged the management to ensure programmes fully in line with the scope of services set down in the RTV Slovenija law, and called on the National Assembly to provide stable media funding for both public service providers - RTV Slovenija and the STA.

The RTV Slovenija programming council is meeting on Monday to discuss the draft programme and production plan, while Janežič Ambrožič's resignation is also expected to be discussed.

STA, 17 October 2021 - A total of 632 new coronavirus cases were confirmed with PCR tests in Slovenia on Saturday, as the epidemic's curve continues to rise, a trend recorded earlier this week, shows data by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). The figure compares to only 489 cases recorded on Saturday last week, which makes for a 29% weekly rise.

The 14-day incidence of cases per 100,000 residents increased by 5 to 578 from Friday, while the rolling 7-day average rose by 20 to 947.

The NIJZ now estimates the number of active cases in the country at 12,258, up by 100 from Friday.

There are now 411 Covid-19 patients in hospitals around the country, up 13 from yesterday. Of these, 123 need intensive care, up 4, government figures show.

The youngest Covid patient is 32 years old, while the youngest in intensive care is 35.

Three Covid patients died on Saturday, which compares to four deaths on Friday.

A total of 1,064,673 residents have been fully immunised against coronavirus, which is around 51% of the country's population.

Get all the latest data here

STA, 16 October 2021 - The opposition Social Democrats (SD) set out their election manifesto on Saturday with the promise of a new beginning and major changes over the next decade, including higher pay and shorter work week. In her address to the party conference, SD leader Tanja Fajon described the programme as a development-oriented vision. 

"Slovenia is speeding into a completely wrong direction today, a direction most people don't support, which is being reflected in protests on the streets, calls for resignations and a snap election," Fajon said, adding: "Neither a water cannon nor tear gas or cynicism can wash away the desire for change."

With the adoption of the draft manifesto, dubbed a "programme of great changes for the development decade until 2030", a broad public debate will begin where the partly will tour the country to talk the proposals through with experts, civil society, trade unions and businesses in the coming months before the final version is adopted by the party conference in early 2022.

The party is planning ten major changes to improve people's lives, the quality of public services, business, governance and democracy, with a quality public healthcare and increasing the value added of the economy for higher pay being described as top priorities.

Fajon spoke of great challenges ahead and the urgency of "dealing with health, economic, social, climate, environmental, technological, political and security risks, to restore safety, prosperity and success in Slovenia".

216 strani #sdkonferenca pic.twitter.com/Vx2ULwDuTR

— Tanja Fajon (@tfajon) October 16, 2021

The proposals as set by Fajon include measures to boost value added of the economy, raising the minimum wage to at least EUR 800 gross and gradually reducing working time to 32 hours a week, while raising the minimum pension to EUR 700 net, proposals that she said were based on financial calculations.

Fajon also spoke of the need to secure social security for all, the young, families, workers and the elderly, a safe and just transition to climate neutrality and the rule of law and democracy.

She said public healthcare must be enhanced so that all citizens regardless of their situation should have access to equal and quality services and treatment. Th party is thus proposing a 30-day time frame for specialist examinations, higher pay for nurses and special care for youth mental health.

"It's because only healthy people can work and create. We want an economy and work tailored to people," said Fajon. "We want to root out precarious work as a major exploiter of mostly young people with a single employment contract. Flexibility shouldn't pay, flexibility should be paid," she added.

To cut carbon emissions, the party proposes investing in renewable, green energy sources, building a fast railway from Maribor to Koper, improving city and suburban rail links and free city bus transportation.

To prevent energy poverty due to rinsing prices, the party suggests capping energy prices. "I don't trust the market to protect people. We have a state which must protect people," said Fajon.

Touching on topical political issues, the SD leader said the authoritarian style of rule and the belittling rhetoric of PM Janez Janša had led to Slovenia loosing political allies in Europe as well. The SD "will not be silenced by his intolerant and chaotic rule".

"We will respond to autocracy with more democracy, to repression by defending freedom and to injustice by boosting human rights," she promised, adding that voice must be raised against lies, theft, spread of hatred, violence and threats against women, minorities, gays, refugees, children and vulnerable people.

Talking to reporters after the conference, Fajon said the party was ready for the general election platform-wise, while they were also finalising candidate registry procedures. "Our advantage is that we still have a broad network on the ground."

She said some of the proposals discussed today also included limiting the scope of doctors' work in public and private sector at the same time, free kindergarten for all children, an overhaul of school curriculum, moving all heavy cargo transport to railway, and a properly funded long-term care.

Asked how the party's platform could agree with the other centre-left opposition parties that the SD signed a post-election pact with, Fajon said they had many points in common. "All the points on the table then will be a matter of coalition talks," she said.

The party did not feel they had competition in Slovenia. "These are not new points [...] The demand for a higher minimum wage and pensions has been on the agenda in social democracy for several years, also at the European level. If someone thinks in a similar way it will be the easier to form a new government," she said when challenged whether they competed with the Left with some of their proposals.

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

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FRIDAY, 8 October
        LJUBLJANA - The coalition New Slovenia (NSi) said it was willing to talk an early election with its coalition partners under the condition that the government completes the EU presidency and adopts the national budgets for 2022-2023. NSi leader Matej Tonin said an early election would be a reasonable price to pay to calm the passions in the country.
        LJUBLJANA - Three environmental NGOs filed a suit against the infrastructure and environment ministries over an energy permit issued for the second unit of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK). The organisations consider the energy permit issued in July to the state-owned investor Gen Energija illegal.
        LJUBLJANA - The Supreme State Prosecution expressed concern over the government's decision not to honour the ruling by the Administrative Court on the appointment procedure of Slovenia's delegated prosecutors and instead issue a new call for applications. It said the government was clearly in violation of the articles the Constitution which deal with the rule of law and the right to judicial protection.
        TUHELJ, Croatia - The prime ministers of Slovenia and Croatia, Janez Janša and Andrej Plenković, agreed bilateral relations are good as they took part in an international conference on tourism. Janša pointed to opportunities for cooperation in joint investments, and welcomed Croatia's imminent entry into the eurozone.
        LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) called on the government to take urgent action in the face of the sharp rise in energy prices. It asked for short-term measures such as reduction of certain levies on electricity and gas, and long-term measures, including immediate implementation of planned and ongoing projects.
        LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court announced its decision that issuing penalties for the failure to wear a face mask in enclosed public spaces during the Covid-19 epidemic as a minor offence has no legal basis.

SATURDAY, 9 October
        LJUBLJANA - The opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) adopted a new programme at a party congress. The 15-point platform revolves around the welfare state supported by a strong economy, democracy and respect for the rule of law.
        ZAGREB, Croatia - The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) expressed solidarity with journalists working at the STA and public broadcaster RTV Slovenija as it urged the government to stop contributing to an environment in which verbal and physical harassment of journalists has become par for the course.
        BERGAMO, Italy - Slovenian star cyclist Tadej Pogačar wrapped up the season in style by winning the last big race, Il Lombardia. The UAE Team Emirates rider claimed victory after winning his second straight Tour de France and the Liege-Bastogne-Liege this season.

SUNDAY, 10 October
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia called on the countries that still have the death penality to fully abolish it on World Day Against the Death Penalty. The death penalty, which Slovenia firmly opposes is inhumane, cruel, demining and final form of punishment, the Foreign Ministry said.
        LJUBLJANA - Ljubo Bavcon, professor emeritus of penal law at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law, died aged 97. Bavcon is considered one of the most prominent legal experts of the second half of the 20th century.

MONDAY, 11 October
        LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Janez Poklukar announced the government would follow the recommendation of the national advisory committee on immunisation to use the Pfizer vaccine for under 30-year-olds. In general, the use of mRNA vaccines are recommended over viral vector vaccines.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Culture Committee debated media ownership and concentration in Slovenia, urging the Financial Administration to examine deals in the media conglomerate controlled by businessman Martin Odlazek from the past five years. It urged the Culture Ministry to draft legislation to prevent media concentration.
        LJUBLJANA - Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE), the country's largest electricity producer, announced it would enter the retail electricity market by signing after it signed an agreement to acquire a 51% stake in ECE, a company created in a merger of Elektro Celje and Elektro Gorenjska.

TUESDAY, 12 October
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar assured his Bosnian counterpart Bisera Turković of Slovenia's support for Bosnia-Herzegovina's EU accession process, including when it comes to reforms the country needs to adopt to join the bloc. Turković said her country was ready for EU candidate status.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - The informal meeting of the EU health ministers called for as unified as possible criteria for the implementation of the recovered-vaccinated-tested rule. European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides endorsed the call.
        LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg -EU agriculture ministers chaired by Slovenia's Jože Podgoršek reached a political agreement on the total allowable catch in the Baltic Sea next year, which would cut the catch for some fish stocks. Podgoršek said the agreement was balancing the interests and socio-economic needs of the Baltic fishing communities with the long-term sustainability of fish stocks in the region.
        LJUBLJANA - Centre-left opposition parties announced a motion to oust Interior Minister Aleš Hojs over violent crackdown on protests, and politicisation of the police force. Hojs said he had not been acquainted with the content so he would not comment at this stage.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Ten EU countries, Slovenia included, asked the EU Commission to recognise nuclear power as a low-carbon energy source that should be part of the Union's transition towards climate neutrality. PM Janez Janša said increasing production at nuclear power plants in Europe was essential to securing sufficient supply and achieving carbon-free society by 2050.
        LJUBLJANA - The council of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) adopted a document in which it it denies any further support to the government. The party's MPs, which have been at loggerheads with the government for nearly a year, said they would continue to vote as they wish.
        IDRIJA - The government expressed support for an initiative by ten automotive suppliers to form a partnership with the government and scientists in the field of green mobility whose ultimate goal is to increase total annual sales of the automotive industry in Slovenia from EUR 3 billion today to EUR 5 billion by 2030.
        LJUBLJANA - Petrol, Slovenia's largest energy company, announced it would significantly increase the prices of electricity and natural gas on 1 December due to higher energy prices in international markets. Power is to go up by 30% and of natural gas by 12%.

WEDNESDAY, 13 October
        LJUBLJANA - A fact-finding mission of the European Parliament started its visit to Slovenia with the head of the delegation, Dutch MEP Sophie in 't Veld (Renew), saying their goal was to gather facts not bring down the government. The mission's focus is the rule of law and media freedom.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry into alleged political interference in the police force conducted first interviews, hearing from the former leadership of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) about pressures during supervisions over the work of the NBI, as well as abut dismissals and reassignments under the current government.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Prime Minister Janez Janša outlined the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency to the European Committee of the Regions, highlighting post-Covid recovery, green transition and the EU's strategic autonomy, while also touching on subsidiarity. He argued for a greater degree of inclusion of local and regional communities.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor indicated that one of the four candidates for Constitutional Court judge may have a chance to be appointed by the National Assembly. "There are indications of sufficient support," he said of Rok Svetlič, an professor on philosophy of law.
        NOVO MESTO - Revoz, the Slovenian subsidiary of Renault, announced it would scale down production over the uncertain situation in the car industry, switching from two to one and a half shifts in mid-November. As a result around 350 of the company's more than 2,400 workers will lose their jobs.
        LJUBLJANA - Tensions ran high as opponents of Covid-19 restrictions took to the stress for the fifth consecutive week, disrupting traffic for several hours. A water cannon was at the ready as the police sought to disperse the crowd but was not used. Unlike the week before the protest passed off peacefully.

THURSDAY, 14 October
        LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS, Belgium - Prime Minister Janez Janša faced criticism after publishing a tweet implying that many members of the EU Parliament were "Soros puppets". European Parliament President David Sassoli called on Janša to cease the provocations. Janša tweeted, and then deleted, an image with the heading "13 of the 226 known Soros puppets in the EU parliament". Several MEPs accused him of anti-Semitism.
        LJUBLJANA - The government got acquainted with the current price trends in energy markets and decided not to take any action for now. Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said Slovenia was on the safe side for now and action would be taken if necessary.
        LJUBLJANA - The Prosecution Council again rejected the government's stance that the first procedure for the appointment of European delegated prosecutors was not lawful and cannot be revisited. It said it did not intend to come up with new candidates for Slovenia's two posts in the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), which means it is effectively blocking a new call.
        LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian and Slovakian presidents, Borut Pahor and Zuzana Čaputova, praised bilateral relations as excellent as Čaputova paid an official visit. They stressed the role of cooperation at bilateral and EU levels to address social, political and economic challenges, and welcomed the EU-Western Balkans summit.
        LJUBLJANA - Srebrna Nit, an association campaigning for dignified old age, presented a bill to legalise assisted death in Slovenia. The NGO said their proposal would only permit assisted suicide, while euthanasia would only be possible as an exception. They plan to start collecting voter signatures after a period of public consultation.

STA, 15 October - There is no room for anti-Semitism in the EU and social networks are no place for personal attacks, the European Commission said on Friday in response to a tweet by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, which sparked an avalanche of criticism from leading representatives of EU member states and institutions.

"We do not comment on comments, but let me make a few points clear. Social media should be a space for constructive and respectful debate, it should not be a place for personal attacks against individuals, as was the case with the tweet you mentioned," EU Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said on Friday when asked to comment.

"The commission's position on anti-Semitism is very clear - it has no place in the EU. As laid out in the recent anti-Semitism strategy, it presents a threat not only to the Jewish communities, but to an open and diverse society," he added.

In a tweet that was later deleted, PM Janša posted an image with the heading "13 of the 226 known Soros puppets in the EU parliament," referring to the MEPs as puppets of Jewish Hungarian billionaire George Soros.

One of the MEPs in the image was Sophie in 't Veld (Renew), who is currently on a fact-finding mission in Slovenia with the European Parliament's committee on civil liberties examining Slovenia's compliance with the rule of law and media freedom covenants.

Since Thursday evening, Janša has been engaged in online confrontations with leading representatives of EU member states and institutions.

President of the European Parliament David Sassoli urgently called on Janša to cease the provocations against members of the EU Parliament.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte described the tweet as tasteless, adding that "the government just conveyed this same sentiment to the Slovenian ambassador in The Hague".

Janša retorted that Rutte should not "waste time with ambassadors and media freedom in Slovenia. Together with Sophie in 't Veld, protect your journalists from being killed on the streets," referring to the killing of Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries in July.

Meanwhile, President of the European Council Charles Michel wrote, without directly referencing Janša's tweets, that members of the European Parliament should be able to do their work free from any form of pressure and called for mutual respect.

STA, 14 October - Prime Minister Janez Janša has faced heavy criticism after publishing a tweet implying that many members of the European Parliament are "Soros puppets", including Sophie in 't Veld, the chair of a fact-finding mission currently examining Slovenia's compliance with rule of law and media freedom covenants.

"We urgently call on Janša to cease the provocations against members of the European Parliament. Attacks on members of this house are also attacks on European citizens," European Parliament President David Sassoli said on Twitter.

"A constructive collaboration with the rotating Council Presidency can only be based on mutual trust and respect," he said.

The statement came after Janša tweeted an image with the heading "13 of the 226 known Soros puppets in the EU parliament", a reference to Hungarian billionaire George Soros.

Janša, who has often accused political opponents of being on Soros's payroll, has since deleted the tweet.

The image he tweeted has been traced by Twitter sleuths to a radical hate blog. Some of the people in the image are no longer MEPs and one passed away earlier this year.

Some accused Janša of anti-Semitism, including the Dutch MEP Malik Azmani, who described the image as a "despicable, anti-Semitic trope", and vice-president of Renew Europe, and German Green MEP Daniel Freund, who said Janša "peddles Orban-style anti-Semitic conspiracy theories".

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described Janša's tweet as "tasteless" and condemned it "in the strongest possible terms". "The government just conveyed this same sentiment to the Slovenian ambassador in The Hague," he said.

Janša retorted that Rutte should not "waste time with ambassadors and media freedom in Slovenia. Together with @SophieintVeld, protect your journalists from being killed on the streets."

This was just one of the tweets referencing the fact-finding mission in recent days.

This afternoon, he responded to a tweet by the European Socialists and Democrats, who said Janša refused to meet with the European Parliament's fact-finding mission.

"Who are you? How many times have you visited a German chancellor, a Dutch PM or a French president?" Janša said.

"By the way, it's Netherlands where the last journalist was killed in the #EU. In Slovenia, such attempts were executed only during the regime of your comrades" from the ranks of the Social Democrats (SD), he said.

SD president Tanja Fajon, herself an MEP, said she felt ashamed. "I hope my colleagues understand Slovenia is much more than Janez Janša."

Slovenian Renew MEP Irena Joveva described Janša's tweets as "vile provocations" and in a joint statement with fellow Renew MEP Klemen Grošelj rejected the "anti-Semitic message in the prime minister's post".

MEP Milan Zver, a member of Janša's Democrats (SDS), meanwhile hit back at Sassoli saying his statement was "politically motivated and indicates ignorance of the situation in Slovenia."

STA, 14 October 2021 - Three Pakistani citizens were sentenced on Wednesday to prison for organising illegal transportation of foreigners across Slovenia as part of a criminal ring, and will also be expelled from the country for several years, the newspaper Dnevnik reported on Thursday. The trio had asked for international protection in Slovenia.

The prosecution held that 12 members of the ring organised and transported, or cooperated in, unlawful transportation of foreigners from the Croatian to Italian border, or from the Ljubljana Asylum Centre to Italy, in June 2019 and in June-to-October 2020. Among them were four Ljubljana taxi drivers, and three security guards from the asylum centre.

Judge Ana Klampfer Binder said when handing down the sentences at the Ljubljana District Court the Pakistanis, who had pleaded guilty, had abused asylum to commit crime.

They received sentences ranging from three years and a month to four years and four months, depending on the type of crime, the number of foreigners they helped cross the border, and the role they played in the ring.

The minimum prison sentence for such criminal acts is three years in prison and a fine. The three will thus also have to pay fines ranging from EUR 1,000 to EUR 5,000.

Dnevnik said that the three defendants have no assets, and in such cases the fine is transformed into additional days in prison.

As for the other members of the ring, Dnevnik said that several had also pleaded guilty.

The Prosecutor's Office told the STA that two sentences had been handed down in recent weeks, with one security guard receiving a year in prison and a EUR 700 fine.

The security guard, who will serve the sentence by doing 730 hours of community work, had left the door of the secured section of the asylum centre unlocked in order to obtain personal gain.

He had thus enabled five foreigners to leave before they would be fingerprinted and entered into the Eurodac, the EU's asylum fingerprint database, so that they could proceed towards their target EU country.

Four suspects refused to plead guilty at a pre-trial hearing and will go to trial, and one suspect has not been served the indictment yet because his whereabouts are unknown.

Prison sentences for smuggling foreigners for gain or acting within a ring increased in 2020 under the new legislation - from 1-8 years to 3-15 years.

STA, 13 October 2021 - In line with the budget documents for 2022 and 2023, the budget of the Interior Ministry will reach EUR 553.75 million in 2022, which Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said in parliament today was a record high budget since the founding of the ministry. In 2023, the ministry is to receive EUR 542.2 million.

Hojs told the parliamentary Home Affairs, Public Administration and Local Government Committee that some major projects would be completed in 2022, so the spending would be a bit lower the year after.

This year's budget needed to be raised also due to higher wages of police officers and other employees during the Covid-19 epidemic. "In 2022 and 2023 the increase reflects the share of personal income that will increase in line with an agreement we have reached with both police trade unions," he said, adding that the condition for the rise was the adoption of the organisation and work of the police act, which was still under way.

Among the planned investments, the minister highlighted police equipment, new police vehicles, a purchase of a transport helicopter and two observation helicopters, and two vessels.

In line with the budget documents, the Public Administration Ministry will have EUR 172.7 million at its disposal in 2022 and EUR 191.7 million in 2023.

Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik said 51 people would be hired at administrative units across the country to help service citizens and that the funds would also be used for the construction of broadband networks of the next generation.

Digital Transformation Minister Mark Boris Andrijanič said EUR 22.38 million would be allocated for digital transformation in 2022 and EUR 35.97 in 2023.

The funded projects will focus on improving digital skills among vulnerable groups, support to the young in obtaining digital skills, and the setting up of Slovenia's development and economic representation office in the Silicon Valley, US.

Boštjan Koražija from the opposition Left welcomed the increase in funding for police protective equipment and better working conditions but expressed hope the money will not be used for "police repression".

He believes not one multi-purpose helicopter but at least three would be needed, for which the government would need to secure funding in the 2022, 2023 budgets.

Hojs later explained that in line with an agreement with the defence and health ministries, a decision had been made for the army to conduct emergency medical assistance, while the police would provide it "secondary assistance".

Andrej Rajh from the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) said the government was financially exhausting the state while on power while others would need to clean up the mess. He pointed to what he thinks is a big public debt.

Andrej Černigoj from the junior coalition New Slovenia (NSi) said Rajh was being populistic, as Slovenia's public debt was still well below the EU average.

Bojana Muršič from the Social Democrats (SD) said it was irresponsible to discuss the 2023 budget as a new government would be in power then.

STA, 13 October 2021 - Tensions were running high in Ljubljana as opponents of Covid-19 restrictions took to the stress for the fifth consecutive week, disrupting traffic. A police water cannon was at the ready as the police were trying to disperse the crowd blocking a major crossroads in the centre of Ljubljana.

Like the week before, the protesters gathered in the large square in front of the parliament building before heading on to proceed through the surrounding streets, carrying banners, whistling and chanting slogans against the Covid pass mandate and repression.

Prihajajo nove policijske okrepitve, dogajanje na terenu še naprej spremlja naša ekipa z @MihaOresnik in @MarkoRabuza.
Več na ?https://t.co/g6MJPheBDy pic.twitter.com/320Zo9pxQo

— N1 Slovenija (@n1slovenija) October 13, 2021

Na začetku Tržaške se napetost stopnjuje. Policija znova opozarja, da je shod razpuščen, odmevajo glasni žvižgi, razlega se zvok piščalk, ragelj in trobelj. #protest @24ur_com pic.twitter.com/Y7iw1HjXM3

— Tina Hacler (@TinaHacler) October 13, 2021

Unlike the week before, when the police repeatedly fired tear gas and water cannon against the demonstrators in a bid to disperse them as Slovenia hosted an EU summit, this time around the protest has largely unfolded peacefully, although the situation has been tense.

After their way was blocked by the police, the protesters became stranded at the crossroads at the innermost Ljubljana ring, in the vicinity of Hotel Lev. They failed to obey orders to disperse but riot police eventually got them to move back into the town centre and Republic Square where the protest started.

Sprehod skozi center Ljubljane. Ob tem vzklikajo “Vsi na ulice!” in pa “Ulice so naše!”. Naprej po nabrežju Ljubljanice, kjer so ljudje tudi na večernih pijačah. pic.twitter.com/93IuOSQw8E

— Neža Pušnik (@NezaPusnik) October 13, 2021

Po Čopovi na Slovensko. “Prijel” se je slogan “Vsi na ulice”. pic.twitter.com/hgUqJAYXZc

— Neža Pušnik (@NezaPusnik) October 13, 2021

There has been heavy police presence, including mounted police, and a helicopter has been circling above the city centre. Police have had the water cannot at the ready at several locations, but have not used it, while they have used tear gas against individual protesters, media reports say.

POP TV has reported that the police have apprehended several protesters who have carried granite pavement stones.

Commenting on the developments at a session of a parliamentary committee, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs described protesters' actions today as a "blatant violation of public peace and order". He said the police would "remove them one by one from the public spaces" if need be.

Zoran Stevanović, the informal leader of protesters, has been spotted at the protest. In a statement for some media today, he blamed mainly police for the riots a week ago. But he called for peaceful protest as have the police.

Two weeks ago, the protesters blocked traffic in Celovška, the capital city's main throughfare, and the Ljubljana motorway ring road. The police used tear gas and water cannon on that occasion as well.

STA, 12 October - Ten EU countries, Slovenia included, have asked the EU Commission to recognise nuclear power as a low-carbon energy source that should be part of the Union's transition towards climate neutrality and help reduce the bloc's energy dependence.

The ten countries say nuclear is a "key affordable, stable and independent energy source" that could protect EU consumers from being "exposed to the volatility of prices," Euronews has reported.

"While renewable energy sources play a key role for our energy transition, they cannot produce enough low-carbon electricity to meet our needs, at a sufficient and a constant level," the letter says.

The signatories also highlight nuclear as a way of improving the bloc's energy independence. "The rise of energy prices have also shown how important is it to reduce our energy dependence on third countries as fast as possible," reads the letter.

Commenting on the letter, Slovenian Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec wrote on Twitter that nuclear energy was "crucial for energy independence. More and more countries now realise that."

Slovenia's sole nuclear power station in Krško accounted for 45% of all energy produced in Slovenia last year. Plans have already been set in motion to replace the ageing reactor with a new unit.

Commenting on the matter during a visit with Slovenian automotive suppliers in Idrija, Prime Minister Janez Janša said it would be impossible to provide sufficient supply of the population or achieve carbon-free society by 2050 without increasing production at nuclear power plants in Europe.

The countries that will not opt for nuclear energy for one reason or another will have to abandon their reservations about those who will or else the formula will not work out, said Janša.

He noted that nuclear energy is a political issue and one involving prejudice because of disasters such as the one in Chernobyl in 1986. "However, it's necessary to realise that since Chernobyl the technology has become more advanced and safety mechanisms have become much better."

Janša agrees that nuclear plants are not fully sustainable due to the problems of fuel and waste, but he said "all that is solvable".

"Either we opt for nuclear energy or we burn candles, a consideration will have to be made what poses a greater risk to the civilisation," said Janša.