STA, 26 April - President Borut Pahor and German Ambassador to Slovenia Natalie Kauther have unveiled a memorial plaque marking the 80th anniversary of the Liberation Front and the resistance of Slovenians against Fascism. The plaque was unveiled on Monday, the eve of Resistance Day at the house where the resistance organisation was founded.

Kauther took the opportunity to apologise on behalf of Germany for the horrors committed during WWII, while Pahor stressed the significance of the gesture for the future.

The Liberation Front was founded on 26 April 1941 at Vidmar's Villa, which is named after its former owner Josip Vidmar (1895-1992), a co-founder of the Liberation Front. Germany bought it in 2016 and turned it into a residence of the German ambassador.

Kauther said the German Embassy felt "great responsibility to treat the house and its history with due care and preserve the memory of what happened here 80 years ago".

Danes, na predvečer dneva upora proti okupatorju, se je predsednik Republike Slovenije Borut Pahor udeležil spominske slovesnosti v Vidmarjevi vili v Rožni dolini, v kateri je bila na današnji dan pred natanko 80 leti ustanovljena Osvobodilna fronta slovenskega naroda. pic.twitter.com/eHORj7y2VS

— Borut Pahor (@BorutPahor) April 26, 2021

She expressed "my gratitude that we Germans were again accepted into the community of nations after all the suffering and atrocities our country caused to many people".

"To be able to cultivate deep friendship with those who used to be our worst enemies and to work together for a better, more just world, is for us a really big gift," the ambassador said in her speech in the Slovenian language.

Pahor thanked the ambassador for the gesture of setting up the memorial plaque together with the Slovenian Museum of Contemporary History.

He said this was "a symbolic act" by Germany that also bore great significance for the future. "It's about the spirit on which our common European homeland is based. Not on forgetting, but on remembering yet sometimes also forgiving to the benefit of coexistence."

Pahor would like Slovenian citizens "to be proud of the resistance" during WWII and understand this too enabled the survival of the Slovenian nation and the foundation of Slovenia.

He urged Slovenians to celebrate Resistance Day "with joy and pride and to remember the roots of the Partisan resistance, without which there would be no national liberation".

STA, 26 April 2021 - The WWII Veterans' Association marked Resistance Day with a call to "liberate the Slovenian nation once again" as it criticised the authorities for curtailing fundamental rights under the pretext of containing the epidemic.

"Let's fight against the curtailment of basic rights enshrined in the Constitution," the association's head Marijan Križman said at its online ceremony held on the eve of Resistance Day.

Resistance Day marks the establishment of the Liberation Front (Osvobodilna fronta, OF), an organisation which mounted armed resistance against the occupying forces in WWII and was founded in Ljubljana 80 years ago.

Convinced that basic human rights are being violated under the current government, Križman noted that 80 years on, the situation was again ripe for Slovenians to stand up for their rights.

"We do not allow putting young people on trial just because they want to go to school, sanctioning people who dare to voice opposition to government measures, demolishing public RTV Slovenija and STA, intimidating journalists, blocking art and culture."

He went on to list "disgraceful acts" such as vandalising of Liberation Front monuments, hate speech, acts that humiliate Slovenia in Europe and the world, and historical revisionism.

Križman urged Slovenians to celebrate Resistance Day as well as the coming May Day by remembering their ancestors who gave their lives for freedom.

Highlighting the role the Liberation Front played in WWII and the importance of its values today, the association called for respecting basic human rights and values of resistance, freedom, solidarity and equality.

It was because of the Liberation Front that Slovenia was part of the victorious anti-Nazi alliance at the end of the war, Križman stressed.

According to him, there was no civil war in Slovenia during WWII because this is not possible under occupying forces and because opponents of the Liberation Front fought under the direct command of the Fascist and Nazi armed forces.

Križman said that the responsibility for the war that pitted brother against brother had been with church and secular officials who had prioritised their own interests over the nation's survival.

The association therefore rejects current attempts at reconciliation as its members believe that what is presented today as reconciliation is mostly based on historical revisionism which attempts to turn traitors into victims.

The only way to reconcile people is to show historical facts about WWII, Križman noted.

STA, 26 April 2021 - The government approval rating has hit the lowest level since it took office in March 2020, the most recent Mediana poll shows. While 29.6% of the respondents said they supported the government, as many as 60.9% said the opposite.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly's approval rating is even worse, as 19.7% of the respondents said they supported the Parliament's work and as many as 66.9% were not supportive of its work.

Nevertheless, the senior coalition Democrats (SDS) continue to top the party rankings with 17.6%, a percentage point less than in March.

In second place, the Social Democrats (SD) have shed 0.1 percentage point over March and would get 10.8% of the vote. Support for the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) is also down, dropping 1.1 percentage point to 8.5%.

The Left is in place four with 7.9%, a drop of 0.4 percentage points over March, followed by New Slovenia (NSi) with 5.1%, an increase of 0.5 percentage point.

The Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) saw its support decrease by 1.5 percentage points to 4.3%. Of other parliamentary parties, the National Party (SNS) is at 1.4%, while the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) saw its support dwindle to 1.1%.

More than 21% of 714 respondents in the poll said they were undecided, while 11.1% said they would not vote for any of the existing options.

The poll shows Health Minister Janez Poklukar topping the politicians' approval rating, followed by President Borut Pahor, who took over MEP Ljudmila Novak, now in place three.

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 22 April 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: SMC to end its agony in coalition

STA, 23 April 2021 - Mladina says in its latest commentary that the Modern Centre Party (SMC) is on its last legs, including its leader and Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek. The party is in agony as it is missing on the opportunity to leave the coalition of Janez Janša on time and save at least some of its credibility.

"Are they aware at all how humiliating is that they publicly mull Počivalšek resigning as minister and returning for a few days to parliament so that a new speaker gets elected, and then he would let himself be appointed minister again - which he himself would vote for?" the left-leaning weekly says under the headline It's Time, SMC.

What is more, the coalition does not want to give the group of unaffiliated former MPs of the SMC and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) seats in parliamentary working bodies, although it is there where actual debates on bills take place.

"The fundamental question is: do they really think that the public does not see this agony? Such a position is unbearable for a normal person. The agony can be seen on the faces of all DeSUS deputies and ministers and the remaining SMC deputies."

According to Mladina, the things have gone too far and the SMC, or what has remained of the party that in 2014 achieved the greatest result in the history of Slovenian parliamentary democracy, will need to think whether it is better to end things at some point.

"Will they go on and play independent deputies for the SDS and Janša? What about parliamentary procedures?" the weekly wonders, noting that public opinion polls also show that the things have gone too far and they should not be relativised.

"The SMC, its president and leadership still have an actual opportunity to stop things, exit the coalition and trigger an early election. By doing so, they would gain at least some moral capital so that they will be able to live normally."

Demokracija: France overrun by Islam

STA, 22 April 2021 - The right-wing magazine Demokracija opines in Thursday's editorial that France is a bellwether for Europe in the sense that Islam is replacing Christianity, arguing that "the great replacement" is under way accompanied by "the forced destruction of traditional European values".

"What's happening to the heirs of Joan of Arc and Charles Martel happens in a few years (more or less) elsewhere," the paper says in the commentary Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Albi.

"France was the first country in Western Europe to officially open to the Arab world and Islamic culture, it was the first where Muslims [...] violently occupied streets during prayers, the first where Arabs started the 'culture' of torching cars."

The paper says these scenes are now seen in core EU countries such as Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden, whereas the resistance of countries such as Poland, Hungary and Slovenia, "who do not want imported violence and barbarian cultures on their streets", is designated as a departure from democracy, a curtailing of freedom.

"This is one reason why these countries are being served numerous scandals and fabricated stories - all with the intention to take them down and install Play-Doh dummies pliable to progressive and multicultural kneading.

"It is in this light that one should interpret the famous and fabricated 'non-paper' about alleged redrawing of borders in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which domestic and foreign leftist activists, politicians and journalists [...] have tried schemingly to plant on Janez Janša."

All our posts in this series are here

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

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

FRIDAY, 16 April
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor rejected "naive and dangerous" ideas of redrawing Western Balkan borders as he addressed reporters in response to a non-paper floating the idea, arguing the EU's accelerated enlargement to the region would best silence such ideas. Pahor reiterated his resolute support for the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša rang up Šefik Džaferović, the Bosniak member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina presidency, to explain there is no non-paper containing border changes or efforts to undermine Bosnia's territorial integrity that could be linked with the Slovenian government.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia will send its recovery plan to the European Commission by the end of the month or before the deadline, Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj said. The minister believes that Slovenia has prepared a plan that complies with all the requirements.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - PM Janez Janša does not take Slovenia's international reputation seriously enough, European Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova told news portal Euractiv. Sustainable media financing in Slovenia is endangered, particularly when it comes to the STA, she said, pointing out that she had raised concerns over the developments in recent discussions with Slovenian ministers.
        LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs discussed the priorities of Slovenia's coming EU presidency with Italian counterpart Luciana Lamorgese. They agreed a joint and comprehensive solution should be reached on EU level to tackle illegal migration. Slovenia's EU presidency will focus on providing a high level of security in the EU and strengthening security in the Western Balkans.
        LJUBLJANA - The Agency for Communication Networks and Services (AKOS) concluded a wireless spectrum auction as part of which it also offered frequency bands for 5G mobile networks. It fetched EUR 164.2 million as all four bidders - A1 Slovenija, Telekom Slovenije, Telemach and T-2 - were awarded frequency bands.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor endorsed Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda's desire to speak on behalf of all Central European presidents at next week's online climate summit hosted by US President Joe Biden, as the pair had a telephone conversation.
        LJUBLJANA - The national vaccination advisory committee recommended Slovenia purchase all Covid-19 vaccines that are still waiting for approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), including Russia's Sputnik V. Its head Bojana Beović said the vaccines would be kept in quarantine warehouses and ready for use immediately after approval.

SATURDAY, 17 April
        LJUBLJANA - The police said they were leading an investigation to determine whether there are elements of suspected criminal acts prosecutable ex officio based on allegations of irregularities regarding the STA. Investigators visited STA chief supervisor Mladen Terčelj based on a number of reports of these allegations.
        LJUBLJANA - The American-Slovenian Educational Foundation (ASEF) honoured Sunita Williams, an astronaut of Slovenian descent, with the lifetime achievement award at its annual gala. The 55-year-old, who has visited Slovenia several times, was the first person to run a marathon in space.
        LISBON, Portugal - Slovenian judoka Tina Trstenjak won gold at the European Judo Championships 2021 in the women's 63 kg event. Fellow Slovenian Andreja Leški got a bronze in the same category, whereas Kaja Kajzer won silver in the 57 kg category the day before.

MONDAY, 19 April
        LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša condemned extremism after members of a radical Islamist group in Bosnia-Herzegovina protested in front of the Slovenian embassy in Sarajevo over an alleged non-paper linked to Slovenia that speaks about the breakup of Bosnia along ethnic lines. FM Anže Logar added that reviving a debate on the alleged non-paper benefited neither Bosnia-Herzegovina nor Slovenia.
        LJUBLJANA - A government degree allowing gatherings of up to 100 people indoor or outdoor entered into force. The decree was adopted last week in response to a Constitutional Court decision staying the blanket ban on public assembly. Gatherings must be pre-registered and prevention measures observed.
        LJUBLJANA - FM Anže Logar addressed the start of a virtual conference dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) hosted by the Foreign Ministry and the Bled Strategic Forum. He said Slovenia would strive to strengthen partnership with the region during its upcoming EU presidency.

TUESDAY, 20 April
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor received the annual report on the preparedness of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) in which the SAF general staff assessed the force's preparedness in 2020 was good for peace time, but insufficient for war operations. The assessment remains the same as for the year before.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia again raised the issue of UK work visa discrimination at a meeting of ministers for EU affairs, expressing the expectation that EU countries would be united on the implementation of agreements with the UK.
        MARIBOR - A Maribor Local Court judge announced she would halt misdemeanour proceedings against a student for taking part in a peaceful protest in Maribor in February against school closures. The student's defence counsel Dino Bauk said he expected the same decision to be taken in the case of two other students facing the same charges.
        PARIS, France - Slovenia lost four spots to rank 36th among 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. The report warned of the "dangerous path for press freedom" in Slovenia, finding problems for press freedom continued despite pressure from international NGOs for improvements.
        LJUBLJANA - Mario Fafangel, the head of the NIJZ centre for communicable diseases, resigned from the government Covid-19 team after he already quit the previous line-up. He said decisions taken were often contrary to epidemiologists' opinions and protocols. Health Minister Janez Poklukar regretted his decision and appointed epidemiologist Irena Grmek Košnik in his place.
        MARIBOR - The supercomputer Vega was formally launched, putting Slovenia on the global map of computer super powers. It is the first in a series of eight planned high-performance computing (HPC) centres in the EU. The project cost EUR 17.2 million. Vega was set up as part of the HPC RIVR national project and EuroHPC.
        LJUBLJANA - Montenegrin Defence Minister Olivera Injac began an official two-day visit to discuss with Slovenian counterpart Matej Tonin defence cooperation, international missions and operations, and Slovenia's EU presidency. The ministers assessed bilateral cooperation as excellent, while agreeing it could be intensified in cyberdefence and crisis management.
        LJUBLJANA - Speaker Igor Zorčič addressed a virtual session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, noting that the Eastern Partnership was an important framework for cooperation and that the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency provided prospects to countries with a European aspiration.

WEDNESDAY, 21 April
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - Slovenian FM Anže Logar and Italian and Croatian counterparts, Luigi di Maio and Gordan Grlić Radman, signed a joint statement on trilateral cooperation in the northern Adriatic, in what Logar said was the foundation for strengthening cooperation in areas that are key for all three countries. The trio called for boosted cooperation between the northern Adriatic ports and joint promotion of the Adriatic navigable waterway.
        LJUBLJANA - European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told the STA she intended to raise the issue of media freedom and pluralism during her two-day visit to Slovenia, noting the country should not underestimate the risk to its international reputation when it comes to this issue. The visit is primarily aimed at discussing the country's EU presidency preparations.
        LJUBLJANA - The government amended the medium-term defence programme until 2023 to adjust it to the latest priorities in development of military capabilities. Procedures to buy a tactical transport aircraft and two medium-sized transport helicopters are expected to be completed by then.
        LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a resolution on Slovenia's long-term climate strategy until 2050 with ba view to reach zero emissions by 2050 or climate neutrality. The country is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80-90% by 2050 compared to 2005.
        LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek participated in a meeting of agriculture ministers of the Visegrad Group, plus Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. Slovenia thinks that efforts to pursue the Farm to Fork strategy are the right choice, said Podgoršek, highlighting that a transition to sustainable farming should be fair.
        LJUBLJANA - Those in Slovenia who have had a confirmed coronavirus infection will receive only one shot of a coronavirus vaccine six months after they had the disease, according to new guidelines issued by the national advisory committee on immunisation. The guidance was issued to vaccination centres recently after seven other European countries decided to do that.
        LJUBLJANA - Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Blaž Košorok provided assurances to MPs that the national recovery and resilience plan will hit the green targets mandating that 37% of funds allocated under the plan be spent on projects that contribute towards the realisation of climate objectives.
        LJUBLJANA - Gregor Majdič, a researcher behavioural neuroendocrinology and professor at the Ljubljana Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Maribor Faculty of Medicine, was elected new chancellor of the University of Ljubljana, defeating the incumbent Igor Papič, in a run-off.
        LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana District Court sentenced Peter Gaspeti to 30 years in prison for killing three relatives with a knife in the area of Domžale, 15 km north of Ljubljana, last June. The 25-year-old defendant will go to jail for killing his grandfather, grandmother and uncle.

THURSDAY, 22 April
        WARSAW, Poland - Prime Minister Janez Janša met his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki during a visit to Warsaw for talks on bilateral relations, the priorities of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU and the future of Europe. Janša highlighted boosting the bloc's resilience for health crises and cyber security as two key priorities of the presidency.
        LJUBLJANA - EU issues and the post-pandemic recovery dominated talks as Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou was received by President Borut Pahor for the first official visit by a head of state since the start of the epidemic.
        LJUBLJANA - European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and Interior Minister Aleš Hojs discussed the priorities of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency, highlighting the new Schengen strategy, migration pact and the Western Balkans as some of the key areas of interest.
        LJUBLJANA - EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and Interior Minister Aleš Hojs broached the issue of media freedom in Slovenia and the financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). Hojs announced that after the STA management handed over to the government business documents handed over by the STA would be a basis to sign a new contract and restore financing. Johansson said she hoped "these issues can be resolved ahead of the Slovenian presidency".
        LJUBLJANA - The national advisory committee on immunisation recommended the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine against Covid-19 for everyone over the age of 18, in line with the guidance issued by the European Medicines Agency. Slovenia expects to inoculate at least 50% of its population or 63% of its adult population by the end of June, said Milan Krek, the head of the National Institute of Public Health.
        LJUBLJANA - The annual general meeting of energy company Petrol decided to pay out a dividend of EUR 22 gross per share, as proposed by the management board, which is on a par with last year. EUR 45.22 million will thus be paid out in dividends out of a total of EUR 45.36 million in last year's distributable profit.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Potica, a rich traditional cake made of special dough and usually walnut filling, has been protected with the traditional specialities guaranteed label, meaning the cakes sold under the name will need to be certified for their shape and recipe, while not geographically limited to Slovenia.

STA, 23 April 2021 - The wife of Prime Minister Janez Janša, Urška Bačovnik Janša, has received a death threat targeting her and the couple's children. The letter was sent to the hospital in Celje where she works as a doctor, and has been handed over to police, Večer newspaper reported.

Celje police said they had been informed about an anonymous threat and had launched an investigation. "We are vigilant and react carefully to threats against the most senior representatives of the state," the police said.

The prime minister and his family enjoy police protection by default according to regulations on the protection of senior state officials.

The deputy group of the senior coalition Democrats (SDS) strongly condemned all types of violence and threats in response to the news. The group said that children aged only 9 and 7 should never be the targets of any kind of violence or threats.

It also warned that there was only one step from threats to actions and urged the law-enforcement to take serious action in such cases no matter who is the target.

The Celje police station processed eight cases involving threats to the most senior representatives of the state last year. In five cases criminal charges were filed against five perpetrators, while in two cases, in which the victims did not request prosecution, the police forwarded reports to the Celje district state prosecutor's office. In one case, the investigation is still under way.

STA, 21 April 2021 - European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson will start a two-day visit to Slovenia on Thursday to discuss the country's EU presidency preparations. She intends to raise the issue of media freedom and pluralism as well. Slovenia should not underestimate the risk to its international reputation when it comes to this, Johansson has told the STA.

The visit is primarily aimed at backing Slovenia's preparations for its EU presidency in the second half of 2021. The talks will focus on Schengen, migration and security as well as the situation of media in Slovenia, she told the STA ahead of the visit.

Johansson pointed out that this was not her portfolio, but that of European Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova, who has raised concern over the situation on a number of occasions.

Since there is cause for concern, Johansson intends to raise the issue of media freedom and pluralism as well. She has also warned about harassment of journalists and verbal attacks against them.

Johansson would also like to discuss with the Slovenian government the financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). "As far as I understand, it's regulated in the law," she said, hopeful that this issue could be resolved in a positive way.

"Slovenia should not underestimate the risk to its international reputation when it comes to media freedom and pluralism", especially just before taking over the EU presidency, she said, noting that these two principles "are a fundamental prerequisite for democracy".

The European Commission puts great emphasis on this issue as any pressure exerted on media freedom or pluralism or even attacks against them are also an attack on democracy, she said, adding that this was the first time this kind of concerns were raised about Slovenia.

The commissioner also pointed to the first annual Rule of Law Report, saying that the Commission already raised concern over the relevant situation in Slovenia in the September 2020 document. "As far as I understand, the situation has deteriorated since," she noted.

The Slovenian EU presidency could be a story of recovery as Europe will be going from pandemic mode to recovery mode during that time. Johansson hopes that Slovenia will take this opportunity "to be at the forefront of recovery in Europe".

Touching upon travel amid the pandemic in the summer, she is optimistic member states will not adopt discriminatory measures. She also hopes that come summer, the infection rate will go down and Europe could be reopened.

In June, right before the start of Slovenia's stint at the helm of the EU Council, Johansson plans to propose the Schengen reform. As part of the preparations, the first ever Schengen forum was launched in November to exchange views with various stakeholders. The second will be held in May.

The Commissioner highlights the need for political governance of the Schengen area and the upgrade of the Schengen evaluation system.

She also stresses the importance of lessons learned from the pandemic. The current legislation is based on a threat that comes towards a single member state, however the pandemic is widespread, she said.

In many situations, measures other than internal border checks are more effective, such as police cooperation and information exchange, she said, adding that the Schengen Information System should also be used more consistently.

She also hopes the Schengen zone could be extended. The Commission has assessed that Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria are ready for this step, but it is up to member states to decide on this, she said.

Johansson's main priority of her five-year term is to find a way out of an asylum reform deadlock. It seems that the new migration pact, proposed last year, has been at a standstill due to disagreements over migrant relocation, but the commissioner is optimistic.

She does not think the pact has been blocked, saying that everyone has been constructive in these efforts and there has been progress.

She hopes that Portugal's EU presidency will be able to close one or two segments of the pact, otherwise the Slovenian presidency will pick up.

She thinks mandatory solidarity, and not mandatory relocation, is a way forward as the latter is not popular in many member states. Now we should discuss what is a meaningful form of this solidarity apart from relocation, she noted.

The commissioner for home affairs will meet Slovenian Interior Minister Aleš Hojs on Thursday. She is also expected to meet Marko Gašperlin, the Slovenian who chairs the Frontex management board.

Moreover, a meeting is scheduled with Foreign Minister Anže Logar and relevant parliamentary committees.

After her visit, the commissioner will fly back to Brussels from Zagreb, so she will have the opportunity to meet Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Interior Minister Davor Božinović.

Regarding reports about violence against migrants perpetrated by the Croatian police, she said she was not satisfied with the situation and there were concerns, however the country had made progress. The Croatian authorities "are investigating and there are consequences for individuals that have been proved taking part in illegal activities".

Moreover, the first independent monitoring mechanism is in the works, a pilot project that is to be first launched in Croatia. "Bosnia-Herzegovina also has homework to do when it comes to migration management and migrant relocation within the country," she said.

Asked what she thought of ideas about redrawing Western Balkan borders in light of efforts for security and stability in the region, she said that "the European Commission fully respects sovereignty of those countries and their borders, we have no other ideas about their borders".

STA, 20 April 2021 - Mario Fafangel, the head of the centre for communicable diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), has resigned from the team advising the government on measures to contain coronavirus, saying decisions taken are often in disagreement with the epidemiologists' opinion and protocols.

Fafangel, who had already resigned from the previous line-up of the advisory group under the leadership of Bojana Beović, joined the new team appointed by Health Minister Janez Poklukar and headed by Mateja Logar. Both Logar and Beović are experts on infectious diseases.

"When I received your invitation to rejoin the expert team I honestly believed things would be different this time around. They are different indeed, worse," Fafangel said in his resignation letter to Poklukar, stating his decision is irrevocable.

"In the advisory group to the Health Ministry the voice of the epidemiological college that I represent continues to be in minority and represents but one vote," he said.

He went on to say that he was distressed by the decisions that were often contrary to the epidemiologists' opinions. "Therefore I cannot and will not take part any longer."

"Continuously drawing attention to decisions that do not make sense and undermine established procedures of the epidemiological service and writing dissenting opinions for the record of the advisory team's meetings makes no sense and is unproductive," Fafangel added.

He was particularly critical of the way the 11-day circuit breaker lockdown at the beginning of the month was implemented, saying he found it horrible having to decide how or how many individuals could freely express their opinion about anything in a public space. "I do not want to play God," he said.

Minister Poklukar regretted Fafangel's resignation, thanking him for his contribution, while asking epidemiologist Irena Grmek Košnik to take his place in the group.

The Health Ministry said Grmek Košnik had accepted the invitation and would take over the role immediately.

Responding to the resignation, the advisory team said that its purpose was for leading experts to exchange opinions, and to make proposals on that basis, while final decisions were the competence and responsibility of the decision-makers.

"Every opinion in the group is appreciated, which is why we regret every decision by renown experts to no longer participate in looking for best solutions," adds the statement sent to the STA by the head of the group Mateja Logar.

MEP Tanja Fajon, the president of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), said Fafangel enjoyed a lot of public trust and added that she would "much rather see the government resign instead of Fafangel".

Fajon also said on Twitter that the resignation of the only epidemiologist from the expert group meant that something was very wrong and that the government exposed the reality of situation being out of control.

Prime Minister Janez Janša retweeted Fajon and added that this was the "latest proof that some do not differentiate between epidemiology and political science. They think that these are two different departments at the Faculty of Social Sciences."

STA, 19 April 2021 - The EU presidency, which Slovenia will hold in the second half of the year, will be even more demanding than usually owing to the coronavirus pandemic, Gregor Štajer, the head of the government secretariat in charge of presidency organisation, has told the STA. Slovenia plans to host nearly 190 events, many of which may have to take place online.

The events calendar is not ready for public release yet, said Štajer, adding that the way things stand at the moment, Slovenia will host 185 events.

The most demanding event in terms of organisation will be the summit of EU leaders. September will be very challenging as well, with Slovenia hosting the annual Bled Strategic Forum, as well as sessions of EU foreign ministers and defence ministers.

Another major event will be a summit on the Western Balkans, planned for the first half of October. These are some of the currently planned 19 events at the ministerial or higher level.

The remaining 166 events will be held at sub-ministerial level, said Štajer. Seventy are organised by his secretariat and the rest by ministries.

It is unclear whether events will take place in person or online, with everything depending on the epidemiological situation, said Štajer. It has already been decided that 35 events will be held online.

The secretariat is in regular consultation with a group comprised of representatives of the Health Ministry and the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). At least 30 days before individual events it will be decided whether they will be held in person or online.

"It's the minimum period we need to organise an event," said Štajer.

Moreover, the situation may deteriorate during this time to such a degree that an event planned to be held in person will still be moved online, he noted.

Štajer noted that if a decision was being made now for an event that is to take place in a month's time, they would recommend it take place online. Everything will depend on pandemic rules in place at the given moment.

"No doubt this might be the biggest logistical challenge. We're preparing for both scenarios, but a decision will be hard to make [...] The safety of people will take precedence. If we allow an in-person event, more or less normal conditions must be ensured."

Meals will be one of the biggest problems, as people take off their masks while eating. Those organising events will be looking for providers with large-enough dining rooms. The same will apply to venues hosting in-person conferences. Events at ministerial or higher levels are to be held at the Brdo pri Kranju estate.

As regards lower-level events, they are to be held at Brdo and Ljubljana, as well as Bled, Portorož and Maribor. The organisers are also thinking about setting up a central videoconference point in Ljubljana for online events.

A public call for bids was issued in autumn for technical equipment and contracts are now being signed, so that individual ministries will be able to organise some events themselves, said Štajer.

A call for bids for transport services is still ongoing. It represents a major part of the presidency budget, which has been estimated at EUR 80 million. If a majority of events take place online, the expenses may be lower.

STA, 16 April 2021 - Slovenia has raised in an informal talk with Vice-President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations Maroš Šefčovič the issue of unequal treatment of EU member states by the United Kingdom when it comes to payment of work visas.

After the exit of the UK from the EU, citizens of Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia are not eligible for the EUR 55 discount when applying for a work visa in the UK that is enjoyed by citizens of the remaining EU member states.

The Slovenian Permanent Representation in Brussels said on Friday it had noted in the talk as part of the Committee of Permanent Representatives that this unilateral decision put EU citizens in an unequal position and that the issue needed to be raised in future talks with the UK.

The UK argues that the discount applies only to the countries that signed and ratified the original European Social Charter from 1961.

The five listed countries, which signed and ratified the 1996 Revised Charter, on the other hand maintain that this is discrimination that needs to be eliminated.