The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 16 April 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Creation of instability in Balkans trap for EU

STA, 16 April 2021 - The left-wing weekly Mladina says in its editorial on Friday that the Balkan border redrawing idea is a trap for the EU set by a coalition of countries trying to gain more power. The weekly hopes that this time, Brussels and EU member states will respond correctly, unlike in the past when they continued to give in to the likes of Hungarian PM Orban.

"Even though it seems that the non-paper about Slovenia's view of the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina still has not been found... everything is clear. Foreign Minister Anže Logar admitted an alliance had emerged between Zagreb, Belgrade and Ljubljana," writes Mladina's editor-in-chief Grega Repovž.

Leaders of the three countries are clearly talking about the future of Bosnia, but without representatives of the country itself, the weekly says, illustrating Croatia's and Serbia's interests in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"But the bigger picture is more important." Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece, all Orthodox countries, have also joined the initiative. "And above all Hungary. So what is Ljubljana doing in this company?"

There is a clear plan behind all of this: a way to set up an illiberal European alliance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the circle he built around himself are laying a trap for the EU by creating the threat of instability in the Balkans.

Mladina speculates under the headline Trap that Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely behind this. "This is an alliance of interests, not of political love." But the interests are not geo-strategic, Putin wants power to put pressure on and destabilise Europe, just like Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been doing, using Syria.

However, the EU has not yet come to realise truly how dangerous a politician Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Janša is. Nobody is truly worried about Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency, they still believe that he can be reckoned with, that he can be controlled. "How willingly do European politicians repeat this mistake!"

But Janša is no longer a lone rider from a small country, he is a part of a bigger game now. Owing to his political debt toward Orban, he will likely be the one through whom the game will be played out in the coming months, a game that can end poorly for the EU.

In the past, the EU has bought peace from such problems and politicians with money, only allowing them to grow stronger. Now, they are using Bosnia-Herzegovina to lay a trap for the EU, not to destroy it but to benefit from it - to get money and have peace while they undermine democracy in their countries. Bosnia is only a victim in this game.

The weekly hopes that this creation of instability in the Balkans will be a wake-up call for Europe.

"They should think back to what Erdogan did to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen when she visited last week. He did it because he could. Next time such a demonstration of power can happen to her in Europe," the paper says in reference to a situation when von der Leyen was left without a chair in a meeting.

Reporter: DeSUS Has Nothing to Offer Rebel MPs

STA, 12 April - The right-wing magazine Reporter reflects on the latest row between the leadership of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and its rebel MPs, finding the party has nothing left to offer to the MPs.

Under the headline Fight, the weekly says Franc Jurša, the head of the DeSUS deputy faction, is right in a way when he says he does not deserve to be spanked with a stick after interim party leader Brigita Čokl raised her voice against misbehaving MPs.

"His and the conduct of other DeSUS MPs [...] is not mischievous. The mature men know well what they are doing and are not ignoring the party or making it problems out of mischief [...].

"The party has got nothing left to offer to the trio who are determined to survive the remaining year and a few months in parliament and then leave active politics. Voting along the opposition's lines could lead to a snap election, something DeSUS MPs are not ready for as they are not planning to retire before 2022."

The paper goes on to say that the ruling coalition too is trying to discipline DeSUS MPs, noting that Jurša has been accused of 'betraying' the coalition in its attempt to replace Igor Zorčič with Jožef Horvat as the National Assembly speaker, allegedly because Jurša and Horvat dislike each other.

"Consequently there appeared a bizarre allegation that Igor Zorčič would come to put DeSUS in order and take over the party. Why would a politician who quit one dying party, defect to another is not clear to anyone, not least to Zorčič."

The paper does not know how seriously Jurša took the story about Zorčič's arrival, but does know that Jožef Horvat did take the rumour of the dislike between him and Jurša seriously enough to tell several media last week that him and Jurša are not at odds. "And I also get along well with Hungarian MP Ferenc Horvath, Horvat underscored although he was not even asked about that."

All our posts in this series are here

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

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FRIDAY, 9 April
        LJUBLJANA - The government overhauled the colour-coded strategy of coronavirus restrictions as the 1-11 April circuit-breaker lockdown was about to end, softening some rules applying to each of the five tiers and abolishing the night curfew as of 12 April. The epidemic was extended by another 30 days from 17 April.
        LJUBLJANA - The government extended the partial wage subsidy for furloughed workers into May to reduce the risk of layoffs due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The extension is to cost the state some EUR 31.5 million, with an estimated 45,000 employees to be included.
        LJUBLJANA - The government set up a strategic council for digitalisation as an advisory body to the prime minister. The new council is headed by Mark Boris Andrijanič of US ride hailing platform Uber.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Public Health received almost 3,820 reports of side effects after 404,000 Covid-19 vaccinations. In 16 cases, serious side effects were reported after vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine, but link to the vaccine was not confirmed.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia exported EUR 3 billion worth of goods in February, up 2.6% year on year, and imported EUR 2.7 billion, down 2.2%. The export-import ratio reached 109.7% for the third highest monthly surplus in the last decade, the Statistic Office said. The country's industry meanwhile contracted at an annual rate of 1.5%.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia Sovereign Holding (SSH) published a takeover bid for spa operator Terme Olimia, offering EUR 27.50 per share for the shares the state does not own yet. The move is part of the government's efforts to pool tourism companies under one roof.
        ČRNOMELJ - An unknown perpetrator threw a petrol bomb though the window of the house of a local councillor for the opposition LMŠ in Črnomelj, Vesna Fabjan, but nobody was hurt in the fire, which was put out quickly. Senior Slovenian officials strongly condemned the incident.

SATURDAY, 10 April
        LJUBLJANA - The outdoor mask mandate was ended. Masks must now be worn only if a sufficient physical social distance cannot be observed.
        LJUBLJANA - The Culture Ministry confirmed media reports that comparative literature expert Aleš Vaupotič was appointed the new director of Moderna Galerija, the national museum of modern and contemporary art. His five-year term started on 6 April.
        MARIBOR - Around 400 people gathered in Freedom Square to protest against the government's measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, criticising the announced self-testing for the coronavirus in schools, continued closure of bars and restaurants and face mask wearing.
        BILBAO, Spain - Cyclist Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) won the Tour of the Basque Country for the second time in his career, with his younger compatriot Tadej Pogačar finishing third.

MONDAY, 12 April
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia entered the red stage of coronavirus restrictions under an overhauled traffic-light system after an eleven-day lockdown. The night curfew was lifted after nearly six months, most shops and other services reopened, including museums, galleries and libraries, and pupils went back to school.
        LJUBLJANA - Some changes to entry in Slovenia without quarantine or a negative PCR test were introduced to include accredited journalists and persons who enter for emergency reasons, while Austria was red-listed. A negative test produced at a border crossing can now also come from the US and UK.
        LJUBLJANA - The Covid-19 vaccination task force at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) decided the AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered to everyone over 18 without any restrictions, after the European Medicines Agency found no connection with side effects to either age or gender.
        SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovin/LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Zorica Bukinac was summoned to the Bosnian Foreign Ministry after Bosnian media reported PM Janez Janša sent to the EU a non-paper on re-writing of borders in the Western Balkans. Janša denied the claim and the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said the only non paper on the Western Balkans Slovenia had joined was Croatia's from the end of last year.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission was on a virtual visit to Slovenia in preparation for its second Rule of Law Report, due in July, to obtain additional information or clear up any issues after the country submitted its assessment of the situation in late March.
        LJUBLJANA - A review of a number of closed National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) cases that was ordered by Interior Minister Aleš Hojs last year found zero mistakes or shortcomings in the audited police work, shows a report obtained by news portal 24ur.com.
        LJUBLJANA - In a bid to resolve the financing dispute, STA director Bojan Veselinovič offered the government access to all books of account and documents, even though the STA had never received a formal request to that effect. He said the government should say, in writing, who would access the documents on its behalf and in what way.
        TREBNJE - The sub-zero temperatures that hit Slovenia last week could result in EUR 40-50 million in damage caused to fruit and wine growers, Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek estimated as he continued visiting the frost-stricken areas. He announced state aid for the affected farmers.

TUESDAY, 13 April
        MARIBOR/LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest two vaccination centres repirted massive cancellations by those due to get an AstraZeneca vaccine. Half of those invited turned down the jab in Maribor and a third in Ljubljana, the local community health centres said. Bojana Beović, the head of the national immunisation advisory commission, expressed surprise considering the vaccine involves no risk for the age group in principle.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar noted the significance of enhanced cooperation between the EU and the US in the changed international and security environment, as he took part in an online international conference called the Raisina Dialogue.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Slovenian maker of prefabricated construction elements Trimo by the Irish Kingspan Group over concerns that the transaction may reduce competition and lead to price increases.
        LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Transport and Communications Workers came out against legislative changes that would provide a legal basis for ride hailing platforms such as Uber. Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said the goal was to make transport services cheaper and more modern.

WEDNESDAY, 14 April
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee that Slovenia's strategy on the Western Balkans had not changed as he responded to a question about an alleged non-paper on the Western Balkans PM Janez Janša was supposed to have sent to Brussels.
        ROME, Italy - President Borut Pahor and his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella called for completing the process of returning National Home, a Slovenian centre in Trieste, to the Slovenian minority in Italy as soon as possible as they met in Rome.
        LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and European Commissioner for Justice and Consumer Protection Didier Reynders discussed the priorities of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency in terms of consumer protection. Počivalšek said Slovenia supports an ambitious take on the bloc's consumer policy.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Stanislav Raščan pledged Slovenia's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the EU's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as he took part in a virtual EU-Brazil event on climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development.
        LJUBLJANA - Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti held an online talk with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović to discuss media freedom and the freedom of expression. The ministry said Simoniti had assured the commissioner the Slovenian government thinks media freedom is crucial.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - The government decided to allow hospitality establishments in eight of Slovenia's twelve statistical regions to serve guests at outdoor tables from 7am to 7pm starting from 19 April. It added the Sputnik and Johnson&Johnson vaccines to the list of vaccines the vaccination with which exempts a person from having to quarantine or get tested upon entering Slovenia. It also decided to give over 10,000 unemployed who have lost job since the coronavirus epidemic was first declared in March 2020 a one-off solidarity allowance of EUR 150.
        LJUBLJANA - The college of deputy group leaders voted not to allow four independent MPs - three defectors from the coalition SMC, including Speaker Igor Zorčič, and one from the opposition DeSUS - to take part in parliamentary bodies. Voting against their participation were all three coalition parties as well as the opposition SNS and DeSUS plus one minority MP. The centre-left coalition fears this is an attack on parliamentary democracy.
        LJUBLJANA - After failing to muster support in parliament to dismiss Education Minister Simona Kustec in mid-March, the four centre-left opposition parties mounted a new attempt to have the minister either resign or be replaced, arguing she had let down her brief and the groups she is responsible for.

THURSDAY, 15 April
        LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court said it had cleared a law securing EUR 780 million in investments in the Slovenian Armed Forces in 2021-2026 as well as parliament's decision not to allow a referendum on the law. It argued the National Assembly and the government had reasonably grounded the urgency of the investments and the decision not to allow the referendum.
        LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court stayed the implementation of a government decree that temporarily bans public gatherings and events arguing that a new decree should be adopted with due consideration of the right to gatherings being a fundamental human right and an important means of expressing political opinions.
        LJUBLJANA - The online portal Necenzurirano published a non-paper proposing changes to borders in the Western Balkans that has been raising controversy in recent days. While its authorship remains unclear, "some information indicates part of the content has been written in Budapest. Nevertheless, it is referred to in Brussels diplomatic circles as a 'Slovenian' non-paper as allegedly the Janša office has been involved in its mailing to various addresses," wrote the portal.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly hosted the 17th conference of parliamentary speakers from the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative as part of Slovenia's presidency of the initiative. President Borut Pahor said in his address the group was an important leverage of regional cooperation and European integration of Western Balkan countries.

STA, 16 April 2021 - The European Jewish Association has called on Social Democrats (SD) leader Tanja Fajon to right a historic injustice and return the villa in Ljubljana where the party has its headquarters to the Slovenian Jewish community.

The SD is headquartered in a villa that used to be owned by Jewish merchant Felix Moskovic. He and his family were taken to Auschwitz and other extermination camps, where they were killed.

In a letter to Fajon first published by Siol.net, the association's president Rabbi Menachem Margolin says that following their deaths, the property was sold "under questionable conditions, nationalised, and then used by high-level communist party organisations during the Yugoslav era."

"It has come to our attention that there has previously been a discussion regarding the transfer of Mr. Moskovic's property ... to the Slovenian Jewish community as part of a settlement on communal and heirless property once held by Slovenian Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

"We believe this would be an appropriate, just, and moral use of Mr. Moskovic's home and a righting of a historic wrong," Margolin says, hopeful that the SD "will recognize the symbolic and emotional unsustainability of the status quo and will work with us to change it."

The SD's ownership of the building has often come up in public debate in recent months, in particular in allegations by the ruling Democrats (SDS), who have come to call it "the stolen villa".

The SD has said the villa had been owned by the state before the party took ownership of it via an exchange contract involving a different building that the party had owned before.

In a lengthy explanation on its website, the party also says the villa had been sold to the state in 1961 by a woman who had previously bought it from a heir of the Moskovics.

SD leader Tanja Fajon has dismissed the allegations the party stole the villa as "nasty attempts at discreditation" lobbed by the current prime minister.

Fajon responded to the call, inviting Rabbi Margolin for a "talk and a review of facts". She rejected the notion that the ownership of the villa was disputable.

A similar invitation was sent to the European Jewish Congress, the umbrella organisation of Jewish associations in Europe, and the Slovenian Jewish Community.

"The history of the transfer of ownership ... is completely clear from the legal and historical aspects. After the tragic death of the Moskovic family, the villa was inherited by their legal heir, who soon sold it to a new owner, who sold it to the state in 1961."

"The SD party became the lawful owner of the house in 1993 based on a deed of gift and exchange. It has settled its relations with the Slovenian Jewish Community in that regard," the statement adds.

Fajon noted that the documentation on ownership of the building has been published on the party's website. "Only by showing all relevant documents transparently it is possible to reject the obvious lies that are the most diligently spread by Prime Minister Janez Janša."

In the letter to Margolin, the SD president also said that "our deep respect to victims of the Holocaust and all victims of Nazism and Fascism stems first and foremost from our history and tradition."

Fajon added that the SD has also paid respects to Felix and Klara Moskovic and their children with a memorial plaque to the victims of the Holocaust that was put on the front facade of the party's headquarters in August 2018.

STA, 16 April 2021 - President Borut Pahor rejected "naive and dangerous" ideas of redrawing borders in the Western Balkans as he addressed reporters on Friday in response to a non-paper floating the idea, arguing the EU's accelerated enlargement to the region would best to silence such ideas.

Pahor said that "wherever and whenever" he got the opportunity he expressed his resolute support for the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans, arguing it would be best if the EU decided "to include, in a sensibly short time, all Western Balkan countries in the EU and adapt its enlargement strategy accordingly".

While saying that he was regularly calling on leaders in the region to sped up the reform process, Pahor said the slow pace of the enlargement process "is cooling trust" in the European prospects in these countries, which boosted nationalisms and an "increasingly engaged influence" by third countries.

"The EU's faster expansion to the Western Balkans would reduce the significance of naive and dangerous ideas of a redrawing of borders, which due to the complicated situation I believe cannot happen in a peaceful way, which is why I reject all such ideas on changes to borders," Pahor said.

He added that "a faster process of including all Western Balkan countries in the EU would importantly enhance the principle of territorial integrity of the countries, resolution of their bilateral issues and vitally enhance the stability and security of the region and Europe as a whole".

Pahor called the press conference after a Bosnian portal reported that Prime Minister Janez Janša had handed an unofficial document to European Council President Charles Michel in February or March proposing the "finalisation of the breakup of Yugoslavia" as a topic of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU.

The Bosnian media also reported that Željko Komšić, the Croatian member of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, had confirmed Pahor had said during his visit to the country in March that voices in Europe were getting louder about the need to finalise the breakup of Yugoslavia, and that he asked whether people in the country were capable of going their own separate ways peacefully.

Asked about the non-paper today, Pahor said he had not been acquainted with the alleged non-paper either before his visit to the country or later, nor had he discussed it with Janša, so his talks in Bosnia-Herzegovina could not be understood as probing the sentiment about the ideas therein.

Explaining on his opposition to the idea of finalising the break-up of Yugoslavia, which he said had appeared before, Pahor said it was naive to expect a redrawing of borders would end peacefully even though it would start that way.

He said he had already expressed his concern about such ideas in September last year in his address to the North Macedonian Parliament, so his words could not be linked to the alleged non-paper that came half a year later.

Pahor would not provide a concrete answer when asked who was spreading ideas on changes to the borders, but he hinted that that kind of ideas had started to gain traction after first such ideas had been discussed by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

Pahor may have been initially inclined in favour of considering ideas of peaceful change to borders in the Western Balkans but later gave them up, also after talks with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "Such a process, even if begun in good faith, will not end peacefully. There're too many heaped up issues."

Pahor offered the Brdo-Brijuni process, which he initiated, as a show of his own and Slovenia's commitment to the region.

He said his visit to Sarajevo in early March, his seventh as president to the country, was aimed at expressing Slovenia's support for the country's progress on the path to the EU, emphasizing his commitment to the country and its territorial integrity.

He said the visit was also aimed to highlight the significance of reconciliation, something that he said was obviously still too early for.

The non-paper, which among other things proposes for most of the Serb entity of Bosnia-Herzegivina to be annexed by Serbia, the majority-Croatian cantons to Croatia, and for Kosovo to merge with Albania, was released by the Slovenian portal Necenzurirano on Thursday.

It is not clear who authored it, but the portal said its information indicated parts had been written in Budapest.

Janša denied handing the alleged non-paper to Michel, saying he last met him last year. Pahor said today it would be useful if Janša addressed the public on the issue as well.

The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) today demanded an emergency session of the parliamentary intelligence oversight commission over the potential impact of the non-paper on the security situation with the party's Rudi Medved saying Janša had never denied his involvement in the non-paper's emergence.

Earlier this week, the opposition Social Democrats (SD) have demanded for the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee to quiz Janša and Pahor about the alleged non-paper.

As officials across Europe are expressing their support for keeping borders in the region intact, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) Party urged Slovenian coalition parties and in particular the Modern Centre Party (SMC) as ALDE member to distance themselves "from these divisive plans".

"@ALDEParty is shocked by the irresponsible suggestions to redraw map of the W Balkans [...] @JJansaSDS must stop his divisive policies," tweeted ALDE leader Hans van Baalen.

Janša reacted with a tweet saying: "We are all shocked that @ALDEParty and @hansvanbaalen are spreading this #fakenews story, created in Slovenia by his Slovenian friends for internal political fights". He added a hashtag #embarrassing".

STA, 16 April 2021 - The head of the supervisory board of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Mladen Terčelj, has confirmed for the STA he was visited by investigators of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday. He said he had not yet talked to the investigators and stressed he had great confidence in the rule of law and the NBI.

The police told the newspaper Dnevnik the NBI was leading a pretrial procedure based on a reported criminal offence but would not reveal any more detail because of ongoing procedure.

The General Police Administration confirmed for the paper that the investigation was thus not based merely on a government decree adopted in March.

Last month, the government proposed the supervisory board to dismiss STA director Bojan Veselinovič and tasked the Interior Ministry to examine whether the alleged violations contained elements of suspected criminal acts prosecutable ex officio and to act accordingly.

The government also called on the labour inspectorate to examine the agency and review its operations. A few days later inspectors paid a visit to the STA.

Veselinovič told the government on Monday he was granting the government access to all books of account and documents, even though the STA had never received a formal request to that effect. He said the government should say, in writing, who would access the documents on its behalf and in what way.

He noted that on Saturday 100 days had passed since the STA got paid for its public services in 2021.

STA, 15 April 2021 - The Slovenian online portal Necenzurirano has published a non-paper [ed. a discussion paper which is not to form part of formal business] proposing changes to borders in the Western Balkans that has been raising controversy in recent days. Its authorship remains unclear, however, information available to the portal suggests a part of the document has been written in Budapest.

Speculation about the non-paper was prompted earlier this week as the Bosnian portal politicki.ba alleged that Slovenian Prime Minister Janša Janez had handed an unofficial document to European Council President Charles Michel in February or March proposing "finalisation of the breakup of Yugoslavia" as a topic of the Slovenian presidency.

Janša responded by saying the last time he met Michel was in 2020 and that it would be thus difficult for him to hand anything to him. He added that Slovenia was "seriously looking for solutions for the region's development and the EU prospects of the Western Balkan countries".

TWEET

So this is apparently #Slovenia's non-paper, whose existence has been denied, calling for #Bosnia-#Herzegovina's dissolution and the unification of #Kosovo and #Albania, amongst other things. The document was leaked by @necenzurirano_. pic.twitter.com/OhIfWosa2C

— Ian Bancroft (@bancroftian) April 15, 2021

The Foreign Ministry said the only non-paper on the Western Balkans Slovenia had signed on to was the one drawn up by Croatia late last year to call for Bosnia-Herzegovina to become an EU accession candidate as soon as it meets the criteria.

Repeating that at Wednesday's session of the Foreign Policy Committee, Foreign Minister Anže Logar also assured MPs there had been no change to Slovenia's strategy on the Western Balkans.

The European Commission has said it is not aware of the alleged non-paper and its position on the borders in the region is very clear that there is nothing to be changed.

The non-paper entitled Western Balkans - a Way Forward was released today by the portal Necenzurirano, which says Michel's office received the writing in February past official diplomatic post.

Since the non-paper has no heading or signature it is not clear who has written it, but sources have assured the portal it has not emerged at the Slovenian Foreign Ministry.

"Some information indicates that part of the content has been written in Budapest. Nevertheless, it is referred to in Brussels diplomatic circles as a 'Slovenian' non-paper as allegedly the Janša office has been involved in its mailing to various addresses," writes the portal.

The non-paper says the main issue in the region is the "unresolved issues of Serbs, Albanians and Croatians" in the wake of Yugoslavia's breakup.

"Based on the existing methods and rhythm of problem solving, it is difficult to imagine the European perspective of Serbia and Kosovo, and membership for Bosnia and Herzegovina is fully excluded," reads the non-paper.

It says Turkey has taken advantage of the situation to enhance its influence in Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia, and that except for Turkey and few local politicians who personally benefit from the chaotic situation no one is happy with the situation in the country.

As a solution the non-paper proposes a unification of Kosovo and Albania, while the Serbian part of Kosovo be granted a special status modelled on South Tyrol.

The non-paper also proposes joining most of Republika Srpska with Serbia, which would make Serbia willing to agree to Kosovo's joining Albania.

The "Croatian national issue" would be resolved by "joining the predominately Croatian cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatia or by granting a special status to the Croatian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina", again applying the model of South Tyrol.

"Bosniaks will thus gain an independently functioning state and assume full responsibility for it," reads the non-paper, proposing for people to decide in a referendum between joining the EU or a non-EU future (Turkey).

STA, 15 April 2021 - The government has made several changes to border restrictions, including to expand the exceptions for quarantine-free entry into Slovenia to people vaccinated with the Russian Sputnik V and the US Johnson & Johnson jabs against Covid-19, provided they have received the first dose at least 21 days ago.

Quarantine- or test-free entry is already possible for those producing certificates proving they have been inoculated with Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines.

At its session on Wednesday, the government also extended the time allowed for transiting Slovenia from six to 12 hours, and added business reasons to the list of urgent reasons that allow quarantine- or test-free entry into the country.

Over 15-year-olds attending school across the border on a daily basis and those bringing commuting pupils or students across the border will no longer need to test weekly if they return right after dropping them off.

The exception for those owning or leasing land in the border area is being expanded to include their close family or same household members when they travel together.

Quarantine-free entry into Slovenia with a negative test taken within the last three days is also being allowed to citizens of EU or Schengen area countries who have been to one of those for up to 48 hours to provide care or assistance to family members or persons in need of care, or to do maintenance work at a private property they own, lease or use.

The exception pertaining to maintenance work on private property also includes household or close family members when travelling together with the eligible person.

The red list of countries was amended to remove Portugal and the UK, while there have also been changes to administrative units of Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Norway and Spain.

All our stories on covid and Slovenia, and the regularly updated police page on crossing the state border during the epidemic

STA, 13 April 2021 - The Locked Shields 21 cyber defence and strategic decision-making exercise will start on Tuesday [13 April] in 30 countries, including Slovenia for the first time. The largest and most complex international exercise in the field will in Slovenia also include representatives of businesses.

Organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) annually since 2010, the exercise will see Slovenia participate for the first time as the country became a CCDCOE member last year.

Taking place until Friday, it will feature over 2,000 experts in cyber security, strategic decision-making and strategic communication, Viktor Sterle of the Defence Ministry's IT and communications office announced at a press conference.

Sterle added that it would enable countries to be tested in a realistic and safe environment, and improve their capabilities of defence of national information systems and critical infrastructure against cyber attacks.

The first, technical and competitive part of the exercise will feature red teams from excellence centres acting against blue teams comprising the participating countries.

The latter will play the role of national groups for rapid response to cybersecurity events and help a fictitious country solve complex cybersecurity incidents.

The blue teams will be assessed and classified at the end of the exercise. In addition to the Slovenian, it will feature another 21 blue teams from various countries, with 40 experts in each term on average, Sterle said.

In the second part of the exercise, the process of recognition, coordination and decision-making will be tested in simulated cases of complex cybersecurity incidents in accordance with the relevant national legislation.

According to Sterle, the scenario is based on real cybersecurity events, and the exercise environment will feature around 5,000 virtualised systems that will be exposed to more than 4,000 attacks.

He noted that, as the Covid-19 epidemic had made society even more dependent on ICT and virtual services, effective cooperation between the public and private sector had become a must in creating a safe cyberspace.

The Slovenian blue team will thus feature experts from companies associated in the cybersecurity section of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), and experts from the state and public administration.

Gregor Spagnolo, the head of the section and leader of the Slovenian team, welcomed the public-private partnership, and noted that this was the first time intensive cooperation in cybersecurity took place at such a high level in Slovenia.

More details here

STA, 13 April 2021 - Slovenia's largest two vaccination centres witnessed massive cancellations by those due to get an AstraZeneca jab last week. Half of those invited turned down the jab in Maribor and a third in Ljubljana.

Under the valid national vaccination strategy, AstraZeneca is being currently administered to over 60-year-olds, while the national immunisation advisory body has approved the vaccine for use on everyone over 18.

The Maribor Community Health Centre has been inviting 60-65s to be inoculated with the jab.

However, the centre's director, Jernej Završnik said they had been noticing people having second thoughts. If someone refuses a particular jab, or does not respond to the invitation, "we call the next one on the list".

Half the people invited to get the jab turned it down, while in case of the other two available vaccines about 10% are turned down, Završnik told the STA on Monday.

So far, the Maribor centre vaccinated 10,400 people with the AstraZeneca jab. In all they had inoculated 41,200 with the first dose and 11,230 with both doses. They expect they will have inoculated all over 60s this week.

Meanwhile, the Ljubljana Community Health Centre saw 1,646 of the 5,040 appointed (33%) to get vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab fail to appear for their appointment last week. Those due to get other vaccines all turned up.

In case of cancellations, the centre has reserve lists of persons in the target group planned for immunisation. "If we are vaccinating over the 60s, over 60s are entered on the reserve list as well," the centre said.

Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar told reporters on Tuesday that those who turn down a certain vaccine are placed on the bottom of the waiting list, which means their turn will come once there is enough of the desired vaccine available.

"All the vaccines that have been endorsed by the European Medicines Agency are safe and effective," the official underscored.

Last week, the EU medicines regulator said that unusual blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but also said the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks.

Bojana Beović, the head of the national immunisation advisory commission, expressed surprise at the vaccine being turned down by the over 60s, considering the vaccine involves no risk for the age group on principle.

"It's the cohort where the risk of the vaccine is minimal compared with the risk of the disease. In the past week or ten days everyone who died from Covid-19, that is about ten people, were in fact over 60 years of age, except individual exceptions," she said.

She believes GPs should talk to their patients to better explain the risks and benefits involved.

The advisory group's decision that the vaccine can be used for all age groups of adults as approved by the EMA means that those who have received the first dose of the vaccine, that is teachers, will get the same jab again.

Beović said that as far as she knew everyone over 60 who had wished so had been vaccinated, so the vaccination rollout could move down to the next priority tier.

Data from the National Institute of Public Health show 101,027 people have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 218 have received two at the national level. In all, 334,706 have been inoculated with the first dose and 122,185 are fully vaccinated.

STA, 12 April 2021 - The Covid-19 vaccination task force at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) has decided the AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered to everyone over 18 years old without any restrictions, a member of the group Alojz Ihan told commercial broadcaster POP TV on Monday. The head of the group, Bojana Beović, confirmed this for the STA.

According to Beović, the AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered to people over 18 years old in line with the priority groups from the vaccination strategy.

"We've decided to vaccinate without age restrictions given that EMA had reviewed documents finding no connection to either age or gender, meaning there is no reason to restrict the vaccination to a certain group of population," Ihan explained.

In line with the vaccination strategy, people over 60 years old remain the priority.

Ihan warned that the virus was spreading in the country, and that the deliberation on the AstraZeneca vaccine had caused delays in the vaccination.

There are currently 16,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the NIJZ's central warehouse.

"Given that the risk is high for all age groups in the current epidemiological situation, if there will be leftover vaccine, it will have to be offered to those who want to be vaccinated. Thus, younger people too will be able to get vaccinated," said Ihan.

The supply of the vaccine will increase in this and the next quarter, especially Pfizer, the national coordinator for vaccination logistics, Jelko Kacin, told POP TV. The Janssen vaccine is also coming.

"By the end of this quarter we will have 250,000 shots of Janssen, which means 250,000 vaccinated people, while the monthly supply of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine in this period, early summer, will rise to almost 300,000 shots a month," Kacin told POP TV, adding that everyone who would want to be vaccinated should get the shot by July.