STA, 6 April 2021 - Two initiatives to put recently passed changes to the Water Act to a referendum have collected over 9,000 and 33,000 signatures, respectively, more than enough for the proposals to move to the next stage of proceedings. The motions were tabled in parliament today, both groups of NGOs said on Tuesday.

The NGOs had seven days to collect the required 2,500 signatures for the proposal to be submitted after the legislation was passed last Tuesday.

During this seven-day period, against the backdrop of the circuit breaker lockdown and Easter holidays, a total of 9,254 people signed the petition, Alenka Kreč Bricelj of the environmental Smetumet NGO told reporters in front of the parliament building today, representing the first group of petitioners which launched the initiative under the banner of the Zapitnovodo.si movement.

Representatives of the NGOs reiterated at the press conference that economic interests should not outweigh public health concerns and efforts.

They noted that the government-sponsored changes had been passed without an appropriate public consultation, warning about certain provisions of the act being hazardous to the environment and health.

Contentious provisions were added to the bill after the public consultation period ended, Aljoša Petek of the Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs said, warning this was against international law, the Aarhus Convention, EU law and Slovenian law.

Uroš Macerl of the Eko Krog NGO pointed to an opinion by Ombudsman Peter Svetina, who had warned that the changing of such important legislation without consulting the public is problematic. Not only environmental experts are against the changes but also the GZS's chamber of public utilities, he noted.

"We believe that the law that does not enjoy experts' support and could have a long-term impact on our drinking water is not in the interest of Slovenian citizens," said Miha Stegel of the Danes NGO.

Before the passage of the changes, NGOs Eko Krog and Danes launched an online petition calling for the removal of a provision allowing construction of some infrastructure in coastal areas. The petition has been signed by almost 54,000 people.

The NGOs believe that the provision poses risk of degradation for the land and water courses in coastal areas and could pollute surface and underground waters.

Meanwhile, another initiative pushing for the referendum also tabled its proposal in parliament today. The Zdrava Družba (Healthy Society) movement collected 33,670 signatures in a week under the slogan No Giving Up Water. It had the required number of signatures to launch the referendum proceedings already after two days of campaigning.

The representatives of the movement highlighted "an extraordinary response by the people despite lockdown and holidays, circumstances that definitely made collecting signatures more difficult".

They noted that a great number of people who had signed the petition in a week meant a clear message to the authorities, "which ignored our warranted expectations that lockdown would not be exploited for passing contentious laws".

The movement was critical of both the left and right ends of the political spectrum, saying that they were "becoming two sides of the same coin" due to their disregard for basic human values.

Zdrava Družba will continue to raise awareness about all the areas where the interests of capital aim to jeopardise public health and nature, the movement said.

A proposal for the National Council to veto the amendments was defeated today in a 14:19 vote. The proposal was made by an interest group representing non-economic services which agrees with experts and civil society that the changes are not based on appropriate arguments or efforts to pursue comprehensive water management goals.

Stegel of the first group of petitioners said today that on top of the referendum proposal, the NGOs had urged the National Council to veto the changes. Moreover, they are prepared to challenge the legislation at the Constitutional Court.

The opposition Left and SocDems expressed support for the referendum today, saying it would be right if citizens made a final call on the contentious provision.

The Left backed the first initiative, which has been campaigning under the slogan For Drinking Water, noting that the changes paved the way for water pollution, privatisation of public spaces and restricted access to bodies of water.

The SD said the citizens deserved to get across "whether they agree to efforts to put at risk natural water sources and lower the [...] standards of protecting Slovenian water".

The party said it supported the efforts by civil society to prevent the implementation of the changes and is prepared to provide help in the next stage of proceedings as well where 40,000 signatures are required to be collected.

The Environment Ministry has meanwhile dismissed all the allegations, saying that the changes shorten the list of facilities that can be built in coastal areas and eliminate inconsistencies and red tape.

STA, 6 April 2021 - The right-wing weekly Reporter comments on the political situation in the country, speculating, among other things, that Prime Minister Janez Janša may step down and force an early election.

After a series of defeats, an impeachment against Janša is a victory for the opposition, now presumably stronger by three votes from breakaway coalition MPs from the ranks of the Modern Centre Party (SMC).

But Janša may still take matters into his own hands and resign, even though he is not too worried about the impeachment. "He will almost certainly manage to get enough votes from MPs terrified of an early election."

Meanwhile, his losing of support in the National Assembly is a bigger problem. Discipline among MPs of the Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) may be good, but the remaining SMC MPs are unreliable.

Meanwhile, the opposition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) MPs vote according to their conscience, the National Party (SNS) according to its price list, and the two minority MPs refuse to be the ones to tip the scales.

A Short History of Impeachment in Slovenia

Sooner or later, the coalition will get stuck. "It seemed that Janša was willing to tough it out until the end of Slovenia's EU presidency, but now his exceedingly obvious Euroscepticism and the willingness to fight Europeans show that leading the EU is less important to him than we had thought."

A short-term solution for the coalition could be the return of Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek back into parliament, which would give the coalition one more vote. But this is not something Počivalšek would look forward to, as he obviously does not do too well in environments where pragmatism does not come first.

Another official who has found himself out of his element is Jelko Kacin after he was named national vaccination coordinator. "His coordination brought chaos, resentment and devastating results in the vaccination of the most vulnerable groups."

While many elderly are still waiting for the shots, privileged individuals, such as Janša's lawyer Franci Matoz, have already been vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the public is becoming ever less willing to follow coronavirus restrictions, the paper says under the headline What If We Run Out of Toilet Paper.

STA, 3 April 2021 - Some 150 protesters gathered in the Maribor city centre on Saturday to protest against anti-coronavirus measures. The rally was organised through social networks. The protesters did not wear face masks and did not keep a safety distance.

"Enjoy while you can", "Today we have classes in a furniture store", and "We are wearing a smile at schools not masks" were some of the banners the protesters carried. One of the banners urged teachers to wear masks and get tested so that schools could be open.

Police officers merely monitored the event and occasionally issued a warning on a megaphone.

Taxi drivers joined the rally by driving their cars in a roundabout and honking their horns.

The group that gathered in Main Square was later joined by a large number of people and together they proceeded to the Freedom Square shouting "Masks off, and the government to jail", the newspaper Večer reported online.

The initiators of the rally also noted that a call by parents, pedagogues and other citizens against testing children for coronavirus had already been supported by 15,000 signatures.

They believe this clearly shows that they do not allow for any interfering with the basic constitutional and human rights of children and other citizens.

The initiatives, including We Will Not Give Our Children and Masks Off, claim that the authorities are destroying the foundations of the rule of law in the name of the epidemic, using repression and destroying the essence of human beings.

Meanwhile, the epidemiological situation in the country is deteriorating. On Friday, 1,296 infections were confirmed in 4,998 tests, pushing the rolling seven-day average of new cases to 1,047.

Currently, more than 530 Covid-19 patients are in hospitals, 16 more than the day before, including 123 in intensive care, up five from the day before. Five people died.

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

FRIDAY, 26 March
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - PM Janez Janša's appearance in front of the European Parliament's democracy monitoring group was overshadowed by a row with chair Sophie in 't Veld. After In 't Veld refused to play a pre-prepared video during the time allotted for his statement, Janša disconnected from the videoconference. He later accused her of censorship and called on her to resign.
        LJUBLJANA - A meeting between Slovenian and Romanian foreign ministers, Anže Logar and Bogdan Lucian Aurescu, confirmed good bilateral relations, with the ministers agreeing that there was still much room for improvement. The meeting also focused on Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency, with Logar presenting its priorities
        LJUBLJANA - MPs passed the government-sponsored changes to the international protection act to prevent asylum law abuse and grant international protection only to those who really need it. The law envisages faster asylum procedures, sanctions for obstructing them and violations of or failure to comply with relevant rules, including public order rules.
        LJUBLJANA - Four MPs, including Speaker Igor Zorčič, formed a new deputy faction in parliament after three of them parted ways with the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC) and one left the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) deputy group. Janja Sluga was named chair.
        LJUBLJANA - Parliament passed changes to the budget implementation act under which funding restrictions would not apply to military investments. Currently, the budget implementation act states that defence investments are exempt from restrictions.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed amendments to the state prosecution act setting the conditions for hiring European delegated prosecutors and the required level of their proficiency in English.
        LJUBLJANA - MPs unanimously passed a bill on the protection of children in criminal procedures, setting up the country's first Barnahus for children. According to Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič, the house will provide full treatment to children involved in criminal procedures as victims, witnesses or perpetrators.

SATURDAY, 27 March
        LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left started collecting signatures for a referendum that would block military investments after the parliament adopted changes bypassing the Constitutional Court decision to stay the legislation allowing for the investments, its second attempt to block the investments with a referendum.
        SOCHI, Russia - The Slovenian national football team lost a qualifier for the 2022 2022 FIFA World Cup against Russia 1:2, the first defeat in the qualifying round.

SUNDAY, 28 March
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - The government endorsed the proposal of the Covid-19 advisory team to impose an 11-day circuit breaker lockdown starting on 1 April in a bid to help hospitals cope with an expected influx in Covid-19 patients following an increase in Slovenia's coronavirus transmission rates.
        TCHAIKOVSKY, Russia - Nika Križnar won the overall Ski Jumping World Cup to secure the first ever Crystal Globe trophy in the discipline in the women's competition for Slovenia.

MONDAY, 29 March
        LJUBLJANA - Toughened restrictions on Slovenia's borders entered into effect in advance of an eleven-day lockdown. There are fewer exemptions and the testing requirement was stepped up. Except for a narrow list of exemptions, travel to all red-listed countries is prohibited.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia supports efforts to implement the Digital Green Certificate system for cross-border travel, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek told an informal debate at the invitation of the Austrian tourism minister. He said Slovenia supported a joint approach by the EU.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly formally established a new inquiry commission, which will investigate potential interference by holders of public office in the work of the police since March 2020, when the current government was sworn in. The request came from four opposition parties.
        BIČ - The Slovenian subsidiary of the French car interior components maker Treves announced it will discontinue its Slovenian operations in September, which means 102 people will be left jobless. The news came after its plant was hit by a massive fire in January.
        LJUBLJANA - The UNESCO-sponsored International Research Centre On Artificial Intelligence, which was established in Ljubljana in October 2020, was formally launched at a virtual event. The opening ceremony presented the centre's work so far as well as opportunities for cooperation and use of AI tools.
        LJUBLJANA- Slovenia renewed its nomination of Lipizzaner horse breeding for the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, which it filed last year on behalf of eight countries with this tradition.

TUESDAY, 30 March
        LJUBLJANA - The coalition failed to unseat Igor Zorčič as National Assembly speaker after he quit the Modern Centre Party (SMC) deputy group. 45 voted in favour of the dismissal, one short of the required majority, as the majority of the opposition abstained.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly elected Tina Žumer a vice-governor of the Slovenian central bank and backed the government's proposal to appoint jurist Anka Čadež director of the Securities Market Agency for a six-year term.
        LJUBLJANA - Parliament passed changes to the water act. A provision which would have allowed industrial plants that use hazardous materials to be build on protected water area was scrapped from the bill in the wake of criticism by NGOs, but environmentalists warned that the legislation was still problematic.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed legislative changes under which cross-border workers will be temporarily eligible for higher unemployment allowances than workers employed in Slovenia since they pay higher unemployment insurance in the countries where they work.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia pledged EUR 70,000 in fresh humanitarian aid to Syria over the next two years at a donor conference for Syria. Foreign Minister Anže Logar said the donation would support the activities of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Syria.
        MARIBOR - Boris Novak stepped down as director general of postal operator Pošta Slovenije by mutual agreement with the new supervisory board. He is succeeded by Tomaž Kokot, the chair of the supervisory board, who will step in as interim director.
        LJUBLJANA - Little Girl, a documentary by Sebastien Lifshitz about an eight-year-old girl trapped in a boy's body, was named the winner of the Amnesty International Slovenija Award at the 23rd Festival of Documentary Film.

WEDNESDAY, 31 March
        LJUBLJANA - The government gave the Interior Ministry the go-ahead to sign special agreements with EU countries on joint patrols on the Slovenian-Croatian borders. The move comes after the government's proposal of having the army help the police failed to garner sufficient support in parliament.
        WASHINGTON, US - The US Department of State's 2020 Human Rights report on Slovenia singled out attacks on the media and harassment of journalists as one of the key human rights issues. Other significant issues include criminalisation of libel and slander and discrimination against the Roma community.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar hosted North Macedonia's Deputy PM Nikola Dimitrov, who is in charge of EU affairs, with the official visit revolving around priorities of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency and North Macedonia's efforts to join the EU.
        LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs talked to Margaritis Schinas, the European commissioner for promoting the European way of life, as part of Slovenia's preparations for its EU presidency in the second half of 2021. Hojs presented Slovenia's priorities for the presidency, above all efforts to strengthen the Schengen zone.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia and 12 other countries joined the US-proposed joint statement on the study of Covid-19 origins by the World Health Organization that expresses concern over its delay and calls for more clarity over the pandemic's outbreak, the Foreign Ministry announced.
        LJUBLJANA - The supervisory board of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) called on the government to immediately settle all of its outstanding liabilities to the STA and to comply with its legal obligations to finance the STA public service.
        LJUBLJANA - Anton Balažek stepped down as interim head of the opposition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) at the party council meeting. Brigita Čokl will be in charge until the election congress, which is expected in June.
        KRŠKO - The Krško Nuclear Power Station (NEK) shut down for scheduled maintenance as its 31st fuel cycle ended. 1,800 workers from the EU and US will be involved in some 40,000 individual activities.

THURSDAY, 1 April
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia entered its third lockdown in just over a year in a bid to buy time for vaccination and stem the third wave of the pandemic, which is driven by the highly virulent UK variant. The lockdown is planned until 11 April, with the exception of Easter Sunday, when up to two households will be able to socialise.
        LJUBLJANA - Genetic sequencing showed the UK variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in Slovenia. Data from the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food and the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology show over 40% of all samples were not the UK variant.
        LJUBLJANA - Health authorities recommended that Covid-19 vaccination be focused in the next three weeks on older persons. The National Public Health Institute said the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines should be administered to persons aged 65+, and to particularly vulnerable chronic patients regardless of age. The AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended for persons aged 60-64.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar spoke over telephone with Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan minister of foreign affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan expatriates. They called for the strengthening of bilateral relations and exchanged views on current regional issues, including migration.
        LJUBLJANA - The Securities Market Agency closed an insider trading case against Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak concerning purchases of Petrol stock prior to full liberalisation of fuel prices. Vizjak said the agency's did not find irregularities.

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.

STA, 2 April 2021 - The opposition-sponsored motion proposing parliament impeach PM Janez Janša before the Constitutional Court is the seventh such motion against a prime minister or president to date. None have succeeded. Most have been tabled by Janša's Democrats (SDS) with late Janez Drnovšek being the most frequent target.

22 November 1994, a motion to impeach PM Janez Drnovšek

The motion was tabled at the initiative of the People's Party (SLS) by 17 opposition MPs. They accused Drnovšek of violating several constitutional articles and the foreign affairs act through negotiations with Italy on foreigners' right to real estate in Slovenia. The National Assembly overwhelmingly voted down the motion on 19 January 1995, but had to repeat the vote on demand from one MP (the result of the first vote was 15 in favour and 58 against; and of the second 17 in favour and 56 against).

7 April 1998, a motion to impeach PM Janez Drnovšek

The motion was put forward by the SDS over a contentious security agreement Slovenia signed with Israel in 1995. The National Assembly rejected the motion on 21 May by 46 votes to 28.

19 October 1998, a motion to impeach PM Janez Drnovšek

The proposal was submitted by a group of MPs headed by Janša (SDS), once again over the Israeli-Slovenian agreement. It was voted down on 9 February 1998 with 24 in favour and 46 against.

28 January 2010, a motion to impeach President Danilo Türk

The motion was put forward by MPs from the ranks of the SDS and SLS and was prompted by Türk's decorating in 2009 Tomaž Ertl, a former chief of the communist secret police for his role in a police operation helping Slovenia's independence efforts. The MPs argued Ertl was directly responsible for human rights violations. The motion was voted down by 52 votes to 32 on 3 March 2010.

15 November 2017, a motion to impeach PM Miro Cerar

The proposal was filed by SDS MPs, who accused Cerar of abusing his position for intervening to prevent a lawful decision to deport Syrian refugee Ahmad Shami. The National Assembly rejected the motion by 52 votes to 18 on 9 January 2018.

21 December 2018, a motion to impeach PM Marjan Šarec

The motion was proposed by MPs from the ranks of the SDS and National Party (SNS) for the legislator's failure to implement a Constitutional Court ruling to secure full financing of publicly approved curricula in private primary schools. The motion was voted down by 53 votes to 29 on 29 January 2019.

2 April 2021, a motion to impeach PM Janez Janša

The proposal was tabled by MPs from the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Social Democrats (SD), the Left and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), who allege the government seized all the powers to manage the Covid-19 epidemic and failed to order all the available amounts of vaccines. They also allege pressure on the media and prosecution, among other things.

*In 2014 the SDS announced such a motion against Alenka Bratušek, the prime minister of the time, over delays in enacting a law on the fiscal rule. The motion was not filed because Bratušek stepped down a few weeks later after being defeated by Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković for the presidency of the party Positive Slovenia.

STA, 2 April 2021 - Slovenia will get its pro rata share from a package of 10 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine whose delivery has been pushed forward from the first to the second quarter of the year. Under the plan agreed last evening by EU member states, this means approximately 47,000 doses of the vaccine.

Slovenia, Austria and the Czech Republic will get their share relative to the number of citizens, having decided not to participate in the solidarity model.

The remaining countries agreed with the proposal of the Portuguese presidency that certain countries which are furthest behind in the vaccination effort get higher shares.

Under the agreement reached on Thursday, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia will thus get a combined 2.85 million doses of the vaccine shipment, and the remaining countries will get 6.66 million doses, expectedly in the second quarter of the year.

Prime Minister Janez Janša said in a tweet that "the solution is acceptable for Austria and Slovenia, but not for the Czech Republic, which is currently severely affected."

Janša added that "at least five million doses out of the ten million that had been agreed in principle on Thursday should have been distributed under a solidarity-based model for all to be covered, including the Czech Republic."

The government said in a press release Slovenia, along with five other countries, had tried to bridge the widening differences in the vaccination rate between member states.

In particular, Slovenia wanted five million vaccines to be distributed on a solidarity basis, not three million as the Portuguese presidency proposed.

Reiterating Janša's statement, the government voiced regret at the decision being detrimental to Czechia, noting that countries which may be able to vaccinate over 60% of their populations by June had refrained from solidarity with Czechia.

In total, Slovenia received roughly 14,000 more doses than under the Portugal presidency's proposal, but it appears it will donate the bulk of that to Czechia, while Austria decided to donate 30,000 doses from its allotment.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš wrote on Twitter today that "another act of solidarity towards the Czech Republic comes from Slovenia, the small country that offered 10,000 doses to share. Thank you so much friends and @JJansaSDS for your kind help."

Janša replied on Twitter that a year ago, "when Slovenia was in a desperate situation without personal protective equipment,
Czech Republic helped us. We said we will never forget."

The latest data on coronavirus and Slovenia, while the best data on vaccines (in Slovene) is here

STA, 2 April 2021 - Four centre-left opposition parties have tabled a motion asking the National Assembly to impeach Prime Minister Janez Janša before the Constitutional Court, accusing him of violating several articles of the constitution and laws, pertaining to healthcare, media, prosecution and human and constitutional rights. Janša called the move pathetic.

Addressing reporters in front of the parliament, Marjan Šarec, the former prime minister and leader of the LMŠ party, presented Slovenia's failure to order its full share of available vaccines against Covid-19 in December as the first count of the motion.

Žal mi je, da smo prišli do trenutka, ko se moramo kot opozicija poslužiti najbolj resnega instrumenta, preresnega, da bi ga zlorabili za lastno promocijo ali pa za diskreditacijo instituta predsednika vlade. pic.twitter.com/AXJZUfcQBs

— Tanja Fajon (@tfajon) April 2, 2021

On the second count, the LMŠ, Social Democrats (SD), the Left and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) accuse the Janša government of "deliberate destruction" of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) through suspension of financing.

The government is also accused of breaking legislation on prosecution by failing to appoint five out of ten prosecutor candidates put forward in the autumn and "dragging its feet" in the appointment of the selected candidates for European delegated prosecutors.

All those charges show "the government is eroding the foundations of democracy [...] Based on ideology it is destroying basic human rights and constitutional rights," SD leader Tanja Fajon said, offering the "spread of violence against women" as one example.

Luka Mesec, the leader of the Left, highlighted the government's military investment plans, which his party has been trying to prevent through a referendum, asserting the government was trying daily to break the limits of power set by the constitution.

SAB leader Alenka Bratušek added that the health crisis had been compounded by a crisis of democratic values. "It's more than obvious Janez Janša cannot govern in a crisis."

One of the accusations levelled at the government is that the government has put the constitutional right to clean drinking water at risk through controversial amendments to the water act.

Drži. Tako jasne samokritike od @tfajon @strankaSD še nismo slišali. Bodo sledila dejanja? Izselitev iz ukradene judovske vile? Nič več prepovedi sodelovanja medijem na njihovih NK? Nič več klanjanja množičnim morilcem? Nič več nestrpnega zavračanja vabil predsednika države? https://t.co/yMEQqYsFSg

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) April 2, 2021

Responding on his Twitter account, Janša called the motion yet another "pathetic move" aimed at destabilising the country during the epidemic, which he said followed the failed vote of no confidence in him, "media murders of coalition partners DeSUS and SMC and a series of failed interpellations".

"The worse for Slovenia, the better for the parties SD, LMŠ and the Left," Janša said.

Drži. Tako jasne samokritike od @tfajon @strankaSD še nismo slišali. Bodo sledila dejanja? Izselitev iz ukradene judovske vile? Nič več prepovedi sodelovanja medijem na njihovih NK? Nič več klanjanja množičnim morilcem? Nič več nestrpnega zavračanja vabil predsednika države? https://t.co/yMEQqYsFSg

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) April 2, 2021

In a separate post, he responded to Fajon's calls for an end to violations, addressing them back to her: "We haven't heard this clear self-criticism from Tanja Fajon or the SD party before. Will actions follow? A move out of the stolen Jewish villa? No more banishing media from their press conferences? No more bowing to mass murderers? No more intolerant declining of invitations from the president?".

For the motion to succeed, it would have to be backed by at least 46 of the 90 deputies of the National Assembly. The legislature needs to decide on the proposal within 60 days or else it is considered rejected. If backed, the motion is then referred to the Constitutional Court.

Šarec said the motion was an opportunity for "each MP to take a stand". The parties propose for President Borut Pahor to state his opinion on the motion as well.

He said the deputy group established by MPs who defected from the factions of the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC) and the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), a former coalition partner, did not sign on to the motion but they had not talked about their potential support in the vote.

In response, the head of the group, Janja Sluga, said the charges listed in the motion were "exactly" why they left the SMC deputy group and coalition.

Janša's Democratic Party (SDS) will respond once it has studied the motion, but its coalition partner New Slovenia (NSi) accused the opposition of "destructive and irresponsible conduct".

The opposition "appear to be willing to use all available means to add political instability to the aggravated epidemiological picture", instead of joining forces in defeating the Covid crisis, said the NSi.

In a similar vein, Zmago Jelinčič, the leader of the National Party (SNS), said the motion showed the left opposition were "in a terrible panic, willing to ruin the country and homeland to regain former privileges.

The SMC and DeSUS are yet to take a stand.

This is the seventh impeachment motion to date, including one targeting a president. Most have been tabled by Janša's SDS and none have so far been successful.

STA, 31 March 2021 - Between 200 and 300 people gathered in front of the Presidential Palace on the eve of Slovenia's third lockdown protesting restrictions aiming to limit the spread of coronavirus. They believe that some of the restrictions which are to be in place between 1 and 11 April are illogical, irrational and even bizarre.

The protest brought together members of several civil initiatives, including those representing education workers, parents and hospitality workers, among others.

Ahead of the protest, the initiatives said that they wanted to let politicians know that they had had enough of human rights violations, lies, manipulations, and destruction of people and the economy.

"Since when does care for health involve repression?" one of the speakers at the rally wondered.

They demand that President Borut Pahor start taking action and the Constitutional Court decide on review requests pertaining to the restrictions.

The protest received support also from the trade union of taxi drivers. They planned a protest against legislation allowing Uber to enter Slovenia, which the parliamentary Infrastructure Committee was scheduled to discuss tomorrow, but the session was postponed due to lockdown.

STA, 31 March 2021 - The supervisory board of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) has called on the government to immediately settle all of its outstanding liabilities to the STA and to comply with its legal obligations to finance the STA public service.

The supervisory board established that the STA has been performing its public news service under the STA act without interruption, said Mladen Terčelj, the chair of the board, after Tuesday's session of the supervisory board.

Due to the lack of budget funds, "the company will be insolvent and incapable of meeting its financial obligations a few weeks prior to its 30th anniversary," Terčelj said.

The supervisors discussed the STA management's report about the financial situation, possible insolvency scenarios and proposals to tackle the situation.

The board determined that none of the proposals could offset the shortfall of budget funds. "The last resort measure of downsizing would mean an inability to provide the public service to the extent set by the STA act. At the same time that would mean a scaling down in the commercial service, which is currently the company's only source of financing," Terčelj said.

He also highlighted that under the seventh Covid relief package the state is obliged to fund the STA regardless of whether a public service contract has been signed for this year.

"The government is not respecting its own law, passed in parliament. I personally also think that this is an important constitutional issue of whether the government may ignore a law or put itself above a law passed by the National Assembly," the chief supervisor said.

The supervisory board again urged the government to come up with a 2021 contract for the public service, saying that the STA had been expecting it since December 2020.

Suspending financing of the STA public service without any proven wrongdoing is unacceptable and contrary to rule of law principles, Terčelj noted.

The supervisors also reiterated that all documents and information regarding STA management were available to the government, which exercises the rights of the agency's sole founder and shareholder.

STA director Bojan Veselinovič was thus urged by the supervisory board to call on the prime minister and government ministers as representatives of the founder to authorise the Government Communication Office (UKOM) or another government body in the event it wishes to get the relevant information.

Veselinovič has already done this, addressing a letter to the prime minister and urging him to give such authorisation so that the STA management could provide access to all the required documents in line with law. A copy of the letter was also sent to other ministers and media.

Regarding the government's proposal that the supervisors dismiss Veselinovič, Terčelj said that they had not received a formal notification from the government. The board could discuss this only after it receives the decisions and an accompanying report on implementation of STA-related legal provisions, he said.

UKOM has suspended financing of the STA public service arguing the parties have not signed a contract for this year and alleging Veselinovič's failure to provide documents.