STA, 10 February 2021 - The Office of the Information Commissioner has taken issue with the parliamentary Home Affairs Committee including in changes to the residence registration act a provision requiring individuals to provide information about their ethnicity and religious affiliation when reporting their residence.

The changes were debated by the committee last week and the amendment proposed by the opposition National Party (Slovenska Nacionalna Stranka- SNS) was confirmed.

It stipulates that when registering a permanent residence in Slovenia, a permanent address abroad or a change of a permanent address abroad, an individual must state their ethnicity, religious affiliation and native language.

So far, such information has not been collected when one's residence was being registered in Slovenia.

Information Commissioner Mojca Prelesnik has taken issue with this, saying that this was a severe encroachment upon privacy of individuals and constituted a risk of discrimination of "foreigners, minorities and vulnerable groups".

Prelesnik said in Wednesday's press release that the provision went in the "direction of police state", and added that she had also informed the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman and the Advocate of the Principle of Equality about it.

Calling on the National Assembly not to endorse the provision, Prelesnik said that such changes could have serious and unpredictable consequences on the rights of individuals.

The information commissioner noted that the Slovenian constitution defined the right to the freedom of consciousness and stipulated that no one was obligated to state their religious or other beliefs.

The constitution also prohibits the use of personal information in contravention of the purpose of its collection, which must be defined by law and must always be in line with the constitutional principle of proportionality, she added.

STA, 9 February -2021  Several dozen riot police entered the AKC Metelkova alternative culture centre on Monday evening, ostensibly to check whether clubs are closed, a move that prompted protests by the proprietors of Metelkova clubs and the artists and craftsmen who have studios there.

The officers entered the Metelkova compound after policing a protest at the nearby Rog centre, which has recently been vacated and partially demolished, according to media reports.

The collective body running AKC Metelkova issued a press release Tuesday condemning the action by the "fully armed riot police."

They said around 40 "robocops, accompanied by officers in uniform, flooded the Metelkova grounds, tried to enter the clubs and other premises, and intimidated passers-by."

The police did not provide a reason for their presence beyond saying they were there because a rally had finished, "which they later changed into a story about 'customary control' of bars."

The Metelkova collective described this as "inadmissible intimidation and a forecast of violence".

The Ljubljana Police Department told the STA later today that the force policed two protests in central Ljubljana on Monday - a rally scheduled for noon in Republic Square and another one at 5pm that started in Metelkova.

Since the latter had not been registered and there had been information warning of possible violation of the public order, police presence was boosted and riot police dispatched to ensure law and order was maintained, the press release reads.

The police dismissed allegations of intimidation attempts, which circulated in media and on social media, highlighting that police officers were merely professionally and within their powers doing their job.

The appearance of riot police triggered social media uproar yesterday evening, raising concerns that after the demolition of Rog, AKC Metelkova as the only remaining organised alternative culture centre in the capital was being targeted.

It came just days after a far-right group that call themselves Yellow Vests, which support the government, took a photo at AKC Metelkova with the banner "Let's Demolish Metelkova Too".

AKC Metelkova said the group "no longer conceals their neonazi ideology, tattoos, symbols and greetings" since they are "well aware that the ruling structures provide them with safety and legitimacy for the most abhorrent political ideas".

The members of the group fled from the Metelkova grounds before the arrival of the police, the press release added.

Responding to a query by the STA, the Ljubljana city municipality said that AKC Metelkova was a protected alternative culture and subculture venue and "one of the city's treasures where we nurture and respect diversity and co-exist".

The city condemned the presence of "so-called Yellow Vests, neonazi groups or any other violent groups" in Metelkova, saying that such incidents attempted to revive nazi ideology, the greatest evil of the 20th century, and did not have a place in the capital.

The municipality also said that drawing parallels between Yellow Vests' actions in Metelkova and the planned Rog renovation was inappropriate as the centre was not demolished in the name of hate but to make it accessible for everyone.

The opposition Left also responded to the developments by describing Monday's arrival of the riot police to the Metelkova grounds "without any reason or serious cause" as another scene in the series of displays of the police strength, referring to cordoning off Republic Square last year ahead of anti-government protests and Ljubljana centre during the 2020 Statehood Day ceremony.

"Police officers carrying automatic weapons without any reason" in Metelkova, "just another part of the city", should raise all the red flags, thinks Left leader Luka Mesec, who blames the Interior Ministry for this.

The Left intends to request an emergency session of the parliamentary Petitions, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission as the party believes the developments are moving the country from a place of the democratic order to the reign of terror.

Over the years AKC Metelkova has frequently been a target of hate crime, in particular its two gay and lesbian clubs.

STA, 7 February 2021 - The Slovenian Foreign Ministry has expressed solidarity with, and support for, Belarusian citizens who have been holding peaceful anti-government protests since the presidential elections in August 2020, urging respect for democratic standards and fundamental human rights.

In a message on Day of Solidarity with Belarus, observed on Sunday, the ministry denounced as unacceptable the Belarusian authorities' responding to the protests with "disproportionate violence, illegal deprivation of liberty, and systematic disrespect and violation of fundamental human rights".

The ministry noted the citizens of Belarus, who are continuing their protests across the country, are united in the demand for President Alexander Lukashenko to resign.

The ministry "expresses solidarity with the victims of excessive post-election repression by the Belarusian authorities; with journalists, academics, cultural professionals, intellectuals, doctors, students, factory workers, and especially with the female population, who are an important driving force of the protests", reads the release.

"The only way to ensure a peaceful future and prosperity for the Belarusian people is to establish a genuine and inclusive political dialogue between all stakeholders of Belarusian society with a view to rerunning the presidential elections. Therefore, we call on the Belarusian authorities to allow the representatives of the OSCE and the Council of Europe to enter the country and to follow the recommendations of the Moscow Mechanism."

The ministry pledged to continue to support the democratic processes and civil society in Belarus.

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya designated 7 February as Day of Solidarity with Belarus, calling on international leaders, activists and others to support the protesters in their demand for the Belarusian authorities to renounce violence and ensure accountability for all human rights violations.

STA, 7 February 2021 - Nearly a week after actress Mia Skrbinac publicly accused an unnamed actor and drama teacher of sexually harassing her while she was a student, the academy said it expected their former student would file a complaint shortly, while some media have named the professor.

"We cannot confirm any name yet, but we will, as soon as we receive [the complaint] initiate all procedures, including with the police, if the complaint indicates a suspected criminal offence," the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) said in response to a query by the STA.

Some Slovenian media have named the alleged harasser as Matjaž Tribušon, a 57-year-old award-winning film and theatre actor with the SNG Drama Ljubljana, who also teachers drama at the AGRFT. The STA has been unable to reach him for comment.

"For the time being, the academy only has information that has been published in the media. Considering that RTV Slovenija reported [...] again that Mia Skrbinac is working on her complaint, we believe she will submit it next week," the AGRFT said.

The academy also said that Skrbinac had told them she was still considering what kind of complaint to make and where. They plan to wait for her decision before taking further steps.

The decision to wait was partly due to the opinion of NGOs helping sexual abuse victims which believe it is up to the victim to decide when and how to report the harasser.

Aleksandra Golec, the spokesperson for the Ljubljana Police Department, said she could not comment on a concrete case, but the department had not received any such complaint or a report.

However, the police said anyone can report an offence that is prosecuted ex-officio, while "state bodies and those having public powers" have an obligation to report such an offence to the police, and police can open an investigation based on indications from the media in case of such an offence.

Skrbinac was the first public figure in Slovenia to come forward as a victim of sexual harassment since the start of the Slovenian offshoot of the #MeToo movement.

In a programme aired on the main news and the magazine show Tednik on TV Slovenija on Monday she revealed how she had been subjected to psychological and physical violence by an unnamed actor professor during acting classes and outside class between 2014 and 2016.

"He would wait for me outside the toilets, at the Drama [theatre house] bar, and elsewhere," she said. A fellow student of hers at the time, Sara Lucu, corroborated the professor's inappropriate behaviour for the programme.

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 5 February 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Janša getting ready for snap election

STA, 5 February 2021 - The left-wing weekly Mladina says in its latest editorial that Prime Minister Janez Janša has been gearing up for a snap election for a while by deliberately weakening the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and the Modern Centre Party (SMC) so that he can hold them in his grip.

According to unofficial information, Janša threatened the SMC at Wednesday's coalition meeting with election. Allegedly, he said that if SMC MPs did not vote for a government proposal on public agencies he would initiate a snap election.

Janša has made it clear in many ways that he is prepared for an election: he has initiated the coalition Unite Slovenia, he has amendments to the election law ready, and the Democrats (SDS) have their lists of local candidates almost ready according to local sources, Mladina says.

"And what is the craziest of it all? That the SMC do not get that at some point Janša will indeed trigger an election. And not only that: that Janša knows that at that point they will be left all alone and without support."

Janša has been making sure all along that the SMC and DeSUS will not be able to recover after their political U-turn.

"We all remember how he and [former government Covid-19 spokesman Jelko] Kacin used to humiliate DeSUS minister Tomaž Gantar day after day. Just as it seemed the public trusts him, he got at least one political slap in the face every week.

"And what is Janša doing to the education minister, Simona Kustec, an SMC member? He humiliates her every week. Honestly, every week. He annuls her every move thus making a fool of her."

But just as DeSUS MPs do not understand that the arrows flying towards Gantar were intended for them because Janša wants them to be as weak as possible, the SMC does not understand that by humiliating Kustec, Janša is humiliating the entire SMC.

SMC president Zdravko Počivalšek does not see how cleverly he is being manipulated by Janša only to be left high and dry in the end. "That's simply what Janša does to 'friends'. After all it's what he also did to [former SDS leader] Jože Pučnik," says Mladina under the headline Violent Rule.

Demokracija: Criticism of university enrolment approval delay unreasonable

STA, 4 February 2021 - The right-wing weekly Demokracija comments on Thursday on the criticism with which the delay in approving university enrolment figures for the next academic year was met. "The toxic arrows" aimed at the government are completely unreasonable, it says.

The reaction by privileged sub-systems in the swamp of cultural Marxism to the government's action was fierce, with the main argument being that the government was now interfering in matters that were a mere formality so far.

"Yes, my dears, this is the problem, this mere 'formality' of approving something nobody in the country needs, approving something that only serves an ideological course created by the consecrated: creating a mass of humanities majors to lecture about social fairness. But nobody comes to think that sooner or later we will run out of those earning money with their hands."

The magazine says that "intellectual and academic terrorism" had been controlling the education system for far too long.

The current state of affairs with humanities offering 39% of new study places, while there are 2 percentage points fewer places to study technology, IT and natural sciences, does not reflect reality, the weekly says under the headline Planes Don't Land Here Anymore.

This only causes the need to create new jobs for the unemployables, mostly in the public sector, while the country needs to lure in engineers and doctors from abroad.

All our posts in this series are here

STA, 5 February 2021 - Several Slovenian MEPs expressed the view on Friday that the EU must insist on equal treatment of all its citizens, as they responded to a report that citizens of five EU countries, including Slovenia, will have to pay more for their UK work visas. Slovenia also called on the European Commission to take action.

The news portal Politico reported today that citizens of Slovenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania are not eligible to a GBP 55 visa fee reduction enjoyed by nationals of all other EU member states.

MEPs Klemen Grošelj (Renew/LMŠ), Franc Bogovič (SLS/EPP), Romana Tomc (SDS/EPP) and Milan Brglez (S&D/SD) share the view that the EU must insist on equal treatment. They believe that this is an attempt by the UK to undermine the EU's unity.

"The UK is playing a game with which it wants to create a rift between member states," Grošelj said at the MEPs' briefing in Brussels, adding that the UK uses different methods of pressure with different countries. In the case of France, the Netherlands and Belgium, for example, it is using fisheries, he said.

If unequal treatment persists, the MEPs will bring the issue up at the European Parliament, with Brglez saying that MEPs from the five member states could have the matter discussed in parliament.

"This is a touchstone for the unity of the EU, said Tomc, expressing the belief that the solution to this will depend on the EU. "If we give in, this approach will continue in all fields."

Slovenia's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Estonia had urged the European Commission to take action. Slovenia is also looking into the possibility of taking action within the European Council.

The UK's list of countries eligible to the fees discount is based on the list of signatories of the 1961 Council of Europe's Social Charter (CESC).

Slovenia ratified the revised 1996 document, which means that like many other countries it did not ratify the relevant Article 18.2 on visa fee discounts. However, Slovenia argues that the UK's exclusion of signatories of the revised version goes against the provisions of the document, the ministry told the STA.

"It is our position that a country is obligated to uphold documents and provisions it has passed, even in relation to countries that ratified a different version of the document and without respect to whether these other countries took on the relevant obligations.

"Moreover, a non-discrimination clause in the preamble to the 1961 document applies to all provisions of the document, including the provisions relevant to visa fees," the Foreign Ministry said.

Politico also points out in its report that several countries which had not signed the 1961 charter were still eligible for the visa fee discount, among them Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Malta and Portugal.

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, 29 January
        LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court, deliberating on an act providing recourse to investors who lost their investments during the 2013 banking sector bailout, said it turned to the EU's Court of Justice with multiple questions, including about the payment of compensation by the Slovenian central bank and release of data. The procedures related to the case are thus suspended pending a reply from the EU court.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša said no major easing of anti-epidemic restrictions was to be expected in the coming weeks and the government would stick to the easing plan adopted earlier this month, which meant that schools and businesses might have to close again if the situation deteriorated.
        LJUBLJANA - The government failure to okay this year's call for applications to enrol in university courses before the 1 February deadline upset students and the academia. However, PM Janez Janša said the issue was of strategic nature because it concerned youth employability, so the government would give it all due care.
        LJUBLJANA - National motorway company DARS announced that Slovakia's Skytoll had been selected to set up a system for electronic tolling of cars, due to be operational in December. Skytoll offered to set it up for EUR 15.7 million and its bid was the only one meeting the criteria among the three DARS had received.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded slightly over three million arrivals of domestic and foreign tourists in 2020, down by almost 51% on 2019, as a surge in domestic tourism failed to offset the collapse in foreign tourist arrivals. Tourist accommodation facilities saw a 21% rise in domestic arrivals and a 74% drop in arrivals of foreign tourists.
        LJUBLJANA - Preliminary data released by the Finance Ministry showed Slovenia had a budget deficit of EUR 3.5 billion last year, considerably below the figure predicted in the annual budget. Total budget revenue declined by just over 10% to EUR 9.08 billion, whereas expenditure surged by nearly 27% to EUR 12.56 billion.

SATURDAY, 30 January
        LJUBLJANA - Franc Kramar, a long-serving former mayor of Bohinj and MP for the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), died aged 60 after a long illness. He was succeeded as MP by party leader Alenka Bratušek, by virtue of her having achieved the second best result for her party in the Kranj electoral district.
        TRBOVLJE - Three swastikas were spray-painted on a building in Trbovlje where Health Ministry State Secretary Alenka Forte, a medical doctor, has her office. The police have launched an investigation, Forte said on Twitter.

SUNDAY, 31 January
        KOPER/LJUBLJANA/KRANJ - Rallies were held across the country as parents protested against school closures after two regions slipped back into black tier last week after the first such protest was held on Saturday in Trbovlje. The government decided schools in the two regions should return to remote teaching and kindergartens close on 1 February after pupils in years one to three were allowed back in nine of Slovenia's 12 regions at the beginning of the week. Protests continued in the following days.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša's office announced Janša had nominated Slovenian Madagascar-based missionary Pedro Opeka and his humanitarian organisation Akamasoa for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
        LJUBLJANA - A public opinion poll commissioned by commercial broadcaster Nova24TV showed the senior coalition Democrats (SDS) firmly in the lead with 23.5%, up 2.6 percentage points over last week, followed by the opposition Social Democrats (SD) with 8.1%.

MONDAY, 1 February
        LJUBLJANA - A new test carried out by the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food confirmed that the first confirmed case of the UK strain of coronavirus in Slovenia was brought to the country by a person who came from England in December.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor sent an invitation to the leaders of all nine parliamentary parties for a joint meeting in a bid to overcome political differences and reach a consensus on focusing on the epidemic, post-pandemic recovery and Slovenia's EU presidency. The invitation was turned down by two opposition parties.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor had a video talk with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen to discuss topical international issues and agree closer cooperation in fighting climate change. The pair also talked about the Covid-19 pandemic and the Slovenian minority in Austria.
        VIENNA, Austria - A law providing EUR 4 million to the Austrian province of Carinthia in the period until 2024 on account of its Slovenian ethnic minority as promised by the federal government on the centenary of the Carinthian plebiscite last year was published in German and Slovenian, in what is the first such instance in post-WWII Austria.
        LJUBLJANA - Mia Skrbinac became the first Slovenian actress to speak out publicly about sexual harassment as she revealed for TV Slovenija she had been sexually harassed for two years by a well-known actor and acting professor during her time as a student at the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television. She did not disclose his name.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee discussed the conduct by Court of Audit president Tomaž Vesel in the wake of alleged conflict of interest caused by his work at FIFA. The session was boycotted by four opposition parties and ended with two proposals, one of them being for Vesel to resign.
        LJUBLJANA - Maj-Gen Robert Glavaš, the chief of the general staff, and Force Commander Brig-Gen Miha Škerbinc announced the Slovenian army will increase the number of troops, adjust its structure and overhaul military education in 2021, while international missions and cooperation with police remain among the key tasks.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia has used 83.5% of the Covid-19 vaccine vials it has received so far, which puts it fifth among the 15 European countries for which preliminary data are available in the relevant tracker launched by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
        BEGUNJE NA GORENJSKEM - Sports goods maker Elan presented its new product, Elan Voyager, highly-efficient versatile foldable carving skis, the first such innovative product in the world.

TUESDAY, 2 February
        LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry said Slovenia was shocked at Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny being sentenced to prison, and urged "his immediate and unconditional release", joining calls from several countries, including the EU.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission disbursed the remaining EUR 913 million to Slovenia in the form favourable loans as part of the SURE instrument after the country received EUR 200 million last year to mitigate unemployment risks during the coronavirus pandemic.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission approved EUR 5 million in state aid for Fraport Slovenija, which the company operating Slovenia's No.1 airport will use to compensate the damage from the pandemic.
        LJUBLJANA - Karl Erjavec, the leader of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), announced he would submit a new motion of no-confidence in the government next week despite being short of the 46 votes required to unseat the Janez Janša government.
        LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry sent into public consultation a draft bill overhauling military education and bringing a number of benefits to improve the status of Slovenian soldiers, including by allowing soldiers on international missions to take more rest.
        LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek held an online meeting with European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski discussing topics that will be on the agenda of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Public Health data confirmed reports that numerous Covid-19 patients had got infected in health institutions. So far, at least 956 severe hospital-acquired infections have been recorded.
        VIENNA, Austria - Around 26,000 Slovenian daily migrants to Austria will have to present a negative test for coronavirus as Austria introduced stricter entry conditions.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Bureau of Investigation conducted house searches as it investigates a suspected EUR 30 million case of corporate fraud which revolves around the sale of retailer Engrotuš's brands in 2016.
        LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) announced its director general Sonja Šmuc was leaving by mutual agreement on 28 February.
        LJUBLJANA - A building in Ljubljana housing Zavod Iskreni, a Christian NGO, was defaced as unknown perpetrators spray-painted two swastikas on its facade and entrance and wrote "Corruption?" on the door, in what is another in a series of similar recent incidents.

WEDNESDAY, 3 February
        LJUBLJANA - Parliament passed the eighth economic stimulus law, worth around EUR 320 million. The key measures are the state shouldering the minimum wage rise, an extension of the furlough scheme, and introduction of fines for vaccine queue-jumping. Matej Lahovnik, the economist heading the taskforce preparing the mitigation measures, suggested it was now time to start thinking about an exit strategy.
        LJUBLJANA - The four-left leaning opposition parties filed a proposal to oust Education Minister Simona Kustec over what they see as "unprofessional and harmful policies" in organising child care and education during the epidemic, which has led to the longest school and kindergarten closure in Europe.
        LJUBLJANA - The government amended the rules for entry into Slovenia to scrap some of the exceptions for entering the country without a quarantine or a negative coronavirus test. The new rules will take effect on 5 February.
        KRANJ - Several classes of pupils in primaries and kindergartens in the Kranj area had to switch back to remote learning after their teachers tested positive for coronavirus in Monday's rapid testing. However, most of the positives turned out to be false, causing frustration and calling the reliability of rapid antigen tests into question.
        LJUBLJANA - The University of Ljubljana confirmed for the STA it had not extended the tenure of associate professor Igor Pribac from the Ljubljana Faculty of Arts after several students made allegations of sexual harassment. Having denied all the allegations, the 63-year-old philosopher is considering taking the matter to court. On the same day, the parliamentary Education Committee unanimously condemned sexual harassment in the academia and urged universities to adopt the necessary regulations to prevent and sanction it. The Justice Ministry was tasked to change the penal code, by also including the "yes means yes" principle.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and Archbishop of Ljubljana Stanislav Zore discussed a number of topics over working lunch. The pair agreed it would be appropriate for the country to pay respects to those who lost their lives due to Covid-19. The pair also agreed a papal visit would be welcome to coincide with major national anniversaries this year.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's jobless total hit 91,499 at the end of January, up 4.8% on December and 14.6% year-on-year. The monthly increase is mainly due to the expiry of fixed-term job contracts, the Statistics Office said.
        LJUBLJANA - A group of 38 public figures from social and political spheres called on politicians, media and opinion leaders to de-escalate tensions, bridge the divides and meet the current challenges together.
        LJUBLJANA - Russian flag carrier Aeroflot announced it would restore flights between Ljubljana and Moscow next week, and to operate one flight a week until the end of the winter schedule.
        LJUBLJANA - The Koper investigators filed criminal charges against four people over the June 2019 freight train derailment that led to a massive kerosene spill near Hrastovlje, SW. They are suspected of failure to conduct supervision in public transport and causing damage to the environment.
        LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left announced it had recently nominated whistleblowers Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize.

THURSDAY, 4 February
        LJUBLJANA - The latest coronavirus coronavirus statistics show that Slovenia has so far recorded around 171,350 cases, of which over 16,900 are estimated to be active. As many as 3,580 people died. There are currently under 1,000 patients in hospital, with 165 reported to be in intensive care.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - As the epidemiological situation keeps improving slowly, the government decided to suspend the current regional approach to coronavirus restrictions and move the entire country into the red tier, meaning that kindergartens and the first three forms of primary school will be open across the country next week. Museums, galleries and libraries can open from 5 February and ski resorts from 6 February. PM Janez Janša said differences between regions had been significant only weeks ago, but now the incidence of new coronavirus cases had converged.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - The leaders of all three coalition parties stressed their commitment to continue working together as the government faces a vote of no-confidence in parliament. Asked about the status of Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) MPs following the party's quitting the coalition, PM Janez Janša said the answer was in the vote on the latest stimulus package, which all five DeSUS MPs endorsed. New Slovenia (NSi) leader Matej Tonin said a cabinet reshuffle was possible after the vote of no-confidence.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - In an interview with the Brussels-based Politico, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said Slovenia would be an honest broker dealing with all EU issues when it takes the EU presidency on 1 July. He indicated a preference for a peer-review system over Article 7 procedure against member states.
        LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council urged for simple and targetted anti-crisis measures, as it noted that EUR 472 million had already been paid out from the national budget for coronavirus relief measures, more than half of the funds reserved for this purpose in 2021.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Commission for National Communities endorsed amendments to the general election act that would simplify certain procedures for the election of the two MPs representing the Italian and Hungarian minorities. The current system is to be replaced with a first-past-the-post system.
        LJUBLJANA - The Austrian energy group OMV announced it would sell off its 120 petrol stations in Slovenia as part of an ongoing EUR 2 billion divestment programme. In Slovenia, the group operates filling stations under the brands OMV, Eurotruck, Avanti and Diskont.

STA, 6 February 2021 - The government has cleared the plan of enrolment in university programmes for the next academic year after increasing the number of available posts for students of medicine and computer science, and raising the number of posts set aside for non-EU students.

The overall number of posts for first-year university programmes at four public and ten private universities is 18,520, down 120 compared to the original proposal. There are 43 more posts for full-time students and 154 fewer for part-time students, the government said on Friday evening.

A total of 2,365 posts are available to Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship and students from non-EU countries, up 88 from the year before.

The increase is "a result of activities that higher education institutions have invested in recent years into internationalisation and increased cooperation with foreign markets," the government said.

After consultation with individual faculties, the number of posts at the Ljubljana Faulty of Computer and Information Science increased by 50 across all study courses.

Enrolment at both medical schools, at the University of Ljubljana and University of Maribor, will increase by 50 to 271. The Education Ministry ill secure extra funding for all faculties where enrolment will increase, the government said.

It was not immediately clear from government materials which courses were scaled down.

The decision comes after the government refrained from clearing the plan, which had been finalised in talks between higher education institutions and the Education Ministry.

The decision was met with resistance from education stakeholders, but the government said it was necessary to conduct a strategic deliberation on what Slovenia's labour market truly needs.

The government held a consultation with university representatives on Thursday evening and lack of medical students, in particular due to low admission numbers, was highlighted as a particular problem.

STA, 5 February 2021 - The national advisory committee on immunization has recommended restricting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 to people aged 18 to 64, due to a lack of data on the vaccine's efficacy in older people.

However, the committee, which acts as an advisory body to the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), has recommended giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to immobile persons at home, regardless of their age, according to a release posted on the NIJZ website.

This is because the vaccine, unlike messenger RNA vaccines (mRNA) such as Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, is more stable and can be transported ready for application to the vaccination point.

Since there are currently not sufficient data on the vaccine's efficacy in patients with chronic conditions, the advice is that those should rather be jabbed with mRNA vaccines.

The advisory committee recommends the AstraZeneca vaccine to be used as a priority in health workers who have not been inoculated yet, for education and childcare staff, institutionalised persons who have not jet received a jab, for staff and pupils in special needs schools, and for staff in other critical services.

A second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine should be applied nine to 12 weeks after the first jab.

Slovenia has thus joined a growing number of European countries who have limited the AstraZeneca vaccine to persons under the age of 65.

Apart from the fact that it can be stored at standard refrigerator temperatures and that it is cheaper, the vaccine is also less effective than mRNA vaccines.

The first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine is due to arrive in Slovenia on Monday with inoculation due to start of Tuesday. It is expected to contain 9,600 doses, less than the initially expected 15,000.

A batch of 4,800 Moderna vaccine doses has arrived in Slovenia today, the NIJZ told the STA.

The latest data on COVID and Slovenia

STA, 4 February 2021 - The Slovenian government has decided to suspend the current regional approach to coronavirus restrictions and move the entire country into the red tier, meaning that kindergartens and the first three grades of primary school will be open across the country next week.

The news was announced on Thursday by Prime Minister Janez Janša, who noted that differences between regions had been significant only weeks ago, but now the incidence of new coronavirus cases had converged.

The tier classification affects not just school opening but also business. Janša said the government would meet representatives of business this evening to discuss the potential scope for reopening.

At the moment, essential stores as well as stores selling children's equipment are open for in-person shopping in red-listed regions. Museums, galleries and libraries are open as well, as are ski resorts.

Under the decrees issued by the government, museums, galleries and libraries throughout the country can open on Friday, while ski lifts can start operating across the country on Saturday but only for skiers with a negative coronavirus test.

The current strategy lists several more types of businesses that may be slated for reopening in the red tier, including DIY stores and stores selling sports goods.

Janša said the talks with businesses would revolve around which businesses could reopen safely under the condition that customers get tested.

Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, a deputy prime minister, said the currently shut businesses were ready for reopening and wanted to work, but this had to be done safely.

"We can't ignore the fact that we're still in a deep crisis and that opening across the board would do more harm than good," he said.

Janša as well as Počivalšek and Defence Minister Minister Matej Tonin, who is also deputy prime minister, highlighted the importance of rapid testing despite recent concerns about the efficacy and reliability of tests.

Janša said the government regretted "attempts to discredit this measure" without a realistic comparison with other countries and noted that it had been clear from the outset that rapid tests were not as sensitive or reliable as PCR tests.

Tonin stressed that rapid testing had the potential to "significantly contain the spread of the virus" in that those who test positive can isolate and stop the chain of infections.

He also said it was important that the government stick to the five-tier plan, which he said provided "reliability and clarity".

The government decrees released today affect kindergartens, schools, museums, galleries and libraries. A decree determining which businesses may open has not been released yet.