STA, 5 September 2020 - President Borut Pahor and his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanović attended on Saturday a memorial ceremony honouring the victims of the Fascist concentration camp Kampor on Rab island.

According to Pahor's office, this was the first time that the two countries' presidents attend the annual event together.

Prior to the ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Kampor, Pahor and Milanović laid a wreath to the monument of the victims of the camp, known as one of the most notorious Fascist camps in the Second World War.

Pahor wrote that the joint gesture "symbolised the importance of friendship and a shared awareness of the need to preserve memory, which should also serve as a warning".

"The decision to come to Rab and bow the the victims of the Italian concentration camp Kampor together with Croatian President and friend Zoran Milanović was urgent and simple", he said.

Predsednika sta položila venec k spomeniku žrtvam italijanskega fašističnega terorja Kampor. To je prvič, da sta se slovenski in hrvaški predsednik skupaj poklonila spominu na žrtve taborišča Kampor. pic.twitter.com/B6PDjLAWDp

— Borut Pahor (@BorutPahor) September 5, 2020

Pahor added that on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War he wanted to personally and on behalf of Slovenia honour the memory of the victims of the camp that saw so many people suffer and die.

He warned that "any form of intolerance and hatred begins with words and small actions, with small evil gestures that grow into serious evil before most people even realise it. This is how it came to Fascism, which showed its face here on Rab".

According to the Slovenian president, European peace is based on reconciliation between two of the biggest opponents, the German and French people. This reconciliation is also the cornerstone of today's EU, "an alliance where we want to achieve a better life, while it is still and always will be above all a project of peace".

Some 15,000 Croats, Slovenians and Jews, including about 1,200 children, experienced the horrors of the camp in the 14 months and a half of its operation. Croatian sources suggest at least a fifth of all internees died there because of abuse, famine and disease.

Pahor and Milanović also used the opportunity for bilateral talks to "continue and reaffirm the good and friendly cooperation between the two countries", the president's office said.

Milanović picked Slovenia for his first trip abroad after his appointment at the beginning of the year. He held a working meeting with Pahor in Otočec at the end of February.

The presidents also held talks in Ptuj in mid-May after Milanović laid a wreath to the victims of post-war killings in Maribor's Dobrava cemetery.

STA, 6 September 2020 - Four victims of fascism, known among Slovenians as Basovizza Heroes, were remembered with a ceremony on Sunday at the site where they were executed 90 years ago following a short trial before a Fascist court in Trieste.

Slovenian patriots Ferdo Bidovec, Fran Marušič and Alojz Valenčič as well as Zvonimir Miloš, a Croat with close links to the Slovenian community in Trieste, were executed on 6 September 1930 in Basovizza common.

They were sentenced to death in what is known as the First Trieste Trial for an attack on the newspaper Il Popolo di Trieste. The other 12 defendants were sent to prison.

Tried under Fascist laws, the four are still formally "terrorists", something their relatives would like Italy to change, especially because the other Slovenian patriots and antifascists sentenced to death at the Second Trieste Trial in 1941 were posthumously rehabilitated.

The Slovenian ethnic minority in Italy cherishes the memory of Basovizza Heroes with annual commemorations, which are also often attended by Slovenian officials.

The victims of the first and second Trieste trials were also posthumously honoured with Slovenia's Golden Order of Freedom for their fight against Nazism and Fascism and for loyalty to Slovenian identity in the darkest times of Italianisation.

What is one of the highest state honours was bestowed on them in 1997, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Primorska region with Slovenia.

In July, President Borut Pahor and Italian President Sergio Mattarella visited the Memorial to Basovizza Heroes alongside paying a visit to the Foiba of Basovizza, a karst pit which for Italians symbolises post-war summary killings by Partisans.

The move was seen by some as an act of reconciliation between the nations which had been on the opposite sides in the past, and as a revision of history by others.

Today's commemoration was addressed by Slovenian parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič, by Marija Bidovec, Ferdo Bidovec's niece, by Peter Močnik, a secretary of the SK Slovenian minority party, and by the head of the regional institute for the history of WWII resistance movement, Mauro Gialuz.

Addressing a sizeable gathering, Zorčič said the Basovizza Heroes had become a symbol of resistance to a murdering and oppressive regime and ideology that incited hatred and violence among people. They are heroes of the free Europe built on the foundations of anti-Fascism and resistance to all ideologies in the name of which people oppressed and killed each other.

The ceremony was attended by people from both sides of the border, including several senior officials, among them Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch, Slovenian Ambassador to Italy Tomaž Kunstelj, General Consul in Trieste Vojko Volk and Slovenian senator in Rome Tatjana Rojc.

In his address, Trieste Mayor Roberto Dipiazza said he did not deem the Basovizza Heroes terrorists. He mentioned Pahor's and Mattarella's joint visit to the Basovizza memorial and foiba and the symbolic return of Trieste Hall among the gestures that he said inspired hope for the future among the Slovenian and Italian communities.

Several other speakers noted the latest events as a new piece in the puzzle of reconciliation between the two nations and called for full rehabilitation of the Basovizza Heroes.

Later in the evening Archbishop of Ljubljana Stanislav Zore was to say mass at the local parish church, whereas Italian Senator Tatjana Rojc, a Slovenian minority member, delivered a speech.

The four patriots were also remembered in Slovenia with two commemorations on Friday, one in front of the University of Ljubljana and the other at the memorial to Basovizza Heroes in Kranj.

Historian Štefan Čok spoke about the values and message of Basovizza on Saturday at the memorial in Basovizza, and a number of events are planned for next week.

One of the highlights will be the presentation of Milan Pahor's book about Borba, an underground organisation whose members the four Basovizza victims were.

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

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FRIDAY, 28 August
        LJUBLJANA - Petrol, Slovenia's largest energy group, saw its net profit halved to EUR 20.6 million in the first six months of the year, as sales plunged by 28%, to EUR 1.53 billion, due to the lockdown and subsequent coronavirus-related restrictions.
        BERLIN, Germany - EU foreign ministers, including Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar, urged Turkey at an informal meeting in Berlin to end unilateral actions in the eastern Mediterranean, which are fuelling tensions in the country's relations with Greece and Cyprus, and hence with the EU. The ministers called for safeguarding the EU's interests and expressed solidarity with Cyprus and Greece.
        LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) said it had launched an investigation after preliminary findings indicated the risk of corruption in alleged wrongdoing of Agriculture Minister and embattled Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) head Aleksandra Pivec.
        JESENICE - After months of delays, first because of complaints in the contracting procedure and then due to the coronavirus pandemic, the workers of Turkish contractor Cengiz finally started boring the second tube of the Karavanke Tunnel with Austria on the Slovenian side.
        LJUBLJANA - The long-planned project of linking Koroško in the north and Bela Krajina in the south with the motorway network, known as the Third Development Axis, got a fresh impetus, as motorway company DARS picked a consortium of three contractors - Kolektor, CGP and VOC Celje - to carry out EUR 8.47 million worth of initial works on the northern part of the planned expressway.
        LJUBLJANA - The merger of Dnevnik and Večer, the publishers of the third and fourth largest daily newspapers in Slovenia, has come to a halt, Dnevnik's owner Bojan Petan of publisher DZS and Večer's co-owner Uroš Hakl confirmed. While Petan implied there were disagreements over ownership, Hakl said the reasons were a matter of business.
        LJUBLJANA - The 19th Friday anti-government protests was peaceful with police detecting only one violation of the public assembly act. According to the police, some 4,000 people gathered for the rally, which focussed on environmental issues.

SATURDAY, 29 August
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - A publication released by the EU Commission assessed that high labour taxation in Slovenia has a highly probable negative impact on the labour market and hence the country's GDP. The Slovenian government has been advised to introduce a more growth-friendly tax system.
        LJUBLJANA - The latest poll commissioned by the private broadcaster Nova24TV showed the senior coalition Democrats (SDS) top the party ratings on 20.9% support, followed by the opposition Social Democrats (11.9%) and the Marjan Šarec List (10.2%). The opposition Left polled at 6.8%, followed by the coalition New Slovenia (NSi) at 3.1%, Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) at 2.6% and the opposition National Party (SNS) at 2.1%.
        LJUBLJANA - Insurance companies operating in Slovenia last year collected a record EUR 2.3 billion in gross premiums, which is 7.2% more than in 2019, while damage payouts were up 3.2% to EUR 1.6 billion.

SUNDAY, 30 August
        LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a revised budget for 2020. With revenue down and expenditure soaring due to the coronavirus epidemic, the budget deficit is projected to stand at EUR 4.2 billion or 9.3% of GDP. Revenue is planned at EUR 9.2 billion, almost 15% lower than in the currently valid budget, and expenditure at EUR 13.4 billion, nearly 30% higher. A major portion of the extra funding is to go to the Finance Ministry, its budget increasing by EUR 2.1 billion to EUR 4.6 billion.
        LJUBLJANA - Serbia was moved from the red list of high-risk countries to the yellow list. There is a quarantine requirement for travellers from countries on the yellow list, but there are many exemptions. Croatia remains on the red list, so quarantine is still required for most travellers returning from the country.
        BLED - Prime Minister Janez Janša held talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The agenda included bilateral relations, the situation in Western Balkans and the situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

MONDAY, 31 August
        BLED - The Bled Strategic Forum boasted the most high-profile turnout in its 15-year history despite the coronavirus pandemic. FM Anže Logar said the debates, which focused on the EU's future and the region's role, were a prelude to talks at the EU level, but the event also marked a "return to the diplomatic map" for Slovenia. The line-up, which included Hungarian PM Victor Orban, Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, was meanwhile criticised by opposition parties, which expressed concern with Slovenia's shift in foreign policy towards eastern EU members.
        LJUBLJANA - Statistics Office data showed Slovenia's output contracted by 13% in real terms in the second quarter year-on-year. The second straight quarter of negative growth places the country in a technical recession with the annual rate of contraction in the first half of the year at 7.9%. On the up side, available data suggest a rebound in the second half of the year.
        LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council, a government advisory body, updated its estimate of the actual public budget expenditure directed thus far toward mitigating the impact of the coronacrisis, putting it at EUR 1.5 billion. While this compares to a government-planned EUR 2.8 billion, the measures could reduce the GDP contraction by about 1.5 percentage points.
        LJUBLJANA - The government dismissed Peter Jenko from the post of director general of the Financial Administration (FURS) after he led the national revenue service for nine months. Irena Nunčič, until now one of the state secretaries at the Finance Ministry, became acting director general for up to six months.
        LJUBLJANA - Consumer prices in Slovenia fell by 0.1% in August year-on-year as well as on July with the Statistics Office attributing annual deflation mainly to cheaper petroleum products and the monthly fall in prices to clearance sales. Goods prices went down by 1.2% in a year, while prices of services rose by 1.6%.
        LJUBLJANA - National motorway company DARS said it posted EUR 187.9 million in operating revenue in the first half of 2020, a 25% drop compared to the same period in 2019 due to the corona crisis. Net profit plunged by almost two thirds year-on-year, totalling EUR 28.4 million.
        LJUBLJANA - The business newspaper Finance reported that Comtrade CDS, the largest Slovenian IT company in terms of workforce size, had been acquired by the British IT company Endava in a deal worth EUR 60 million.

TUESDAY, 1 September
        BLED - PM Janez Janša held talks with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban. They discussed "close all-around cooperation" between the two countries. The pair expressed strong support for the respective minorities on both sides of the border and called for stronger cooperation in a variety of bilateral projects. They also "highlighted the importance of strategic cooperation in the Central European area".
        BLED - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman told the STA that open issues between Croatia and Slovenia, including the border issue, should be resolved bilaterally. He said the EU Court of Justice advised Slovenia and Croatia to seek a bilateral solution. "There is no arbitration if there is no other side," he said.
        LJUBLJANA - After a split on whether its head Aleksandra Pivec should step down over suspicion of corruption, the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) remained divided over the issue of which party body can dismiss the her even though the commission for statute matters said that the party council and not only the congress, as claimed by Pivec, has that power.
        VIENNA, Austria - Having analysed the state of mass media in Slovenia since the Janez Janša government took over in mid-March, the International Press Institute (IPI) said in a report that "few countries in Europe have experienced such a swift downturn in press and media freedom after a new government came to power". The IPI urged the OSCE, the EU and the Council of Europe to follow the developments.
        LJUBLJANA - The new school year started in-class for almost 191,000 primary and secondary pupils and almost 18,000 teachers. However, many precautions are in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including the wearing of face masks in common areas, which the public health authorities recommended for pupils of all ages.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian police officers who will find themselves in danger received the green light to use electroshock weapons against their attackers. The police say the use of the new weapon will be very restricted and all procedures involving them will be recorded.
        BRIANCON, France - Slovenia's cycling star Primož Roglič won the fourth stage of the Tour de France, while Tadej Pogačar in second place helped secure a historic double win for Slovenia. After Thursday's sixth stage, the pair were placed second and third respectively in the overall standings.

WEDNESDAY, 2 September
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded a spike in coronavirus infections with the daily tally hitting 55 in Tuesday's testing, a five month high, as 1,608 tests were performed, the highest daily number so far. The number of new cases has been rising steadily in recent weeks, but there have been few new deaths, the total figure by Tuesday standing at 134. The estimated total number of active cases is around 500. The number of hospitalised cases remained stable, standing at 26 on Wednesday. The government's chief Covid-19 advisor, Bojana Beović, is concerned about the spike coinciding with the start of the new school year.
        LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Foreign Ministry condemned the confirmed poisoning of Alexei Navalny. "The use of the nerve agent to silence an opposition leader is unacceptable. We expect clarifications from the Russian Federation and its cooperation with the international community," the ministry said.
        LJUBLJANA - Delo reported that Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro had invited Slovenia to join Poland in withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty aimed at preventing violence against women. While Ziobro has labelled the convention a feminist invention that wants to justify homosexual ideology, the Slovenian Justice Ministry said it saw no reason to withdraw from the convention or to amend it.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša expressed support for the Czech Republic after a visit by a senior Czech official to Taiwan has upset China. "EU-China relations are based on dialogue and mutual respect. Threats directed at one of the EU members and its representatives contradict the very essence of our partnership and as such are unacceptable," Janša tweeted.
        LJUBLJANA - Acting upon complaints by two Slovenian builders, the National Review Commission has shortened the list of suitable bidders for the principal construction works on the new rail section from Divača to Koper. While some bidders will reportedly be asked to supplement their bids, one bidder each from Slovenia, Turkey, China and Austria definitely remain in play for what are an estimated EUR 700 million worth of works.
        LJUBLJANA - The Finance Ministry proposed a hike in excise duties that entails a 4.8% increase in the average price of a pack of cigarettes in October. The prices of other tobacco products will also go up, while heat-not-burn products and electronic cigarettes will not be affected.

THURSDAY, 3 September
        LUXEMBOURG - By seizing European Central Bank (ECB) documents from the Slovenian central bank in an investigation of the 2013 bank bailout in 2016, Slovenia breached provisions of EU law that grant the ECB special immunity, an advocate general at the Court of Justice of the EU said in her opinion in a case brought against Slovenia by the EU Commission. The opinion is not binding on the court, which is expected to deliver a ruling before the end of the year unless the Commission withdraws the suit before then, a possibility raised in July by PM Janez Janša in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - Foreign Minister Anže Logar announced a more ambitious foreign policy of Slovenia, with the EU and NATO memberships as the fundamental framework, as he addressed the annual meeting of Slovenian diplomats. An overhaul of the main strategic foreign policy documents was also announced. President Borut Pahor on the other hand said he was concerned that an east-west divide could eventually emerge in the EU. He added Slovenia had always built its national interest on strengthening the EU's unity, and that he hoped this would remain the case in the future.
        LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar met his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian as part of an official two-day visit to Slovenia which the Foreign Ministry said reaffirmed the countries' shared interest in further strengthening of their strategic partnership.
        KOUROU, French Guiana - Following a number of cancellations due to poor weather, the launch of Slovenia's first satellites, the nanosatellite Trisat and the microsatellite Nemo HD, as part of a project by the European space company Arianespace, was executed successfully. Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek said "Slovenia has joined the group of countries with operative satellites in space, a top achievement that should make us extremely proud".
        LJUBLJANA - The registered jobless total in Slovenia stood at 88,172 at the end of August, which is a 1.4% decrease on July but 23.2% above the August 2019 figure due to unemployment growth in April and May.
        LJUBLJANA - Lot Polish Airlines will temporarily suspend its Ljubljana-Warsaw flights this month, with the last flight scheduled for 16 September, while low-cost carrier Wizz Air has cancelled its plans to fly between Ljubljana and Belgium's Charleroi over the coming winter.

Donald Tusk Visits Slovenia, Says EU’s Fundamental Values Cannot Be Negotiated

STA, 4 September 2020 - Donald Tusk, the president of the European People's Party (EPP), visited Slovenia on Friday to honour the 20th anniversary of New Slovenia (NSi), underscoring that even though EU countries and EPP parties may pursue different interests, the EU's fundamental values such as freedom of speech, tolerance and the rule of law, are non-negotiable.

Tusk, the former Polish prime minister and former president of the European Council, is due to address the NSi anniversary ceremony in the afternoon, while he also met Prime Minister Janez Janša over a working lunch. Both the NSi and Janša's Democratic Party (SDS) are member of the EPP.

Addressing reporters in the morning, both Tusk and NSi leader Matej Tonin noted the significance of Europe and its fundamental values, emphasizing that the EU should remain united in the face of the many challenges and should overcome divisions between north and south and east and west. "We are all different, but there's no need that we are divided," Tusk quoted what he said Tonin often said.

My statement on the occasion of my visit to Slovenia to celebrate the 20th anniversary of EPP member party @NovaSlovenija https://t.co/Rf0z3t1NxV#20letNSi pic.twitter.com/cXU5O97fuv

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtuskEPP) September 4, 2020

An honour to speak at the 20th anniversary of @NovaSlovenija with president Matej Tonin, among friends.

Verjamem v Nova Slovenija! https://t.co/IyDhh99JH2 pic.twitter.com/QERZfwJyAl

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtuskEPP) September 4, 2020

"For me the most important criteria is our fundamental values (...) I will never negotiate values like freedom, freedom of speech, free media, tolerance, human rights, rule of law, corruption," Tusk said in response to several questions from journalists about the rift within the EU and the EPP.

Also when commenting on the developments in Poland and Hungary that prompted the European Commission's procedure over the allegations that the rule of law is at risk, Tusk insisted that when freedom was at stake, there was no room for negotiation.

He pledged to do all in his power so that the EPP can take a vote as soon as possible on expelling the Fidesz party of the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban. The vote was demanded in April by 13 EPP members, but has so far been prevented by the pandemic.

About the position of Slovenian parties he said that Janša and Orban were not just friends but close political collaborators and that the SDS was closer to Orban in the EPP than to him. However, he also said that there was pluralism in the EPP and that as long he had partners like Tonin by his side, he felt "confident about preserving our values and principles".

Asked about the assessment that under the SDS guide Slovenia's foreign policy was turning away from the old European core towards the Visegrad Four, Tusk said EU members had various interests and there was nothing contentious when they tried establish special relations with some countries, including China or Russia. But "the price must not be too high and we should never renounce our European values".

Tonin said his party's efforts throughout its 20-year history had been focused to benefit the homeland. "We understand centre ground as a political party that is capable of linking the left and the right for the sake of the homeland, we believe in dialogue and that by talking it is possible to overcome differences, achieve change and ensure progress and a better future for Slovenia."

Tusk lauded the NSi as "the hope not only for many Slovenians, but for the whole European Christian Democracy. "You have proven that an indeed not easy synthesis of tradition, modernity and freedom is possible. That one can defend their values and not attack others, that an ideal of an open and tolerant society is reconcilable with effective governance."

He congratulated Slovenia for coping well with the pandemic, thus demonstrating that "democrats can be more effective than autocrats also in the time of a grave crisis, and that one does not have to restrict freedom and rights in order to ensure safety and security of their citizens".

STA, 4 September 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša dismissed at the annual meeting of Slovenian diplomats on Friday concerns Slovenia is drifting away from the EU's core countries, saying the "saga about a core Europe" was a false dilemma that testified a lack of confidence. However, Slovenia does not have an inferiority complex, added Janša.

"When we were deciding on EU accession in the referendum, we did not vote for an EU that would feature first- and second-class countries," Janša said in his address at Brdo pri Kranju.

Slovenija drugih članic #EU, svojih partnerjev, ne deli na prvo in drugorazredne. To bi bilo v nasprotju z našimi interesi ter s črko in duhom Lizbonske pogodbe. ?? nima kompleksa manjvrednosti, v EU se počuti povsem enakopravno. Obstoječih delitev ne hranimo, ampak jih blažimo.

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) August 26, 2020

"We believed in equality and equal standards for everybody," Janša added in the wake of debates that have included President Borut Pahor expressing concern over an emerging east-west divide in the EU and opposition criticism about Slovenia deepening ties with countries accused of regressing in terms of democracy, human rights and media freedom.

The prime minister said Slovenia was looking for various alliances in the EU, since the EU "is an alliance of compromises". Excluding certain alliances in advance would be imprudent, he argued.

Janša pointed out that Slovenia unsuccessfully backed the idea of so-called eurobonds to help finance Europe's recovery after the coronacrisis. The idea had strong support in Italy in Spain, hit the worst, he added, while stressing Slovenia would never forget that it was the Czech Republic that first came to Slovenia's aid with a shipment of face masks.

Continuing on the topic of the Covid-19 pandemic, Janša expressed hope a vaccine or cure would come soon. The forecasts are upbeat "but we are in for few more difficult months".

Pogovor s predsednikom največje evropske stranke #ELS @donaldtuskEPP o izzivih #Koronovirus in političnih razmerah v #EU. pic.twitter.com/WwmLitOdZW

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) September 4, 2020

He hopes for a more harmonised EU approach to measures aimed at containing the virus, even though countries are again acting in a fairly individual fashion.

Janša was critical about the EU failing to coordinate reactions to the pandemic even at the level of experts. This is already happening the second time in a year. "But neither Slovenia nor other European countries can afford another lockdown of public life," he said.

Janša argued some time had been bought at the July EU summit and praised the fast reactions of European financial institutions as well as the IMF.

Europe is meanwhile also facing a tough future because of Brexit, which Janša labelled a strategic disaster that will hurt the EU for a long time to come. "We who are staying on will have bigger problems than those who are leaving," he added.

New balances are now being sought in the EU, but the coordination and search for joint decisions has not become easier because there is one member fewer, Janša argued.

Slovenia meanwhile remains a proponent of European coordination and a deepening of integration. It supports the expansion of the Schengen and euro areas.

It moreover supports enlargement to the Western Balkans. The stability of the region is of strategic importance for both the EU and Slovenia and EU membership prospects remain the best method in this respect, Janša said.

In the coming days the EU also faces discussions on Belarus and the oil- and gas-related territorial tensions between Greece and Turkey.

Janša said that given Slovenia's EU and NATO memberships there could be no dilemma as to which side Slovenia will take. It is necessary to share both the benefits and problems, while compromises must be sought too," he said.

STA, 4 September 2020 - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) named on Friday as suspects Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) president and Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec and her party colleague, Izola Mayor Danilo Markočič, in an investigation looking into alleged wrongdoing on Pivec's part official, part private trips to the coast and Kras.

The announcement comes a week after KPK boss Rober Šumi said the corruption watchdog was launching an investigation into the case, after having established risk of corruption in preliminary findings.

The names were released now, as both Pivec and Markočič have received mail informing them that they are being investigated, the KPK said in a press release today.

It also said that it was looking into events that took place in Izola and the Kras region in 2019 and 2020 for suspicion of violation of the public sector ethics and integrity rules, and violation of gift acceptance restrictions for public sector officials.

The preliminary inquiry was launched based on a question from the press, the KPK said. Alleged wrongdoing by Pivec made headlines in late July, following reports that she had taken family and DeSUS members on trips she undertook in her capacity as minister.

In one instance wine producer Vinakras covered a part of the expenses and organised an excursion that also featured her sons and spouse, capturing it all in a promotional video.

In another instance, Pivec stayed in Izola for a night, with several rooms at a local hotel paid for by the Izola municipality. She was accompanied on that trip by her two sons, two security officers and allegedly a party colleague.

Pivec later said that the sons stayed with friends to avoid exactly this kind of allegations and that the municipality had paid for the rooms of her security guards. But the police denied this, saying the guards had paid for their room with their business card.

There were also several contradicting statements made about what appear to be several modified hotel receipts by the hotel and the Izola municipality.

Pivec has denied a number of times that she had done anything wrong, underlining that she would never exploit the position of a government minister to her own benefit or the benefit of people close to her.

Markočič said in a written response for the STA that the municipality had immediately forwarded all relevant documents to the KPK, as well as the correspondence connected to Pivec's visit.

He said the documents clearly show that the municipality had no intention of violating anti-corruption legislation, adding that the municipality intended to continue to cooperate constructively with the KPK.

"Our sole intention was to make a reservation and pay for the rooms of the official delegation members. Once we uncovered the error in the hotel receipt payment, which did not correspond to the purchase order issued by the municipality, I took responsibility and reimbursed the municipality the miscalculated sum on 5 August," the mayor said.

While the opposition demand that Pivec resign as minister, some of the top party figures also want her gone as DeSUS head. The party has been split in two and is currently debating which body has the capacity to dismiss her.

Ultimately, her refusal to step down could lead the party's entire deputy group to jump ship.

Nevertheless, DeSUS's official response last week to the investigation was a welcoming one, expressing hope that the investigation would make an end to "manipulations and inhuman media and political pressure" exerted on Pivec.

DeSUS council president and Health Minster Tomaž Gantar, who is regarded as a potential successor of Pivec, said today that Pivec's troubles were "piling up", expressing the wish that she assume political responsibility and resign as party president.

"If she wants what's good for the party, she should step down," he said as he was giving a statement for the press after a meeting of the Economic and Social Council.

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Contents

Cases - Masks - Graves - Hungary

47 new coronavirus cases in 1,733 tests in Slovenia on Thursday

STA, 4 September 2020 - A record 1,733 tests conducted on Thursday confirmed 47 new Sars-CoV-2 infections in Slovenia, a slight drop on the 53 and 55 cases discovered on Wednesday and Tuesday. No new fatalities occurred, meaning the death toll remains at 134. The number of hospitalised patients decreased by two to 24, with three in intensive care.

The new cases put the total number of confirmed infections thus far at 3,079, 505 of which are active. The total number of quarantine orders currently in force exceeds 9,000.

Meanwhile, providing some cause for concern are reports of infections in staff from three kindergartens and pupils from several schools after the new school year started on Monday in-class for almost 191,000 primary and secondary pupils and almost 18,000 teachers.

Classes where cases were established are being quarantined and are mostly switching to remote learning. Schools with cases have remained open, an exception being a primary school in Braslovče where both the kindergarten and school were closed after four positive cases.

Government spokesman Jelko Kacin said today that the situation was no cause for alarm, as there are many schools and classes in Slovenia, meaning there will be cases. He explained that local epidemiologists have the final word about measures taken in individual cases.

Meanwhile, the new cases remain dispersed around the country. They were confirmed in 29 municipalities on Thursday, with Ljubljana again topping the chart with ten cases.

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Govt creates basis to fine those who flout face mask rules

STA, 3 September 2020 - The government has changed the legal basis for the mandatory wearing of face masks or other face coverings in public indoor spaces and for mandatory hand sanitising to make it possible to actually fine those who flout the rules.

The adoption of a new decree at today's government session was announced by government spokesman Jelko Kacin after Slovenia recorded a five-month spike in new coronavirus cases.

It comes after the human rights ombudsman, responding to a complaint by a member of the public, exposed a loophole that made it impossible to impose any sanctions on those violating the mandatory wearing of masks.

Kacin said the new rule on the mandatory of wearing masks will not apply to schools or sports and recreational activities where they will remain recommended. Unless schools were excluded, masks would also be mandatory in class, not just in common indoor areas.

However, masks will continue to be mandatory on public transport.

The new decree comes into effect from Friday when inspectors will start overseeing its implementation and will be able to issue penalty notices to violators.

Kacin said that masks would not be mandatory when sufficient distance between people can be kept. "If an office in a public space is big enough masks are not compulsory, especially when ventilation is possible."

Restrictions on gatherings in public places remain in place with the government Covid-19 advisory group warning that the restrictions must also apply to all private gatherings.

Slovenia recorded 53 new coronavirus infections for Wednesday after a five-month high of 55 the day before, which was on a record number of tests. Kacin noted that almost 50 more tests were performed on Wednesday than Tuesday.

The lab capacities are overstretched. "We fear there will be delays, that we'll be waiting for the results for the next day and that we won't have the real picture any longer," said Kacin.

Kacin said that many infected individuals would not tell the epidemiologists where they had caught the virus, so it was necessary to follow self-protective measures.

Turning to the deteriorating situation in other countries, he announced Slovenia would be forced to amend its quarantine list of countries.

The Covid-19 advisory group are currently discussing the possibility to let Croatian citizens living along the border visit their graves in Slovenia without mandatory quarantine ahead of All Saints Day, observed on 1 November.

However, Kacin noted that Croatia's coronavirus status was getting worse and would soon near 100 infections per 100,000 residents. This was after a public health official said yesterday that Slovenia's 14 day incidence was nearing 23 per 100,000.

Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of the Infectious Disease Department of the Ljubljana UKC hospital, said that Covid-19 hospitalisations were on the rise and that an increasing number of patients required intensive care.

She reported that experience had shown the use of face masks as effective, including among health professions who avoided catching the virus from a family member because they were wearing a mask.

She urged everyone to follow the precautionary measures and act responsibly for the sake of themselves, their relatives and everyone else, in particular with the approach of autumn and winter when it will be no longer possible to see whether a person has a cold, flu or Covid-19.

Those hospitalised with Covid-19 are 63 years old on average, which is similar to the first wave of the epidemic. Patients with chronic conditions are hospitalised again, but this time around they do not have so grave chronic issues.

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Covid-19 makes it hard to visit relatives' graves across the border

STA, 3 September 2020 - The lives of some locals in border areas seem to be getting harder since Slovenia recently red-listed Croatia due to a rising number of Covid-19 cases. This prevents Croats from visiting the graves of their relatives across the border in Slovenia. Croatia would like the strict measures to be somewhat softened.

Croatia's Nova TV reported last evening that two Croatian citizens were not allowed to enter Slovenia to visit their relatives' graves in Jelšane, a Slovenian town just two kilometres from the Croatian town of Rupa.

There are some exceptions allowing Croatian citizens to enter Slovenia for a funeral of a relative or for business or some other urgent matters.

Slovenian and Croatian authorities have been notified of the difficulties by Croatian Mayor of Klana Željka Šarčević Grgić.

Although a meeting has been held in Slovenia's Ilirska Bistrica to discuss softer measures, she said the measures had in fact become stricter.

Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman told Nova TV that all open issues were being addressed, adding Croatia would appreciate if Croatians were allowed to visit their graves in Slovenia.

The locals would like to see a solution before 1 November, All Saints' Day, when Slovenians and Croats visit graves en masse.

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Hungary grants border opening appeals from Slovenian minority

STA, 4 September 2020 - The Hungarian authorities have granted an appeal from the Slovenian ethnic minority to open another border crossing for the locals, re-opening the Ketvolgy/Verica-Čepinci crossing as of Saturday between 6am and 6pm. A border crossing with Austria, important for Slovenian daily migrant workers, will also be reopened.

On Tuesday, Hungary closed its border for foreign citizens to contain the coronavirus, leaving only three border crossings with Slovenia operable - Pince (Tornyiszentmiklós on the Hungarian side), Dolga Vas (Hosszufalu) and Hodoš (Bajansenye).

The Slovenian minority on the other side of the border has been virtually cut off from Slovenia, and their representatives, as well as the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, have called on the Hungarian authorities to open one more small border crossing.

The Ketvolgy/Verica-Čepinci border crossing is very important for the minority, as travelling through other border crossings may prolong the journey by 100 kilometres or two hours.

Granting the appeal, Hungary also allowed parents who take their children to a bilingual school in Slovenia's Prosenjakovci to cross the local border crossing two times a day.

The restrictions on border travel have posed a problem for the primary school, which has 100 pupils, of whom 42 come from Hungary.

Erika Köleš Kiss, the minority's representative in Hungarian parliament, said that the representatives had strived for the border crossing to open even earlier, but were nevertheless happy with the outcome.

The Hungarian authorities also granted an appeal to reopen the border crossing with Austria at Alsószölnök, which is used by Slovenian daily migrant workers. It is expected to be opened on Saturday and stay opened between 7am and 7pm.

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STA, 3 September 2020 - President Borut Pahor said he was concerned that an east-west divide could eventually emerge in the EU, as he addressed the 24th annual meeting of Slovenian diplomats at Brdo pri Kranju on Thursday. He said Slovenia had always built its national interest on strengthening the EU's unity, and hopes this remains the case in the future.

Even if the EU is in a certain crisis and deadlocked, these emerging divisions that can be noticed within the block are not in Slovenia's interest, he stressed.

"Where there used to be the Iron Curtain, there could be a kind of a Velvet Curtain in the future. I believe it's not in our interest for this to happen."

He said Slovenia's strategic foreign policy documents say the country wants to be part of the core of European integration and supports a deepened and expanded EU.

This does not mean Slovenia would not take part in various regional initiatives, which it always has, but always in a bid to strengthen the EU, not undermine it.

Pahor cautioned that "we should be careful, in particular if the crisis of EU development persists, that a new east-west divide does not emerge", arguing this would be a different kind of divide than other differences EU members have.

Pahor is convinced that just like every time before, Germany and France will find a solution to break the deadlock and strengthen unity, and Slovenia should be part of this.

PRS na posvetu slovenske diplomacije izpostavil skrb glede prihodnosti EU, poudaril je pomen multilateralizma, transatlantskega zavezništva in iskrenih prijateljskih odnosov s sosednjimi državami. #posvetdiplomacije pic.twitter.com/X2JUKEeXVu

— Borut Pahor (@BorutPahor) September 3, 2020

The president is happy Foreign Minister Anže Logar has invited France's Foreign and Europe Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to the annual meeting of diplomats, so he is looking forward to hearing what he has to say about the EU and its future on Friday.

He would also like more efforts to be made "for a conference on the EU's future", so that we arrive at solutions to secure "the EU's renaissance".

Pahor moreover strongly supported multilateralism, which he said needed some improvements, which must be made in dialogue and by consensus.

He also urged staying "committed to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, the Istanbul Convention, the Marrakesh Declaration", which he said "gives Slovenian foreign policy credibility".

He highlighted the role of transatlantic relations: "It is of utmost importance that there is a close alliance between Europe and North America which goes beyond a mere military alliance".

In global relations, also when it comes to Russia and China, Slovenia "is not seeking a balance between Russia and the US", he said.

"The US is our ally. Of course we want to have good relations with Russia. And with China. But the US is our ally and in this sense our privileged partner," he said.

Here Pahor labelled the recent visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Slovenia "a magnificent thing".

As for relations with neighbouring countries, he said they should be frank and amicable, while it takes foremost honest dialogue to resolve the open questions.

The president completed his address by urging diplomats to be active.

"We cannot be in a position when we are just taken by the flow of history, we have to be part of that flow," he said, recalling the period 30 years ago when Slovenia was seeking independence.

Commenting on Pahor and Logar's addresses, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aleksander Geržina assured the pair had not talked about opposing guidelines, but about complementary ones.

While Pahor focussed on the fear of a potential east-west divide, Logar announced changes to Slovenia's foreign policy by refreshing strategic documents and intensifying cooperation with Central European countries, foremost in the area of infrastructure modernisation.

"I think the president and the foreign minister complement each other. There are no such major differences between the east and the west as could be seen in reactions in the media and domestic politics," Geržina told the press at Brdo pri Kranju.

He indicated that debates on stronger divisions between eastern and western EU members were en exaggeration. "Germany and France also have different stances. But in fact we speak about the same things."

He also said that at the July summit the EU showed unity by adopting "a solidarity package" for post-Covid recovery in just five days. "The European Council had not been able to adopt something like that in just five days for several years."

"I believe it is in the common interest of the European east and west for the EU - which is the best story of this continent in history - to go on. In this story, we want to put Slovenia beck into the international arena," said Geržina.

Asked whether the French foreign minister's attendance at the diplomats' meeting was an attempt to balance the line-up of this year's Bled Strategic Forum, which was attended by prime ministers and presidents of East European countries, Geržina rejected the speculation.

"He said this group of countries ... did present a group with a kind of a common view of the Covid-19 situation, which resulted in a kind of closer cooperation and also the Slovenian government and the new foreign minister's awareness that this group of countries, which also includes Bavaria and Croatia, is the most important from the aspects of history, culture, politics and economy."

As for Janša siding with Poland and Hungary at the July summit in opposition the idea to peg coronavirus recovery funds to the respect of the rule of law, Geržina said "this time we showed solidarity with the two countries, perhaps sometime in the coming months we will show it with some other countries from the core EU."

He said that as an EU member Slovenia tries to understand the grievances of all EU members. "There is nothing final here. We try to react to discussions in the EU and to be more proactive in them then [Slovenia was] before."

STA, 3 September 2020 - By seizing European Central Bank (ECB) documents from the Slovenian central bank in an investigation of the 2013 bank bailout, Slovenia breached provisions of EU law that grant the ECB special immunity, an advocate general at the Court of Justice of the EU said in her opinion in a case brought against Slovenia by the EU Commission.

Advocate General Juliane Kokott said that by seizing communication and electronic documents from the premises of Banka Slovenije in 2016 without first coordinating with the ECB and securing a court decision, Slovenian law enforcement breached Articles 2, 18 and 22 of Protocol No. 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union.

After it seized the documents, Slovenia neither substantiated which documents are necessary for the national criminal procedure nor returned the remaining documents which constitute protected archives of the ECB, reads the opinion, which was presented at the court on Thursday.

The 21-page opinion, which is not binding on the court, thus upholds both claims made by the European Commission in the lawsuit against Slovenia.

Summing up the gist of the opinion, Advocate General of the European Court of Justice Gerard Hogan said that the court must now "resolve the tension" between the Union's interest in preserving the ECB's independence and the interest of member states to conduct effective criminal investigations.

The procedure is seen as an important precedent in that it raises important questions about the relationship between national authorities and EU institutions.

The protocol on privileges and immunities is rarely the subject of a legal dispute and the case could help clarify the circumstances under which immunity of Union archives applies. However, it remains unclear whether the court will deliver a final judgement at all.

Slovenia has so far rejected all allegations and a Slovenian legal representative said after oral arguments in June that the court's questions had indicated a favourable disposition towards Slovenia's arguments.

But just days before that, Prime Minister Janez Janša wrote a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen inquiring about the conditions under which the Commission would be willing to withdraw its lawsuit.

In July Janša clarified that an agreement on withdrawal might involve ECB representatives coming to Slovenia and making it clear which of the seized materials constitute ECB archives. Slovenian law enforcement would have to agree on that.

The court says it does not have information about a possible withdrawal of the suit. Unofficial information from the Slovenian side indicates there have been no new developments in this respect. The lawsuit may be withdrawn at any point before the court hands down its ruling.

Commenting on the advocate general's opinion, Slovenian Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič said the opinion constituted "neither victory nor defeat since the case is a precedent".

"Regardless of the outcome, we will finally know what constitutes ECB archives, which has so far not been entirely clear," said the minister, noting that she could not comment in greater detail since the ministry had not yet received the opinion.

Asked whether Janša had been unsuccessful with regard to the possibility of a withdrawal of the lawsuit, Kozlovič said the court procedure was running independently while parties to the proceedings had other legal avenues at their disposal as well.

The Slovenian central bank would not comment, saying it was not a party to the proceedings. The Supreme State Prosecutor's Office would not comment at this point in the proceedings.

Janša meanwhile said on Twitter that the "abuse of the police directed by the [Social Democrats] SD party in the clash with [Banka Slovenije] Governor Jazbec has not worked out". He added that such abuses always shed bad light on the country.

The European Commission, on the other hand, expressed satisfaction with the advocate general's position.

"This follows the Commission's decision to refer Slovenia to the Court of Justice of the EU for the violation of the inviolability of the archives of the Union and the duty of sincere cooperation in the context of the seizure of ECB documents that took place at the Central Bank of Slovenia," the Commission said.

STA, 2 September 2020 - Police apprehended a group of 60 people who had illegally entered the country near the town of Semič in the south-east on Tuesday. The migrants come from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

They were captured after a large number of persons were spotted in Srednja Vas at around 4pm, running towards Komarna Vas, the Novo Mesto police department said on Wednesday.

The illegal migrants were apprehended by police officers from Črnomelj, Dolenjske Toplice and the specialised unit for border control of the General Police Administration. A special unit of the Novo Mesto police department also took part in the operation.

The foreigners are still being processed by police.

Police chase vehicle with 16 migrants from Ilirska Bistrica to Italy

STA, 3 September 2020 - Slovenian police chased last evening a vehicle with Italian licence plates carrying 16 Eritrean citizens from the area of Ilriska Bistrica, a town in the south some 10km from Croatia, all the way to Italy, as the Spanish driver refused to pull over.

The Koper Police Department said on Thursday that several unsuccessful attempts had been made to stop it.

The vehicle then ran over a stinger spike system in the coastal town of Škofije, but the 21-year driver continued the journey despite flat tyres.

He finally stopped near the Italian town of Muggia over half an hour after the vehicle was first spotted at 9.30pm in a village near Ilirska Bistrica.

The driver fled, but was caught some 300 metres from the vehicle, while the group of illegal migrants and the driver were taken over by Italian police.

Earlier on Wednesday, a car with German licence plates driven by a 28-year-old Syrian citizen living legally in Germany was stopped in another village near Ilirska Bistrica, carrying five Eritreans.

Further east, near the town of Črnomelj, locals notified last evening the police of a van which carried 24 illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. While they tried but failed to escape, the driver managed to flee and has not yet been found.