What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 6 March
LJUBLJANA - Janez Janša, the incoming prime minister, formally nominated his 16-member cabinet. Most of the nominees are senior politicians with prior experience in government, in particular in his previous cabinets. The Democrats (SDS) are slated to head seven ministers and will lead several key departments, including foreign affairs, finance and home policy.
LJUBLJANA - Official statistics released ahead of International Women's Day showed that Slovenia ranks 8th among 120 countries on the OECD gender equality scale, however women earn nearly EUR 130 less a month than men, and two-thirds of pensioners below the poverty line are women. The share of discrimination in Slovenia was 12.9%, with discrimination within the family being the biggest problem.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will get a new biotechnological centre, located in Ljubljana, as the agreement on the construction of the Biotechnological Hub of the National Institute for Biology (NIB), valued at EUR 20.8 million, was signed. The 6,500-square-metre research centre is to be built by 2023. The EU is to chip in EUR 16 million.
SATURDAY, 7 March
LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Aleš Šabeder issued a decree banning all public indoor events for 500-plus participants as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by four to 12. The ban was accompanied by a recommendation to organisers of smaller events to reconsider cancelling too.
MARIBOR - The latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey showed that detection of business opportunities by individuals in Slovenia has been improving in recent years. Almost 58% of Slovenians perceived business opportunities last year, up from 38% in 2016, putting Slovenia 26th among the 50 surveyed countries around the world.
HOLMEKOLLEN, Norway - Slovenia's ski jumpers grabbed third place at the Ski Jumping World Cup team event, finishing behind the victorious home team and Germany. This was the third consecutive podium placement for the Slovenian team, which finished fifth overall in the Nations Cup.
SUNDAY, 8 March
LJUBLJANA/NOVO MESTO - Authenticity was confirmed of the first fragment of the meteor which disintegrated over Slovenia at the end of last month, after it was found last week in a village near Novo Mesto. A second chunk was found this week, also in the Novo Mesto area.
LJUBLJANA - A report on the Slovenian-Croatian border arbitration agreement implementation showed that Croatian authorities initiated 913 proceedings against Slovenian fishermen for fishing in what Croatia claims is its part of the Piran Bay, while Slovenia has paid EUR 190,954 for legal assistance to the fishermen so far.
MONDAY, 9 March
LJUBLJANA - As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Slovenia grew to 23, Health Minister Aleš Šabeder announced that all indoor events would be limited to 100 participants. A number of higher education institutions in the country started cancelling in-class lectures and moving instruction online.
LJUBLJANA - The government announced a stimulus package worth close to EUR 1 billion to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on the economy. Short- and long-term measures such as tax deferrals, state guarantees and credit lines are planned, mostly from existing financial facilities, said Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek.
LJUBLJANA - After European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on EU member states to help unaccompanied migrant children on Greek islands, the Slovenian Interior Ministry said it had not received an official request and that the caretaker government could not decide on such an issue in any case.
TUESDAY, 10 March
LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Policy Committee backed the foreign minister candidate Anže Logar after what was mostly a Croatia-focused confirmation hearing. While arguing new approaches would be needed, he asserted Slovenia would continue insisting Croatia honour the border arbitration decision after he had raised eyebrows with his statement it was time to switch to silent diplomacy.
LJUBLJANA - New Slovenia (NSi) head Matej Tonin was backed for defence minister at committee level after he defended plans to gradually reintroduce conscription. He also announced higher defence spending, saying "NATO remains the best and cheapest insurance policy", and mentioned an idea to enlist older people who have received military training to help patrol the border.
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court stayed the implementation of an act providing easier access to recourse for roughly 100,000 investors who lost their investments during the banking sector bailout of 2013. The announcement came two months after the central bank challenged the legislation over unlawful monetary financing and encroachment on the financial independence of the central bank.
STRASBOURG, France - The European Court of Human Rights said that Slovenia has taken adequate steps to provide informal Roma settlements with drinking water, as it rejected an application by two Roma families who alleged violations of basic human rights because of inadequate access to drinking water and sanitation.
LJUBLJANA - Javelin thrower Martina Ratej was suspended over doping suspicion based on a repeated analysis of a sample taken at the 2012 Olympics in London, where she placed 7th for her best career result. The Slovenian women's record holder is facing a penalty from World Athletics for the use of a banned clostebol metabolite.
LJUBLJANA - The global decline in petroleum prices brought by the new coronavirus resulted in much cheaper motor fuel in Slovenia. Regulated prices of regular petrol and diesel dropped by almost 5% each to EUR 1.205 and EUR 1.146 per litre, respectively.
WEDNESDAY, 11 March
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia stepped up containment activities as the number of coronavirus cases rose 57. Spot checks were introduced at six points along the border with Italy, and all other road links with Italy closed. Passenger train service was suspended and two primary schools were shut down.
LJUBLJANA - Andrej Šircelj, candidate for finance minister in the incoming Janez Janša government, indicated that the new government would pursue a more expansionary fiscal policy if needed to counter the adverse effects of the coronavirus, even though sustainable public finances would be a top priority.
LJUBLJANA - Interior minister candidate Aleš Hojs told the parliamentary Home Policy Committee that effective protection of borders, not only because of migrants but also the coronavirus, and reduction of administrative burdens on police would be his first priority in the emerging government.
LJUBLJANA - The Democrats (SDS) brought a defamation suit against outgoing PM Marjan Šarec over what they say are his untruthful and insulting allegations that the party was being financed from Hungary. The lawsuit comes after the SDS threatened Šarec with a damages suit in mid-February unless he retracted certain comments.
LJUBLJANA - The Home Affairs Committee struck down legislative amendments proposed by the outgoing government in order to outlaw the activity of self-styled village guards or militias patrolling the border with the intention to stop illegal migrants.
LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office reported that Slovenia had exported EUR 3 billion worth of goods in January while importing EUR 2.8 billion. Exports were up 10.6% and imports 5.2% in year-on-year comparison, and the export/import coverage was 107.5%.
LILLEHAMMER, Norway - Slovenian ski jumpers Žiga Jelar and Timi Zajc finished second and third, respectively, in what turned to be the penultimate event of the World Cup season, as it was cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak. Peter Prevc finished 7th overall as the best Slovenian, while Zajc was second in the ski flying segment.
THURSDAY, 12 March
LJUBLJANA - An epidemic was declared in Slovenia based on fresh data on the spreading of coronavirus showing an increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19 to 96. Outgoing PM Marjan Šarec said this was done to better coordinate actions of the civil protection and other services. All educational institutions were ordered closed as of Monday. Major sporting events were cancelled as well, including the Alpine Ski World Cup ski meet in Kranjska Gora and the Ski Flying World Championship in Planica.
LJUBLJANA - The incoming Janez Janša government announced sweeping lockdown measures it plans to take immediately after assuming office after infectious disease specialists issued an urgent appeal for public life to be brought to a standstill due to the coronavirus epidemic. Janša said the new government supported the appeal and would form a crisis centre at its first session after it takes office on Friday evening.
LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek announced an expansion of the stimulus package meant to mitigate the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis. The announcement came as he was heard parliament in at the committee level and endorsed to continue as minister in the forthcoming Janez Janša government.
ATHENS, Greece - Four Slovenian police officers started serving on the Greek-Turkey border as part of a 100-member Frontex rapid border intervention team which is helping Greece cope with the new migration wave. They will stay on the land border in the north-east of Greece at least until 6 May.
LJUBLJANA - The government confirmed a bill providing subsidies to employers for wages paid out to employees on temporary lay-offs and in certain cases of self-quarantine resulting from the spreading of coronavirus. The state will aid employers who are not be able to provide work to at least 30% of their employees due to a decline in turnover. Worth some EUR 50 million, the legislation will be fast-tracked at the National Assembly.
LJUBLJANA - IMAD, the government's macroeconomic forecaster, halved its GDP growth forecast for the year to 1.5% from 3% due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The projection is made under the assumption that the situation will calm down in the second half of the year. The forecast for 2021 was cut to 2.2% from 2.7%
LJUBLJANA - The SBI TOP index on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange lost almost 9% to 753.70 points, the largest daily drop since it was launched in 2006, as major issues lost in excess of 10% on coronavirus concerns.
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