What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 7 May
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Defence Minister Matej Tonin presented to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Slovenia's defence reforms, plans to raise defence spending, and investments into the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) designed to meet the country's commitments towards NATO.
PORTO, Portugal - PM Janez Janša said as he arrived at the Porto Social Summit that the best social policy was creating new, well-paid jobs. Such a social policy demands an education system that not only gives the young a lot of know-how but foremost teaches them to use this knowledge in an innovative way.
KLAGENFURT, Austria - Foreign Minister Anže Logar and Governor of Carinthia Peter Kaiser met to discuss a number of topics, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the situation of the Slovenian minority in Austria and the German-speaking community in Slovenia. They also talked about the priorities of the upcoming Slovenian EU presidency.
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court ruled the legislative amendments that ban most shops from being open on Sundays is not in contravention of the constitution as claimed by several retail companies. In a unanimous decision, it held that the right to free enterprise invoked by the petitioners may be limited if a public interest such as protection of health is proven.
LJUBLJANA - STA director Bojan Veselinovič announced legal action against PM Janez Janša after he implied on Twitter that Veselinovič had been involved in the "murder" of a former STA editor-in-chief more than a decade ago. What Janša wrote exceeds all boundaries, Veselinovič told the TV Slovenija current affairs show Tarča on Thursday evening.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor proposed that the National Assembly appoint Marko Ilešič the Slovenian judge at the Court of the EU in Luxembourg for another term. The president's office said Ilešič was a "respected long-serving justice of the Court of the EU".
MARIBOR - The council of UKC Maribor, the country's second largest hospital, appointed Anton Crnjac the hospital's new director. Crnjac, who has already served as the medical director, was the only candidate for the post. If endorsed by the government, he will succeed Vojsko Flis, whose term ends on 19 June.
NEW HAVEN, US - Uroš Seljak, a Slovenian physicist, cosmologist and astronomy professor at the University of California, Berkeley is among the recipients of this year's Gruber Prize in Cosmology. Seljak will share the US$500,000 prize with his colleagues Marc Kamionowski of Johns Hopkins University from Baltimore and Matias Zaldarriga of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
SATURDAY, 8 May
PORTO, Portugal - Prime Minister Janez Janša called for profound changes in educational systems as a means of preserving the EU's social model as he arrived for an informal meeting of EU leaders. To preserve the European way of life, prosperity and the existing social model, it is essential to significantly change the educational system and systemically introduce lifelong learning, he said.
LJUBLJANA - The presidents of 21 EU member states addressed a letter to Europeans on the eve of the Conference on the Future of Europe, inviting them to take part in shaping a common European future. The initiative for the appeal came from the Slovenian and Italian presidents, Borut Pahor and Sergio Mattarella.
LJUBLJANA - A new green party led by Jure Leben, a former environment minister, was established, entering the political arena just over a year before the next scheduled election. The Party of Green Action (Z.DEJ) plans to strike a balance between sustainable economic development and protection of the environment.
LJUBLJANA - José Manuel Campa, the director of the European Banking Authority (EBA), told Delo that loan moratoriums were no longer a viable blanket measure to help companies, an indication that the Slovenian loan deferral scheme might not be extended as hoped for by business associations.
SUNDAY, 9 May
PORTO, Portugal - Prime Minister Janez Janša commented on the proposal to waive patent rights on Covid-19 vaccines by pointing to the problem of insufficient production capacities, which he said not even full liberalisation of patent rights would not solve at the moment.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar told the commercial broadcaster POP TV that Slovenia would be well prepared to preside the Council of the EU. Asked whether Slovenia being in the spotlight of EU institutions due to the "war with the media" and issues concerning the rule of law was bad for its presidency, Logar said that "this is a matter of individual perception".
MONDAY, 10 May
NOVO MESTO - Police officers from Estonia, Lithuania and Poland joined their Slovenian colleagues to help patrol the border with Croatia and prevent illegal migrations. The 21 officers will be deployed for at least a month and up to six months and are soon to be joined by additional officers from several European countries.
ATHENS, Greece - Prime Minister Janez Janša presented the priorities of the Slovenian EU presidency at the Delphi Economic Forum, highlighting resilience to health crises and cyber attacks, and the European way of life. Janša also held talks with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis and European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Minister Anže Logar emphasised the importance of the EU's continued engagement in the Western Balkans as EU foreign ministers reaffirmed the EU membership prospects of countries in the region. He expressed regret over the standstill of the enlargement process and the negotiating frameworks for North Macedonia and Albania.
LJUBLJANA - The Police Trade Union (PSS) and Interior Minister Aleš Hojs signed an agreement designed to end a strike that police officers started in January. Under the deal, some police wages will increase, a bonus for working on the Schengen border will be reinstated, and talks on a new collective agreement for the force should start within a year.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia opened mass vaccination against coronavirus to all adults after a nation-wide vaccination booking app was launched last week.
TUESDAY, 11 May
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša denied on Twitter media reports that he was being sidelined from the inauguration ceremony of the Conference on the Future of Europe after Delo reported the co-chair of the executive committee, Guy de Verhofstadt, did not want him to be invited. Janša said the Council was represented by the PM of the current presiding country, Portugal, while he would co-chair the conference next time.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Following several calls to speed up appointment of Slovenia's two delegated European prosecutors, Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič said she had done all in her power, while it was now up to the government to act.
LISBON, Portugal - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs took part in a ministerial conference on migration organised by Portugal's EU presidency in Lisbon with EU ministers and ministers of several African countries sharing their experience with migration. The talks focused on finding a solution to return migrants from the EU to African countries.
PORTOROŽ - As Slovenia concluded its third presidency of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative (AII), the Izola Declaration was adopted at the EUSAIR strategy forum, underlining the European perspective of the Western Balkans.
LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek discussed Slovenia's EU presidency priorities concerning food safety, and animals and plants with European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides via videoconference. He said Slovenia would devote utmost attention to consumer safety and food traceability.
LJUBLJANA - In a bid to have a Constitutional Court ruling implemented, coalition MPs tabled a bill to secure 100% state funding of private primary schools' obligatory curriculum and 85% of their optional programmes.
WEDNESDAY, 12 May
LJUBLJANA - The government eased several coronavirus restrictions, including raising the cap on gatherings to 50, and relaxing restrictions on hospitality, tourism, sports, culture and education, effective from 17 May. It also extended the state of Covid-19 epidemic by another 30 days.
LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry responded to the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestinians by calling on all sides to prevent further civilian casualties. Rocket attacks on #Israel as well as any form of violence are unacceptable and must end immediately, it said.
BUDAPEST, Hungary - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs met his Hungarian counterpart Sandor Pinter, with the working visit dedicated to presenting the priorities in interior affairs during Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council in the second half of the year.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia expects to be invited to a summit of MED7, a group of seven Mediterranean EU countries, this autumn, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said as he answered an MP question about the country's plans to join MED7.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia's upcoming presidency and the delay in the appointment of Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors (EPDs) topped the agenda as Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič met European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders on Wednesday. Reynders called Slovenia again to appoint the two prosecutors
LJUBLJANA - The Institute of Microbiology and Immunology at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine said it had confirmed the Indian variant of coronavirus in a sample taken on 20 April from a person who tested positive after returning from India.
BERN, Switzerland - The European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) addressed an open letter to Prime Minister Janez Janša calling on him to resolve the dispute with the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption established that Tomaž Vesel's work for FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee is not incompatible with his office of Court of Audit president under Slovenia's integrity legislation, and ended the procedure against him.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission upgraded Slovenia's GDP growth forecast for this year by 0.2 of a percentage point to 4.9%, while downgrading it to 5.1% for 2022, by 0.1 of a point from its previous, winter outlook.
LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije announced it had suspended the sale a 100% stake in its subsidiary TS Media, whose portfolio includes the news portal Siol.net. According to United Group, one of the bidders, the decision shows it is not possible to carry out an independent and fair tender in Slovenia.
LJUBLJANA - Spanish start-up Glovo announced it would acquire one of the largest food delivery providers in Slovenia, Ehrana. The acquisition is expected to be formally completed in the next few months and the two companies are already planning their transition strategy.
THURSDAY, 13 May
PRISHTINA, Kosovo - President Borut Pahor met his Kosovo counterpart Vjosa Osmani in the run up to the the Brdo-Brijuni Process summit in Slovenia. He said that as a "big advocate of the dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade", he expects the new authorities in Kosovo to be willing to provide the dialogue with a new momentum.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - The foreign ministers of the Central 5, including Slovenia's Anže Logar, discussed possible relaxation of Covid-19 border restrictions during the summer season. They agreed that coordinating and informing each other about measures was necessary so that movement of people and business is not excessively restricted.
LJUBLJANA - Trade unions decided to leave the Economic and Social Council (ESS), the country's main industrial relations forum. The main reason is the "government's systematic violation of rules on the functioning of the ESS".
LJUBLJANA - A total of 57 persons of Slovenian descent have so far been repatriated from Venezuela. Many have already found jobs and settled down, the parliamentary Commission for Slovenians Abroad was told.
LJUBLJANA - The specialised prosecution office has asked a court to formally open an investigation against former German owners and management of Adria Airways for financial misdeeds that allegedly led to the Slovenian flag carrier ending up in receivership in October 2019, news portal Necenzurirano reported.
