What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 2 July
OHRID, North Macedonia - President Borut Pahor made a case for the EU's rapid enlargement to the Western Balkans as he addressed the Prespa Forum Dialogue, arguing that this was in the interest of the EU and would strengthen the bloc as well as the region. The president said continued enlargement was instrumental to the stability and prosperity of the Western Balkans.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Parliament President David Sassoli said Slovenia's EU presidency had a great responsibility to defend EU values and the rule of law, noting on Twitter that the appointment of Slovenia's prosecutors to the European Public Prosecutor's Office was a way to guarantee transparency and protect legal rights.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs raised eyebrows at a briefing for Brussels correspondents, as they interpreted one of his replies as taking aim at European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans with a pearls-to-swine metaphor. It later transpired that the comment was referring to Slovenia's member of the European Commission, Janez Lenarčič, over claims that he opposed the confirmation of the national recovery plan. The Commission denied the claim saying the plan had been approved unanimously.
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry commission investigating the government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis held its first interviews, hearing that two epidemiologists had quit the government advisory group as they had too little say in the decisions.
ZAGREB, Croatia - The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) gave Slovenia's energy company Petrol a green light on the takeover of Croatian petroleum products seller Crodux. It also cleared the acquisition of electric cable manufacturer Elka by Slovenia's Iskra electronics group.
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for Corruption Prevention (KPK) has found no conflict of interest in the case of Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak in connection to the construction of the Mokrice hydro plant on the Sava river. The matter was investigated after the KPK received several reports of suspected conflict of interest.
LJUBLJANA - The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) will be chaired for the next two years by Jana Kolar, the Slovenian representative to ESFRI and a member of its executive board. Kolar will take up her two-year term in 2022 as the first Slovenian and the first woman in this post, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport said.
LJUBLJANA - The director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Bojan Veselinovič, proposed to the government an agreement that would temporarily sort out the relations between the STA and the Government Communication Office (UKOM) since the agency has been without public funding of its service for over 180 days.
CHALON SUR SAONE, France - Slovenia's Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) won stage 7 of the Tour de France from La Vierzon to Le Creusot and took the polka dot jersey for the best climber.
SATURDAY, 3 July
ČRNA NA KOROŠKEM - President Borut Pahor spoke at a traditional get-together at the Najevnik Linden Tree to emphasise the importance of respectful dialogue and people listening to each other. He urged people to try to talk to those who think differently and look for compromises for the common good.
ANNECY, France - Slovenian rider Tadej Pogačar has taken the overall lead at the Tour de France after an individual attack that secured him the fourth place in the 150.8-km eight stage of the prestigious race from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand.
SUNDAY, 4 July
KAUNAS, Lithuania - The Slovenian national basketball qualified for the Olympic Games for the first time after NBA star Luka Dončič led the team to a 96:85 win against Lithuania in the final of one of the four qualifying tournaments.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian cycling star Primož Roglič decided to leave the Tour de France early due to injuries he sustained in the early stages of the race.
MONDAY, 5 July
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša highlighted the EU's post-pandemic recovery and resilience as a clear response to crises as he presented the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency to the National Assembly. He said successive crises since 2008 had shown that the bloc had been poorly prepared for the majority of these crises.
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša called for joint efforts to convince people to get vaccinated against coronavirus as he warned that a vaccination rate of 70% would have to be achieved until the end of the summer if Slovenia is to avoid new lockdowns. He said this was the only way to prevent having to make vaccination mandatory for certain professional groups.
LJUBLJANA - Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said he was doing everything in his power to get trade unions back to the negotiating table after they quit the Economic and Social Council (ESS) in May, yet under the condition that they refrain from taking part in anti-government protests.
LJUBLJANA - More restrictions on the services sector were lifted. Casinos fully reopened and restrictions on the number of customers in shops were lifted. The rule of reconvalescence, testing or vaccination remains in place indoors.
TUESDAY, 6 July
STRASBOURG, France - PM Janez Janša told the European Parliament the time had come for the EU to start acting more strategically, including in the Western Balkans. Presenting the Slovenian EU presidency's priorities, he said the first short-term priority was to do everything to prevent the fourth wave of the pandemic.
STRASBOURG, France - MEPs from the majority of political groups in the European Parliament sent PM Janez Janša some stark messages about the rule of law after he presented Slovenia's EU presidency priorities in the Parliament. Most of the criticism centred on the non-appointment of European delegated prosecutors, media freedom and independent judiciary.
STRASBOURG, France - PM Janez Janša did not wish to comment on the European political future of his Democrats (SDS) as he visited Strasbourg to address the European Parliament. Asked about the SDS's membership in the European People's Party (EPP), he said that his party was not dealing with such issues but was focused on current challenges.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec hosted ministers in charge of transport from Slovenia's neighbouring countries and the Western Balkans to discuss efforts to improve cross-border connectivity between the EU and the region. He said a proposal to adopt appropriate measures to boost connectivity would be presented at an EU-Western Balkans summit in October.
LJUBLJANA - Proponents of the referendum on the waters act have sharply criticised the organisation of the voting, alleging voter suppression regarding information on how and where people can vote early and polling station staffing. There were reports of long waiting lines in Ljubljana, where there was just one polling station for early voting, and confusion in Maribor, where there were seven instead of one.
WEDNESDAY, 7 July
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed an emergency bill worth EUR 243.5 million to help tourism and other sectors most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. The legislation also brings a series of measures to help companies in tourism, convention industry, restaurants, sports and culture.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed amendments to the communicable diseases act after the Constitutional Court declared parts of the act and by extension the measures introduced during the epidemic unconstitutional. The amended act determines that expert assessments are required for some measures, and that certain indicators must be taken into account when restrictions are adopted.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a bill on emergency measures in healthcare which the government had fast-tracked through parliament. The bill, worth EUR 66.6 million, introduces some temporary measures to deal with the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic while also seeking to cut long waiting times.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission projects that Slovenia's economy will expand by 5.7% this year, a 0.8-point increase on its May forecast. The outlook for 2020 was slightly downgraded to 5%. It said Slovenia's recovery was buoyed by growing private spending, investments and exports, with merchandise exports already at pre-crisis levels.
LJUBLJANA - The Interior Ministry's oversight of police tasks and powers at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has revealed several shortcomings, including too long investigations and mistakes related to house searchers. Based on the report, Minister Aleš Hojs believes that "certain staff changes" should be made at the NBI.
RIGA, Latvia - Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin visited the Slovenian soldiers serving in NATO's mission Enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia. Together with his Montenegrin and Macedonian counterparts, Olivera Injac and Radmila Šekerinska, he met the mission's senior officers at the Adazi base.
THURSDAY, 8 July
SOFIA, Bulgaria - President Borut Pahor met his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev to discuss Bulgaria's veto on North Macedonia's bid to join the EU. The presidents are personally committed to see a compromise solution that would pave the way for the start of North Macedonia's EU accession talks, Pahor's office said.
LJUBLJANA - The government abolished the quarantine requirement for people who come to Slovenia from countries and areas listed as red and dark red and show proof that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or have recently recovered from the disease as of this Saturday.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia should improve the use of digital tools and new technologies in the judiciary and continue training justice professionals to use them, European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said as he presented a report on the judiciary in the EU, ninth so far. He urged Slovenia to appoint its European delegated prosecutors.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar presented via videolink the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), highlighting the EU's resilience, economic recovery and the Conference on the Future of Europe.
NOVO MESTO - Pharmaceutical group Krka posted a net profit of EUR 177.4 million for the first half of the year, up 11% on the back of sales that reached EUR 808.6 million, a 1% increase over the same period last year, CEO Jože Colarič said
