STA, 19 May 2020 - PM Janez Janša has welcomed a German-French proposal for the EU to set up a 500 billion euro fund to restart the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he believes an even more ambitious approach would be needed to address a crisis of such proportions. He also discussed it with his Italian and Austrians counterparts.

Germany and France proposed on Monday that EUR 500 billion be raised in public markets to fund, through grants, the EU sectors and regions where the impact of the coronavirus has been most star stark.

"It is a good step forward. 500 billion euro is indeed macroeconomically relevant number, but more ambitious approach would be welcome for this scale of a symmetric crisis.

"Now we need a swift agreement on the multi-year financial framework and a recovery fund as a package," Janša said in response to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's welcoming the German-French idea.

Janša also announced on Twitter that he had discussed the proposed relief fund and the EU's multi-year budget with the Italian and Austrian prime ministers, Giuseppe Conte and Sebastian Kurz.

PV @JJansaSDS je ???? predlog o 500 milijard evrov vrednem skladu za zagon gospodarstva EU po #COVID19 ocenil kot "dober korak naprej." Sklad bi se financiral z zadolževanjem v imenu EU, z njim pa bi financirali najbolj prizadete sektorje in regije.https://t.co/63drgkx2VP pic.twitter.com/I1daOe3lgd

— Vlada Republike Slovenije (@vladaRS) May 19, 2020

"We agreed that in order to overcome the crisis and help companies and families, we need an ambition proposal by the European Commission.

"This is of vital importance for the EU and the common market to fully recover," the Slovenian prime minister tweeted after speaking with Conte.

Earlier in the day, Conte also took to Twitter saying the German-French proposal was an important step in the direction Italy had proposed.

The talk with Chancellor Kurz also focussed on "border opening and experiences from the fight with the coronavirus, where Slovenia and Austria are among the most successful countries", Janša tweeted.

However Kurz does not seem to be eager to relax border checks on the border with Slovenia, which is part of the EU's internal borders, while Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia agreed earlier today that they would reopen their borders in mid-June.

Kurz is also reserved about the idea for a 500 billion euro fund, announcing that Austria would come up with a counter-proposal with another three countries (Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden) for a fund based not on grants but on loans.

Janša had meanwhile promoted the idea of coronabonds with which the EU as a whole would finance the ramifications of the pandemic.

STA, 19 May 2020 - The Department of Infectious Diseases at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre (UKC) will start offering self-pay testing for the novel coronavirus from Thursday at the price of EUR 93.

UKC Ljubljana said that those wishing to undergo testing should register online, while more information would be available on Wednesday.

Testing for Sars-CoV-2 has been available widely free of charge to anyone showing symptoms, which is expected to continue to be available by referral through the person's GP.

Government data show that roughly 71,000 tests have been conducted in the country so far, with 1,467 people testing positive since the first Sars-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in the country on 4 March.

The epidemic, which has claimed 104 lives, has all but died down with just one or no cases recorded daily for the past six days.

As a result of the situation, UKC Ljubljana will close down a separate Covid-19 entrance to its emergency department made up of tents and containers at the end of this week.

Under special conditions, the unit for hepatitis B and C and HIV testing will resume its work after being suspended during the Covid-19 epidemic. Those wishing to take tests will need to register online.

STA, 19 May 2020- Croatians are free to cross the border into Slovenia without having to undergo mandatory quarantine after Croatia became the first country Slovenia put on a list of countries whose nationals may enter without limitations.

The decision was made by the government late on Monday after the National Institute of Public Health assessed the situation in Croatia and determined that the risk to the spread of coronavirus is similar in both countries.

Accordingly, there is no need for Croatians to quarantine or self-isolate when they cross the border, the government said. Slovenian nationals and those with residence in Slovenia have been exempt from quarantine restrictions since last week.

Everyone entering Slovenia regardless of nationality may still be subject to a 14-day quarantine if they have spent more than two weeks outside the EU.

Slovenians are still subject to certain restrictions when they enter Croatia. They may enter if they have property or commercial interests in Croatia and have to produce evidence thereof, for example property deeds, at the border.

The decision to whitelist Croatia comes after Slovenia opted for a gradual approach to opening its borders.

The government decided that the bilateral technical agreements would be concluded with EU and Schengen Zone members on the passage of their citizens, until there is an agreement at the EU level on a reopening of borders.

There are many exceptions in place, including for daily commuters, hauliers and passengers in transit, but theoretically most foreigners thus remain subject to mandatory quarantine upon arrival.

Talks on reopening of borders are under way with other neighbouring countries as well.

Jelko Kacin, the government's coronavirus spokesman, said on Tuesday that restrictions on the border with Hungary were expected to be lifted by the end of the month pending an evaluation of the epidemiological situation there.

As for Austria, Kacin said such an agreement depended "on the responsiveness of the Austrian side", saying there were "quite a few dilemmas there," including with regard to one of the hotspots of the outbreak, the ski resort Ischgl.

"Once Austria has properly addressed these issues, we are confident that the conditions for such an agreement with Austria will be satisfied."

Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek yesterday held talks with Austrian Minister for Sustainability and Tourism Elisabeth Köstinger.

Kacin said Počivalšek had "very clearly voiced the expectation that we wish for a relaxation in the shortest possible time," noting that the Austrian-German border was set to reopen June, which gave Slovenia and Austria "quite some time before then".

With Italy, Slovenia expects "expert talks at the highest level" about the state of the epidemic there and forecasts, which would be followed by an operational agreement about when and under which conditions the border could reopen.

One more coronavirus infection, no new Covid-19 fatalities

STA, 19 May 2020 - Slovenia confirmed one more coronavirus infection on Monday, raising the total number of confirmed cases so far to 1,467, official data show. The national death toll remains at 104, as no new Covid-19 fatalities have been reported.

A total of 1,128 tests were performed yesterday, roughly on a par with the daily testing volume since the start of the epidemic.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals dropped by one to 24, including five in intensive care - a figure that remained the same compared to Sunday.

STA, 18 May 2020 - Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto announced on Monday a gradual approach to lifting restrictions on the Slovenian-Hungarian border by 1 June after talks with Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek. The Slovenian minister confirmed the goal was to reopen borders in early June, provided a suitable epidemiological picture.

Szijjarto wrote on Facebook that relaunching the economy meant resuming international cooperation which includes easing border restrictions. People's health should not be put into jeopardy though, he highlighted in a post reposted by the Hungarian Press Agency MTI.

The Hungarian foreign minister added that he and Počivalšek agreed that both Slovenia and Hungary had successfully contained the coronavirus epidemic.

Szijjarto pointed out that trade between the two countries exceeded EUR 2.5 billion per year with close-knitted communities on both sides of the border.

In a post on his Twitter profile, Minister Počivalšek said that he had suggested stepping up procedures to reopen borders in his talks with the relevant ministers from Hungary and Austria.

The Slovenian minister added that protocols should be put in place on how to cross the border and that everything should be done "not to jeopardise our health in the process".

Slovenian government coronavirus spokesman Jelko Kacin announced on Sunday that Počivalšek would be holding talks today with both Szijjarto and Austrian Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger.

In the wake of Sunday's government decision to take a more gradual approach to reopening Slovenia's borders to EU citizens, Kacin told the press today that the relevant strategy was focussed on preventing the cross-border spread of the virus.

A list of countries that will enjoy a restriction-free entry has not yet been delivered, however the government has said that it will be regularly updating the list taking into account epidemiological situations in individual countries, presented by the National Institute of Public Health, as well as agreements with member states and Schengen countries and EU-wide agreements.

There are no border restrictions for Slovenian citizens upon entering Slovenia though.

STA, 18 May 2020 - Tourism companies can largely resume doing business from today, and travel seems to be in demand again, although agritourism providers, campsites and beaches are still relatively empty. A path to recovery is expected to be long after a two-month lockdown, so the hospitality chamber has urged the government to extend state aid measures.

The Slovenian Hospitality Chamber (TGZS) called on the government on Monday to extend until the end of the year the measures designed to help tourism cope with the coronavirus epidemic.

It said there had been indications the subsidies for idled workers would be extended only by a month, or by the end of June, which would push the industry into a dire situation.

"Under this scenario, the companies will not be able to survive, so massive layoffs will follow in tourism on 1 July," the chamber said in a release.

If the measures applying to idled tourism workers are not prolonged until the end of 2020, some 20,000 workers will lose jobs, according to the chamber's estimate.

The TGZS meanwhile welcomed the planned EUR 200 vouchers for adult Slovenian citizens to be spent on a vacation in Slovenia, which it believes would help the industry start what is expected to be a years-long recovery.

Operators of campsites and beaches on the Slovenian coast are meanwhile largely ready to accept guests although the swimming season has not yet started.

The main beach in Portorož is to open on 15 June, or as early as 1 June if the weather is fine, Okolje Piran direktor Gašpar Gašpar Mišič told the STA.

The Strunjan Camping Site does not yet have any guests, and cannot predict how the situation develops in the coming weeks, although potential guests are already making enquires.

The situation is similar in agritourism, which can also start welcoming tourists as of today, but the majority of farms offering such activities will relaunch their business in June.

The Češnjice Tourist Farm in Cerklje na Gorenjskem, NW, told the STA they had no guests nor queries, while the first tourists will arrive at the Urška Tourist Farm near Zreče,E, on Thursday.

"We get lots of queries by e-mail and mobile phone, Germans are also interested in when we're opening," said the farm owner Urška Topolšek.

The pandemic has also hit hard tourist guides, most of whom are self-employed and largely depend on tourists from abroad.

Just like the rest of the tourism industry, they are now trying to attract Slovenian tourists, the Argos Regional Association of Tourist Guides said in a release.

Argos has thus joined the My Slovenia campaign launched by the Slovenian Tourism Board (STO) to encourage Slovenians to spend their holidays in Slovenia.

"The borders are slowly opening, but we share the view that this season, domestic guests will be in the focus. Which is right," said its president Mateja Kregar Gliha.

Skiing was relaunched at Kanin, Slovenia's only high-altitude ski slopes, where Slovenian professional skier Ilka Štuhec relaunched her training today.

"It's great to ski in Slovenia in May," said Štuhec, whom the pandemic has deprived of several weeks of training for the new ski season.

Slovenian travel agencies have however not yet opened their doors, but are providing information to potential clients online or over the phone.

There are still many uncertainties about the border crossing regime, protocols about bus and air travel, and about the reopening of hotels in Slovenia and abroad, Jože Režonja, Relax Turizem director, told the STA.

"We expect everything will be clear by 31 May at the latest, in which case we will open our offices on 1 June."

If things clear up earlier, the offices will open sooner. "We're ready," he said, adding that some 80% of their employees are on furlough.

Similarly, travel company Palma provides information to its potential clients over the phone and plans to open its offices on 1 June, said sales director Leni Petek Rovšnik.

She said people were eager to start travelling again, so she is quite optimistic that business could soon be revived.

The only tourism facilities that could not yet open today are accommodation facilities with over 30 rooms, accommodation for spa guests, wellness and fitness centres, pools and water parks.

All our stories on coronavirus are here

Updated at 13:20, 18 May

STA, 18 May 2020 - Three days after opening Slovenia's borders to EU residents almost without exception, the Slovenian government opted for a more gradual approach by determining that only citizens of EU and Schengen Zone countries with which bilateral technical agreements are reached will be allowed to cross without restrictions.

Related, from Total Croatia News: Who Can Cross the Croatia Slovenia Border? Who Cannot? A May 17, 2020 Border Visit

Under a government decree that was adopted roughly an hour before it took effect at 10pm on Sunday, all Slovenian nationals and foreigners with residence in Slovenia are allowed to cross into Slovenia freely.

Whether EU and Schengen Zone nationals may cross without being subject to a mandatory quarantine will be contingent on the epidemiological situation in neighbouring countries "and the conclusion of bilateral technical agreements with neighbouring and other EU or Schengen Zone countries or a general agreement at EU level if it is adopted earlier," according to the decree.

The government will determine the list of eligible countries by decree and the list will be published on the websites of the National Institute of Public Health and the Foreign Ministry. The list will be updated on an ongoing basis.

As of Monday midday such a list was not yet available, which was also confirmed by Melita Močnik, the head of the border police at the General Police Directorate, at the government's daily coronavirus briefing.

The Health Ministry is now examining the epidemiological situation in neighbouring countries based on documents prepared by the National Institute of Public Health, while Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek was expected to discuss the matter today with his Austrian and Hungarian counterparts.

"We expect that Austria will open borders relatively soon and we're sure Slovenia will not be the last," said the government's coronavirus spokesman Jelko Kacin told the press.

He said Slovenia wanted reciprocity and did not want to be discriminated against by any neighbouring country which may allow the arrival of tourists from major countries but "not from a southern border". "We are treating all of our neighbours on the same basis - their epidemiological status."

The latest decision marks a walk-back from the original plan, a move that had already been indicated by Prime Minister Janez Janša in a Twitter post on Saturday, when he said there was no general opening of the border with Italy or Austria and Hungary. He said this could only be a measure taken by both sides.

The original decree, which took effect on Friday, abolished mandatory quarantine for EU nationals and residents provided they had not been outside the Union for more than 14 days. For others, a 14-day mandatory quarantine was instituted, with exceptions for persons such as diplomats, hauliers and emergency staff.

But while making crossing contingent on bilateral deals, the amended decree also marks a for now theoretical expansion of the quarantine waiver to all Schengen Zone countries, which includes some non-EU countries, provided technical agreements are reached with them.

Moreover, it makes it easier for third-country nationals in transit as it stipulates that "persons who travel through the Republic of Slovenia into another country in the same day" do not need to go into 14-day quarantine.

The decree also fixes an issue with the previous decree which appears to have excluded lorry drivers from the Balkans who work for Slovenian hauliers. This is also the reason why it entered into effect almost immediately.

STA, 18 May 2020 - About half of children in Slovenia will return to schools and kindergartens today as part of a major easing of quarantine restrictions in the country. Moreover, all shops will be allowed to open and bars and restaurants will be able to serve patrons indoors again, while most restrictions have been lifted for sports as well.

In a step that coincides with the government declaring the end of the epidemic last Thursday and a week after the relaunch of public transport, Slovenia is reopening kindergartens, primary schools for the first three grades and the final year, as well as secondary schools for final-year students.

Under instructions issued by the Education Ministry, up to 10-15 children are allowed to sit in a single classroom in primary and secondary schools, and up to 8-10 children in an individual kindergarten group.

All school employees and ninth-graders will be required to wear face masks, but the latter only outside their classroom.

Another major novelty is the almost full reopening of the hospitality and tourism sectors. The only facilities that must remain closed are accommodation facilities with over 30 rooms, accommodation for spa guests, wellness and fitness centres, pools and water parks.

The entire tourism industry has been shut down for two months in a bid to contain the epidemic and this is the first easing of restrictions in this sector.

All providers will have to abide by public health rules mandating a safe distance between guests and other safety precautions. Multi-bed rooms will for instance only be available to members of the same household.

Meanwhile, the decision to allow all stores to reopen will come as a relief in particular for large retailers, as smaller shops with up to 400 m2 of shopping area reopened two weeks ago.

Bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen on 4 May as well, but they could only serve outside. And while most operations will now be allowed to fully reopen, the ban continues for night clubs.

Protective measures remain in place, meaning the obligatory use of masks, hand disinfection and 1.5-metre distance in shops, while bar and restaurant guest will be able to take their masks off when seated.

A lot of extra work awaits clothing shops, where dressing rooms will need to be disinfected and aired after each customer and tried out clothing that is not bought set aside for two days.

Another key restriction being lifted is the ban on gatherings in public places. Up to 50 people are allowed to gather outdoors as of today, but only if the safety distance recommended by the health authorities can be secured. Concerts, parties and similar events for instance remain banned.

This means no spectators at sports events, which are also officially allowed again as of today, including in team sports. Moreover allowed again is practice and recreation in indoor facilities, the exceptions being fitness and wellness centres and swimming pools.

Slovenian Football Association (NZS) president Radenko Mijatović told the STA that the plan was to organise the first football games in the first or second week of June.

STA, 17 May 2020 - While subsidies for part-time work worth up to EUR 1 billion are seen as a key feature of the emerging third coronavirus stimulus package, draft documents obtained by the STA also include measures such as vouchers for tourism, aid to ski lift operators, extended permits for foreign labour, as well as a solution for packaging waste issues.

The part-time work subsidies are expected to be provided for employers unable to secure at least a 90% workload for at least 10% of their employees. Subsidises for work conducted 20 to 36 hours a week would range between 459 and 112 euros. The support, co-funded with EU funds, would be available from 1 June onwards and until 30 November at most.

Another major segment of the third package is aid to tourism, one proposed measure being tourism vouchers in the value of 200 euros to be provide to everybody in regular employment as well as the self-employed.

The vouchers would be valid until 31 December this year or possibly 28 February 2021 and are expected to reduce a projected 60% to 70% contraction of the tourism sector to 40%. They are meant to cost the state up to EUR 200 million and are not conceived as a replacement for the holiday allowance.

Unlike other sectors, tourism and hospitality companies can moreover expect an extension of the support scheme that has had the state fully covering the 80% unemployment allowance for temporarily redundant workers.

Monthly basic income support could meanwhile be prolonged for farmers, while issues with securing foreign labour for seasonal work would be addressed with a prolongation of the labour permit validity from 90 to 150 days.

Also being proposed is a national mechanism for the monitoring of foreign direct investment, through which Slovenia would protect itself against takeovers of strategic industry.

Potential additional aid to companies includes extra efforts to secure favourable credit lines and possibly rent payments deferrals until July 2021 for business premises that could not be utilised during the lockdown.

A special injection is envisaged by the Infrastructure Ministry for ski lift operators, which could get between 1,000 and 12,000 euros.

Meanwhile, another measure found in the draft seeks to address continuing issues with packaging waste management through what seems to be the restoring of the temporary solution that had the state paying for the removal and processing of unattended to waste. The measure is expected to cost EUR 15 million this year.

STA, 16 May 2020 - As practically all business meetings and conferences planned for the first half of the year have been cancelled, the meetings industry, one of the key sectors of Slovenian tourism, does not expect to recover from coronavirus anytime soon. First events are planned to be held again this autumn.

"The meetings industry is faced with a very hard situation because this year's events were arranged several years ago. Some have been rescheduled to this autumn or next year, but many are lost for good," Slovenian Convention Bureau director Miha Kovačič has told the STA.

Business meetings and events are one of the three primary products of Slovenian tourism, he explained.

"They take place practically across entire Slovenia, the majority of them in Ljubljana. In the Slovenian capital, they are the most important product."

Their scope is smaller than classic tourism but business guests spend much more and business events largely take place outside the main summer season, he said.

Since such events are planned long in advance, they are not expected to resume as soon as lockdown measures affecting airports and borders are lifted.

Domestic companies, organisations and state institutions are major organisers of such events, and provided that conference centres, hotels and similar venues reopen, they are expected to return to business the first.

But international events are more lucrative as they also bring revenue from accommodation, are larger and involve more organisers. "These will return later."

Much will also depend on protective measures that will have to be observed, so Kovačič hopes the wearing of face masks indoor will soon no longer be required.

He however expects more online meetings, although it is already clear that they cannot replace live meetings.

Kovačič believes that "live events will have to become even better and with more added value to convince participants to attend".

Ljubljana and Bled, two major venues for the meetings industry in the country, are happy the majority of planned events have not been cancelled but rescheduled.

Turizem Ljubljana, the capital city's tourism board, told the STA that delegates of international conferences and other business meetings are the most desires visitors.

They spend three times more than an average leisure tourist; such a visitor spent an average 1,450 euro during a three-day stay in Ljubljana.

Some 20 international events for professionals with 100 to 1,500 participants scheduled for the first half of 2020 have been rescheduled to autumn or to 2021 and 2022.

The situation is similar in the lake-side resort of Bled in the north-west, where participants of such events account for 10-15% of all tourist nights.

Turizem Bled, the local tourism board, expects this segment of tourist to pick up fastest, as was the case after the 2008 financial crisis.

STA, 16 May 2020 - Revenue from VAT in March, when most shops closed as Slovenia went into lockdown on 16 March, dropped to EUR 187 million, down nearly 30% over February and 19% over March 2019, the latest data from the Financial Administration (FURS) showed.

Almost EUR 705 million in VAT was meanwhile collected in January and February, up 4.8% from the same period last year.

The majority of shops, except groceries, pharmacies and petrol stations, closed in the middle of the March after the coronavirus epidemic was declared.

Eurostat statistics realased earlier this month showed the entire EU retail sector was severely affected by lockdown in March at monthly and annual levels.

Slovenia's posted an annual drop in sales of 15.1%, the second steepest fall in the entire EU, behind France (-16%), which compares to the average EU drop of 8.2%.

At the monthly level, Slovenia's drop in retail sales hit 13.5%.

Shops have been gradually reopening since mid-March, with all allowed to reopen on Monday, 18 May.

Nevertheless, analysts do not expect consumption to pick up anytime soon.

Slovenia's domestic consumption increased by 2.7% in 2019, but the government's macroeconomic forecaster, IMAD, expects it to drop by 3.1% this year and a further 0.4% in 2021.