08 Feb 2021, 04:08 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Monday, 8 February 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenia honours its best artists

LJUBLJANA - Feri Lainšček, a writer, poet, playwright and screenwriter who has immortalised ordinary people from the Panonian Slovenia, and Marko Mušič, one of the most distinguished Slovenian architects, will be honoured with the Prešeren Prizes for lifetime-achievement, the country's top accolade in the arts, at a pre-recorded ceremony to be broadcast by TV Slovenija on the eve of Culture Day. Prešeren Fund Prizes for individual achievements will go to poet Brane Senegačnik, violinist Lana Trotovšek, theatre director Tomi Janežič, film director Matjaž Ivanišin, painter Sandi (Aleksander) Červek, and architects Blaž Budja, Rok Jereb and Nina Majoranc.

Slovenia expresses solidarity with Belarus protesters

LJUBLJANA - On Day of Solidarity with Belarus, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry expressed solidarity with, and support for, Belarusian citizens who have been holding peaceful anti-government protests since the presidential elections in August 2020, urging respect for democratic standards and fundamental human rights. The ministry denounced the Belarusian authorities' attempt to crack down on the protests with disproportionate violence, illegal deprivation of liberty, and systematic disrespect and violation of fundamental human rights as unacceptable, urging them to allow OSCE and Council of Europe representatives into the country.

Daily coronavirus count below 500, eleven deaths on Saturday

LJUBLJANA - A total of 498 people tested positive for coronavirus Slovenia on Saturday, the sixth straight day of a week-on-week decline in cases. Meanwhile, eleven Covid-19 patients lost their lives, fresh government data show. The number of patients in hospital rose by five to 931 after 51 patients were newly admitted and 37 were discharged yesterday. A total of 160 were treated in intensive care units. The seven-day daily average of confirmed cases dropped to 1,018.

Military stepping in to help in teacher testing

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) will deploy eight medical technicians to help the Ljubljana Community Health Centre in the weekly screening of teachers and other school and kindergarten staff for coronavirus. In an announcement of its Twitter profile, the SAF said it would deploy the technicians at the testing point at the Ljubljana fairgrounds from Tuesday at the request of the Ljubljana Community Health Centre. The weekly testing of school and kindergarten staff will be held before pupils up to the third form of primary school return to their classrooms and kindergartens reopen throughout the country on Tuesday.

Actress working on complaint as alleged harasser named in media

LJUBLJANA - Nearly a week after actress Mia Skrbinac publicly accused an unnamed actor and drama teacher of sexually harassing her while she was a student, the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television said it expected their former student would file a complaint shortly. The academy said it could not confirm any names yet after asked to comment on media reports naming the alleged harasser as Matjaž Tribušon, a 57-year-old award-winning film and theatre actor with the SNG Drama Ljubljana.

Slovenian short takes Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand festival

CLERMONT-FERRAND, France - Sisters, a short film by the Slovenian director Katarina Rešek - Kukle, has won the top prize at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the biggest international film festival dedicated to shorts. Sisters (Sestre), a film about three tomboy friends in their early 20s, was picked for the Grand Prix in the festival's international competition among 78 films in the running for the awards. The 43rd iteration of the festival was held online from 29 January to 6 February.

Victory for Slovenia in women's Cross Country World Cup team sprint

ULRICEHAMN, Sweden - Slovenian cross-country skiers Eva Urevc and Anamarija Lampič won the women's World Cup team sprint event in Ulricehamn, in Sweden in their biggest feat ever after finishing third in the same discipline in Dresden in December. The Slovenian pair beat Sweden's team featuring Saturday's sprint event winner Maja Dahlqvist and the top sprinter of the past season Linn Svahn, by 18 hundredths of a second. Swiss skiers Laurien van der Graaf and Nadine Fähndrich came in third.

New double podium feats for Slovenian ski jumpers

HINZENBACH, Austria/KLINGENTHAL, Germany - Slovenia's ski jumpers made it to the podium for the third day running as Nika Križnar and Bor Pavlovčič both finished as runners-up in their respective women's and men's World Cup events. Križnar placed second at the World Cup meet in Austria's Hinzenbach for the second straight day after winning Friday's event at the same venue, to enhance her position as the runner-up in the overall World Cup standings. Meanwhile, Pavlovčič was second at the event in Klingenthal, Germany, to follow up on third place at the same venue in what was his first-ever World Cup podium.

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07 Feb 2021, 04:52 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Sunday 7 February, 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenia seeking to join MED7

NICOSIA, Cyprus - Bilateral ties, EU issues, the Cyprus issue and Slovenia's desire to join the MED7 topped the agenda as Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar held talks with Cypriot counterpart Nikosom Hristodulidesom. Logar said Slovenia wanted to join the MED7 club of Mediterranean EU members because like all Mediterranean countries, it wishes to have a stronger say in tackling common issues. According to Hristodulides, Cyprus fully supports the idea.

Slovenia receives first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine

TOLMIN - Slovenia received the first shipment of the coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca, said Health Ministry State secretary Marija Magajne. The vaccine will be deployed starting next week. Slovenia initially expected 15,000 shots of the vaccine but the figure was later reduced to 9,600. Magajna did not have information about the exact number of doses.

Stores reopening amid complaints about testing

LJUBLJANA - Many stores in Slovenia opened after the government last night gave the go-ahead for the nation-wide reopening of a large segment of services businesses. All shops and workshops under 400 m2 were allowed to open regardless of the goods they are selling or service they are performing. Some services that have long been shut down, for example real estate agencies, may reopen as well. The reopening however comes with a broad testing mandate for staff, in some cases even for customers.

Under 1,000 new coronavirus cases, 18 deaths reported for Friday

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 990 new cases of coronavirus for Friday, the continuation of a steady decline. A total of 18 Covid-19 patients died. The number of patients in hospital fell by 62 to 926, of which 157 were in intensive care compared to 161 the day before. A total of 121 patients were released from hospital.

University enrolment plan confirmed

LJUBLJANA - The government cleared the plan of enrolment in university programmes for the next academic year after increasing the number of available posts for students of medicine and computer science, and raising the number of posts set aside for non-EU students. The overall number of posts for first-year university programmes at four public and ten private universities is 18,520, down 120 compared to the original proposal.

Two top-three finishes for Slovenian ski jumpers

KLINGENTHAL, Germany/Linz, Austria - Slovenia ski jumpers won two World Cup podium positions as Bor Pavlovčič finished third in Klingenthal for his first-ever top-three finish, whereas Nika Križnar was the runner-up in Hinzenbach.

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06 Feb 2021, 04:20 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Saturday, 6 February 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Requirements for daily cross-border commuters simplified

LJUBLJANA - One day into the implementation of a changed decree that sets the coronavirus-related rules for border crossing, the government changed the decree once more to make it simpler for daily cross-border commuters and students. The rules that entered into force today required cross-border commuters and students to provide a negative test no older than seven days. Under the changes to enter into force on Saturday, the negative test will only have to be submitted for arrivals from countries whose 14-day number of cases per 100,000 population is higher than Slovenia's. At the moment, these are only Spain, Portugal and Czechia.

Stores and repair shops up to 400 m2 to reopen, provided staff get tested

LJUBLJANA - Additional businesses will be allowed to reopen under a government decree that is expected to take effect on Saturday, which significantly expands the testing mandate. Some but not all businesses which are currently open will have to test their employees on a weekly basis, including grocery shops, effective from 12 February. For some types of businesses that will now be newly open, both providers and customers will have to be tested.

Thursday's coronavirus count below 1,000

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 959 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the first time since late October that the daily increase in infections fell below 1,000 on a weekday, except for Christmas and New Year's Day, as the 7-day average fell to 1,076. 14 Covid-19 patients died. 779 infections were confirmed from 5,247 PCR tests and another 180 cases from 7,657 rapid antigen tests, for positivity rates of 14.8% and 2.4%, respectively. The tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org shows the PCR positivity rate has not been this low since the first half of October. Hospitalisations fell by one to 988 and the number of intensive care patients by four to 161.

Advisory body recommends restricting AstraZeneca vaccine to under 65s

LJUBLJANA - The national advisory committee on immunization recommended restricting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 to people aged 18 to 64, due to a lack of data on the vaccine's efficacy in older people. However, the committee, which acts as an advisory body to the National Institute of Public Health, recommends giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to immobile persons at home, regardless of their age. Slovenia is the latest European country to limit the vaccine to persons under the age of 65.

Four opposition parties file motion to oust culture minister

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Social Democrats (SD), Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), the Left and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) filed an ouster motion against Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti. Talking to the press, opposition MPs listed a number of arguments, among them ineffective Covid crisis measures in the culture sector. The opposition holds the minister accountable for refusing to pay pre-agreed funds to film makers and for attacks on media freedom and independent journalism. It also believes he failed to uphold the principle of separation of church and state and tried to bend the culture sector according to the SDS policy.

Logar discussing EU and Mediterranean cooperation in Malta

VALLETTA, Malta - Foreign Minister Anže Logar was on a working visit to Malta meeting Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo, President George Vella and Speaker Angelo Farrugia to discuss a number of EU topics ahead of Slovenia's EU presidency in the second half of the year. Logar and Bartolo called for closer cooperation, including in tackling key issues in the Mediterranean, such as migrations.

Pahor and Janša address diplomatic corps

LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša and President Borut Pahor looked back at the country's achievements in 2020 and highlighted the priorities for 2021 as they addressed diplomats accredited to Slovenia as part of the annual, albeit virtual New Year reception. Janša pointed to trust, cooperation and solidarity as the key values and principles of cooperation in the neighbourhood and at regional level. He said Slovenia would build its policies in 2021 on the experience of cooperation, consolidation of mutual trust and solidarity from the pandemic year 2020.

Central bank says risks to financial stability remain high

LJUBLJANA - Risks to financial stability remain high at the start of 2021 as the economic situation remains tough, Banka Slovenije said, pointing to revenue and credit risks. Without quick and extensive economic policies the situation would be much worse, the central bank added. Despite the deterioration of the epidemiological situation and harsh business conditions in 2020, the banking system had generated a relatively high profit until November 2020. The central bank said a merger of two banks had a major impact on this.

EIB ready to co-fund Slovenia's post-crisis recovery

LJUBLJANA/LUXEMBOURG - The European Investment Bank (EIB) vice-president Lilyana Pavlova expressed the bank's willingness to help Slovenia financially after the Covid-19 crisis. The EIB has been active in Slovenia since 1977 and in this period it has allocated more than EUR 7 billion for various projects, Pavlova noted. In the past decade, it has invested over EUR 3.7 billion to support SMEs and infrastructural projects. Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj stressed the importance of investment for post-epidemic recovery.

Preliminary environmental approval issued for Magna expansion

HOČE - The Environment Agency issued a preliminary environmental approval this week for an expansion of the factory of the automotive giant Magna near Maribor. The document has been sent to the planing authorities. Magna's application will now be reviewed, whereupon a public consultation will follow involving environmental and other groups, and then an environmental approval can be issued as a precondition for a construction permit.

Govt keen to secure more places for medical, care students

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Prime Minister Janez Janša announced the government would secure extra funding to increase enrolment places for medical students, as the government met representatives of higher education and business on Thursday before it decides on the university enrolment plan. Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj argued that demand for healthcare and social care staff would remain the strongest in the future, as both him and Janša listed labour market surpluses of law, management, social sciences and similar graduates. University chancellors taking part in the debate urged the government to approve the uni enrolment plan.

Two petitions to review latest retirement provisions at top court

LJUBLJANA - Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Miha Lobnik filed a petition to the Constitutional Court to examine two provisions in the seventh economic stimulus law after trade unions represented on the Economic and Social Council already did that in late January. The provisions enable employers to unilaterally terminate the employment contract when a worker meets old-age retirement criteria - being 60 or 65 years old and having 40 or 15 years of pensionable service, respectively.

Slovenian MEPs say EU must insist on equal treatment over UK visa fees

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Several Slovenian MEPs from different political groups called on the EU to insist on equal treatment of all its citizens, as they responded to a report that citizens of five EU countries, including Slovenia, will have to pay more for their UK work visas. The news portal Politico reported that citizens of Slovenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania are not eligible to a GBP 55 visa fee reduction enjoyed by nationals of all other EU member states.

Slovenia's annual deflation rate at 0.7% in January

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's consumer price growth remained negative in January, as the annual deflation rate stood at 0.7% mainly due to lower prices of fuels and energy (by 9.4%), the Statistics Office said. Year-on-year, prices of services increased by 0.4%, while prices of goods fell by 1.2%. Slovenia also recorded deflation at the monthly level, running at 0.4%, due to winter sales of clothing and footwear.

Three die in workshop explosion near Radovljica

RADOVLJICA - Three people have died in a blast in a carpentry workshop near Radovljica, the police said. The cause of the blast is unclear at this point. Kranj police spokesman Bojan Kos said it appeared the blast originated in a wood stove in a workshop that was not in active use.

Ski jumps: Double victory for Slovenian female team in Austria

HINZENBACH, Austria - Slovenia celebrated a double victory at the Women's Ski Jumping World Cup as Nika Križnar bagged her first World Cup victory, followed by Ema Klinec. "It's a dream come true. I've been wanting to win a World Cup event for a long time," Križnar said.

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05 Feb 2021, 04:21 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Friday, 5 February 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Govt suspends regional approach to restrictions

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The government decided to suspend the current regional approach to coronavirus restrictions and move the entire country into the red tier, meaning that kindergartens and the first three forms of primary school will open across the country next week. So will museums, galleries and libraries, starting on Friday, and ski resorts for skiers testing negative from Saturday. PM Janez Janša said differences between regions had been significant only weeks ago, but now the incidence of new coronavirus cases had converged. Decision on which business to open is yet to be taken.

Coalition to analyse situation, reshuffle possible

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The leaders of three coalition parties stressed their commitment to continue working together as the government faces a vote of no-confidence in parliament. They plan to analyse the situation by 15 February. Asked about the status of Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) MPs following the party's quitting the coalition, PM Janez Janša said the answer was in the vote on the latest stimulus package, which all five DeSUS MPs endorsed. New Slovenia (NSi) leader Matej Tonin said a cabinet reshuffle was possible after the vote of no-confidence.

1,267 coronavirus cases as hospitalisations drop below 1,000

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 1,267 new coronavirus cases from 14,545 tests on Wednesday as the epidemiological situation kept improving. Hospitalisations dropped below 1,000 for the first time since early November. Further 16 Covid-19 patients died, fresh official data show. The number of hospitalised patients dropped by 23 to 989, whereas the total of those requiring intensive care stood at 165, the same as the day before. 67 were admitted to hospital and 74 were discharged home.

Fewer exceptions for entering the country without quarantine, negative test

LJUBLJANA - The government amended the rules for entry into Slovenia on Wednesday to scrap some of the exceptions for entering the country without a quarantine or a negative coronavirus test. The new rules will take effect on Friday, deputy Police Commissioner Tomaž Pečjak explained at today's press conference. They will remain in place until 12 February. The minority in Italy expressed concern over the negative test requirement being imposed on cross-borer workers and students.

Fiscal Council warns more than half of Covid funds for 2021 spent

LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council urged for simple and targetted anti-crisis measures, as it noted that EUR 472 million had already been paid out from the national budget for coronavirus relief measures, which is more than half of the funds reserved for this purpose in 2021. In January, budget revenue amounted to EUR 888 million, which was 1.9% less than in January 2020, while expenditure increased by 48% to EUR 1.322 billion.

FM Logar tells Politico Slovenia to be honest broker during EU presidency

BRUSSELS, Belgium - In an interview with the Brussels-based Politico, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said Slovenia would be an honest broker dealing with all EU issues when it takes the EU presidency on 1 July. He indicated a preference for a peer-review system over Article 7 procedure against member states. "As a presidency country, you should be, in a way, an honest broker that is dealing with all issues that are on the agenda of the European Union," Logar was quoted as telling Politico.

Simplification of election of minority MPs endorsed

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Commission for National Communities endorsed amendments to the general election act that would simplify certain procedures for the election of the two MPs representing the Italian and Hungarian minorities. The current system, which minority MPs Felice Žiža and Ferenc Horvath said was antiquated, would be replaced with a first-past-the-post system, a type of majoritarian system where the candidate with the highest number of votes is elected.

Mitja Slavinec new state secretary at Education Ministry

LJUBLJANA - The government relieved Jure Gašparič of his duties as a state secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and appointed Mitja Slavinec to succeed him. Slavinec, who is taking over on Wednesday, is a doctor of physics. Most recently he has served as the dean of the University of Maribor Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Gašparič last week questioned the delay in the approval of university enrolment places for next academic year.

University reps for prompt approval of enrolment

LJUBLJANA - The chancellors of Slovenian universities urged the government to approve the university enrolment plan for 2021/2022 and then engage in strategic reflection on which studies should be prioritised, as PM Janez Janša hosted a meeting over the matter with higher education and business representatives. The Student Organisation of Slovenia, the SVIZ trade union of teachers and the VSS trade union of higher education opposed the meeting, arguing strategic reflection cannot be done overnight.

Tatjana Mlakar nominated for ZZZS head

LJUBLJANA - The general assembly of the public health insurer ZZZS named Tatjana Mlakar general manager pending clearance from the National Assembly. She was nominated by the ZZZS management board in January following the third call for applications. In her programme Mlakar noted the need to modernise the system to adapt to an ageing population, the development of increasingly expensive technologies and medicines, and reform of health insurance subsystems.

OMV selling off service stations in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - The Austrian energy group OMV announced it would sell off its 120 petrol stations in Slovenia as part of an ongoing EUR 2 billion divestment programme. In Slovenia, the group operates filling stations under the brands OMV, Eurotruck, Avanti and Diskont. "With its limited integration within the downstream oil value chain, the divestment of this business represents a further step in OMV's portfolio optimization," the group said in a press release.

Novel geothermal project planned in Lendava

LENDAVA/MARIBOR - A pilot project designed to extract geothermal energy from abandoned oil and gas wells start in Lendava, in what is seen as a potential use case for abandoned wells around the world. The project involves sinking a Slovenian-designed geothermal gravitational heat tube into an abandoned well to a depth of about three kilometres to secure sufficient heat energy to produce power.

More households could easily make ends meet in 2020

LJUBLJANA - The share of Slovenian households having no problems making ends meet rose from 18% in 2019 to 21% in 2020. The share of those having a hard time living through the month on their wages remained unchanged at 20%, whereas 31% of the households had "minor problems", data from the Statistics Office show. The rate of serious material deprivation meanwhile rose by 0.4 of a percentage point to 3%, meaning around 61,000 persons lived in materially-deprived households.

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04 Feb 2021, 08:52 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 4 February 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Parliament passes stimulus law worth EUR 320 million

LJUBLJAN - Parliament passed the eighth economic stimulus law, worth around EUR 320 million. The key measures are the state shouldering the minimum wage rise, an extension of the furlough scheme, and introduction of fines for vaccine queue-jumping. The furlough scheme, which has been in place since last spring, will be extended until the end of April, with the option of two one-month extensions. The novelty in the furlough scheme is the state covering not only 80% but 100% of the wages in companies which are closed due to government-imposed restrictions.

Four opposition parties file motion to oust education minister

LJUBLJANA - The Left, Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Social Democrats (SD) and Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) filed a motion to oust Education Minister Simona Kustec over what they see as "unprofessional and harmful policies" in organising child care and education during the epidemic, which has led to the longest school and kindergarten closure in Europe. The parties, which together have six votes short of the majority required for the motion to succeed, say that the Education Ministry has not prepared a plan on how to conduct education during the epidemic. Kustec said the motion would be an opportunity to explain the ministry's activities and achievements.

1,560 new coronavirus cases confirmed on Tuesday, 23 died

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 1,560 new cases of coronavirus from almost 16,000 PCR and rapid antigen tests on Tuesday, a significant improvement from a week ago. 23 people with Covid-19 died. The situation in hospitals continued to improve, as 1,012 people with Covid-19 were in hospital, down twenty from the day before, whereas the number of patients in intensive care dropped by three to 165. The government conducted its weekly review of coronavirus restrictions but did not adopt any major decisions. Coronavirus measures are on the agenda of the cabinet's regular session on Thursday.

False positive tests cause confusion amid classroom closures

KRANJ - Several classes of pupils in primaries and kindergartens in the Kranj area had to switch back to remote learning after their teachers tested positive for coronavirus in Monday's rapid testing. However, most of the positives have turned out to be false, causing frustration and calling the reliability of rapid antigen tests into question. Locals are concerned that the false alarm caused by the false test results could lead to school closures in the Gorenjska region from next week. However, health authorities said today that the false positive results would be removed from the statistics.

Philosopher loses professorship over sexual harassment allegations

LJUBLJANA - The senate of the University of Ljubljana has not extended the tenure of associate professor Igor Pribac from the Ljubljana Faculty of Arts after several students made allegations of sexual harassment. The senate took the decision, which is now final, last week. The 63-year-old told the STA that he was considering taking the matter to court, which however does not affect the implementation of the decision.

MPs condemn sexual harassment in academia, urge action

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Education Committee unanimously condemned sexual harassment in the academia and urged universities to adopt the necessary regulations to prevent and sanction it. They also tasked the Justice Ministry to protect the victims by changing the penal code in 60 days, also by including the "yes means yes" principle. The session was requested by the coalition after a sexual harassment case involving Faculty of Arts Professor Igor Pribac. And earlier this week Mia Skrbinac became the first Slovenian actress to speak out publicly about being sexually harassed by a well-known actor, whom she did not name.

President Pahor, Archbishop Zore would welcome Pope's visit

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore discussed a number of topics as they had working lunch. The pair agreed it would be appropriate for the country to pay respects to those who lost their lives due to Covid-19. Pahor said the Slovenians should find a date, place and manner to say goodbye to those who lost their lives due to the health crisis. The pair also agreed a papal visit would be welcome to coincide with major national anniversaries this year.

EU defence policy discussed by presidency trio's defence ministers

LJUBLJANA - The defence ministers of the EU presidency trio of Portugal, Slovenia and Germany held discussed defence policy before the 2-3 March informal meeting of EU defence ministers. Portugal's Joao Gomes Cravinho, Germany's Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Slovenia's Defence Ministry State Secretary Uroš Lampret discussed the Strategic Compass project, the EU's strategy on maritime security, and transatlantic relations.

Jobless total up on monthly and annual levels in January

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's jobless total hit 91,499 at the end of January, up by 4.8% on December and 14.6% year-on-year. The monthly increase is mainly due to the expiry of fixed-term job contracts, the Statistics Office said, noting that unemployment growth was also a result of a decline in employment. The number of newly registered persons was 10,510, an almost 36% increase on December. Compared to January 2020, the total of the newly registered dropped by 6.9% though.

Slovenian-developed vaccine to be designed as spray

LJUBLJANA - After developing a vaccine against Covid-19 last year, Slovenian researchers will focus on developing a technology to spray the vaccine into the nose or mouth, the head of the team, Roman Jerala, told the STA. Jerala's team developed the vaccine based on plasmid DNA, which contains the code for the virus proteins and triggers the production of virus proteins in human cells. These respond by creating anti-bodies and the protective T-cells. It has developed a technology to apply the vaccine as a spray, also because Covid-19 is primarily a respiratory infection and in this way organ tissues would be better protected, said the synthetic biology expert at the National Institute of Chemistry.

Public figures urging de-escalation and cooperation

LJUBLJANA - A group of 38 public figures from social and political spheres has called on politicians, media and opinion leaders to de-escalate tensions, bridge the divides and meet the current challenges together. They also warned about what they see as months-long political and media campaign that does not contribute to a more effective response to the pandemic. "Unfortunately we are one of the few European countries where politics, mainstream media and with them the entire society do not face the pandemic as a united front," the public figures, active in business, science and politics, said.

Aeroflot to restore Ljubljana flights next week

LJUBLJANA - Russian flag carrier Aeroflot announced it will restore flights between Ljubljana and Moscow next week, and to operate one flight a week until the end of the winter schedule. Aeroflot's first flight is scheduled for next Friday, 12 February, the operator of Ljubljana airport, Fraport Slovenija, told the STA. According to web portal Sierra5, the resuming of flights to Ljubljana is yet to be approved by the Russian aviation authorities. Currently only three carriers fly from Ljubljana airport - Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia.

Criminal charges filed against four over Hrastovlje rail accident

LJUBLJANA - The Koper investigators have filed criminal charges against four people over the freight train derailment that led to a massive kerosene spill near Hrastovlje in June 2019. They are suspected of failure to conduct supervision in public transport and causing damage to the environment. The two criminal acts carry prison sentences of up to five and up to two years, respectively. This comes as then investigation of the accident in which six wagons of a freight train derailed in a tunnel in SW Slovenia with a large quantity of the jet fuel kerosene leaking out from two tanks was concluded last December.

Left MP nominates Assange, Snowden, Manning for Nobel Peace Prize

LJUBLJANA - Opposition Left MP Violeta Tomić has nominated whistleblowers Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, the party said in a press release on Wednesday. Tomić, who submitted her nomination to the Nobel Committee at the end of January, explained the decision by saying that they were the heroes of our time as rights to privacy and free access to information could not be taken for granted. She believes such a step would "pay a tribute to the memory of Alfred Nobel and inspire hope in journalists, publishers, authors and all of us who strive for truth and peace".

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03 Feb 2021, 04:36 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Wednesday, 3 February 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Govt economic adviser: After 8th stimulus law, time for exit strategy

LJUBLJANA - As the National Assembly is convening today to pass the 8th coronavirus relief package, Matej Lahovnik, the economist heading the taskforce preparing the mitigation measures, suggested it was now time to start thinking about an exit strategy. Addressing the daily government press briefing, Lahovnik said the general view was no more additional aid instruments should be sought, and instead in the stimulus packages to follow it was necessary to start thinking about an exit strategy.

Slovenia logs 1,619 coronavirus cases for Monday, including 240 school staff

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 1,619 new coronavirus infections on Monday, a decrease of 3.9% from a week ago, as rapid mass testing of school and kindergarten staff in seven regions where schools are open detected 240 infections. Another 19 Covid-19 patients died. Data presented at the daily briefing by the government's Covid-19 spokesperson Maja Bratuša, shows that a total of 37,299 tests for Sars-CoV-2 were performed yesterday, the biggest number of tests yet.

More than 950 serious Covid-19 infections caught in hospitals

LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) data confirm reports that numerous Covid-19 patients have got infected in health institutions. So far, at least 956 severe hospital-acquired infections have been recorded. Since mid-November over 2,400 persons have contracted the virus in health institutions. The data on hospital-acquired infections that have developed into a severe form of Covid-19 are based on the Episari network, which includes 15 hospitals.

Slovenia shocked at Navalny sentence, calls for his release

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry said that Slovenia was shocked at Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny being sentenced to prison. "We urge his immediate and unconditional release," it added on Twitter. A court in Moscow changed today Navalny's suspended sentence to three and a half years in prison for violating the terms of his probation while he was recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning. The prison sentence will be shortened by the time he has already served under house arrest.

Slovenia receives EUR 913m from SURE scheme

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission disbursed EUR 913 million to Slovenia in the form of loans under favourable terms as part of the SURE instrument after the country already received EUR 200 million last year to mitigate unemployment risks during the coronavirus pandemic. The Commission said that it had paid out today a total of EUR 14 billion to nine EU member states. Since the scheme kicked in, 15 EU member states have received EUR 53.5 billion, of which Slovenia has received slightly more than EUR 1.1 billion, the final sum.

Brussels approves EUR 5m in state aid for Fraport Slovenija

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission has approved EUR 5 million in state aid for Fraport Slovenija. The company operating Ljubljana airport will receive the money to compensate the damage it suffered between 17 March and 30 June 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Commission said. If the actual damage suffered by Fraport Slovenija is lower than the approved amount, the company will have to return the difference. It said the state aid scheme was confirmed because it meets the conditions applying to the temporary state aid rules.

Erjavec plans to submit new motion of no confidence next week

LJUBLJANA - Karl Erjavec, the leader of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), plans to submit a new motion of no confidence in the government next week even as he remains short of the 46 votes required to unseat the Janez Janša government. Erjavec told the press on Tuesday the motion would have ten MP signatures, the minimum required by law to initiate the proceedings; the previous motion carried 42 signatures.

Actress speaks out about sexual harassment at Ljubljana academy

LJUBLJANA - Mia Skrbinac has become the first Slovenian actress to speak out publicly about sexual harassment as she revealed for TV Slovenija in a programme aired last night she had been sexually harassed for two years by a well-known actor and acting professor during her time as a student at the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television. Speaking for the weekly magazine show Tednik, the actress gave an account of how she had been subjected to psychological and physical violence from the professor, whom she would not name, during acting classes and outside class between 2014 and 2016.

NGO proposes legislative changes to redefine sexual violence

LJUBLJANA - The NGO Inštitut 8. Marec filed an initiative in parliament to collect 5,000 signatures in support of its legislative proposal redefining the crimes of rape and sexual violence. The NGO proposes such crimes be treated in line with the consent principle "yes means yes". After receiving an initiative for legislative changes, the parliamentary speaker has seven days to inform the ministry in charge of the voting rights register and to set the deadline for the 60-day collecting of signatures.

Bill improving status of soldiers drafted

LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry has drafted a set of legislative changes bringing a number of benefits to improve the status of Slovenian soldiers and overhauling military education. For instance, the changes to the service in the Slovenian Armed Forces act bring more rest for soldiers in international missions and operations.

Pahor in talks with party leaders to prepare joint meeting

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor launched a series of meetings with the leaders of the parliamentary parties to discuss preparations for their joint meeting. Although two opposition parties have already declined his invitation, Pahor has high expectations from the meeting, the president's office said. The presidents of the parliamentary parties received on Monday Pahor's invitation to the meeting aimed at a consensus on the need for the country to focus the epidemic, a post-pandemic recovery and the country's EU presidency.

Minister, commissioner discuss EU presidency priorities in agriculture

LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek held talks with the EU's Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski. They talked about topics that will be on the agenda of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency. The officials highlighted reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, sustainable agriculture and rural development in the context of the EU Green Deal, long-term vision for rural areas, agriculture's response to altered consumer expectations, and unfair business practices in the food supply chain.

Investigation into suspected EUR 30m corporate fraud under way

LJUBLJANA - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted house searches as it investigates a suspected EUR 30m case of corporate fraud. The case revolves around the sale of retailer Engrotuš's brands in 2016, the company confirmed. The NBI said it was investigating abuse of position or trust in a business activity involving the sale of stakes in multiple companies and failure to repay loans. Three individuals are among the suspects and face up to eight years in prison.

Austria introduces negative test obligation for daily migrants

VIENNA, Austria - Austria has introduced stricter conditions for entry into the country due to coronavirus. For the first time since the start of the epidemic, daily migrants will also need to present a negative test for coronavirus. This is to affect the around 26,000 daily migrants who come to Austria from Slovenia every day. The country will also keep its controls on the border with Slovenia.

Sonja Šmuc ending her tenure as GZS director general

LJUBLJANA - Sonja Šmuc, the director general of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), will leave her post by mutual agreement effective on 28 February, the GZS announced. The procedure for the appointment of a new director general has started. In the interim period, the chamber will be headed by executive director Mitja Gorenšček.

Elan unveils first foldable carving skis in the world

BEGUNJE NA GORENJSKEM - The sports goods maker Elan has presented its new product, Elan Voyager, a pair of highly-efficient versatile foldable carving skis, the first such innovative product in the world. The new skis will facilitate access to steep slopes and change the future of skiing, said Elan at Monday's online presentation. Elan Voyager being foldable will change the outlook on ski equipment and its transport, said Leon Korošec, the head of Elan's winter division.

Zavod Iskreni vandalised with swastikas

LJUBLJANA - A building in Ljubljana housing the Zavod Iskreni, a Christian NGO, has been defaced as unknown perpetrators spray-painted two swastikas on its facade and entrance and wrote "Corruption?" on the door, in what is another in a series of similar recent incidents. The NGO, which is best known for promoting family and Christian values and organising anti-abortion rallies and pickets, has lately been in the spotlight after it was one of the organisations selected to receive funding from the Labour Ministry for mitigation of the impact of the coronavirus epidemic.

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02 Feb 2021, 07:29 AM

Morning Headlines for Sloveniia: Tuesday, 2 February 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

First batch of AstraZeneca vaccine expected within a week

LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Public Health says Slovenia will receive the first batch of the newly approved AstraZeneca vaccine, amounting to 15,000 doses, at the end of this week or the beginning of the next. Some 17,500 doses of the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine are due to arrive today, to be used for second jabs. Some 52,000 people in the country have been inoculated once and more than 23,000 twice. The vaccination of the elderly who have not yet received a jab will continue next week.

Daily coronavirus case count up 19% from week ago

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 353 coronavirus cases from 4,684 tests on Sunday, an increase of 19% from a week ago. A further 19 patients with Covid-19 died, while hospitalisations rose by 13 from the day before to 1,066, including 169 intensive care patients. Both hospitalisations and fatalities have been decreasing for a while. Official data put the 7-day average of daily cases at 1,213. Over 166,000 infections have been confirmed and 3,522 deaths. An estimated 17,167 are active infections.

UK strain of coronavirus confirmed in December sample

LJUBLJANA - The National Laboratory of Health, Environment, and Food confirmed the sample taken in December which most likely contained the UK strain of coronavirus indeed contained the variant. Using a different way of sequencing, the lab managed to read the entire genome sequence of the virus after initially reading only a part. This means the first confirmed case of the new strain in Slovenia was brought to the country by a person who came from England last December.

Pahor talks climate change, Covid-19 with Van der Bellen

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor had a video talk with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen to discuss topical international issues and agree closer cooperation in fighting climate change. The presidents also talked about the Covid-19 pandemic and the Slovenian minority in Austria, welcoming a law providing a donation to Carinthia. They agreed to meet in Maribor with experts as soon as the situation allows to exchange views and best examples of how to cope with climate change.

MPs debating eighth economic stimulus bill

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Labour Committee is discussing the eighth economic stimulus bill, worth around EUR 320 million. Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said that with the bill, the government wanted to find the middle ground with social partners by taking into account their proposals as much as possible. The opposition was critical that the invitation to trade unions to today's session had been sent out last minute, so they did not attend it. The head of the OZS chamber of small business, Branko Meh, meanwhile said the state aid was welcome but business people would foremost like to be able to work again.

Committee urges Court of Audit boss to step down

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee discussed the conduct by Court of Audit president Tomaž Vesel in the wake of alleged conflict of interest caused by his work at FIFA. The session was boycotted by four opposition parties and ended with two proposals, one of them being for Vesel to resign. Vesel denied the allegations, saying he would submit all the necessary documents to the anti-graft watchdog, which has launched the preliminary inquiry into the matter.

Austrian plebiscite donation law published in Slovenian

VIENNA, Austria - A law providing EUR 4 million to the Austrian province of Carinthia as promised by the federal government on the centenary of the Carinthian plebiscite last year was published in German and Slovenian in what is the first such instance in Austria's second republic. The money will support the Slovenian-speaking population in the province and projects aimed at "harmonious coexistence, cultural diversity and economic and infrastructural development in the municipalities". Slovenia welcomed the step.

Janša nominates missionary Pedro Opeka for Nobel Peace Prize

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša has nominated Slovenian Madagascar-based missionary Pedro Opeka and his humanitarian organisation Akamasoa for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Announcing the move on Sunday evening, the PM's office said Janša noted Opeka's comprehensive approach to the development of society and humanitarianism, saying his and his organisation's activities personified the UN goals. Janša first nominated Opeka for the prize in 2013 and PM Miro Cerar did in 2015.

Pahor invites party heads for talks on key topics

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor has expanded his initiative for cooperation among political parties with a call for a meeting of leaders of all parliamentary parties. He would like to measure support for his proposal that parties reach a consensus on focusing on the fight against the epidemic, on post-pandemic recovery and Slovenia's EU presidency. Tanja Fajon of the opposition Social Democrats (SD) accepted the invitation, however both she and Marjan Šarec of his eponymous LMŠ party were also critical of Pahor. PM Janez Janša described the invitation as well-intended and neutral, while also dismissing Šarec and Fajon's responses.

Slovenian army in for a busy year

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian army is planning a number of activities this year after many could not be implemented in 2020 due to the epidemic. It will increase its volume, adjust its structure and overhaul military education. International missions and cooperation with the police remain among the key tasks, senior military staff said. One of the biggest achievements last year was addressing the status of soldiers after they turn 45 and must retire from active service, which was followed by better results in recruiting new soldiers, said Major General Robert Glavaš, the chief of the general staff.

Beauty parlours appeal to top court over restrictions

LJUBLJANA - Owners of beauty parlours have asked the Constitutional Court to review all of the government's decrees restricting the sale of goods and services due to coronavirus because they deem them unfair. Under the currently valid relevant decree, beauty parlours are closed, with the exception of those providing medical manicure or pedicure to individuals who need professional assistance in these procedures. Hair salons, for example, have been allowed to operate.

Efforts to reopen schools continue

LJUBLJANA - Calls for reopening of schools from a several stakeholders continued after protests calling against closure of schools in black-tiered regions were held in a number of towns this weekend. The Headteachers' Association president Gregor Pečan intends to urge the government to reopen schools in the entire country if today's rapid testing among teachers shows no significant increase in confirmed cases compared to a week ago. The Health Ministry's data showed that there had been no such uptick week-on-week.

Left proposes scrapping govt approval to uni application process

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left, backed by three opposition parties, proposed changes to the eighth stimulus package that would temporary remove the provision saying that the government must okay the call for applications to enrol in university courses. This comes after the government did not give its consent to the release of the call and a number of organisations and members of the academia protested against what they see as the government's interfering with higher education and science. The senior coalition Democrats (SDS) meanwhile think the government's step is sensible also in terms of assessing youth employability.

Slovenia with 5th-highest rate of Covid-19 vaccine utilisation

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia has used 83.5% of the Covid-19 vaccine vials it has received so far, which puts it in the fifth place among the 15 European countries for which preliminary data are available in the relevant tracker launched by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In Slovenia, 3% of adults have received their first shots, which ranks the country fourth among the 18 countries that have provided the data.

RTV Slovenija boss to challenge successor's appointment in court

LJUBLJANA - Public broadcaster RTV Slovenija director general Igor Kadunc announced that he would appeal against the appointment of Andrej Grah Whatmough as his successor. He told the STA that laws should be observed the way they had been written, noting that Grah Whatmough did not meet formal criteria for the post and lacked leadership experience.

Iskratel appalled by DARS picking Skytoll for car e-tolling

KRANJ - Iskratel said it was appalled by the decision of the state-run motorway company DARS to award car e-tolling contract to Slovakia's Skytoll, announcing it would certainly appeal the decision. The Kranj-based telecoms equipment maker said that "participation of Slovenian companies and their competences are apparently an exclusionary factor in public tenders in Slovenia". It noted that it was seriously thinking about moving the seat of the company abroad.

Mlinotest reports slightly higher revenue and profit

AJDOVŠČINA - Bread and pasta company Mlinotest saw its revenue and profit increase slightly last year to EUR 60 million and EUR 1.9 million. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, revenue from freshly-baked products, such as bread and confectionery, dropped significantly, which was offset by increased sales of flour and pasta, Mlinotest chairman Danilo Kobal told the STA. Despite uncertainties, the Ajdovčina-based company plans to modernise and increase production capacity for pasta this year.

Bled to get contemporary museum

BLED - The lakeside town of Bled can look forward to a museum of contemporary art. Designed by the renowned David Chipperfield, the museum will be located at the foot of the castle hill, along the the main road leading up to the castle. Construction work is to begin in the spring. The museum will feature works by world-renowned artists, above all those from the private collection of Igor and Mojca Lah, one of the wealthiest Slovenian families. It will be named Lah Contemporary Museum.

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01 Feb 2021, 04:36 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Monday, 1 February 2021

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Parents protesting closure of schools

KOPER/LJUBLJANA/KRANJ - Rallies were held across the country as parents protested closure of schools after two regions slipped back into black tier last week. The government decided schools in the two regions should return to remote teaching and kindergartens close on Monday after pupils in grades one to three were allowed back in nine of 12 regions last week. After some 200 people protested in Trbovlje on Saturday, protests were staged in Koper, Ljubljana, Maribor, Kranj and a number of other towns. PM Janez Janša said tweeted after the Trbovlje protest, saying it was "irrational and dangerous exploitation of children for political purposes in a time of epidemic."

580 out of 4,619 coronavirus tests positive on Saturday, 13 people die

LJUBLJANA - A total of 4,619 rapid and PCR coronavirus tests were performed in Slovenia on Saturday, with 580 coming back positive, according to government data. 13 people died. 2,408 of the tests were PCR tests of which 482 were positive, a positivity rate of 20%. The rest were rapid antigen tests, of which 98 were positive, a positivity rate of 4.4%. Hospitals were treating 1.053 Covid-19 patients, six more than the day before. 165 required intensive care, the same as on Friday. 43 people were discharged from the hospital.

PM questions suitability of proposed university applications

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša wondered in a Facebook post whether Slovenia will be able to compete in the fourth industrial revolution with countries where there are twice as many people studying science and technology as humanities, whereas in Slovenia the share of the former is 37% and 39% of the latter. This comes days after the government was expected to approve public universities' enrolment plans for next year.

Cross country skier Lampič second in classic sprint

FALUN, Sweden - Cross country skier Anamarija Lampič was second in the FIS World Cup women's sprint classic final in Falun, Sweden. She finished 0.33 seconds behind Linn Svahn and ahead of Jonna Sundling, both of Sweden. Sundling and Lampič finished in the same time, with Sundling taking third place after the judges viewed the photo finish footage.

Nova24TV poll shows SDS in firm lead

LJUBLJANA - The most recent public opinion poll commissioned by commercial broadcaster Nova24TV showed the senior coalition Democrats (SDS) firmly in the lead with a support of 23.5% of respondents, up 2.6 percentage points over last week, followed by the opposition Social Democrats (SD) with 8.1%. the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and the Left are close on its heels with 7.7% each, followed by New Slovenia (NSi) and the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) with 3.6% each. Compared to last week, the latter saw the biggest drop in support among all parties, losing 2.8 percentage points.

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31 Jan 2021, 04:46 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Sunday, 31 January 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

1,290 coronavirus cases, 22 deaths reported for Friday

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 1,290 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, a marked improvement over a week ago. A total of 22 people with Covid-19 died. The government reports 1,047 people with Covid-19 in hospital, down from 1,082 the day before, whereas the number of persons in intensive care declined by four to 165. The latest figures bring the number of cases confirmed since the start of the epidemic to 165,887 and the number of deaths to 3,490.

Opposition MP Kramar dies

LJUBLJANA - Franc Kramar, long-serving former mayor of Bohinj and MP for the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), has died aged 60 after a long illness. Kramar served as mayor of Bohinj in 1994-1998 and then between 2002 and 2018, when he was elected to parliament on the SAB slate. Kramar will be succeeded as MP by party leader Alenka Bratušek, by virtue of her having achieved the second best result for her party in the Kranj electoral district.

Consortium of Slovenia's EU protected foods set up

LJUBLJANA - A consortium of EU-protected crops and food products from Slovenia was established this week at the initiative of the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association. The consortium will aim to promote the products and act as a united front in providing promotional funds. The EU Commission has so far protected 24 Slovenian products with one of the three EU labels known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI) and traditional speciality (TSG).

Building housing state secretary's office defaced with swastikas

TRBOVLJE - Three swastikas have been spray-painted on a building in Trbovlje where Health Ministry State Secretary Alenka Forte, a medical doctor, has her office. The police have launched an investigation, Forte said on Twitter.

Second consecutive World Cup podium for ski jumper Ema Klinec

TITISEE-NEUSTADT, Germany - Slovenian ski jumper Ema Klinec recorded her second consecutive World Cup podium finish as she won third place in Titisee-Neustadt behind the Austrian World Cup leader Marita Kramer and Norway's Silje Opseth. Nika Križnar, the best Slovenian in the overall World Cup rankings, finished fifth today.

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30 Jan 2021, 04:13 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Saturday, 30 January 2021

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Constitutional Court turns to EU court over 2013 bail-in

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court, deliberating on an act providing recourse to investors who lost their investments during the 2013 banking sector bailout, has turned to the Court of Justice of the EU with multiple questions, including regarding the payment of compensation by the central bank and release of data. The procedures related to the case are thus suspended pending a reply from the EU court. The central bank said it had proposed this in its request for a constitutional review given that the matter concerns legal issues that are relevant wider in the EU. Meanwhile, the VZMD association of small shareholders is not as happy with the move, saying it takes the matter further away from a solution.

PM says no major easing can be expected in coming weeks

LJUBLJANA - No major easing of anti-epidemic restrictions can be expected in the coming weeks, PM Janez Janša said, adding that the government would stick to the plan of easing adopted earlier this month, which meant that schools and businesses might have to close again if the situation deteriorated. Janša said Slovenia was likely entering a third wave of the epidemic due to the presence of the British strain of the virus, but he is optimistic that owing to vaccination, this will be the last wave. He added that in-person education would take place in the red-tiered regions on Monday after it was said that this would not be possible due to testing of staff.

Govt without go-ahead for uni application process for now

LJUBLJANA - The government has not yet okayed this year's call for applications to enrol in university courses in what the Slovenian Student Organisation (ŠOS) sees as an encroachment upon tertiary education autonomy. According to PM Janez Janša, the issue is of strategic nature because it concerned youth employability, and will have to be discussed by the relevant committee prior to the government's decision. The news of the developments comes as a shock to the chancellors of Slovenia's public universities, who warned that the entire enrolment process hinged on the 1 February deadline. The higher education trade union addressed a letter to Education Minister Simona Kustec, voicing concern over the developments and highlighting it would oppose any potential attempts to destabilise public tertiary education institutions.

SD announces motion to oust Culture Minister Simoniti

LJUBLJANA - Former Culture Minister Dejan Prešiček from the Social Democrats (SD) announced that a motion to oust Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti would be filed before 8 February, Culture Day. The opposition party blames Simoniti for failing to enter into a dialogue with culture workers, for making unilateral moves regarding the self-employed in culture, and for failing to pay out funds for Slovenian film despite the contracts already been signed. The Culture Ministry meanwhile said that the motion, which is supported by three left-leaning parties, would enable it to present all its achievements in the past ten months. It argued that the situation in culture had actually improved under Simoniti, primarily in terms of funding.

Four opposition parties push for remote secret ballot

LJUBLJANA - Four centre-left opposition parties proposed legislative changes to the parliamentary rules of procedure that would allow MPs to take part in secret ballots when they cannot be present in parliament in person. The goal of the changes, according to the head of the LMŠ deputy group Brane Golubović, is to enable MPs to fulfil their rights and duties in the extraordinary "Covid-19 circumstances". The parties propose that the motion be fast-tracked through parliament. They need a two-thirds majority for the changes to be passed, but based on statements by deputy groups this will be hard to reach.

1,294 new coronavirus infections confirmed on Thursday, 20 die

LJUBLJANA - A total of 12,033 coronavirus tests were performed in Slovenia on Thursday, with 1,294 coming back positive. The positivity rate for PCR tests was 22.3%, somewhat lower than in the previous days, while the positivity rate for rapid tests was 3.8%. A total 1,082 Covid-19 patients were in hospital, down from 1,106, of whom 169 required intensive care, down by two. Twenty people died, increasing the death toll to 3,468.

PM to nominate health minister when DeSUS MPs decide on their support for govt

LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša said that he would nominate a new health minister once the MPs for the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), which recently left the government coalition, decided whether they would support the government or become opposition MPs. He said they had until Wednesday's coalition meeting to do it. DeSUS deputy group head Franc Jurša said that the deputy group and leadership of DeSUS would meet on Tuesday to discuss the future work of the party and deputy group, but he did not want to predict the conclusions. He added that he hardly saw himself in an "extreme opposition" in any parliamentary term.

Slovakia's Skytoll to set up e-vignettes system in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - Slovakia's Skytoll has been selected to set up a system for electronic tolling of cars, which is to become operational in December, the state-run motorway company DARS announced. Skytoll offered to set up the system for EUR 15.7 million and its bid was the only one meeting the criteria among the three bids sent to DARS. Skytoll also set up a system for electronic tolling in Slovakia in 2010 and has been running it since. Appeals to DARS's decision are still possible.

Tourist arrivals halved in 2020

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded slightly over three million arrivals of domestic and foreign tourists in 2020, down by almost 51% on 2019, as a surge in domestic tourism failed to offset the collapse in foreign tourist arrivals. Slovenian tourist accommodation facilities saw a 21% increase in domestic arrivals, whereas the arrivals of foreign tourists were down by 74%.

Slovenia's budget deficit at EUR 3.5bn last year, show preliminary data

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia had a budget deficit of EUR 3.5 billion last year, according to preliminary data from the Finance Ministry, which is considerably below the deficit predicted in the annual budget. Total budget revenue declined by just over 10% year-on-year to EUR 9.08 billion, whereas expenditure surged by nearly 27% to EUR 12.56 billion.

Taxes and levies down 7% in 2020 due to epidemic

LJUBLJANA - The Financial Administration (FURS) collected EUR 16.3 billion in taxes and other levies last year, according to preliminary data, which is EUR 1.3 billion or 7.3% less than the year before. Virtually all types of revenue were down, mainly because of measures related to the epidemic.

Petrol group expects to nearly double its 2019 profit by 2025

LJUBLJANA - The supervisors of energy company Petrol approved the group's strategy for 2021-2025. By the end of the period the group expects earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to stand at EUR 336 million, and net profit at EUR 180 million. The group plans to invest EUR 698 million by 2025, with more than 35% of the funds intended for energy transition.

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