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This summary is provided by the STA:
Fajon presents proposal on Bosnia's EU candidate status to EU counterparts
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Slovenia's proposal that the EU should grant Bosnia EU candidate status as soon as possible received a great deal of support and, above all, a great deal of understanding at today's meeting of EU foreign ministers, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said after she outlined it to her counterparts at a session of the Foreign Affairs Council. Some met it with approval while it took others by surprise, she said adding "it's important to send a political signal that Slovenia is promoting the enlargement process in the region and that it will not forget these countries", while it also strongly support awarding the candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
Pahor urges support for Bosnia's EU candidate status
RIGA, Latvia - President Borut Pahor urged the leaders of Three Seas EU countries to endorse Slovenia's proposal at the EU summit later this week to give Bosnia the status of EU candidate country, as he addressed the summit of the Three Seas initiative in Latvia. He reiterated the importance of the EU's prompt expansion to the Western Balkans, saying he is convinced the candidate status will strengthen the pro-European forces in Bosnia and accelerate the pace with which the country adjusts to EU standards. Some leaders explicitly supported Slovenia's proposal, while nobody openly disagreed with it, which gives hope the necessary consensus could be reached for the EU summit to endorse it.
PM outraged at fuel shortages, economy minister assures country has enough fuel
LJUBLJANA - As drivers rushed to service stations in anticipation of Tuesday's price hike, which resulted in many service stations running out of fuel, Economy Minister Matjaž Han assured the public the country has sufficient reserves of fuel. He attributed the problem to logistics, but said market inspectors are on the ground examining whether fuel retailers might not comply with the rules. PM Rober Golob, on the other hand, finds the situation scandalous, saying the retailers should have foreseen the rise in demand and prepare for it. Energy company Petrol chairman Nada Drobne Popovič denied the shortages were created by fuel retailers to profit from higher prices on Tuesday. If the current level of demand continues, shortages could not be eliminated before Friday or even later, she said, explaining that all available fuel trucks have been working since Wednesday.
Petrol prices to rise more than 10% on Tuesday
LJUBLJANA - The prices of regular petrol and diesel at pumps outside motorways will rise by nearly 20 cents a litre on Tuesday. Regular petrol will cost EUR 1.755 a litre, up from EUR 1.56, while diesel will cost EUR 1.848 a litre, compared to EUR 1.668 at the moment. The new prices will remain in place until 4 July when they are adjusted again. Fuel prices in Slovenia have been unchanged since May 11, when the previous government capped them amid rapidly growing energy prices. Last week, the new government reintroduced for a year as of 21 June a system of price margin regulation at service stations outside the motorway network, while completely liberalising the prices along motorways.
RTV Slovenija staff on strike urge decision-makers to protect broadcaster against political interference
LJUBLJANA - RTV Slovenija journalists continued the strike they first staged on 23 May, ending the day with a rally protesting against political interference and calling on decision-makers to act. The public broadcaster's heads meanwhile ordered that news shows be radically short or cancelled today, a move the staff see as an attempt to undermine the strike. The strike committee said RTV Slovenija director general Andrej Grah Whatmough and TV news programme editor-in-chief Jadranka Rebernik "have interfered gravely with our strike", adding that this was a criminal offence. The programme council was to discuss the director general's plan to severely cut the international network of correspondents, which the staff and journalist organisations oppose, but rescheduled the session to tomorrow.
Ministry concerned about RTV, announces legislative changes
LJUBLJANA - As the in-house trade unions at RTV Slovenija went on strike at 2pm after talks on their demands following the 23 May strike brought no progress, the Culture Ministry expressed concern over the situation at the public broadcaster. Minister Asta Vrečko announced legislative changes to give more decision-making power in the broadcaster's bodies to the civil society and staff rather than politics. She also said the ministry supported the strike, noting the announcement of the abolition of the international network of correspondents was cause for concern.
NLB bank well prepared for turbulent times, chairman says
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest bank NLB is in excellent shape and well prepared for turbulent times ahead, chairman of the board Blaž Brodnjak said after today's shareholder meeting. He is also not concerned by the tightening of monetary policy in the eurozone. When necessary, households and companies will be assisted, he announced. "If companies should have liquidity problems, we will know how to approach and restructure them. And we will try to do the same for households if they have difficulties in paying out their loans." As for possible acquisitions, he said nothing concrete was on the table, but estimates that opportunities will arise in several markets in the region.
SAB endorses merger with Freedom Movement
LJUBLJANA - The membership of the non-parliamentary Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) endorsed the party's merger with the ruling Freedom Movement as they cast their votes during a 13-15 June congress that was held remotely. 91.5% of the members that attended the congress voted for the merger, the SAB said. The ongoing consolidation of the liberal block includes another non-parliamentary party, the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), which has already endorsed the merger. The Freedom Movement will now hold a congress to endorse the consolidation with the two parties.
Slovenia still attractive to German investors despite challenges
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia remains attractive for German companies, mainly due to its geostrategic location and skilled workforce, shows this year's survey of German chambers of commerce in 15 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, criticism is levelled at Slovenia's rigid labour legislation and high labour costs. the Slovenian-German Chamber of Commerce's president Dagmar von Bohnstein said the economic impact of the Covid pandemic and Russia's attack on Ukraine have reduced the expected growth rate for this year to 3.9%, but 68% of German companies in Slovenia are still satisfied with the economic situation and consider it good.
Coronavirus infections up over the weekend
LJUBLJANA - A total of 325 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in Slovenia over the weekend, which is a 56% weekly increase. No Covid patient has died since Friday, the Health Ministry said. Latest reports from hospitals show that 36 Covid patients were at regular Covid wards and five in intensive care during the weekend. The 7-day average case count is at 398 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 of the population at 227.
Expert: Covid cases higher than test numbers
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has seen an increase in the number of coronavirus cases recently, yet the official figures have remained relatively low, with only 325 new infections confirmed over the weekend, but infectologist Mateja Logar said the actual number of infections is likely three to four times higher. Logar, who used to head a government-appointed task force for coping with the pandemic, said this was due to scaled-back testing and advises easier access to testing.
Govt and public sector unions set agenda, priorities for pay talks
LJUBLJANA - The government and public sector trade unions met to start pay talks, which both sides would like to end as soon as possible, expectedly in the autumn. The meeting set the format of talks and priorities, said Public Administration Minister Sanja Ajanović Hovnik, head of the government's negotiating team. The unions want a prompt agreement on holiday allowance and on the value of individual pay brackets. The other two issues are extremely low wages at the bottom third of the pay scale and disrupted wage ratios between various professions after some sector secured pay rises. The talks will start in earnest in early July.
World Refugee Day marked by calls for appropriate migration policy, inclusion
LJUBLJANA - Officials dealing with refugee issues in Slovenia called for safe migration policies and inclusion of migrants on World Refugee Day, observed today. Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar said a new national migration strategy would be based on the respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights and ensuring safety for all. Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina said World Refugee Day was an opportunity for sympathy with the distress of refugees and their aspirations to lead a normal life.
Illegal crossings of border up by 75% in first five months
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian police recorded 4,333 attempts at illegal crossing of the border in the first five months of the year, which is 75% more than in the same period last year, when 2,466 such attempts were recorded. Afghanis account for almost a quarter of those intercepted, the police statistics show. In the first five months of 2022, the number of intentions to submit a request for international protection was four times higher than in the same period last year, totalling 3,798.
Effective work accounts for 69% of working time in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - In 2020 Slovenian employees spent 68.7% of their available working time effectively working, while absence from work accounted for 26.9% of their working time and meal breaks 4.4%, the Statistics Office has reported. The effective working time of employees in Slovenia amounted to 69% in the private sector and 67% in the public sector. The working time structure has changed drastically since 2016, when absence from work represented 18.6% of total working time.
