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This summary is provided by the STA:
Chef Ana Roš awarded two Michelin stars, five restaurants get one each
LJUBLJANA - Chef Ana Roš of Hiša Franko has been awarded two Michelin stars, becoming the first chef in the region to win the accolade. Five other restaurants got one star each: Vila Podvin near Radovljica, Hiša Denk near Maribor, Atelje in Ljubljana, Pri Lojzetu in Vipava and Dam in Nova Gorica, as restaurant guide Michelin launched its first guide to Slovenian restaurants. A celebrity chef, Roš was named the World's Best Female Chef by the World's 50 Best Restaurants culinary portal in 2017 and was featured in the Netflix series Chef's Table.
PM Janša sees lawsuit over ECB archives as obstacle to investigation
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša indicated that an European Commission lawsuit against Slovenia over European Central Bank (ECB) documents was hampering an ongoing police investigation in Slovenia, hence his query with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about whether the Commission might drop the lawsuit. "I want to learn whether the lawsuit against Slovenia might be dropped and whether the ECB would act the same way as in other cases when ECB data was excluded from investigations. That way, the Slovenian investigation about bank crime could continue," Janša told Nova24TV on Monday evening.
Hojs, Johansson discuss EU's new pact on migration and asylum
LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs told European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson that Slovenia had high expectations from the EU's new migration and asylum pact, which the European Commission is expected to present at the end of July. He also reiterated in a video call Slovenia's position against migrant quotas, as the commissioner is holding another round of talks with EU interior ministers on the expectations about the new pact. Hojs urged a prompt reform of the common asylum system, which he believes should be supplemented with a separate mechanism for action in cases of disproportionate pressure from migrants.
Germany, Portugal, Slovenia present their EU presidency
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Germany, Portugal and Slovenia presented the programme of the trio's upcoming EU presidency in a videoconference of EU ministers in charge of European affairs. Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan pointed to the many coronavirus-related challenges and highlighted the need for a plan B. "The programme is a compromise reflecting the views of us all. Not all the highlighted aspects are equally important for all the countries. But in principle it is broad enough to allow for certain national specifics as part of the six-month programme," he told Slovenian Brussels-based reporters. The top priority will be the next multi-annual budget, as no plans will be able to be implemented without adequate financial support, he said. The programme for the period between 1 July 2002 and the end of 2021 will be officially endorsed in a correspondence session in the coming days in line with the new coronavirus rules.
FMs from Central Europe happy with coronacrisis cooperation
VIENNA, Austria - The foreign ministers of Slovenia, Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia agreed that the countries had cooperated very well during the coronavirus pandemic and also urged continuing such cooperation after the pandemic, as they met in Austria's Vienna. "Although we protected our citizens and closed borders, were we still able to cooperate," Slovenia's Anže Logar told the press before the meeting, highlighting daily phone calls and attempts to find solutions to the problems in dialogue. He believes such cooperation has resulted in a new protocol among neighbours, which he considers a major achievement and an important European message.
Slovenia urges prompt agreement on EU recovery plans
BRUSSELS - Slovenia would like the EU to promptly agree on its recovery deal for the economy after the coronavirus pandemic. It hopes that given the gravity of the situation, EU countries will realise that speed is vital, Foreign Ministry State Secretary in charge of EU affairs Gašper Dovžan said after a videocall of ministers in charge of EU affairs. He believes this would send out an important message showing the EU works normally also in these difficult times. At the end of May, the European Commission proposed a package of measures featuring an adjusted 2021-2017 budget proposal worth EUR 1.1 trillion and a EUR 750 billion Next Generation EU recovery plan.
Slovenia climbs two spots to 35th in world competitiveness ranking
LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Slovenia has risen two rungs in the latest IMD World Competitiveness Ranking to 35th among 63 countries, due to improvements in business and government efficiency, while sliding back in terms of economic performance over 2019. Slovenia lost three spots to 36th in terms of economic performance, but gained one spot to 38th in government efficiency and one spot to 39th in business efficiency, while losing two spots to 29th in terms of infrastructure.
Three more people test positive for coronavirus
LJUBLJANA - Three people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Slovenia out of 567 tests for Sars-CoV-2 carried out on Monday. Seven patients remain hospitalised with Covid-19, one of them in intensive care, fresh information from the government shows. The tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org shows the latest cases were confirmed in Krško in the east, Piran on the coast, and Postojna in the south-west of the country. This is the first ever case in Krško.
Police: No signs found border incident with army was orchestrated
LJUBLJANA - Following a similar response by the Supreme State Prosecution, the General Police Department categorically rejected allegations about police involvement in a border incident with Italy in which two alleged Slovenian soldiers stopped a civilian at gunpoint in May. It also said in response to an STA query that the "information collected so far do not indicate the event was orchestrated". The response comes after PM Janez Janša's echoed last week allegations that the incident had been orchestrated by members of "the deep state", including in the prosecution and police, to discredit the Slovenian Armed Forces.
Pahor says tangible progress made in reconciliation efforts
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor attended on Monday a ceremony at the Linden Tree of Reconciliation at Ljubljana's Žale ceremony dedicated to victims of post-war executions. Pahor laid a wreath and delivered an address in which he said that recent times had seen some tangible results of the symbolic and material efforts for national reconciliation. Pahor said that in the last five or six years there had been less hate speech related to 20th century history, especially to the period during and after WWII.
Parliament endorses harsher sentences for smugglers of migrants
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a bill amending the penal code by imposing harsher penalties for persons organising illegal crossings of the border and for those helping illegal migrants reside in Slovenia. The amendment, proposed by the upper chamber of parliament, was passed in a 48:35 vote, backed by the coalition and by the opposition National Party (SNS). The other deputy groups argued a more comprehensive approach would be needed to tackle illegal migration.
MPs pass new rules on money laundering prevention
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly unanimously passed the governments-sponsored changes to the law on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing that transpose EU law. The government rushed the changes since Slovenia had already been reprimanded by the European Commission for failing to transpose the 2018 EU directive on money laundering prevention. In line with the changes, a central bank account registry of owners of crypto assets will be set up at Banka Slovenije.
Fewer illegal border crossing attempts detected so far this year
LJUBLJANA - Over 3,280 people tried to enter Slovenia illegally in the first five months of the year, down more than 25% over the same period last year, with almost 2,000 expressing the intention to request asylum in Slovenia. Most of the people apprehended were citizens of Pakistan, Morocco and Afghanistan. The police said that more illegal crossings had been detected in January than in the same month in 2019, but then the number dropped, also because of the pandemic. However, the dynamic started to pick up in the course of the past month, as the coronavirus pandemic started to ease.
Lufthansa and Wizzair return to Ljubljana airport
BRNIK - German flag carrier Lufthansa and Hungarian low-cost airline Wizzair have returned to Ljubljana airport after several months of suspended passenger air travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Lufthansa resumed flights on Monday, whereas Wizzair went back to business as usual on Tuesday. Lufthansa is hence again operating the Ljubljana-Frankfurt route. Wizzair resumed the Ljubljana-Brussels service.
Best human rights documentary award goes to Romanian film Collective
LJUBLJANA - Collective (Colectiv), a film by Romanian director Alexander Nanau, won the Amnesty International Slovenije award as the curtain fell on the 22nd Documentary Film Festival in Ljubljana. The documentary, one of five competing for best film dealing with human rights, draws the viewer into the turmoil of fearless investigative journalism targeting systemic corruption in Romania.
Ljubljana and Maribor Pride parades postponed to autumn
LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR - Due to coronavirus concerns, this year's Ljubljana and Maribor Pride parades have been postponed to September. Ljubljana Pride will be held on 26 September, whereas the date of the Maribor event is still uncertain. Both cities will hold a number of events in June though to celebrate Pride Month.
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