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This summary is provided by the STA:
Motion to oust education minister defeated
LJUBLJANA - The centre-left opposition fell eight votes short of an outright majority needed for their motion to oust Education Minister Simona Kustec to succeed. Kustec, backed by 41 votes to 38, hailed the outcome as a realistic result of the political balance of power. In the debate that went on for 16 hours the motion sponsors berated the minister over remote schooling, asserting schools in Slovenia had been closed the longest in Europe, something that the coalition disproved as untrue.
PM calls for "corrective mechanism" in EU vaccine distribution
VIENNA, Austria - PM Janez Janša called for a "corrective mechanism" for the distribution of vaccines in the EU after talks with his counterparts from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia and Latvia. Such a corrective mechanism would mark a return in the distribution of vaccines to the point when it was agreed that the vaccines would be divided on a pro rata basis, measured by population size. "No technical agreement, no steering committee, no technical procedure can change a decision adopted with purpose of benefiting all in the European Union," he said.
Slovenia ordered 90% of vaccine it was entitled to on pro rata basis
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia has ordered 90% of the vaccines it is entitled to in the first and second quarter of the year on a pro rata basis. In December, it did not put in an order for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine during a second round of joint EU purchasing, show figures from the EU's vaccination steering board. PM Janez Janša responded to the news saying that if Slovenia had not ordered an additional million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine after he provisionally took over as health minister, its vaccination rate would now be on a par with Bulgaria and Croatia, which have some of the lowest rates.
Logar discusses EU presidency, Russia ties in Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine - Foreign Minister Anže Logar met his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev to discuss Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency. Turning to relations with Russia, Logar assured Kuleba Slovenia would be a fair intermediary. Kuleba expressed the hope that Ukraine's voice would be heard during Slovenia's presidency. Logar also met Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and parliamentary Speaker Dmytro Razumkov today. The talks with the former focussed on the expectations ahead of a summit of the Eastern Partnership.
New increase in coronavirus infections
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 918 coronavirus infections for Monday to push the 7-day average of new daily cases up by 20 from the day before to 716. Three more patients with Covid-19 died, government data show. Covid-19 hospitalisations fell to 451 with 83 patients in intensive care. The cumulative 7-day incidence per 100,000 residents rose to 239 from 232 the day before. The western Goriška region has the highest, at 309. There are an estimated 10,388 coronavirus cases in the country.
Three parties want Court of Audit head out due to incompatibility of office
LJUBLJANA - The deputy groups of the coalition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) and the opposition National Party (SNS) called for a session of the parliamentary Privileges and Credential Commission at which they would propose that the mandate of Court of Audit president Tomaž Vesel be terminated due to the alleged incompatibility of the office with Vesel's job in FIFA. Vesel said he understood the motion as "indecent and unacceptable political pressure" on an independent institution. He noted that it coincided with the release of a report on the government's purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Slovenia one of the lowest defence spenders in NATO
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia continues to rank among NATO member states allocating the lowest proportion of its GDP for defence spending, trailing the list by investment in defence equipment, follows from a report for 2020 presented by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Slovenia allocated 1.1% of its GDP for defence in 2020, of which 4.6% for investment in defence equipment. e Only Belgium (1.07%) and Luxembourg (0.57%) allocated less for defence spending.
Police reportedly clear Hojs over land purchase
LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that police had cleared Interior Minister Aleš Hojs over the acquisition of a plot of land on the coast last year. The National Bureau of Investigation told Delo it had found no reason to suspect a crime prosecuted ex officio in relation to several pieces of land sold by a Russian citizen to several Slovenians on the coast. The news comes a day after the corruption watchdog said it had established no corruption risks or integrity breaches in the case.
Taxi drivers fined for protesting against Covid-19 testing
LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Taxi Drivers revealed that police fined 57 taxi drivers a total of EUR 22,800 for having staged a protest drive against rapid testing every 72 hours last month. The taxi drivers will seek legal remedy in court while they have already petitioned the Constitutional Court to examine the relevant government decree. A day after the car protest, the government changed the decree as a result of which taxi drivers are now required to get tested once a week.
Public broadcaster budgeting EUR 4.8m shortfall for 2021
LJUBLJANA - The programming council of RTV Slovenija endorsed on Monday the public broadcaster's draft financial plan for 2021. Revenue is planned at EUR 131.31 million and expenditure at EUR 136.08 million, with the EUR 4.77 million gap to be offset by surplus from previous years. The broadcaster's director Igor Kadunc said revenue for public service will be EUR 26.33 million below expenditure. The document now needs approval of RTV Slovenija's other oversight body, the supervisory board.
SSH fails in suit over biotech takeover
LJUBLJANA - The Delo reported that Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) failed in its lawsuit against the Italian partner in a joint venture that sold biotech firm Bia Separations although the ruling is not yet final. SSH claimed it had not been properly informed of the intention by Meta Ingenium to sell its 10.8% stake in Bia Separations before it sold the state's 49% stake in the fund to Meta Venture in September 2020, but Delo says the Ljubljana District Court found this not to have been true.
Food-processing chain joins forces with hospitality, tourism
LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Agricultural and Food Companies at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), the Tourism and Hospitality Chamber (TGZS), and the Hospitality and Tourism Section of the Chamber of Craft and Small Business (OZS) signed a memorandum to establish a chain of the food-processing, hospitality and tourism sectors in a bid to form a long-term strategic partnership between food and beverage suppliers, and the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Epidemic slashes gross value in advertising by 11%
LJUBLJANA - Gross value of advertising in Slovenia dropped by 11% to EUR 980 million in 2020, as the industry was globally affected by the pandemic. The largest advertisers in the country were retailers Spar Slovenija, Mercator and Lidl Slovenija, according to Slovenian market and research agency Mediana. Telecommunications providers were another strong sector in terms of advertising, followed by pharmaceutical companies and financial services providers.
Slovenia's Pogačar wins Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race
SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO, Italy - Slovenian road cycling star Tadej Pogačar won Tirreno-Adriatico, an elite race across Italy between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts, in what is already his sixth overall career win in multi-day races. The 22-year-old racer for Team UEA Emirates set the foundation for the win in the "Race of the Two Seas" on Saturday and Sunday, when he grabbed the jersey for the overall leader after two gruelling stages. In addition to the blue jersey for the overall winner, he also won the white jersey for the best young cyclists and the polka-dot jersey for the best mountain climber.
Slovenian influencer startup raises EUR 400,000
LJUBLJANA - Epidemic, a one-year-old Slovenian influencer marketing startup, has raised EUR 400,000 from three Slovenian angel investors to expand its team of influencers and upgrade its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company uses local and niche opinion leaders it calls "nano influencers", matching them to the brands they like and turning them into brand ambassadors at scale by using artificial intelligence.
Online retailer Zalando coming to Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - Zalando, a European e-commerce company based in Berlin that follows a platform approach, offering fashion and lifestyle products, is coming to Slovenia this year. The company, founded in Germany in 2008, expects to generate around EUR 10 billion in revenue this year. The Zalando online platform comprised more than 3,400 stores at the end of February.
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