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This summary is provided by the STA:
Number of Covid beds rising to 1,200
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian hospitals are increasing their bed capacities for Covid patients to around 1,200, of which 280 in intensive care units, as they are coping with an increasing number of patients amid the fourth wave of the epidemic. Covid hospitalisations rose to 1,008 with 229 treated in intensive care as another 1,815 people tested positive on Sunday and 11 patients died. According to the National Institute of Public Health, the 7-day average of new cases rose by 76 from the day before to 3,224, and the 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 people is up by 27 to 2,030.
PM says main problem is parallel mechanisms controlling state
LJUBLJANA - Asked in parliament about corruption and allegations that mafia is running the country, Prime Minister Janez Janša told the MPs that Slovenia's main problems today stemmed from "UDBA-mafia or, as is the newly-established term, parallel mechanisms managing large parts of systems and sub-systems without elections and without legitimacy." Janša thus answered a question from Matej T. Vatovec of the opposition Left, who said that the Democratic Party (SDS), when it was in the opposition, had presented itself as the party that would do away with corruption in Slovenia.
PM says tax avoidance not the point in Vizjak tape leak
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša assured MPs in questions time that the government was not supporting tax avoidance as he commented on controversial statements made by a minister in a conversation with a powerful business executive 14 years ago. He said taxes were not at the heart of the matter. Janša was challenged by Marko Bandelli, an MP for the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), to say what message sent out Andrej Vizjak, the incumbent environment minister whom a leaked tape has exposed for telling the CEO of the spa company Terme Čatež in 2007 that it was "stupid" to pay taxes. Janša said he did not support calls for tax avoidance.
Pahor confirms good bilateral relations during visit to Luxembourg
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - President Borut Pahor met in Luxembourg President of the Chamber of Deputies Fernand Etgen and Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. Confirming the excellent relations between the two countries, the officials shared similar views on the EU's core values, including the rule of law and media freedom. Pahor stressed that Luxembourg had been an important ally and friend of Slovenia since the latter's independence. On Sunday, Pahor met Jean-Claude Juncker, former president of the European Commission and long-serving prime minister of Luxembourg, and current Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.
Centre-left opposition demands explanations over energy industry staffing
LJUBLJANA - The centre-left opposition filed for an emergency session of the parliamentary Public Finance Overight Commission over what they described as unprecedented political staffing in the energy industry. They see the fact that Robert Golob failed to get endorsed for another term as CEO of Gen-I without an explanation and without his successor being appointed as a sign that the government is trying to ruin one of the largest and most successful energy companies in the country. Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said in response that in Slovenia, corporate management was structured in a way that prevents politics from interfering in staffing and management of companies, for which supervisory boards were in charge.
Supervisors deny Elektro Maribor boss sacked due to political pressure
MARIBOR - The supervisory board of the electricity distributor Elektro Maribor rejected the allegations that its members had been pressurised by politics to dismiss the long-time chairman Boris Sovič. "The decision was made solely on the basis of facts," chief supervisor Samo Iršič told the press. Citing the corporate governance policy, Iršič said the "supervisory board cannot and must not disclose new facts. However, we can say that no pressure was put on any of the members of the supervisory board, be it political or any other."
Poklukar presents Slovenia's fight against Covid at WHO summit
GENEVA, Switzerland - Attending a virtual WHO summit on evidence-based policy making in health Health Minister Janez Poklukar presented Slovenia's experience in implementing "effective and innovative evidence-based" measures in different phases of the Covid-19 epidemic. Poklukar, who participated in the panel discussion of health ministers on behalf of the WHO European Region and as a representative of Slovenia's EU presidency, highlighted the role and work of the Covid-19 task force and enhanced inter-ministerial cooperation in Slovenia.
Anti-graft watchdog checking drafting of construction act amendments
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption will launch a preliminary inquiry after receiving a report that the Neffat Law Firm firm, which has been contracted to draft amendments to the construction act also represents Branko Simonovič, a DeSUS MP who would be able to use these amendments to legalise a house he has illegally built on the coast. The commission will check whether there are suspicions of violations that fall under its purview.
Steel group SIJ's revenue up a third in first nine months
LJUBLJANA - Steel group SIJ said it had increased its sales revenue by 34.2% to EUR 714.6 million in the first nine months of the year, while EBITDA reached EUR 73.5 million. Almost EUR 41.5 million was channelled into investment in the January-September period. To diversify its financing, SIJ is examining the option of a new, eighth issue of commercial papers. A final decision is yet to be taken.
NGO urges EU to do more in wake of Glasgow conference failings
LJUBLJANA - Umanotera, an environmental NGO, called on the EU on Sunday to increase its carbon emission reduction goal to at least 65% and reach climate neutrality in the decade before mid-century, in the wake of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, which the organisation finds did not meet the great expectations. The measures in the national action plans put forward by the countries will still lead to an increase in emissions by 2030, said the organisation.
Vox Populi poll: Ruling SDS would win election ahead of opposition SD
LJUBLJANA - The ruling Democrats (SDS) would garner 17% of the vote if a general election was held this Sunday, followed by the opposition Social Democrats (SD) at 13.9% and the Left at 8.1%, the latest Vox Populi survey shows. The share of undecided voters has however increased to almost a third. The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) would place fourth at 7.3%, coalition New Slovenia (NSi) polled at 6.6% and the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) at 4.3%.
Ljubljana budget revised, city to end year with EUR 5m deficit
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana city council endorsed a revised budget for this year, under which the municipality will end 2021 with a EUR 5.3 million deficit instead of a EUR 1.2 million surplus. Saša Bistan, the head of the city finance department, said that revenue was set at EUR 390 million and expenditure at EUR 395 million. This year, EUR 63 million is expected to be earned through the compensation for the use of building land, and revenue from the tourist tax is expected to stand at EUR 2 million, one million less than in the previous budget.
Fraud fugitive found in Ghana after a 17-year search
LJUBLJANA - The search by the Slovenian police for a 61-year-old fugitive sentenced for fraud is over after 17 years as the Slovenian woman was recently found and arrested in Ghana in cooperation with foreign security authorities. She was extradited from the African country to Slovenia on 13 November and taken to the Ig prison. The Ljubljana District Court had been searching for the fugitive since 2004, initially as a witness, and later for fraud, and in another case for her to serve a prison sentence, also for fraud. The woman had been living in Ghana illegally for ten years before the arrest.
