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This summary is provided by the STA:
Planned Covid capacity fully established as cases keep climbing
LJUBLJANA - Hospitals have secured the full planned intensive care capacity for Covid-19 patients, meaning 288 beds. Health Minister Boštjan Poklukar announced that a state of extreme emergency would be declared in healthcare if the number of ICU patients exceeded this figure. There are now 236 Covid-19 patients in intensive care, out of a total of 1,074 hospitalised. The Slovenian Armed Forces jumped in to help hospitals with four medical teams featuring a total of 20 members. This was as 3,763 more people tested positive on Monday in a continued week-on-week increase and five patients died.
Slovenia pleased with EU Strategic Compass
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia "must be pleased" with the EU's Strategic Compass, a shared vision for EU security and defence, Defence Minister Matej Tonin said after EU defence ministers launched debated the draft document. The first responses to the document, prepared by the presiding trio of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, are good and confirm that the direction is right, but some details are yet to be hashed out, said Tonin. The goal is to confirm the Strategic Compass in March next year.
LIBE mission expresses concern over climate of hostility in Slovenia
BRUSSELS, Belgium - A delegation of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) that visited Slovenia on a fact-finding mission in mid-October expresses deep concern over the climate of hostility and deep polarisation in Slovenia in a draft report that will be discussed by LIBE at a session on Thursday. In the draft report that has been obtained by the STA, the delegation finds the climate has eroded trust in and between various public bodies in the country.
Hojs calls for stronger police cooperation between EU, W Balkans
LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs called for stronger cooperation between the police forces of EU member states and Western Balkan countries as he addressed a virtual meeting of the board of the EU border agency Frontex. "The Western Balkans is undoubtedly a priority partner. But I wish to emphasise that cooperation must be mutual and that each partner must contribute their fair share," Hojs said. He urged for countries in the region to sign status agreements as soon as possible.
Slovenia urged to hold discussion on EU's eastern border
LJUBLJANA - A group of Slovenian NGOs called on the Slovenian government in its capacity as the EU presiding country to launch in-depth discussion on the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border at the ongoing meeting of the EU foreign and defence ministers. The Coordination of Slovenian NGOs for Migration and Refugees pointed to violations of human rights along the EU's eastern border and expressed deep concern over migrants being prevented from accessing asylum and international protection.
Slovenia embarking on energy transition with mix of renewables, nuclear
LJUBLJANA - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said Slovenia was counting on nuclear in its energy transition since renewable sources alone would not suffice to cover the production shortfall once coal was phased out given that the country had missed many opportunities already. "There is potential for more photovoltaic plants and four hydro power plants. We also have some wind potential that we have to harness... But renewables will not be enough," he said.
Green, digital transition at core of tourism recovery
BRDO PRI KRANJU - EU ministers in charge of tourism agreed at a virtual informal meeting that the green and digital transition must form the core of the tourism sector's post-pandemic recovery if the sector is to be put on a sustainable footing. "I'm glad that we have the same general positions on the recovery of the tourism ecosystem," said Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, who chaired the session.
Slovenia welcomes decisions on new strategy for forests
BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU agriculture ministers adopted on Monday decisions on a new EU strategy for forests until 2030, stressing the importance of forests in combating climate change and biodiversity loss. Slovenia's Jože Podgoršek labelled the decisions as a great achievement of the Slovenian EU presidency. The ministers agreed that forests should make a greater contribution to the European Green Deal and the global goals of the Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030.
Progress on EU health and digitalisation under Slovenian presidency
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU has achieved progress in some of the key dossiers in negotiations with the European Parliament on legislation in areas such as health and digitalisation. It hopes for further progress by the end of the year, including on the minimum wage. One of Slovenia's key tasks in the role of the EU presiding country has been representing EU member states in legislative talks with the European Parliament.
NBI director no longer in acting role
LJUBLJANA- The acting director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a police unit specialised in white-collar crime, has been named fully-fledged director on a temporary basis under recent changes to the act on the organisation of police that critics said would emaciate the special unit. Petra Grah Lazar was "temporarily assigned to the post of director" for a period of three months on 13 November, the Interior Ministry said as it rejected a report by POP TV that she received a full term as director.
Minister Jaklitsch visits Slovenians in Austria
GRAZ, Austria - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch visited the Slovenian community in the Austrian state of Styria on Monday to talk about its challenges during the pandemic. Jaklitsch said at a meeting with officials from the Faculty of Arts of the Karl Franz University in Graz that the attitude of the university to the Slovenian department was important not only from the point of view of studying but also on a symbolic level, as the Slovenian language has been present in the area for centuries.
Top officials get booster shots
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's top officials have received booster shots of coronavirus vaccines nearly nine months after they received their first shots in the early stages of the vaccination campaign. President Borut Pahor received his booster shot on Tuesday and Prime Minister Janez Janša on Monday. Speaker Igor Zorčič was vaccinated last week. A total of 176,740 people in Slovenia have so far received booster shots, just over 8% of the entire population and roughly a third of those aged 70 or more.
Surgeon fired over opposition to hospital's Covid bed plans
NOVA GORICA - Danijel Bešič Loredan, the head of the Nova Gorica general hospital's orthopaedic ward, received a termination due to his opposition to moving patients from his ward to expand the hospital's capacities for Covid-19 patients. He said the management had closed the ward three times in two years, while there had been no talks in the summer on what to do with Covid patients should the situation deteriorate. The management said legal proceedings were initiated against the doctor because he jeopardised the hospitals's ability to cope with the epidemic.
New acting director appointed at Commodity Reserves Agency
LJUBLJANA - The government has relieved Tomi Rumpf of his duties as the director of the Commodity Reserves Agency, as Rumpf recently tendered his resignation, and appointed Andrej Kužner as the acting director. The government said after Monday's correspondence session that Rumpf had tendered his resignation on 11 November, and that his term ended on 15 November.
Atlantic Grupa sells Slovenian baby food production facility to Gittis
MIRNA - Atlantic Grupa, a Croatian multinational that owns Slovenian food producer Droga Kolinska, has sold its production facility in the Slovenian town of Mirna to Austrian baby food company Gittis Naturprodukte as it continues divesting its non-core businesses. Atlantic Grupa said it had signed the contract with the Pöll family, which owns Gittis Naturprodukte, thus completing the process which started last year with the sale of baby food brand Bebi to Serbian group Nelt.
Police get first hybrid patrol vehicles
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian police force got its first hybrid patrol vehicles which officials said would reduce noise pollution in settled areas and contribute to cleaner environment. A total of 56 new vehicles were formally handed over to the police at a ceremony at the Tacen Police Academy compound by Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and Deputy Police Commissioner Danijel Žibret. The new fleet comprises 41 hybrid speciality patrol cars, ten hybrid speciality cars and five speciality patrol 4WDs.
Controversial stadium renovation project extended by five years
LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana city council has extended by five years the contract for the Bežigrad Sport Park project, which includes renovation of the dilapidated landmark stadium designed by Jože Plečnik. The contractors have welcomed the decision, while a civil initiative opposing the project said private interest had outweighed public interest.
