Hungarian energy group MOL buys OMV's Slovenian service stations

LJUBLJANA - Hungarian energy group MOL acquired a network of 120 service stations operated by Austrian energy group OMV in Slovenia, subject to regulatory approval. The purchase consideration for the outright stake in the company OMV Slovenija is EUR 301 million. MOL Group will in effect acquire a 92.25% stake in OMV Slovenija, as one of its group companies, INA, already holds a 7.75% stake. The acquisition is "in line with our strategic goals to further expand our service station network in existing and potential new markets in Central and Eastern Europe," MOL chairman and CEO Zsolt Hernadi said.

Largest investment in Slovenian paper industry in four decades launched

SLADKI VRH - A new production line at the Paloma hygienic paper factory has been launched. Worth EUR 41 million, this is the largest investment in the Slovenian paper industry in the last 40 years and will make Paloma a competence centre for high-quality tissue products within the Slovak SHP Group and a leading manufacturer in the region, according to CEO Richard Žigmund. The new line will increase the company's production capacity from 65,000 to 90,000 tonnes per year.

220 new coronavirus cases confirmed on Monday, one death

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 220 new cases of coronavirus for Monday, a week-on-week decline of nearly a third, as the epidemic situation continues to gradually improve. One person with Covid-19 died. The positivity rate stood at 7.2% as over 3,000 PCR tests were performed, in addition to over 40,000 rapid tests. There were 195 patients in hospital, down by eight, while the number of ICU cases remained unchanged at 51.

Agreement on European asylum agency in the offing, says Hojs

LUXEMBOURG/Luxembourg - A discussion on the migration pact has seen progress as a consensus on the European asylum agency is on the horizon, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said as he attended a ministerial in Luxembourg. The debate on strengthening the European Asylum Support Office's (EASO) mandate could be advanced already during Portugal's last month at the helm of the Council of the EU, but if not, the Slovenian EU presidency should make it happen in the second half of the year, Hojs said. The migrant relocation debate is still deadlocked though, he said, voicing concern over the potential for increased migration flows, particularly from Afghanistan, and pointed to great numbers of refugees from Myanmar who sought refuge in Bangladesh.

Logar and Chung discuss Slovenia-South Korea ties, EU topics

SEOUL, South Korea - Foreign Minister Anže Logar met his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-Yong as he continued his two-day visit. The pair urged strengthening political and economic ties between Slovenia and South Korea. To enhance the ties, Slovenia will open embassy in the South Korean capital in a month or two. Logar said Slovenia was interested in strengthening political and economic ties and urged boosting investment, while welcoming Korea's plans to reopen its Trade-Investment Promotion Agency's (KOTRA) branch in Slovenia.

Podgoršek talks agriculture cooperation with Italian colleague

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek and his Italian counterpart Stefano Patuanelli talked via video call to conclude that the countries cooperate well in agriculture. They agreed that Slovenia and Italy shared the same views on the common agricultural and fisheries policy. The meeting was held in the run-up to a session of the coordinating committee of ministers of Slovenia and Italy, which will be held on 14 June, the Slovenian Agriculture Ministry said.

Proposed regulation redefines STA public service, financing

LJUBLJANA - The public service provided by the STA would be subject to detailed new rules under a draft government regulation. Unlike the law governing the STA, which provides broad outlines of the public service, the draft regulation defines exactly what the public service should look like, and stipulates that special summaries of Slovenian and English news have to be open to the public, distinct from the news wire the agency markets to subscribers and available in a separate section of the web page. STA director Bojan Veselinovič has described it as "a new manoeuvre to bypass two laws."

No parliament debate on opposition Left's political programme

LJUBLJANA - Speaker Igor Zorčič decided not to call a plenary session to debate the opposition Left's party programme after the coalition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) requested this last week, arguing the programme contained elements suggesting the Left could act against the country's constitutional order. While the SDS said the Left publicly advocated limiting capitalism, introducing socialism and seizing property, Zorčič said that a resolution that would task the government to carry out oversight of a parliamentary party was "an unparalleled absurdity in a normal parliamentary democracy."

Janez Škrabec no longer honorary consul of Belarus

LJUBLJANA - Businessman Janez Škrabec is no longer an honorary consul of Belarus in Slovenia after the government revoked its consent by a decision published in the Official Gazette last week. "I accept the withdrawal of the consent with regret but will respect the decision," Škrabec told the newspaper Večer. The government has not formally explained its decision.

No veto on transportation platforms law

LJUBLJANA - The National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, voted against a motion to veto legislation that provides the legal basis for transportation platforms such as Uber. The councillors representing employees proposed the veto on the grounds that the recently adopted amendments to the transportation act had completely neglected labour rights. The arguments were dismissed by employers, who said Slovenia simply had to push ahead with digitalisation.

Slovenia increasingly more attractive for German companies

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia remains an attractive business location for German companies, shows this year's survey carried out by the German chambers of commerce in 15 Central and Eastern European countries. German investors are highly interested in further investing in Slovenia, heard a press conference by the German-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce. It is up to Slovenia to consider how to capitalise on this increased interest in investments as much as possible, the chamber noted.

Ombudsman finds no irregularities in police work at anti-govt rally

LJUBLJANA - Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina, who carried out oversight at the 28 May mass protest against the government in Ljubljana, said that no irregularities in police work had been established. "Data obtained directly from the protest and based on video surveillance has not showed that police officers carried out repressive measures, used excessive force or exceeded their powers in any manner. The protest unfolded peacefully," his office said in a statement. The ombudsman intends to continue unannounced oversight of the police in the future.

Slovenia's Zidanšek makes it to semi-finals of French Open

PARIS - Slovenia's Tamara Zidanšek advanced to the semi-finals of the French Open, defeating Paula Badosa of Spain in the quarter-finals in three sets (7:5, 4:6 and 8:6), to get Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the semi-finals on Thursday. Prior to the win, Zidanšek became the first Slovenian female tennis player to advance to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament in a singles competition since 1977, when Mima Jaušovec won it all on the Paris clay. The 23-year old, who prior to the tournament placed 85th on the WTA rankings, is expected to crack the top 50 with the career feat.

Author Rozman Roza, illustrator Sottler awarded for youth literature

LJUBLJANA - Writer Andrej Rozman Roza and illustrator Alenka Sottler are the recipients of this year's Levstik Prize for lifetime achievements in children's and youth literature conferred by the publisher Mladinska Knjiga. The judging panel said that Rozman Roza is one of the best and most imaginative Slovenian authors of literature for children and adults. Sattler was described an illustrator who establishes dialogue between the writing and illustration and is continuously trying to find a way to produce a well-rounded work of art.

Last 30 years put on show at Museum of Contemporary History

LJUBLJANA - An exhibition on the country's major achievements and developments from the past 30 years will open at the Museum of Recent History in Ljubljana to mark the 30th anniversary of independent Slovenia. It brings an insight into the many changes that have taken place in 1991-2021 in politics, local government, economy, healthcare, social affairs, education, everyday life, the environment, mobility and communication. The show leans heavily on Statistics Office figures.

Schools not safe spaces for LGBT students, survey shows

LJUBLJANA - A survey by Legebitra, an advocacy group for LGBTI rights, has shown that schools are not safe spaces for members of the LGBT community. One in four LGBT students reported of having often heard homophobic remarks at school, and in more than half of the cases, school staff did not intervene. Students who have often been targets of attacks and remarks because of their sexual orientation are less likely to continue their education.

Trio suspected of EUR 2m fraud at expense of foreign construction workers

CELJE - Police have filed a criminal complaint against three Slovenian citizens who are suspected of having deprived 432 workers, mostly foreign construction workers, of at least EUR 2.1 million in 2011-2019. Police have found that the employers hired workers from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia only to re-employ them after some time at ever new "shell" companies without paying contributions of withholding tax.

Each year, around 350 people in Slovenia and 334,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. About 40% of those with HR+/HER2- subtype have a PIK3CA mutation, which is associated with a poor prognosis.

President Pahor does not support early election

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor said he does not support a potential early election, arguing in an interview for TV Slovenija on Sunday evening that a vote during Slovenia's EU presidency would mean the country misses a rare opportunity to strengthen its reputation on the international stage. "Slovenia has such a rare opportunity to demonstrate its ability ... to give something to European politics. This would, of course, also require a little more internal cooperation between the Slovenian political forces." The EU presidency is "an opportunity that a mature country would not squander," he said.

Hojs and Schinas discuss priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency

BRDO PRI KRANJU - European Commissioner for Promoting the European Way of Life Margaritis Schinas visited Slovenia before it assumes EU presidency on 1 July, discussing with Interior Minister Aleš Hojs the priorities of the presidency. Hojs said the new pact on migration and asylum was a priority in the field of internal affairs. Schinas told Hojs that that a part of the pact relating to the future European agency for asylum would be finalised during the Portuguese presidency, and could be completed during Slovenia's presidency in the second half of the year.

Logar lauds efforts to boost economic cooperation as Slovenia opening embassy in Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea - Foreign Minister Anže Logar started a two-day visit to South Korea, which also marks the official opening of the first Slovenian embassy in Seoul. Janez Premože, a former Slovenian ambassador to India and China, was sent there last week, while his appointment is not yet formal because the embassy is planned to open in a month or two. "We're in the final phase of opening the embassy," Logar said in an interview with a Korean newspaper. He met representatives of Korean businesses and some MPs before he meets his counterpart Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday.

President to decorate three media, including STA

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor has announced he will award presidential decorations to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), the Koper bureau of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija and to the Slovenian bureau of Italian public broadcaster RAI. "I believe these are three anniversaries, three important media institutions which have made major contributions to us having freedom of speech, expression and media," he told a news show on TV Slovenija on Sunday evening. He will decorate the STA upon the proposals of two former STA directors, Dejan Verčič and Tadej Labernik, and the Association of Slovenian Journalists.

Janša says CoE Commissioner part of "fake news network"

LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša reproached Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović. "Unfortunately, @Dunja_Mijatovic is part of #fakenews network. Well paid by our money," Janša wrote in English on Twitter on Sunday. The tweet comes after Mijatović urged the Slovenian authorities to stop the deterioration of media freedom and freedom of expression in the country.

Reynders again calls on Slovenia to name European prosecutors

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders reiterated his call for Slovenia to appoint European delegated prosecutors for the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) as soon as possible. He hopes that he could soon discuss the issue with the new Slovenian justice minister. "We need two European delegated prosecutors from Slovenia," Reynders told the press in Luxembourg on the sidelines of a meeting of EU justice ministers. Marjan Dikaučič, an official receiver, was last week nominated to replace Lilijana Kozlovič and could be appointed in the coming days.

Vaccination pace picking up

LJUBLJANA - The pace of vaccination is gradually picking up. Almost 132,000 shots were administered last week, up by about 30% from the week before. The first week of June also saw the highest number of shots delivered in one day as over 35,000 people were inoculated on 3 June. For this week, vaccination centres have ordered 135,000 doses, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) said.

Downward trend continues as 57 new coronavirus cases confirmed

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 57 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, the lowest daily figure since late September, as the slow downward trend continued. Two patients with Covid-19 died, the latest government figures show. Hospital figures remained broadly stable with 203 patients in hospital overall, of whom 51 in intensive care, up by five and three, respectively. The rolling seven-day average of daily cases stood at 242.

Relaxation of all measures possible when Slovenia enters EU's green tier

LJUBLJANA - The government's Covid-19 advisory group does not intend to propose any substantial changes regarding Covid restrictions this week. Mateja Logar, the head of the group, said a complete relaxation could be put forward when Slovenia is in tier green according to the EU's traffic light system, but the country's 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents must fall below 25 and the rate of positive coronavirus tests below 4%. The latest data show the first figure stood at 173 on Sunday and the positivity rate at 4.3%. The Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS) said Slovenia could enter the EU's orange tier in mid-June and the green tier in the first half of August.

Pahor, Zore call on Slovenians to work together, like 30 years ago

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor hosted members of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference for lunch as Slovenia marks the 30th anniversary of independence. Pahor and Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore made a joint statement on the occasion saying all Slovenians should stand together, like during the independence efforts when the Church's Commission for Justice and Peace played an important role in democratisation and promotion of human rights. Zore also expressed an expectation that the Monument to the Victims of All Wars in Ljubljana should start to be perceived as a monument to reconciliation.

Slovenia, China sign protocol on poultry exports

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia and China signed a protocol on the export of Slovenian poultry, a key precondition for the export of food products to the Asian country. "China remains Slovenia's most important trading partner in Asia and growth in the bilateral trade in agricultural and food products has been positive," Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek said. A protocol on pork is to follow soon.

Corrected analysis shows Slovenia around EU average for green, digital investment

LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Brussels think tank Bruegel revised its recent analysis of national recovery and resilience plans. While Slovenia originally stood out by its low share of digital and green investments, the updated figures place Slovenia in the middle of the rankings. After being quoted at EUR 0.77 billion on Sunday, the figure for Slovenia's investment in the green transition was revised to EUR 1.05 billion on Monday. The figure for digitalisation was revised from EUR 0.17 billion to EUR 0.54 billion.

Defence Ministry inaugurates new military heritage department

LJUBLJANA - The Defence Ministry launched on 1 June a new department dedicated to the preservation of military heritage that will also deal with related issues such as the situation of war veterans, the war-disabled and war victims, and management of activities related to war graves. Later this month, the Military Heritage Administration, headed by law expert Rok Janez Šteblaj, will also become in charge of graves of victims of summary killings during and immediately after WWII.

Slovenia chair of Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development

IZOLA - Slovenia assumed the two-year chairmanship of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development, a multi-stakeholder advisory body set up under the Barcelona convention, as the commission opened its 19th session in Slovenia's Izola today, to run in hybrid format until Wednesday. Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak pointed to Slovenia's achievements under the Barcelona convention and the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region (EUSAIR). He said it was Slovenia's wish for a partnership to achieve goals along the common sea to be intensified.

Sewage sludge dumped around creek south of Maribor

HOČE - An unknown perpetrator has recently dumped a major quantity of wastewater treatment sludge in a creek near the village of Pivola, south of Maribor, upstream the local botanical gardens, in what the authorities have labelled an ecological disaster. Hoče-Slivnica Mayor Marko Soršak said the local authorities had been informed about the illegal dump late on Thursday. The area was inspected today by Civil Protection head Srečko Šestan, who said the clean-up effort would take a long time. The Maribor Police Department told the STA police were intensively looking for the perpetrator.

Tanja Tuma becomes new head of Slovenian PEN

LJUBLJANA - Writer, publisher and editor Tanja Tuma is the new president of Slovenian PEN, replacing Tone Peršak, who resigned for personal reasons in February. Tuma, 56, was the only candidate as Slovenian PEN's assembly met to appoint the new head today. She would like to open up Slovenian PEN to new members, foremost young writers, those who have a hard time entering the market and having their voice heard. "The organisation desperately needs their fresh ideas and energy," she told the STA upon election. In 2016-2019, Tuma led Slovenian PEN's women writers' section Mira.

Architects of Ptuj Marketplace win Plečnik Prize

LJUBLJANA - The architects that have designed the Ptuj Marketplace won this year's Plečnik Prize, the highest national recognition for architecture. The jury said the project went beyond creating a new marketplace, it was a complete renovation of the city's central public space. The prize was awarded to Tomaž and Lena Krušec, Vid Kurinčič, Zala Likavec Perovšek, Ana Kučan and Luka Javornik, whose project was completed last year.

Zidanšek makes Slovenian tennis history

PARIS, France - Tamara Zidanšek has made Slovenian tennis history by advancing to the quarter-final of the French Open as the first Slovenian woman to do so in a singles competition since 1977. Zidanšek defeated Romania's Sorani Cirstea 7:6 (4), 6:1 on Sunday and will play the Spaniard Paula Badosa tomorrow. The last time a Slovenian female player was in the singles quarter-final of a grand slam tournament was in 1977, when Mima Jaušovec ended up winning the Roland Garros.

Germany win U-21 European title in Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - The German youth football team has won the UEFA U-21 European Championship after beating Portugal 1:0. Lukas Nmecha scored the only goal of Sunday's game in the 49th minute to secure the third title for Germany since the competition began in 1978. Germany had struggled in the preliminary stages and barely finished second in their group to advance to the elimination round. In the quarter-final, they defeated Denmark after a penalty shoot out, and in the semi-final, they trumped the Netherlands.

To reach this point, the country's 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents must fall below 25 and the rate of positive coronavirus tests below 4%.

The latest data by Slovenia's National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) show that the first figure stood at 173 on Sunday, whereas the positivity rate was 4.3%.

Logar pointed out at today's Covid briefing that Slovenia was thus currently still in the red tier under the traffic light system by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The country has however already reached tier green if taking into account its own traffic light system.

According to a forecast by the Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS), Slovenia could enter the EU's orange tier of restrictions in mid-June and the green tier in the first half of August.

The reproduction number, meaning the number of secondary cases per infectious case, is currently 0.88. IJS experts said today that the figure should fall below 0.7 to avoid the risk of a spread of more virulent strains of the coronavirus.

Currently, the share of active infections is 0.4% of the population or approximately one in 250 Slovenian residents.

Asked about the reasons for the Slovenian roadmap for easing the restrictions being milder than the EU's, Logar said that was mainly because of country-specific sociological characteristics.

She highlighted the fact that that Austria had the 14-day incidence three times lower than Slovenia, nevertheless the restrictions in Slovenia and Austria were comparable.

The epidemic in Slovenia is partly subsiding, however the situation is not yet what we would like it to be, she said.

"We know from the experience of the past year that being too quick to relax the restrictions leads to another increase in infections. Although we're doing better, we still need to be cautious and heed current measures," she said.

Asked about the possibility to make the option of self-testing available to all and not just students, Logar said that the current legislation would need to be amended to allow for that. Under the current law, microbiological testing could only be performed by qualified lab workers.

She also said that in the event of self-testing being available to all, there should be safeguards in place to prevent any abuse. The option will be discussed if there are no major improvements regarding the epidemiological status.

Touching upon the vaccination for youths aged 12-15, Logar said that experts had no reservations about it. According to her, if there are any hesitations about this, they are related to the logistics of such an upgrade of the vaccination strategy.

She also said that Covid-19 vaccination of children had been carried out before in the case of those with underlying conditions.

The vaccination pace in Slovenia is gradually picking up. So far, more than 34% of the population has received at least one shot and 22.8% are fully inoculated, show NIJZ data.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) said today that companies had capitalised on the option of workplace vaccination programmes. The GZS would like to see herd immunity in Slovenia being reached as soon as possible.