STA, 28 May 2021 - Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Ljubljana on Friday protesting against the government's actions and calling for an early election. The rally included various groups and movements and was supported by trade unions and part of the opposition. PM Janez Janša said spreading Covid-19 with unregistered mass rallies was a crime.

A mass of protesters first filled Prešeren Square and then marched in the streets of the capital. The initial plan was to arrive in Republic Square in front of the parliament, but the police rerouted the unregistered rally, so the protesters gathered at an intersection of Celovška, Tivolska, Bleiweisova and Gosposvetska streets, where speeches were delivered and musical performances staged.

In pictures: Tens of thousands Slovenians protest in capital Ljubljana to demand resignation of conservative Prime Minister Janez Jansa in the biggest protest the country has seen in years pic.twitter.com/9a67cLHwZq

— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) May 28, 2021

Representatives of the country's main trade union associations, the Friday bicycle protest movement, NGOs and people from the academic and cultural circles addressed the rally to criticise what they see as problematic measures and laws by the government, highlight a lack of social dialogue and stress the need for an early election.

Lidija Jerkič, the head of the ZSSS confederation, and Branimir Štrukelj, the head of the KSJS association of public sector trade unions, said they had to participate in the protests because social dialogue had been extinguished by the government. Štrukelj also said the KSJS rejected repression against the media, expressing solidarity with the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

Oto Luthar, the head of the ZRC SAZU research centre, warned that freedom, democracy, the legal system as well as solidarity were at risk. Tea Jarc, the head of the Mladi Plus youth trade union, noted that the resistance was not emerging only in Ljubljana but across Slovenia. She thinks Janša is afraid of the Slovenian people because he is aware of low public support for his government and the fact that he no longer has the majority in parliament.

The protest has been dubbed Pan-Slovenian Uprising for Early Election by the bicycle protesters, who said ahead of the rally that Slovenia's reputation was tarnished every day. The movement believes that a great majority of Slovenians is unhappy with the government's work and the state of democracy in the country.

Some of the opposition parties have announced their support for the protest with the Marjan Šarec Party (LMŠ) and the Left announcing they would join in. The Left has also protested over a police panel that has been erected around Republic Square.

The SocDems said it was best to be silent today and listen to the people. The party also supported the protests, urging for peaceful demonstrations. The Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) said it supported peaceful protests, noting that today's rally should remain the protest of civil society.

Coalition New Slovenia (NSi) MP Iva Dimic was meanwhile critical of the parties' involvement in the protest, saying that the political parties' arena for expressing opinions was parliament and not the streets. She added that peaceful protests were part of the democracy.

The police presence was boosted during the rally and movement in the vicinity of government and parliament buildings restricted. The area was placed under video surveillance. The Health Inspectorate joined the police in enforcing coronavirus restrictions and measures.

Ahead of the rally, the protest movement called for peaceful demonstrations and urged the police to allow the protesters to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly and protest without using excessive force.

Amnesty International Slovenia and the Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy monitored the protests to detect any potential violations of these rights. Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina visited the Ljubljana police operational-communications centre to review the police work at the protests. His office added that if need be, he would also visit the detention centre.

Accusing police of using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators at the protest a week ago, the protest movement had filed a criminal complaint with the prosecution and called on Svetina to look into alleged violations, which the police had denied.

The Commission for Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services (KNOVS) visited the SOVA intelligence agency and General Police Administration today to make sure that the police and SOVA are acting in line with their competences when it comes to protests, said the commission's chair Matjaž Nemec of the opposition SocDems.

Janša meanwhile said on Twitter that spreading Covid-19 with mass unregistered gatherings was a crime as there were more than 300 infections confirmed a day and the protest was held in a region with the third worst Covid status in the country.

He added that freedom of expression and the right to assembly were constitutional rights, however they could be restricted by law under the constitution. He also took a jab at the centre-left opposition, saying they could have waited for a month longer to protest at the end of the epidemic, but instead they were jeopardising a return to normal.

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA: 

Another attempt to dismiss Speaker Zorčič fails

LJUBLJANA - Igor Zorčič remained parliamentary speaker as only 45 MPs voted to dismiss him in a secret ballot, one short of the needed majority, just like in the first attempt on 30 March after he quit the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC). Two ballots were invalid while no MP voted against as the centre-left opposition and unaffiliated MPs obstructed the vote. Zorčič said that the National Assembly "has proved once again that it is a sovereign institution", adding it would be best to hold an early election. The ruling Democrats (SDS) announced that a third attempt would have to be mounted to replace Zorčič.

Logar and Lavrov for improving EU-Russia relations

MOSCOW, Russia - As EU presiding country, Slovenia will make efforts to reduce tensions in relations with Russia, Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar announced in Moscow after meeting his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov would also like EU-Russia relations to be normalised, but on the basis of equality of both sides. "Slovenia regrets the expulsion of diplomats and expresses solidarity with the EU member states which have been affected by Russia's retaliatory measures," Logar was quoted as saying by the ministry. He also expressed concern about Russia's military activities along the border with Ukraine. Lavrov said the pair agreed for Russia and Slovenia to enhance the legal basis to protect investments, according to Russia's Tass news agency.

Over million Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - More than one million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Slovenia as 653,310 people have received a first shot and 381,619 have been fully inoculated, data from the National Institute of Public Health showed. The figures mean that just over 31% of Slovenia's entire population has received at least one dose, and just over 18% has been fully vaccinated. The vaccination rate is the highest in people aged between 70 and 89.

Mass anti-government protest calls for early election

LJUBLJANA - Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital protesting against the government's actions and calling for an early election. The rally included various groups and movements and was supported by trade unions and part of the opposition. Amnesty International Slovenia, the Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy and the human rights ombudsman monitored the policing of the protests. PM Janez Janša said spreading Covid-19 with unregistered mass rallies was a crime.

New coronavirus cases inch further below 300

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged 288 new coronavirus cases for Thursday, to push the rolling 7-day average down further to 282. Four more patients with Covid-19 have died, latest government figures showed. Out of 3,585 PCR tests performed yesterday, 8% came back positive. Hospitalisations dropped by a further 13 yesterday to 252, of whom 78 were in intensive care, one fewer than yesterday.

Govt and public sector unions sign pay deal

LJUBLJANA - The government and ten out of over 40 public sector trade unions signed a deal which abolishes some of the remaining austerity measures introduced during the financial crisis, delays the payday and raises the holiday allowance. It is estimated at EUR 65 million, said Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik. Several trade unions decided not to sign the agreement today, arguing they did not have enough time to study the annexes to collective bargaining agreements, which are usually signed together with the pay deal. Koritnik explained the deal remains open for signing until Wednesday.

Montenegro PM visits Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić was on an working visit to Slovenia meeting Prime Minister Janez Janša to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, bilateral relations and Montenegro's EU prospects. Krivokapić also met Speaker Igor Zorčič and President Borut Pahor. Janša and Krivokapić pledged stronger bilateral economic cooperation and called for the joint economic commission to meet as soon as possible, Janša's office said. Krivokapić took to Twitter saying that the experience and support of Slovenia as an EU member state meant a lot to Montenegro.

Logar talks EU presidency, media for Portuguese press agency

LISBON, Portugal - Foreign Minister Anže Logar spoke with the Portuguese press agency Lusa on Thursday as part of his visit to the country, saying that Slovenia as the next EU presiding country wanted to put enlargement to the Western Balkan countries back on the agenda as "a strategic opportunity". He also discussed media freedom in Slovenia, saying the government guaranteed that the media were "completely independent".

Minister talks efforts to strengthen EU-NATO partnership with peers

LISBON, Portugal - Defence Minister Matej Tonin stressed the importance of the European Defence Agency as he took part in a virtual informal meeting of EU defence ministers. Discussing efforts to strengthen the EU-NATO strategic partnership, Slovenia joined the EU's calls for coordinating the two alliances' forward-looking defence processes. Tonin finds it key to streamline procedures and coordinate the EU's capacity planning with NATO's Defence Planning Process.

Minority MPs will continue to cooperate with the government

LJUBLJANA - The MPs for the Italian and Hungarian minorities will continue to support the government in principle. But when it comes to possible dismissals in parliament this support is not "absolute", they will decide on a case-by-base basis, Felice Žiža, who represents the Italian minority, told the STA. Žiža noted that the Italian and Hungarian minority deputies relied on Article 82 of the Constitution, which says that National Assembly deputies are representatives of all the people and are not bound by any instructions.

CoE says Slovenia progressed in tackling money laundering

STRASBOURG, France - Slovenia made progress in tackling money laundering and terrorist financing since the last evaluation in 2017, shows the Council of Europe's MONEYVAL report. But deficiencies remain, the biggest one being its progress in mitigating risks related to virtual currencies, as a result of which Slovenia's rating on the implementation of the new requirements for virtual assets has been downgraded from "compliant" to "partially compliant".

Koper port operator posts higher quarterly revenue and profit

KOPER - Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole commercial port, posted a year-on-year growth in the first quarter of the year as net sales revenue rose by 4% to EUR 57.5 million and net profit was up 15% to EUR 8.6 million. Operating profit (EBIT) increased by 15% from the first quarter of 2020 to EUR 9.8 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization rose by 10% to EUR 17.1 million, according to a non-audited report. The company said the results trumped projections by virtually all indicators.

Slovenia and N Macedonia seek to boost economic cooperation

LJUBLJANA - Noting that bilateral economic relations were at a high level, Foreign Ministry officials from Slovenia and North Macedonia called for further enhancing cooperation between their countries as they chaired a virtual session of the bilateral commission on economic cooperation.

Bia Separations - Sartorius increasing production

AJDOVŠČINA - Biotech company BIA Separations - Sartorius launched a new production facility in Ajdovščina, which increases the company's production capacities fivefold. Addressing the event, Prime Minister Janez Janša said he was happy that new well-paid jobs were being created. The new production facility of 3,200 square metres will be used to produce chromatographic columns for cleaning new generations of medicines. According to Janša's office, the expansion of production will allow the company to meet the demand in Covid-related projects.

Survey unemployment rate in first quarter up to 5.6%

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's survey unemployment rate in the first quarter of the year stood at 5.6%, which is half a percentage point higher than in the quarter before, the Statistics Office said. It has estimated that there were around 56,000 unemployed people and 928,000 active people in the country in the first quarter.

Commission clears EUR 6m state aid to cattle breeders

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission approved a six million euros scheme to support Slovenian cattle breeders affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The beneficiaries will be entitled to receive direct grants of up to 225,000 euros or 76 euros per head of cattle.

STA, 28 May 2021 - Visitors to the Alpine Lake Bohinj will no longer be able to use large inflatable devices on the lake, play loud music on the shore, wear swimsuits around the Church of St. John the Baptist or cycle along the north shore under new restrictions put in place by the Bohinj municipal council.

While bigger inflatable devices such as floating mats, castles, flamingos, palms and similar things will be banned, devices that ensure safety of the swimmers are excluded from the restrictions.

A large number of swimming devices increases the risk of transmitting invasive alien species and ruins the visual aesthetics of the lake. This is also the motive behind the interdiction of wearing a swimsuit around the Church of St. John the Baptist.

Loud music on the shore increases the noise level in the summer, it is unpleasant to visitors, disturbs the peace and the natural experience of the lake. The restriction excludes events and bars, the municipality added.

Cycling along the north shore will be restricted because it is the most sensitive part of the lake. The path is also too narrow for hikers and cyclists to meet.

To make for a smooth transition to the new restrictions, the local authorities will focus on raising awareness before they start issuing fines next year.

Some municipal council members warned that such restrictions might put tourists off, but others think that communication will be the key, as the restrictions are necessary to maintain the desired quality of tourism.

Although the lake is a part of the Triglav National Park, swimming will still be allowed, since the main goal is to make visitors respect the environment and nature.

STA, 28 May 2021 - More than one million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Slovenia as 653,310 people have received a first shot and 381,619 have been fully inoculated, which includes over 19,000 who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab, data from the National Institute of Public Health show.

The figures, available on the cepimo.se portal, mean that just over 31% of Slovenia's entire population has received at least one dose, and just over 18% has been fully vaccinated.

A total of 1,119,480 vaccine doses have been delivered to the country, and 1,015,611 doses have been administered. Over 680,000 of those were shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.

Osilnica in the south of the country is the municipality with the highest vaccination rate as more than half of the residents there (51%) have received the first dose and 28% have been fully inoculated.

Meanwhile, only 18% of the population of Juršinci in the north-east got the first shot, while the lowest rate for full vaccination is at Sveti Jurij ob Ščavnici and Kuzma, at 9.4% and 9.5% respectively, also in the north-east.

In terms of the first dose vaccinations, the most successful of Slovenia's 12 statistical regions is Zasavje in central Slovenia (34.5%), and Koroška in the north has the largest share of fully vaccinated population (20.3%).

The vaccination rate is the highest in people aged between 70 and 89. More women than men have been inoculated.

Data from the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org show most doses in a single day were administered on 20 May when nearly 30,500 people were vaccinated.

Lots of figures on vaccination in Slovenia, in Slovene but also visualised

STA, 28 May 2021 - Large anti-government protests are planned in Ljubljana on Friday after a series of groups and movements, including trade unions and opposition parties, have announced they will join in.

The rally was first announced by the movement behind Friday's bicycle protests a week ago when they issued an ultimatum to the government to resign or face a mass "uprising" to push for a snap election.

The country's five main trade union associations were among those who have announced they will take part, which they say is in protest at the government violating social dialogue.

Attendance has also been announced by students, pensioners, people from the academic and cultural circles, musicians, artists, environmental NGOs and marginalised groups.

The centre-left opposition parties LMŠ, Social Democrats and the Left are also planning to join in after their motion to impeach PM Janez Janša was voted down in parliament earlier this week.

Announcing the rally a week ago, the bicycle protesters said it would be bigger than the one staged on 27 April, which by police estimates was attended some 10,000 people.

The rally has not been registered, so security will be provided by police, who urged the public to follow their orders.

Police Inspector Boštjan Skrbinšek Javornik has said movement in the vicinity of government and parliament building will be restricted and the area will be under video surveillance.

Health inspectors will join the police in enforcing coronavirus restrictions and measures.

The protest movement accused police of using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators at the protest a week ago when anti-government demonstrations merged with a pro-Palestinian rally.

The movement filed a criminal complaint with the prosecution and called on the human rights ombudsman to look into alleged violations, including police targeting particular protesters, which the police has denied.

STA, 27 May 2021 - Slovenian tourism providers are cautiously optimistic ahead of the summer tourism season in light of a major decline in the epidemic. Roughly half the accommodation facilities are open, whereas the bulk of the other half will welcome guests again in early June.

"We're optimistic, but we're talking about cautious optimism," the head of the Slovenian Tourism Board (STO) Maja Pak told today's press conference presenting the state of play in Slovenia's tourism.

The STO expects a somewhat smaller number of Slovenian tourists this year compared to 2020, but still 15% above the 2019 figure. The expected total of foreign tourists is naturally still below the pre-Covid levels, but above the 2020 number.

Pak warned that these figures were just an estimation, noting that the relaunch of tourism depended on many factors, primarily the epidemiological situation, but also access to air transport and the providers' capacity to adapt to the circumstances.

According to the Tourism and Hospitality Chamber (TGZS), almost half the accommodation facilities are open with many of those still closed planning to reopen at the start of June.

The providers are heeding or stepping up safety measures recommended by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), said the TGZS head Fedja Pobegajlo, noting the importance of the Green&Safe certificate, launched by the STO last year.

He called for a prompt introduction of Covid certificates EU-wide, highlighting that the summer season would rely largely on foreign guests.

Easing of border restrictions is necessary even prior to the launch of Covid passports, he said, urging a swift passage of an emergency law to help the tourism sector and the prolonging of stimulus measures. What he deems key is to reopen the entire sector immediately.

Some 3,000 business entities out of 10,000-12,000 in tourism have not survived the crisis, he said, noting that small businesses had been hit the worst.

Both Pobegajlo and Iztok Altbauer, who heads the Association of Slovenians Spas, lauded cooperation with the STO and the Economy Ministry during the crisis. Spas are expected to reopen completely by mid-June, Altbauer said, noting that they were not transmission hotspots.

He hopes that as Slovenia enters tier green, restrictions will be significantly relaxed, "but mainly that we'll not be forced into going through decrees [...] in the Official Gazette every week to check what is actually permitted and under which conditions".

The convention industry has been practically closed for more than 400 days, pointed out Slovenian Convention Bureau director Miha Kovačič. Currently, the sector is at some 10% of its usual capacity, he said, hopeful that autumn with an increase in business events will bring a return to normal.

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA: 

Justice minister resigns as govt annuls delegated prosecutor procedure

LJUBLJANA - Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič stepped down after the government decided to annul the procedure to appoint candidates for Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors and start a new one. Kozlovič's party boss, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, regretted her decision, but said the Modern Centre Party (SMC) would put forward her replacement as soon as possible. PM Janez Janša also called on Počivalšek to promptly put forward a candidate. European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi commented on the annulment of appointments by saying the Slovenian authorities' lack of sincere cooperation seriously undermined the trust in the effective functioning of the management and control systems for EU funds in Slovenia. In response, Janša suggested Slovenia might withdraw from the European Public Prosecutor's Office should such political comments continue.

New tourist vouchers intended also for cultural, sport events

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will introduce new tourism vouchers as it is finalising an emergency bill to help the tourism industry. Unlike the vouchers issued last year, it will also be possible to use these for services such as cultural and sport events or recreational activity, Economy Ministry State Secretary Simon Zajc announced at a news conference of the Slovenian Tourism Board. The new vouchers are planned to be valid until the end of the year, while implementation is expected to be more demanding because they would be used more broadly than the existing ones.

Slovenia's EU presidency exhibition at Parliament to go ahead

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Culture Ministry announced the art exhibition that was planned to be put up at the European Parliament during Slovenia's EU presidency will go ahead, yet under conditions set by Minister Vasko Simoniti. This is after the Parliament said ten days ago the show was cancelled and Simoniti said that was his decision. "The works selected in Slovenia and the works from the permanent collection of the European Parliament will be exhibited in two segments. The focus will be on the works by artists that were selected for this occasion in Slovenia," the ministry wrote.

Slovenia resuming acquisition of Boxer APCs

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will resume the process to purchase eight-wheeled Boxer armoured personnel carriers (APCs) from the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) after the deal, at the time valued at EUR 306 million, was shelved by the previous government early in 2019. The government today got acquainted with the procedure to buy the 8X8 Boxer vehicles as part of the OCCAR programme to build a battalion-sized battlegroup, saying conditions had been met to resume the procedure.

Govt adopts national programme on AI by 2025

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted the national programme on encouraging the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) by 2025 and put the Public Administration Ministry in charge of coordination and implementation of measures from the programme. In line with the government decision, the ministry in cooperation with other ministries must prepare a plan for the implementation of measures and the plan of financing, as well as the sources of financing.

Right to use of sign language enshrined in constitution

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia became the fifth country in the EU to enshrine the right sign language in the constitution and the first country in the world to recognise the status of tactile sign language by deaf-blind persons in this way as MPs endorsed the relevant constitutional amendment. The amendment ensures a free use and development of the Slovenian sign language as well as the Hungarian and Italian sign languages in areas with official language minority communities.

Parliament amends Constitutional Court act

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed an amendment sponsored by Democrat (SDS) MP Jože Tanko under which the Constitutional Court will need to handle each petition for which the petitioner had legitimate interests on submission even though they have lost those while waiting for their petition to be handled. Tanko said the court would thus no longer be able to reduce its backlog by throwing out petitions it had already admitted. The centre-left opposition said the change would weaken the court and increase its workload.

Počivalšek discusses digital package in Brussels

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek noted the importance of the digital services act package for Europe's recovery as he attended a session of the EU's Competitiveness Council in Brussels. Počivalšek hailed the reports on the progress presented by the European Commission. He also presented to his counterparts the working programme of the Slovenian presidency for the Competitiveness Council.

Kustec and Vestager pledge cooperation in promoting science

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec met Executive Vice President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager in Brussels ahead of the Slovenian EU presidency. The pair vowed to cooperate in supporting science, research and innovation, describing the three areas as the driver of further progress. They noted the EU needed an upgraded European Research Area, which would be a key priority of the coming Slovenian EU presidency.

Legal information system unavailable due to cyber attack

LJUBLJANA - The website of the national Legal and Information System (PISRS) has been unavailable for a few days, with the Government Office for Legislation as its administrator saying this is due to a security incident. The cybersecurity incident response centre and competent services of the Public Administration Ministry are investigating the incident that occurred in the back-end system of the PISRS. The incident analysis and the evaluation of damage are still under way, while competent services are determined to bring the system back online already this week.

Slovenia's UN ambassador hosts reception for EU delegates on budgetary committee

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia's Ambassador at the UN Darja Bavdaž Kuret, whose term expires in June, hosted a working reception for EU delegates and negotiators on the UN General Assembly Fifth Committee, which has been meeting virtually since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on UN rules, the fifth committee distributes member states' contributions between the regular and peace-keeping budgets. "To implement its mission, the UN needs sufficient funds, which are being set on the Fifth Committee," said Miha Erman, a Slovenian diplomat on the committee.

Govt lowers prices of Covid treatment, secures more funds for children's mental health

LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed the annual plan for public healthcare in 2021, which sets down the prices and scope of services. Health Minister Janez Poklukar says there will be more funds for children's mental health and for primary health services while prices of hospital treatment of Covid patients have been considerably lowered. The plan is known as the general agreement and is a basis on which the ZZZS public health fund finances public health providers for the services they carry out.

365 new infections, three deaths confirmed on Wednesday

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 365 new cases of coronavirus for Wednesday, a slight increase over the week before, as roughly 9% of all PCR tests came back positive, while three Covid-19 patients died. Hospitalisations dropped to 265 Covid-19, the lowest figure since October, of whom 79 were in intensive care. The daily average of new cases over the past seven days inched up to 288 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population stood at 224. Almost a million jabs have been administered.

Slovenia to help India fight Covid

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will send India 240 pieces of Remdesivir, an antiviral medicine used in the treatment of Covid-19, to help it cope with the coronavirus pandemic. The aid is worth EUR 86,800. The government approved aid after India, one of the three countries in the world with more than 300,000 Covid deaths, asked for aid through the EU's civil protection mechanism.

More public housing expected as housing act passed

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly adopted on Wednesday an amended housing act whose overarching goal is to increase the number of public rental homes in the country. Under the new legislation, public housing funds will be allowed to take on more debt to speed up construction of new flats. According to government projections, an extra EUR 200 million in fresh borrowing for housing construction will be released. At the same time a public service will be established acting as an intermediary and manager of rental homes. It is believed that thousands of flats in Slovenia are currently idle.

MPs pass two banking bills to transpose EU law

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed two banking bills to transpose EU directives, including the directive on bank resolution to protect taxpayers. Since Slovenia is late in adopting the new rules, the European Commission has sent it a warning, which earned the government some criticism during today's debate. The bill on bank resolution and liquidation and the banking bill replace the laws which entered into force in 2016 and 2015, respectively, while also bringing the new EU rules.

Mercator's net profit in Q1 almost triples year-on-year

LJUBLJANA - The retail group Mercator generated a net profit of EUR 3.14 million in the first quarter of the year, up nearly 184% over the same three months in 2020. Retail revenue dropped by 4.5% annually, but rose by nearly 9% compared to the same period in the pre-coronavirus year 2019. Revenue from retail, Mercator's core business, dropped to EUR 413 million, the Ljubljana-based group in Croatian ownership said. It attributes the drop to a considerable rise in revenue in March 2020 when the epidemic was declared in Slovenia and residents stocked up on food and necessities.

NLB reportedly selling asset manager NLB Skladi

LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Finance reported that Slovenia's largest banking group, NLB, would sell its asset management arm NLB Skladi. NLB Skladi managed EUR 1.771 billion in assets at the end of March, generating a net profit of EUR 1.9 million in the first quarter of the year. "Due to increasing expectations of customers and regulators and increasingly specialised solutions in various fields of financial services, banking and asset management business is being consolidated across Europe," NLB told Finance, but would not give any details about the sale.

Vrtovec discusses cross-border infrastructure projects in Austria

VIENNA, Austria - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec met his Austrian counterpart Leonore Gewessler in Vienna to discuss bilateral cooperation, especially in transport and infrastructure, and bilateral relations. They agreed cooperation should be strengthened in infrastructure. Vrtovec also presented to his Austrian counterpart the priorities of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency in the second half of the year in transport.

DARS and Skytoll sign e-toll system contract

LJUBLJANA - The national motorway company DARS and Slovakia's Skytoll signed a contract to launch an e-tolling system for cars in Slovenia. Both sides will try to push forward the date of the launch so that drivers could start using the system on 1 December as was initially planned, DARS said. The step has come after the National Review Commission rejected requests for a revision of the selection of Skytoll as the contractor. Th project is valued at EUR 15.7 million excluding VAT.

Amnesty Slovenia marks 60 years of parent organisation

LJUBLJANA - Marking the 60th anniversary of Amnesty International (AI), Amnesty International Slovenia notes that despite improvements in the last six decades, attacks on human rights are ongoing. The organisation has also raised concern over the situation in Slovenia. "Sixty years of Amnesty International's work is a source of pride for us due to all the changes for the better that our organisation has achieved. We're glad that Amnesty Slovenia is part of these efforts and accomplishments," Nataša Posel, the head of Amnesty International Slovenia, told the STA.

Woman punished with 16-month prison for wrongful infant death

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana District Court sentenced a 47-year-old to 16 months in prison for criminal negligence causing death of her baby. The woman did not take appropriate care of the infant after giving birth, several media reported, adding that her mental capacities had been impaired at the time. The offender gave birth to a girl at home in September 2017 and failed to take care of the baby afterwards. She had also been concealing her pregnancy from her relatives.

STA, 27 May 2021 - Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič has handed her resignation, the Justice Ministry confirmed for the STA. The reason is the government's decision to annul the procedure to appoint Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors and to publish a new call for applications, which Kozlovič sees no justified grounds for.

European chief prosecutor concerned over govt decision

STA, 27 May 2021 - European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi has reacted to the government's decision to annual the procedure to appoint Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors by saying the Slovenian authorities' lack of sincere cooperation seriously undermines the trust in the effective functioning of the management and control systems for EU funds in Slovenia.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) can start operations without Slovenian European delegated prosecutors, Kövesi said, adding: "But this means the level of protection of the financial interests of the EU will decrease in Slovenia.

"You cannot efficiently investigate all the suspicions of fraud without European delegated prosecutors," she said, adding that the delegated prosecutors in Slovenia should be considered as a key instance in the overall architecture ensuring proper and complete supervision of bodies responsible for the management and control of EU funds.

"The manifest lack of sincere cooperation of the Slovenian authorities with the EPPO seriously undermines the trust in the effective functioning of the management and control systems for EU funds in Slovenia," Kövesi said.

The EPPO has been created to improve the level of protection of the financial interests of the EU. "We haven't been set up to allow anyone to put cases in a drawer," said Kövesi.

The government today decided to start the procedure for the appointment of European delegated prosecutors from scratch after the two candidates put forward by the Prosecution Council months ago, Matej Ošir and Tanja Frank Eler, had been waiting to get the go-ahead from the government.

Unofficially, they were deemed unsuitable by Prime Minister Janez Janša and his Democratic Party (SDS).

The decision to annul the procedure prompted Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič to resign.

The EPPO will become operational on 1 June. Aside from Finland, Slovenia is the only other of the countries participating in the office that has not put forward its delegated prosecutors despite repeated calls by the European Commission to do.

Meanwhile, five EU countries (Denmark, Ireland, Hungary, Poland and Sweden) have opted against participating in the EPPO.

Janša noted the fact that not all EU members are involved in his response to Kövesi's comments. "Hence there is no such control in Sweden and Denmark. Both of these and three other countries do not even participate in this instrument," Janša tweeted.

"European prosecution is a voluntary agreement by 22 countries. Every country can also withdraw from it," Janša said on his Twitter profile, adding: "Given a few more similar political comments, and it will be 6/27," meaning another country will join the five not participating in the EPPO.

STA, 27 May 2021 - Slovenia will introduce new tourism vouchers as it is finalising an emergency bill to help the tourism industry. Unlike the vouchers issued last year, it will also be possible to use these for services such as cultural and sport events or recreational activity, Economy Ministry State Secretary Simon Zajc said on Thursday.

"I hope we're in the last week of coordination," Zajc said at a news conference of the Slovenian Tourism Board in Ljubljana on Thursday.

The new vouchers are planned to be valid until the end of the year, but Zajc said their implementation would be more demanding because they would be used more broadly than the existing ones, which can be used only for accommodation with or without breakfast.

He declined to discuss the sum but said that a somewhat lower sum than the existing vouchers had been discussed. Last year, adult residents received EUR 200 and underage residents EUR 50.

Introduced with the third emergency coronavirus package amid the epidemic in 2020 in the total amount of EUR 357 million, tourism vouches were initially to be used by the end of last year, but were later extended until the end of 2021.

Until the middle of this week, over 924,000 vouchers have been redeemed or services booked to be paid with them, which translates to almost EUR 132 million, said Zajc.

The government has so far provided over EUR 450 million to the hospitality and tourism sector, which includes the events industry and passenger transport, said Zajc.

Some 40% of the funds were allocated directly to preserve jobs, while liquidity loans have also been available, alongside another EUR 46 million for the coverage of operating costs through two tenders.

The state secretary said the bill would be discussed by the expert council for tourism next week, and then sent to the Economic and Social Council for debate.

STA, 26 May 2021 - Slovenia formally remains in tier yellow of coronavirus restrictions, despite meeting the conditions for the green tier, where most restrictions would be lifted. The current regime will remain in place until 6 June, save for some changes to rules governing the convention industry, the government decided on Wednesday.

Jump to changes at the border…

The Health Ministry's advisory group on Covid-19 led by Mateja Logar, proposed the government not to ease any more measures yet despite the fact that the rolling seven-day average of new cases dropped below 300 on Tuesday, which is a condition for moving to the green tier.

"Given that we are still in the state of epidemic it would be a bit illogical to lift all restrictions," Logar told the STA before the government session.

She said the ministries had been tasked with presenting proposals for easing restrictions while the country is still in the epidemic and afterwards. They are to be discussed by the Covid-19 group on Monday.

National coordinator of the Covid-19 vaccination logistics Jelko Kacin told the press earlier today that there had been some last weekend where many people had gathered and that experts were monitoring the consequences of these events in the regions where they had taken place.

When the incubation period expires for the attendants next week, it will be possible to assess whether new local outbreaks of infections can be expected and how massive they could be, he said.

Kacin did not specify which events may be problematic, but there was significant merry-making in Murska Sobota after the local football club won the first title of national champion.

He said they were still very concerned about what lifting of restrictions in sports could cause.

The plan at the moment seems to be gradual lifting of restrictions. "We will not miss out on anything if we keep the current regime for another weekend," he said.

The government also slightly amended the rules for convention industry, which was allowed to resume on 21 May under the condition that employees are either tested, vaccinated or reconvalescent, and visitors move only in one direction.

While initially the number of persons was limited to one person per 10 square metres, now the number of persons in closed public spaces or open air venues with fixed seats will be restricted to 50% of seating capacity with one seat empty between visitors.

In open-air venues with no fixed seats, the seats will have to be placed one metre apart. In open-air venues with no seats, visitors will have to keep a distance of at least 1.5 metres.

Slight easing of border restrictions, new red list of countries confirmed

STA, 26 May 2021 - The government has amended the decree governing coronavirus restrictions on borders. Effective on 30 May, accompanied children under 15 will not need to have a Covid certificate and the red list of countries will be split to lower- and higher-risk countries, designated as light and dark red.

Children under 15 who cross the border in groups accompanied by teachers or custodians, or who travel with family members who are not required to quarantine, will not have to produce a negative test to avoid quarantine.

Covid certificates from Serbia will be recognised, after the move had been announced by both countries' foreign ministers yesterday.

Since early May, Slovenia also recognises negative PCR tests done in Serbia as well as in all EU and Schengen zone members, Australia, Israel, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, the UK, and the US. At airports tests from Turkey are recognised as well.

Covid certificates proving that the passenger has had Covid-19 in the past six months are also recognised from all these countries.

The red list of high-risk countries has been split into light red and dark red.

Countries are placed on the dark red list when the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population exceeds 500, there is increased risk of more virulent Covid-19 variants, or when the number of weekly tests they perform is below 300 per 100,000 population.

Among EU and Schengen zone countries, the dark red lists contains only individual administrative units of France, Croatia, Lithuania, Netherlands and Sweden, plus 38 third countries.

For the light red list, the thresholds are a 14-day incidence of 50-100 and the test positivity rate of 4% or higher, or when the 14-day incidence is 150-500 cases.

The remaining EU and Schengen zone members plus 86 third countries are on the light red list.

It was not immediately clear from the press release after the government session whether the entry requirements for light red and dark red countries will be different.

The news portal 24ur reports they will be the same, adding that the new dark red list was introduced for the sake of having a single standard at the EU level.

More details on the red list and crossing the border in general, from the official government site (in English)