STA, 27 May 2021 - The National Assembly has adopted 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.

This is seen as a way to convince owners of empty flats who are hesitant about renting for fear of soured relations with tenants to enter the rental market.

In this scheme, tenants would pay non-profit rent, while some of the gap to commercial rent would be covered by the state.

It is believed that thousands of flats are currently idle, though there are no reliable numbers.

The national Housing Fund will have pre-emptive right to buy municipal land designated for construction to build apartment buildings.

The government believes that up to 10,000 new public rental apartments could be available within five to ten years as a result of the new legislation.

The law also brings the first rise in non-profit rents since 2007 but also higher subsidies for eligible tenants.

Among the changes the bill brings is also a lower quorum of home-owners in blocks of flats needed to approve works for which a construction permit is needed.

The legislation has been welcomed by the real estate industry and won some bipartisan support in parliament, where it was confirmed in a 52:1 vote yesterday evening.

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: 

Prime Minister Janša survives impeachment vote

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša survived an impeachment vote in parliament as 42 deputies voted in favour and 44 against. A 46-vote majority would have been required to impeach him. The motion was sponsored by the LMŠ, SD, Left and SAB, who accused Janša of violating several articles of the constitution and laws pertaining to healthcare, media, and the state prosecution. LMŠ deputy Jani Möderndorfer described Janša's conduct as "arbitrary, authoritarian, harmful and dangerous" and "in ridicule of democracy and his own country and people". Janša dismissed the claims saying the impeachment motion contained "so many absurd things that it does not make sense to answer all of them, and it does not make sense to quarrel about that". He said Slovenia was not in for a disaster as claimed by the opposition, but had very optimistic times ahead.

Janša counting on close cooperation with EU Parliament during presidency

BRUSSELS, Belgium/LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša highlighted the EU's resilience and post-pandemic recovery as key topics of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency at today's virtual meeting with the European Parliament's Conference of Presidents. Slovenia will cooperate closely with the Parliament, Janša said. He also highlighted cybersecurity and the Conference on the Future of Europe, and proposed the creation of an European institute for constitutional law. European Parliament President David Sassoli said many issues which would need to be tackled during Slovenia's presidency had been discussed. The financing of the STA was also discussed. Janša provided his explanation about the financing, Sassoli said, adding that the Parliament deemed press freedom an important matter.

Pahor receives senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi

LJUBLJANA - Yang Jiechi, the director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), was received by President Borut Pahor. The president's office said in a press release that Pahor and Yang had exchanged views on the topical issues in the international community and called for stronger bilateral relations. Pahor pointed to the importance of multilateralism and responsibility for global peace and development for the benefit of the present and future generations.

Govt could annul procedure to pick delegated prosecutors

LJUBLJANA - The government could vote on a proposal to annul the procedure to appoint Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors as early as tomorrow, and then publish a new call for applications. According to Delo, the proposal to annul the procedure, labelled internal, has been submitted by the acting secretary general of the government, Janja Garvas Hočevar. PM Janez Janša said the government would check the appointment procedure Thursday to decide whether to proceed with it or repeat it. State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa sees this as an arbitrary and unlawful invasion of independence of state prosecution.

Slovenia remains in yellow tier of Covid restrictions

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia remains in tier yellow of coronavirus restrictions, despite meeting the conditions for the green tier. The current regime will remain in place until 6 June, save for some changes to rules governing the convention industry, the government decided. The decision comes after the Health Ministry's advisory group on Covid-19 proposed that measures not be eased. National coordinator of the Covid-19 vaccination logistics Jelko Kacin said there had been some events last weekend where many people had gathered and that experts were monitoring the situation in these regions now.

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

LJUBLJANA - The government amended the decree governing coronavirus restrictions on borders. Effective on 30 May, accompanied children under 15 will not need to have a Covid certificate to avoid quarantine when they cross the border in groups accompanied by teachers or custodians or travel with family members who are not required to quarantine. The red list of countries will be split to lower- and higher-risk countries, designated as light and dark red. Covid certificates from Serbia will be recognised, after the move had been announced by both countries' foreign ministers yesterday.

Furlough payments extended until end of June

LJUBLJANA - The government decided to extend the furlough scheme by another month, until the end of June, in a bid to reduce the risk that companies facing slow demand or a negative productivity shock start laying off workers. Government data show furlough subsidies cost the treasury EUR 533 million through 3 May and benefited over 214,000 workers at almost 32,000 companies. The one-month extension is projected to cost EUR 28 million.

Covid-19: 7-day average drops below 300

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 388 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as the 7-day average of daily coronavirus cases dropped below 300 to 287, meaning Slovenia has reached the threshold to move to tier green, the mildest tier of restrictions. Another five Covid-19 patients died, fresh government data show. The positivity rate was 9.2%, same as the day before. The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals fell to 277 this morning, with 85 still in intensive care, which is seven fewer than yesterday. The latest government data show some 20% of adults have been fully inoculated.

Vaccine supply expected to improve as of next week

LJUBLJANA - After Slovenia's vaccination centres reported they have been receiving fewer Covid-19 vaccines this week than they have ordered, Jelko Kacin, the national vaccination logistics coordinator said that more doses would be available in June, and that a major shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine was expected this Friday. While two-thirds of all doses are currently used for the first jab, the increased supply means that next week two-thirds of all doses will be intended for first jabs.

Zorčič: In case of 46 votes, we have a new coalition

LJUBLJANA - Speaker Igor Zorčič said that the National Assembly will vote on the coalition's proposal to dismiss him as parliamentary speaker on Friday, unless an MP proposes the item be removed from the agenda. He said he had put the proposals of appointments and dismissals on Friday's agenda of the ongoing extraordinary plenary session. Asked whether he could still step down before the scheduled vote, Zorčič said that the National Assembly should count oneself, even if that means a vote on his office.

IMF commends Slovenia's response to Covid, says consolidation must follow

WASHINGTON, US - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) commended Slovenia's "swift, substantial, and well-coordinated policy responses" to the pandemic following consultations with the authorities earlier in May, as it stressed that once the recovery is entrenched, the focus should shift toward consolidation. While a strong economic rebound is expected as the pandemic abates, "the outlook is clouded by significant uncertainty and risks are tilted to the downside."

10th Africa Day conference dedicated to water management

LJUBLJANA - The participants of the ongoing 10th Africa Day international virtual conference, which is dedicated to water management, agreed that cooperation between Europe and Africa was of key importance in order to ensure access to drinking water for all. The event is held under the auspices of President Borut Pahor, who said that water was an exceptionally important topic that should be paid the maximum possible attention everywhere in the world. Both he and FM Anže Logar pointed to security challenges related to management of water resources.

NGOs want inquiry into targeting of foreign protesters

LJUBLJANA - Several NGOs warned that police identified and fined mostly foreigners ahead of and during last week's protests in Ljubljana, which they see as inadmissible ethical profiling. The Slovenian Philanthropy, Amnesty International Slovenia and the Peace Institute stressed the right to protest, in particular for the Palestinian community in Slovenia, which they said was violated last Friday. The Human Rights Ombudsman is investigating the matter.

Ex-Maribor Archdiocese treasurer to publish book, points finger at Vatican

LJUBELJ - Mirko Krašovec, the Maribor Archdiocese's ex-treasurer who has been cleared of EU funds abuse charges after two retrials, will publish a book to give his take on the developments leading to the archdiocese's financial collapse and the role of its two financial holdings as part of the financial crisis ten years ago. In the 600-page book that is about to be published, he proposes establishing an independent commission to look into all the circumstances of the collapse, pointing the finger at the archdiocese's disloyal business partners from Slovenia and Italy, "foremost from the Vatican Bank".

Equal opportunities ombudsman says deaf disadvantaged in education

LJUBLJANA - In a special report on deaf people in the education system, Advocate of the Principle of Equality Miha Lobnik notes that they are disadvantaged when it comes to exercising their rights. He called on the relevant authorities to ensure greater and more active protection of deaf people and users of the Slovenian sign language from discrimination. What speaks about people with deafness and hearing loss being in a worse position is data on education, which show that in 2011 only 1% of them had higher education, while this share in the entire population stands at 17%, Lobnik's office said.

Waters act referendum proponents convinced voters will say no

LJUBLJANA - The proponents of the referendum on changes to the waters act, scheduled for 11 July, believe that they will be able to convince the voters to reject what they see as controversial legislation despite the unfavourable date. They expect a difficult campaign ahead in which the other side could mislead people and instigate divisions. The initiative for the referendum was given by an alliance of green non-governmental organisations.

May Salon 2021 brings review of ceramics, drawings & sculptures

LJUBLJANA - The annual May Salon, the country's oldest art exhibition, is opening tonight in Ljubljana, bringing an exhibition of ceramics, while drawings and sculptures will be displayed at the end of June in the city of Koper. Ceramics will be put on show as part of May Salon, the annual exhibition of the Slovenian Association of Fine Arts Societies (ZDSLU), at two venues in Ljubljana until 1 July.

STA, 26 May 2021 - Several NGOs have warned that police identified and fined mostly foreigners ahead of and during last week's protests in Ljubljana, which they see as inadmissible ethical profiling. The Human Rights Ombudsman is investigating the matter.

The Slovenian Philanthropy, Amnesty International Slovenia and the Peace Institute stressed the right to protest, in particular for the Palestinian community in Slovenia, which they said was violated last Friday.

"The European Court of Human Rights says the right to peaceful assembly is a fundamental right in a democratic society and just like the freedom of expression it is one of the foundations of such a society.

"But rather than honouring this right the Slovenian police tried to physically remove peaceful protesters ... and issued a number of fines," the NGOs wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

They said that fines had been issued to people with "different traumatic and tragic stories", who have come a long way to reach safety, who have seen their relatives, friends, acquaintances injured or killed, and whose homes have been destroyed.

The NGOs called on police to stop persecuting and physically harassing protesters.

The latest weekly cycling protest, held last Friday in Ljubljana city centre, coincided with an event staged by a movement for the Slovenian Palestinian community with many of the protesters carrying Palestinian flags.

At the event, Palestinians shared their stories, calling for freedom for Palestine and condemning actions by Israel as "genocide". They also protested against the Israeli flag being raised on the Slovenian government building.

Access to the government building was blocked by the police. There were also pushing and altercation between the protesters and the police and two protesters were apprehended to be identified and later released.

STA, 26 May 2021 - A Slovenian citizen attempted to enter Austria at the Lavamünd border crossing near Klagenfurt on Wednesday morning using a fake coronavirus test result, the Austrian police have reported as quoted by the Austrian Press Agency (APA).

The 44-year-old handed to border officials a folder containing a number of test results, including one that was legit and dated 1 March and 13 others that were forged. The man entered the test dates on the fake ones himself, the APA said.

To enter Austria one must show either proof of recovery from Covid-19 or vaccination or a valid negative test result issued either in English or German. Moreover, a pre-travel clearance has to be obtained by registering at https://entry.ptc.gv.at. Those who cross the Austrian border daily have to do this every 28 days.

STA, 26 May 2021 - Godibodi, a festival of world and popular music that was launched in 2008, will get under way at Ljubljana Castle on Wednesday. A limited number of visitors will be able to indulge in eight live concerts over the course of four nights to discover up-and-coming Slovenian music artists. The festival will be live-streamed as well.

"Four nights will feature eight diverse concerts with three album premieres and five premieres of new music projects, two of which are festival productions, one is a project by Samo and Barbara Vovk and one is the latest project by excellent vocalist Metod Banko," said Janez Dovč, the artistic director of the festival.

The opening acts are guitarist Blaž Mencinger with a blend of pop and jazz tunes, and singer and guitarist Eva Hren, whose performance will be rooted in genres ranging from world music to jazz.

The second night will feature a duo, guitarist and singer Samo Vovk and violist Barbara Grahor Vovk, who perform a spectrum of genres; from jazz, funk, fusion to popular, classical and folk music. Their project 2 + 3 will include a jazz trio and some improvisation.

This will be followed by award-winning singer-songwriter Robert Petan, who will present his debut album.

Folk music will dominate the third night, when two groups will present their new albums. Marko Banda is a group from the north-eastern Prekmurje region, so their repertoire also includes some Hungarian songs, while the group Vruja from the Istria region performs in Slovenian, Italian and Croatian dialects.

The final night will feature two emerging Slovenian musicians - singer and guitarist Metod Banko and singer Tomaž Hostnik.

PROGRAM:
26. 5.: Blaž Mencinger, Eva Hren & Goran Rukavina Quintet
27. 5.: Samo and Barbara Vovk, Robert Petan
28.5.: Marko banda, Vruja
29.5.: Metod Banko, Tomaž Hostnik & Nerodnozabavni ansambel

Listen to radio.godibodi.si or visit the website for tickets and more

STA, 25 May 2021 - Slovenians will head to the polls on 11 July to vote on amendments to the water act that have pitted environmentalists, who say the legislation paves the way for the build-up of coastal land, against the government, which says their claims are misguided.

The referendum was supposed to be held on 4 July, but it was pushed forward by a week after it was determined that recent electoral law changes had inadvertently left out a few settlements with roughly 800 inhabitants.

The delay, the coalition argued, is needed so that electoral law can be fixed in time. The opposition countered that this was merely a manoeuvre designed to push the date deeper into the summer season.

"If the [coalition] cannot ban the referendum, at least it will adjust the date so that turnout is minimised, because we know that a quorum is required to vote down a law," LMŠ deputy Tina Heferle said.

The vote will be held after an alliance of green and leftist NGOs gathered well over the 40,000 signatures required to call a referendum.

The NGOs have focused on amendments concerning the development of coastal areas that they say would be a boon to private investors and could jeopardise not just surface waters but also groundwater in the long term.

The government has dismissed the allegations as fabricated, with Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak reiterating today that the legislation would achieve the exact opposite of what the environmentalists claim.

He said it brought more money for maintenance of waterways and narrowed the scope for construction in coastal areas.

Left MP Nataša Sukič wondered whether this means all environmentalists in the country were ignorant and unable to understand the legislative provision.

A law is rejected in a referendum if the majority vote against and the no votes represent at least a fifth of all eligible voters.

The last referendum, held in 2017 and concerning the construction of the Divača-Koper rail track, was unsuccessful.

Waters act referendum proponents convinced voters will say no

STA, 26 May 2021 - The proponents of the referendum on changes to the waters act, scheduled for 11 July, believe that they will be able to convince the voters to reject what they see as controversial legislation despite the unfavourable date. They expect a difficult campaign ahead in which the other side could mislead people and instigate divisions.

The date was set by the National Assembly on Tuesday after the initially proposed date, 4 July, was pushed forward after it was determined that recent electoral law changes had inadvertently left out a few settlements with roughly 800 residents.

The delay, the coalition argued, is needed so that the electoral law can be fixed in time, while the opposition countered that this was merely a manoeuvre designed to push the date deeper into the summer season.

The initiative for the referendum was given by an alliance of green non-governmental organisations who say the legislation paves the way for more construction on coastal land and river banks, against the government, which says their claims are misguided.

Commenting on the date, Uroš Macerl of the Drinking Water Movement told the STA on Wednesday that it was "logical that they wanted to set the most unfavourable date and push it deep into the holiday season. This had in a way been expected."

According to him, the postponement of the date and the "insulting dialogue" in parliament is proof that the proponents of the changes are afraid and aware that "we have managed to bring a large number of people of different views together".

The proponents of the referendum are ready to encourage voters to hit the polls in the largest possible numbers despite the difficult conditions and the unfavourable date. Macerl expects a difficult campaign that would attempt to divide people.

"They believe that we have left and right water, but people are not that stupid," said Macerl, who believes that people of different creeds, including political, will rally around the goal to protect drinking water for all Slovenians.

"We must protect drinking water for future generations as the greatest asset Slovenia has," he said, noting that the changes allowed construction of hotels, shops and shopping malls along the sea coast and river and lake banks.

The new law will be rejected if a majority of those going to the polls vote against it, yet only if at least 20% of all eligible voters go to the polls. The last referendum in 2017, concerning a huge rail project, failed on both counts.

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: 

Referendum on changes to water act to be held on 11 July

LJUBLJANA - MPs decided that Slovenians will head to the polls on 11 July to vote on amendments to the water act that have pitted environmentalists, who say the legislation paves the way for the build-up of coastal land, against the government, which says their claims are misguided. The referendum was supposed to be held on 4 July, but it was pushed forward by a week after it was determined that recent electoral law changes had inadvertently left out a few settlements with roughly 800 inhabitants. The delay, the coalition argued, is needed so that electoral law can be fixed in time, while the opposition countered that this was merely a manoeuvre designed to push the date deeper into the summer season.

Ilešič not confirmed as EU Court judge

LJUBLJANA - Marko Ilešič will not get a new term as EU Court judge after the National Assembly voted by 37 in favour and 43 against in a secret ballot. Ilešič was nominated by President Borut Pahor after consultations with parliamentary factions and was endorsed by the Privileges and Credentials Commission, but now he fell nine votes short of the required absolute majority. Six ballots were invalid. It was never clear whether he enjoyed the necessary support since almost all parties kept mum about their voting intentions. Ilešič has been representing Slovenia at the court since 2004.

Janša says Belarus debate shows EU firmly behind its values

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Prime Minister Janez Janša hailed the European Council's decision to step up sanctions against Belarus, saying the debate had shown the EU standing firmly behind its values. "Us placing human rights and political freedoms of an individual, human, in the centre is the right answer to what has happened," Janša said in a reference to Belarus forcing the diversion of a passenger flight in order to arrest a dissident journalist.

Slovenia, Serbia agree to recognise vaccination certificates

LJUBLJANA - FM Anže Logar and his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selaković agreed on a mutual recognition of vaccination certificates as they held talks that focused on bilateral relations and Slovenia's forthcoming presidency of the Council of the EU. Logar noted that the Western Balkans was one of the priorities of the presidency, with the planned informal EU-Western Balkans summit expected to open up a series of questions. The ministers agreed that the countries are important business partners, who had doubled bilateral trade in the last ten years, to bring it above EUR 1.1 billion last year.

Minister Hojs presents Slovenia's EU presidency priorities in Malta

VELLATE, Malta - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs met his Maltese counterpart Byron Camilleri to present the priorities of the coming Slovenian EU presidency. Hojs highlighted the role of efforts to strengthen the Schengen area, the ministry said. "We will devote efforts to a search for appropriate solutions regarding negotiations over legislative acts that are part of the migration and asylum package," said Hojs, noting that another key priority would be the strengthening of the Schengen area.

Police results in 2020 encouraging, public trust lower

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian police leadership presented the annual report on police work in 2020, saying the results were encouraging, although the Covid epidemic presented an unprecedented situation for the police force in its entire 30 years. Despite the good work, a public opinion poll has shown decreasing trust in the force, which Deputy Police Commissioner Tomaž Pečjak commented on by saying that the results were being taken seriously and the police were already working on restoring trust.

Covid-19: 7-day average drops to 309, hospitalisations below 300

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's rolling average of daily coronavirus cases has dropped to 309, just above the threshold to move to the green tier, as Covid-19 hospitalisations have already fallen under 300, fresh government data show. Out of 3,558 PCR tests performed yesterday, 326 new cases were confirmed for a positivity rate of 9.2%. A total of 44,113 people were screened with rapid antigen tests.

Vaccines in short supply this week

LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR - Slovenia's vaccination centres are receiving fewer anti-Covid vaccines this week than they have ordered because supplies by producers other than Pfizer are still rather unreliable, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) told the STA. This week, vaccination centres will receive all the ordered vaccines for second jabs, but only 70% of the ordered mRNA vaccines, that is by Pfizer or Moderna, and just 20% of the ordered supplies of the Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.

Record workload for Information Commissioner in 2020

LJUBLJANA - The Office of the Information Commissioner received a record number of applications, complaints and queries last year, according to the annual report submitted to the National Assembly. A total of 565 complaints were received, and the number of requests for opinion rose by almost a third due to high demand for information about spending on public health measures. More than 40% of the complaints refer to state bodies and a high share of those concern failure by the competent authorities to answer freedom of information requests. The office says this is worrying.

New FURS head to speed up digitalisation

LJUBLJANA - Ivan Simič, who was appointed interim head of Financial Administration (FURS) last week, plans to simplify FURS's operations and services as well as speed up digitalisation. But he does not plan to keep the post for more than six months, he told the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija last night. His term starts on 1 June and will last until a new head is appointed, but no longer than the end of November.

Triglav shareholders to get dividend of EUR 1.7 per share

LJUBLJANA - The annual general meeting insurance company Zavarovalnica Triglav decided on Tuesday to pay out a dividend of EUR 1.7 gross per share, as proposed by the management and supervisory boards. EUR 38.7 million or just over half of last year's consolidated profit will be allocated for dividends.

EUR 0.85 dividend confirmed for Sava Re shareholders

LJUBLJANA - The shareholders of the insurance group Sava Re confirmed at annual general meeting (AGM) the dividend payout of EUR 0.85 gross per share for 2020. The AGM representing 79.85% of the voting rights endorsed the proposal by the management and supervisory boards that EUR 13.17 million out of EUR 23.81 in distributable profit from the end of last year be allocated for dividends. They also appointed two new members of the supervisory board and extended the term of another supervisor.

New truck entrance to Koper port inaugurated

KOPER - A new entrance for trucks to the port of Koper was inaugurated to reroute heavy cargo traffic from the main roads just outside the city of Koper. Luka Koper, which operates the port, has also a new car park for 6,000 vehicles and a new petrol station. The Bertoki entry to the port, which cost almost EUR 5 million, was inaugurated by Luka Koper chairman Dimitrij Zadel and Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec.

Slovenia gets additional EUR 9m in React-EU funds

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia will get an additional EUR 8.9 million from the React-EU facility under a European Commission decision that allocates an extra EUR 286.5 million to France, Malta and Slovenia. The funds will be allocated to support the most deprived population groups, the Commission said. React-EU is a cohesion instrument worth EUR 47.5 billion that is part of the EU's recovery and resilience fund.

Business sentiment continues to improve

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's business sentiment has continued to improve in May for the sixth month in a row as the relevant indicator was up by 6.2 percentage points over April. The latest figure, standing at 5.6 percentage points, was also up by 6.8 percentage points on the long-term average, the Statistics Office said.

STA being put forward for state decoration

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Association of Journalists (DNS) will put forward a proposal to President Borut Pahor to decorate the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) on its 30th anniversary. DNS head Petra Lesjak Tušek announced the move as the fundraising campaign for the STA entered its final week, having raised EUR 246,300 in donations.

Police arrest almost 60 members of criminal ring

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian police arrested about 60 members of the Montenegro-based international criminal ring Kavački Klan, which also had an arm in Slovenia, the newspaper Večer reported. The group trafficked drugs and weapons. Kavački Klan is based Montenegro, but is also active in Serbia and other European countries.

Slovenian women shooters win silver at European championships

OSIJEK, Croatia - Slovenian shooters Urška Kuharič, Živa Dvoršak and Klavdija Jerovšek won silver in the women's 10m air rifle team event at the 2021 European Shooting Championships, having to concede a 2:16 defeat against Russia in the final. Slovenia had a score of 623.2 points to place second among the eight top-scoring teams today. Kuharič was the best Slovenian shooter (209.5 points), followed by Dvoršak (207.7 points) and Jerovšek (206 points).

STA, 25 May 2021 - The ruling Democrats (SDS) have defended a draft resolution they plan to adopt at the upcoming congress and which warns about the possibility of civil war and leftist extremism, as the opposition stepped up criticism of a document they claim constitutes scaremongering.

"If anyone thinks advocacy of constitutionality and respect for the Slovenian constitution is controversial, there's something wrong with them," Branko Grims, a senior lawmaker for the SDS, told the press on Tuesday.

The SDS wants to preserve the constitutional order, democracy and security in Slovenia, and that is the only clear message of the resolution, he said.

The statement comes after several media leaked a resolution the party plans to adopt at its congress in June and which warns of the dangers of the opposition Left, extremists, leftists and the escalation of tensions. [See more here]

It says that Slovenia has been experiencing street violence perpetrated by extremists who are backed by leftist political forces and often have ties with foreign movements, describing the SDS a party that promotes democracy, the rule of law and high standards to protect human rights.

Grims alleged the Left plans "to drive businessmen into the sea with bayonets", noting that "those who agree with that and tolerate that are driving Slovenia into civil war".

He was referring to a manifesto widely circulated by government supporters on social media that was attributed to the Left but which the Left said was completely fabricated and had nothing to do with the party.

"The Left should prove what is true and what is not true," he said, adding that a Left MP had posted that manifesto on his Facebook page.

Asked whether such resolutions will not end up worsening political tensions, Grims said the political arena was being "heated up by leftists who have gone crazy on the streets of Ljubljana".

The resolution was already condemned yesterday, and the opposition parties stepped up their criticism today.

"The deeper he is in [trouble], the more radical his moves, his latest being scaremongering with civil war," Left leader Luka Mesec said about the SDS leader, Prime Minister Janez Janša.

He sees the resolution as a sign he and the party are afraid of the Left and were trying to demonise it.

"Unfortunately, we're in a country where the prime minister and his party depict a topsy-turvy world, where those of us who are on the front lines defending democracy are becoming perpetrators in the eyes of these people - the people who are actually demolishing institutions."

LMŠ leader Marjan Šarec said the SDS messed up everything and was now resorting to ideology, noting that such manifestos are primarily designed to consolidate the party.

"Talking about the possibility of civil war is utterly abhorrent. We know the situation is not the way they are trying to depict it. The fact is that 75% of the people did not vote for the SDS and the nation is far from split. The majority of the nation disagrees with the current state," he said.

Social Democrat (SD) president Tanja Fajon described the resolution as "absurd, dangerous and worrisome, because it does not warn against civil war, it is menacing".

"Janša is indicating a very dangerous course for the country's future ... he's putting himself above the Constitution," according to Fajon.

SAB leader Alenka Bratušek said her party could not believe that the SDS "can really be so crazy". The party is convinced this is a diversionary tactic to divert attention from the "disastrous state of public finances, public health and foreign policy".

SDS warns about leftists, extremists in draft manifesto

STA, 24 May 2021 - The ruling Democrats (SDS) warns of the dangers of the opposition Left, extremists, leftists and the escalation of circumstances in one of the five draft manifestos sent to its local branches ahead of the party congress, which is expected to be held on 19 June.

The SDS sent the drafts to the party's municipal and city committees, including a draft resolution titled For Defence of Constitutional Foundations of the Slovenian State, the news portal 24ur.com reported.

The draft warns of the above-mentioned dangers, pointing to an attack on Slovenia's democracy. It says that Slovenia has been experiencing street violence perpetrated by extremists who are backed by leftist political forces and often have ties with foreign movements.

The proposed manifesto analyses the political situation in Slovenia, describing the SDS as the only Slovenian party with everything in order and long-term political organisations in place. The party finds these to be the attributes of other serious parties worldwide.

What also sets the SDS apart from other Slovenian parties is the fact that it is capable of leading the country at any time, the draft reads.

There are too many impromptu parties in Slovenia, while the traditional ones are dying out, the SDS thinks. As the launch of new parties and new faces is mainly common for the left pole of the political spectrum, there are many cases of completely incompetent appointments at the governmental level with grave consequences, says the party.

The SDS meanwhile sees itself as a party that promotes democracy, the rule of law and high standards to protect human rights.

The party says that Slovenian democracy has not matured, noting that the situation has been worsening since the "extremist political party Left" made it to parliament in 2014.

According to the SDS, the Left's programme is the first by any party or movement that is directly at odds with the Constitution.

Moreover, the SDS says that the extremists' supporters could be found in EU institutions as well, particularly the European Commission and European Parliament, where they "plot against the [Slovenian] government and prime minister and accuse him of curtailing media freedom".

Noting that it will safeguard democracy and the Constitution, the party warns of the risk of the escalation in the polarisation, including the risk of a civil war.

Responding to the draft, the Left said that the SDS was again painting a picture that had nothing to do with reality.

"While they themselves with their government are bringing down the media, democratic institutions and courts, they portray themselves as democrats in the manifesto, as a party that would defend democracy. But facts speak for themselves," says the Left, warning that Slovenia is turning into an authoritarian regime.

"To depict themselves as saviours they naturally need scapegoats. That is why they pointed to the Left in the manifesto," the Left adds, describing itself as a thorn in the SDS's side that is not afraid of the ruling party's intimidation and manipulation and will do all it can to unseat this party, "which is growing into a criminal organisation", via an election as soon as possible.

Tanja Fajon, the leader of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), has also responded, saying that "the SDS is not cautioning against a civil war, but threatening with it to legitimatise in advance repression against those who think differently".

"There is only one option: peace. There is only one strategy: cooperation. There is only one solution for Slovenia: early election," she said.

STA, 25 May 2021- The Slovenian police have arrested about 60 members of the Montenegro-based international criminal ring Kavački Klan, which also had an arm in Slovenia, the newspaper Večer reported on Tuesday. The group trafficked drugs and weapons.

Police have recently arrested about 60 suspects, who are supposedly members of a well organised international crime group Kavački Klan that is based Montenegro, but is also active in Serbia and other European countries. They are accused of trafficking in drugs and weapons, the daily reports.

The recently exposed Slovenian arm of Kavački Klan was active since 2018, the police and the supreme state prosecutor's office said. The Slovenian police in cooperation with foreign security services have caught the group about a week ago, when the detectives and tactical police units raided 23 houses and arrested numerous suspects in the areas of Ljubljana, Kranj, Maribor and Koper.

Six suspects were taken into custody as they are presumed to have very high positions in the organisation. The police would not reveal whether they seized drugs, weapons or money as the investigation is ongoing.

But according to Večer's unofficial information, the crime group allegedly trafficked several kilogrammes of various drugs from the Netherlands and Spain on a weekly basis. They were then sold in Slovenia, but also exported, mainly to Austria and Germany. The ring also had a subunit for drug trafficking with Italy, while most of the weapons trafficking was allegedly conducted between Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia and the Netherlands.

STA, 25 May 2021 - Slovenia's vaccination centres are receiving fewer anti-Covid vaccines this week than they have ordered because there are not enough at the moment, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) has told the STA. This is because supplies by producers other than Pfizer are still rather unreliable.

Slovenia is not ordering vaccines directly from individual producers, but through a joint EU public procurement mechanism.

Once the vaccines are in the country, NIJZ distributes them equally among all vaccination centres based on vaccination priority groups.

This week, vaccination centres will receive all the ordered vaccines for second jabs.

They will moreover receive 70% of the ordered mRNA vaccines, that is by Pfizer or Moderna, which are intended for first jabs of six priority groups. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine supplies are even scarcer, so the centres will receive only 20% of what they have ordered.

NIJZ provided the explanation to the STA yesterday after local community health centres in Ljubljana, Maribor and Koper said they had received much fewer vaccines than ordered for this week.

The Ljubljana vaccination centre received only a third of the amount it had ordered, while the Maribor vaccination centre received around 50%.

Simona Repar Bornšek from the Ljubljana Community Health Centre said they had ordered some 12,000 jabs for this week, but received only 35%, so they will vaccinate only those waiting for their second jab.

"We are some 8,000 shots short, for around three vaccination days," she explained on Tuesday, adding that "things are changing on a weekly basis, so I don't know if we should at all invite people to vaccination if we don't have the vaccines".