STA, 7 July 2022 - Petrol, Slovenia's second largest electricity provider and fourth largest gas provider, will increase prices in September, following suit of the competition. Prices are expected to rise further next year.

The price of electricity at Petrol will be EUR 0.14145 per kWh in peak periods, EUR 0.08778 in off-peak periods with a flat rate of EUR 0.12804. The prices will be uniform for existing and new customers with loyalty club members eligible for a discount.

The average household will see their electricity bill go up by 13% or about eight euros per month.

Gas will set households back EUR 0.08779 per kWh, which is a 43% or EUR 24 per month increase for the average household.

Petrol is not the first provider to increase prices. Gen-I has already increased gas prices, raising the average household bill by a third and will raise electricity prices in August by 18% per average household.

ECE and Energija Plus have already increased prices, while E3 and Elektro Energija are doing so in July, increasing the average household's bill by a fifth or a quarter, respectively, according to calculations by the newspaper Večer.

According to the 2021 report from the Energy Agency, Gen-I held the largest market share among electricity providers at just under 21%, followed by Petrol at 15%, then ECE, Energija Plus and E3. Last year Petrol and E3 saw the largest market share growth, while ECE and Energija Plus saw the largest drop. At the start of this year Gen-I has purportedly gained the most after some smaller providers withdrew.

Even after the price increases Gen-I and Petrol remain the cheapest, followed by Elektro Energija, while ECE, E3 and Energija Plus are significantly more pricey.

Geoplin was the largest gas provider with a 43% market share, followed by Gen-I and Energetika Ljubljana with 12 and 11%, respectively. The fourth was Petrol, which along with Gen-I saw their market share grow the most after owners in apartment buildings are no longer considered commercial customers.

Petrol, Adriaplin and Gen-I were the most affordable providers, while Energetika Ljubljana, Plinarna Maribor and Energija Plus were the most expensive amongst the large providers. After the price increase Petrol will be somewhere in the middle.

Energy providers emphasise electricity prices on the stock market are almost six times higher than a year ago and the increase is even higher for gas.

Facing a difficult situation with no good prospects and a large demand, the providers expect prices to rise in the coming year to rates of the most expensive providers.

The government has announced measures to mitigate the energy crisis, but it remains unclear when the measures will be ready and who will take on the financial burden.

STA, 7 July 2022 - The family of a 56-year-old who died of lung cancer almost ten years ago will receive EUR 77,000 in damages after his pulmonologist at the Nova Gorica hospital failed to diagnose him with lung cancer, several Slovenian newspapers report on Thursday.

The Nova Gorica District Court has ruled that the man being diagnosed with lung cancer a year too late reduced his chances of survival.

The man, who was a heavy smoker, came to the hospital in Šempeter pri Gorici in the summer of 2012 because he was short of breath and had difficulty breathing.

Pulmonologist Damjan Birtič suspected that the 5cm growth could be lung cancer but nevertheless treated the patient only with antibiotics.

Since his condition was deteriorating, the patient went to a private clinic, which immediately referred him to Golnik, the main hospital for respiratory diseases. There, he was told in the summer of 2013 that he had advanced lung cancer, and he died a few months later.

His family turned to court seeking damages from the hospital soon after his death. Judge Silvana Pavlin Kuščer now said in her ruling that the hospital had made an inexcusable professional error.

"The specialist doctors at the Dr Franc Derganc Hospital acted unprofessionally and unlawfully by failing to carry out a definitive diagnosis, thus neither confirming nor refuting the malignant process of the right lung," the judge was quoted by the newspapers.

A quicker diagnosis would have allowed the deceased to receive a wider range of treatment and, most likely, a longer survival, she added.

Pulmonologist Birtič is meanwhile being tried for the patient's death at the court's criminal department. He was initially acquitted of charges of negligent treatment and of negligent practising of medicine in March 2019, but the Koper Higher Court overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial.

STA, 6 July 2022 - State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa highlighted a severe shortage of prosecutors in Slovenia as the parliamentary Justice Committee discussed the reports of the state prosecutors' work in 2021, including of the Specialised State Prosecutor's Office.

"In accordance with the decree on the number of public prosecutors, there should be 268 public prosecutors in Slovenia, while there are 200, or 25% fewer, at the moment," he said.

Šketa cited the 2020 report of the Council of Europe's Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, which shows Slovenia had 10.2 public prosecutors per 100,000 residents, compared to the European average of 12.3.

The shortage will become even more severe in the coming years, with Šketa saying "the situation will be extremely critical as the number of cases will be increasing."

Prosecutors are retiring, some are leaving the prosecution service because they are exposed to immense pressure, discredititation and even political attacks, he said.

Even though the state prosecution offices around the country were understaffed, they managed to handle the new caseload in 2021, Šketa noted.

They received a total of 24,658 criminal complaints against offenders and resolved 25,077, 419 more than they received, which is a 101.7% rate, Šketa added.

He highlighted prosecution of banking crime and crime in healthcare as two areas where prosecutors were successful last year.

They were involved in 43 banking crime cases, most of them in courts, and by the end of last year, two convictions were handed down.

The total value of the damage caused or the proceeds obtained in the banking crime cases amounts to EUR 367 million.

A total of 54 individuals, including 46 bankers, and two legal entities were charged.

Two convictions were handed down in healthcare crime cases, but Šketa expects many more this year.

He expects that authorities will also try to tackle systemic corruption in the healthcare sector through other oversight levers and mechanisms.

According to Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan, the report shows that the prosecution performed very well last year despite the epidemic and being understaffed.

She noted that 2021 was the seventh year running that prosecutors managed to handle new cases, that is process more cases than they received.

As for understaffing, she said that as soon as she had taken office, she had lifted the previous government's appointment blockade and named 13 new prosecutors.

The Justice Ministry will now focus on appointing the remaining prosecutors from the ongoing calls for applications, she announced.

During the debate, MP Žan Mahnič of the opposition Democrats (SDS), said that the previous, SDS-led government did not operate "automatically" and approve just any appointment proposal made by the prosecution.

The government checked "who is who and what they had done in the past", said Mahnič, also listing moves by the prosecutors he deems problematic. "Once you look closer, you see that most of the 13 prosecutors do not meet the requirements."

Švarc Pipan responded that interference of politics in prosecutor appointments was contentious and that by listing names of prosecutors who threw out certain cases, he showed that the previous government's assessment of professional decisions was clearly political.

This "is not admissible under the Constitution, and I find it interesting that you would admit in retrospect that the appointment blockade was a political decision based on likeability of substantive assessments of independent state prosecutors," said Švarc Pipan.

The difficult staffing situation was also highlighted by Darja Šlibar, head of the Specialised State Prosecutor's Office.

The office lodged requests for investigations against 103 individuals and legal entities and brought charges against 89 individuals and legal entities last year.

Guilty rulings were passed down on 94 persons, 55 of whom were sentenced to prison and 44 fined.

"The conviction rate was 75%, up from 68% the year before," she said. The total prison sentence time handed down was also higher than in 2020, at 130 years.

STA, 6 July 2022 - Slovenian FM Tanja Fajon and her Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman confirmed their countries' readiness to address open issues through mutual dialogue as they met in Zagreb on Wednesday. Fajon said that in this spirit, the border issue will also be addressed, starting at an informal level and with easier matters. 

Fajon reiterated Slovenia's position that the government will respect the 2017 decision of the Hague-based border arbitration tribunal and insist on its implementation.

However, in the spirit of good cooperation, the government will try to resolve some issues as quickly as possible at informal level to tackle larger issues later on.

Fajon said that she had a sincere and open discussion on the open issues with Grlić Radman. "We agreed to continue the dialogue at an informal, working level and to start working on some concrete, lighter solutions, such as rebuilding bridges that have been neglected for a long time and finding solutions to ease fishing."

Ministrica @tfajon je po pogovoru s hrvaškim ministrom @grlicradman poudarila podporo Slovenije ?? polni integraciji ?? v #EU - vstop v Schengen & evroobmočje. Dogovorila sta se, da se vprašanja, kot je ribolov, rešujejo na delovni ravni. Želimo olajšati življenje ljudi ob meji. pic.twitter.com/oNJ5ZuqsFP

— MFA Slovenia (@MZZRS) July 6, 2022

Grlić Radman said that Croatia had decided to address all of its open issues in bilateral dialogue.

"This is in a way also a challenge for Croatia and Slovenia to show to the world that they are mature countries able to find solutions to a relatively minor issue that has remained from the time of the breakup of former Yugoslavia," he said.

Grlić Radman thanked for Slovenia's support for Croatia's membership of the Schengen and euro areas, as well as of the OECD, saying this will benefit both Croatia and Slovenia.

Fajon added that all the contacts between Slovenia and Croatia and the excellent economic cooperation call for close and good neighbourly cooperation, not only during the tourist season.

"I sincerely wish that Croatia joins the euro zone next year, as this will make life easier for people. I want to help Croatia join the Schengen Area as soon as possible and that we lift internal controls at our borders."

The two ministers agreed that there is a lot of room to further strengthen cooperation, as well as for new initiatives and proposals.

"I'm confident we'll successfully cooperate and take advantage of the opportunities we have as good neighbours and partners within the EU and NATO," said Grlić Radman.

Fajon also informed her counterpart that the government planned to remove the fence along the border with Croatia, which was set up after the 2015/2016 migration crisis, which she believes will increase trust between the two countries.

However, she also said that as Croatia joins the Schengen Area, she would like the southern Schengen border to be as secured as possible.

The ministers also exchanged views on EU topics and security challenges, and looked for opportunities for cooperation in energy.

Fajon reiterated Slovenia's interest in receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the terminal on Croatia's Krk island and in building gas pipelines between the two countries.

Grlić Radman said that due to the war in Ukraine, Croatia decided to expand the Krk LNG terminal's capacity, which would also enable it to supply gas to its neighbours.

The ministers agreed that the two countries' positions on the most important foreign policy issues are very similar, including their interest to encourage the Western Balkans' integration into the EU, their stability and economic development.

The pair also discussed trilateral cooperation with Italy in the northern Adriatic Sea, which will be expanded to internal affairs from the current focus on connectivity, blue economy and environmental protection.

Fajon also met today Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Zoran Milanović. In addition to bilateral relations, the talks with Milanović touched on the situation in South-east Europe, in particular Bosnia-Herzegovina.

As the Croatian president's office said, Milanović reiterated his position on the upcoming elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina to Fajon, noting that it was necessary to ensure legitimate representation of all three constitutive nations in the country.

Milanović expressed his satisfaction with Slovenia's support for Bosnia-Herzegovina to receive the status of an EU candidate country, which the Croatian president also advocates himself.

Fajon and Milanović also talked about the security crisis caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine and discussed Croatia's accession to the eurozone and the Schengen Area, where the Croatian president expects Slovenia's support.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenia, Croatia to start addressing border issue at informal level

ZAGREB - Slovenian FM Tanja Fajon and her Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman confirmed their countries' readiness to address open issues through mutual dialogue as they met in the Croatian capital. Fajon said that in this spirit, the border issue will also be addressed, starting at an informal level and with easier matters. Grlić Radman said that Croatia had decided to address all of its open issues in bilateral dialogue, and thanked Slovenia's for its support for Croatia's membership of the Schengen and euro areas, as well as to the OECD. Fajon also met PM Andrej Plenković and President Zoran Milanović. In addition to bilateral relations, the talks with Milanović touched on the situation in South-east Europe, in particular Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Upper chamber tables legislation introducing provinces

LITIJA - The National Assembly will have to consider a package of three bills that would establish 15 provinces in Slovenia after the National Council decided today to formally table legislation that it has spent nearly three years shepherding through various stages of consultations and deliberations. Under the proposal, Slovenia would have 15 provinces as an intermediary stage of government between the 212 municipalities and the national government, with a special status for the capital Ljubljana.

Insurance sector posts nearly 40% growth in profit for 2021

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's insurance companies posted a combined net profit of EUR 210 million in 2021, an increase of 38% on the year before, in what the Insurance Oversight Agency described as a very successful year. By insurance premiums as a share of GDP, which is at 5%, Slovenia last year placed 16th among the countries for which the OECD releases data, which Čibej said placed it in the middle in terms of insurance market development. Gross written premiums in property and life insurance business were up by 1.6% from 2020 to EUR 2.4 billion (EUR 1.9 billion was property insurance and EUR 528 million life insurance).

Šketa tells MPs there is severe shortage of prosecutors

LJUBLJANA - State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa highlighted a severe shortage of prosecutors in Slovenia as the parliamentary Justice Committee discussed the reports of the state prosecutors' work in 2021, including of the Specialised State Prosecutor's Office. "In accordance with the decree on the number of public prosecutors, there should be 268 public prosecutors in Slovenia, while there are 200, or 25% fewer, at the moment," he said. The shortage will become even more severe in the coming years, with Šketa saying "the situation will be extremely critical as the number of cases will be increasing."

Hungarians offload stake in NovaTV24

LJUBLJANA - After an ownership change at a company publishing the right-wing weekly Demokracija, the news portal Necenzurirano reports that three Hungarian owners have sold their stake in NovaTV24.si, the company running TV channel NovaTV24 in a move that has already been cleared by the Ministry of Culture. The report says the trio sold their 45% stake to Boris Tomašič, director of NovaTV24 and a long-term member of the Democrats (SDS), now an opposition party, for an undisclosed sum.

Court considers potential abuse in deliberating on legitimacy of referendum

LJUBLJANA - In the wake of two referendum petitions, one concerned with the government make-up and one with legislation on communicable diseases, legal experts note that the Constitutional Court takes into account the doctrine of abuse of the legislative referendum when deliberating on the legitimacy of a referendum. Indicators of abuse include a petition calling for a referendum to postpone the enactment of a law. Referendums on some issues, including those rectifying unconstitutionality, are banned.

Anti-graft commission head says integrity still not considered integral

LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption presented to the parliamentary Justice Committee its 2021 report, with its president Robert Šumi expressing regret that strengthening integrity was still considered "higher standard" by most public officials. He observed that some issues, like integrity, conflict of interest and incompatibility of functions have not yet been established as standard, with both the society and public office holders failing to give them appropriate attention.

Group to coordinate Covid hospital admissions set up

LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Danijel Bešič Loredan announced that he had appointed a national task force to coordinate hospital beds and hospital admission of Covid patients. The group will produce clear guidance on how to approach patients infected with coronavirus and patients with Covid symptoms. The group is led by doctor Matjaž Jereb, head of the intensive care unit at the Department of Infectious Diseases at UKC Ljubljana. It will give first instructions to medical organisations tomorrow.

Number of Covid cases continues to grow

LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,470 Covid cases were confirmed in 619 PCR and 4,547 rapid antigen tests in Slovenia on Tuesday. No coronavirus patient died, while 32 were hospitalised due to Covid, of which nine were in intensive care units. The seven-day average of cases reached 994, 62 more than on Monday. The 14-day number of cases per 100,000 was at 564, up 38 from the day before, data from the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ) show.

Equality ombudsman finds ten cases of discrimination in 2021

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Labour Committee discussed the annual report by Slovenia's equal opportunities ombudsman for 2021, which notes that discrimination occurred in ten reported cases. Advocate of the Principle of Equality Miha Lobnik said he had conducted a total of 119 administrative procedures last year, 65 of which had been concluded. He brought to attention the case of a civil servant who was given a lower annual performance assessment just because she was on maternity leave, and the case of homosexual men being denied the opportunity of donating blood, among others.

Court annuls fine over 2020 mask-free gala featuring minister

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana District Court has stopped offence proceedings over mask-wearing rule violations at a charity event organized by the Slovenian Olympic Committee in September 2020 that also featured the then education minister, Simona Kustec. The Health Inspectorate had ordered hundred of euros in fines to be paid, but the court has now ruled the mandatory mask-wearing decree lacked legal grounds, the law firm representing the defendants, told the STA.

Ex-PM Cerar will not enter presidential race

LJUBLJANA - Miro Cerar, a jurist and former prime minister, will not stand for Slovenia's president even though several people from the civil society have encouraged him to run, he wrote on social media. Cerar had received some "serious initiatives from responsible citizens" over the past few months to consider running, but decided against it after giving it thorough reflection. Cerar will stay focused on teaching and research at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law and on his family.

Minority protests planned abolishment of Slavic studies course

KLAGENFURT, Austria - The National Council of Carinthian Slovenians (NSKS) voiced a strong protest against the plan of the University of Klagenfurt to abolish its MA course of Slavic studies. The step has not been agreed in advance with the Slovenian minority in Carinthia, the organisation said. It underlined that the move violated Article 8 of Austrian federal constitution, which prohibits deterioration of the situation of the Slovenian community, and that it was "illogical, going against modern trends and is clearly against the interests of the national community."

Musician Gregor Bezenšek to join the presidential race

LJUBLJANA - Gregor Bezenšek, a musician who founded a charity to help children with rare diseases with his wife after they lost their son to a rare incurable disease, announced his bid for the autumn presidential election. He will run as an independent, vowing to go "sky-high" for people's benefit. He promised to work to overcome divisions and strengthen the Slovenian national identity through music if elected. Like most other candidates he plans to support his bid with voter signatures.

STA, 6 July 2022 - Slovenian musician and charity co-founder Gregor Bezenšek has officially announced his bid for the autumn presidential election. He will run as an independent, vowing to go "sky-high" for people's benefit.

Bezenšek, who has been campaigning for treatment of children with rare diseases, hopes to modernise the presidential office, overcome divisions and strengthen the Slovenian national identity through music if elected.

He pledged to especially protect the rights of the most vulnerable, and to perform his duties with empathy and sincere determination.

Bezenšek promises to speak up when a firm position of the president is needed. "I have no intention of looking away, too often it seemed like the children were fighting and the father was watching TV," he said.

He believes Slovenia needs a strong leader with a backbone who has shown resilience in the face of adversity.

Bezenšek, whose stage name is SoulGreg Artist, has founded the charity Viljem Julijan Association for Children with Rare Diseases together with his wife after they lost their son to a rare incurable disease.

Other candidates to announce their bids for the autumn presidential election so far are vice-president of the Freedom Movement party Marta Kos, former Foreign Minister Anže Logar, lawyer Nataša Pirc Musar and psychoanalyst Nina Krajnik. Kočevje Mayor Vladimir Prebilič will present his bid on Thursday.

Like Bezenšek, most plan to collect 5,000 voter signatures in support of their bids.

More on the other candidates and the presidential election in general

STA, 6 July 2022 - The storm that hit Ljubljana on Tuesday evening flooded two community health centres and part of the University Medical Centre (UKC), the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief has reported. Traffic was also disrupted with one lane on a section of the Ljubljana north ring road still closed.

The storm with heavy rain and wind started in Ljubljana around 9pm. The highest wind speed recorded was 86 km/h, while in a half hour period over 36 mm of rain was measured.

The call centre received 603 calls, mostly to report flooding. A school gym, hotel, high school, student dorm, part of the University Medical Centre and two community health centres in the Šiška and Vič boroughs were flooded.

Trees toppled onto cars and roads. Two cars were trapped in flooded underpasses.

Firefighters from 19 voluntary units and one professional unit intervened 87 times.

STA, 6 July 2022 - After an ownership change at a company publishing the right-wing weekly Demokracija, the news portal Necenzurirano reports that three Hungarian owners have sold their stake in NovaTV24.si, the company running TV channel NovaTV24, to the channel’s director who is also a long-term member of the Democrats (SDS).

Hungarian businessman Peter Schatz sold a majority stake in Nova Obzorja, the company issuing Demokracija, to NovaTV24.si in late May, and he has now also withdrawn from NovaTV24.si.

According to Necenzurirano, Schatz and fellow Hungarian businessmen Agnes Adamik and Adam Gabor Nemeth sold just over 45% of the shares in NovaTV24.si to Boris Tomašič, director of NovaTV24 and a long-term member of the SDS, now an opposition party. He is also the host of the controversial show Who Lies to You.

The Ministry of Culture has confirmed for Necenzurirano that it has given its clearance for the change of ownership of just over 45% of NovaTV24.si shares.

The portal says that it is not clear how much Tomašič paid for the shares, which in 2017 were worth nearly a million euros.

Rumours about Hungarians withdrawing as owners from NovaTV24.si surfaced just after the 24 April general election in Slovenia, in which the SDS-led coalition government was voted out.

Necenzurirano writes that the deal between Tomašič and the three businessmen, who it says are close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was agreed in mid-May.

The portal notes that the Hungarians offloaded their stakes in NovaTV24.si at a time when the new ruling coalition has filed for a parliamentary inquiry into the financing of party media, mainly from Hungary. Just days ago, parliament endorsed the decision to open the inquiry, appointing former TV Slovenija journalist Mojca Šetinc Pašek, now an MP for the Freedom Movement, as inquiry head.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Zelensky to address Slovenian parliament on Friday, Delo reports

LJUBLJANA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the National Assembly via video link on Friday at 10am, newspaper Delo reported. Zelensky was invited to do so by Speaker Urška Klakočar Zupančič, who was authorised to invite him by the parliamentary foreign policy and EU affairs committees behind closed doors two weeks ago upon the proposal of the opposition Democrats (SDS). PM Robert Golob talked with Zelensky before the June EU summit, at which Ukraine was granted candidate status, whereas his predecessor Janaz Janša of the SDS was among the first politicians to visit Kyiv after the war broke out, in mid March.

Slovenian, Albanian presidents discuss EU enlargement

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor hosted a working lunch for Albania's outgoing President Ilir Meta in Ljubljana, with the pair underlining the importance of EU enlargement onto the Western Balkans and Pahor warning against an idea of a more vague political community which would not see the region integrated in the EU. Talking to the press after their lunch, Pahor said he had the opportunity to speak to several Western Balkan leaders recently, all of whom were very concerned about this idea. Meta said the EU must not go down that path because "it would be a historical mistake".

Kosovo president discusses EU future of Western Balkans

MENGEŠ - Completing her two-day visit to Slovenia, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu discussed the Euro-Atlantic future of the Western Balkans with Slovenian diplomat Vojko Volk in an event hosted by the Centre for European Perspective and the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF). The pair agreed that if EU does not integrate the region, someone else will. For the first time ever the EU sees its enlargement as a geostrategic concept and not a bureaucratic process, said Osmani-Sadriu, who believes this is seen from Ukraine and Moldova receiving EU candidate status.

Exports in May up 49% year-on-year, imports up 57%

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's exports of goods in May were up by 48.7% year on year to EUR 4.8 billion, as imports to the country increased by 56.7% to EUR 5.3 billion. Like in all preceding months in 2022, a trade deficit was recorded, standing at EUR 600 million, with the exports-to-imports coverage at 89.6%. In the first five months of the year, exports were up 27.4% year-on-year to EUR 20.3 billion, while imports increased by 49.4% to EUR 23 billion, for a trade deficit of EUR 2.7 billion and the exports-to-imports coverage of 88.2%, the Statistics Office reported.

Initiative submitting petition for referendum on new Covid law

LJUBLJANA - The People's Coalition, an ad-hoc group opposing strict coronavirus measures, including vaccination, filed to parliament a petition supported with more than the required 2,500 signatures for a referendum on the changes to the infectious diseases act, which were passed on 29 June. The group criticised what they see as lack of transparency in fast-tracking the bill through parliament, arguing this was to deliberately exclude the public the discussion. The NGO that drafted the changes said a referendum on this law might not be allowed because a referendum is not allowed on legislation remedying unconstitutionality.

SDS referendum signature collection scheduled for autumn

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) will be collecting 40,000 signatures for a referendum with which they want to challenge government expansion by three departments between 1 September and 5 October, the parliamentary speaker's office said. This is a second attempt by the SDS to prevent PM Robert Golob from expanding his government to 20 departments after Golob's emerging coalition filed the bill to parliament in May. If the SDS succeeds in the referendum, the National Assembly will not be allowed to pass a law going against the referendum decision for a year from.

Parliamentary committee wants to beef up labour inspectorate

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Labour Committee called on the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities to hire more labour inspectors by the end of next year as it met upon coalition MPs' request in the wake of reports revealing grave labour and hygiene conditions in fish-processing companies Marinblu and Selea. Dan Juvan, a state secretary at the ministry, said legislative changes were being drafted and had already been sent to the Economic and Social Council; they concern record-keeping and social security. The committee urged that these be filed in parliamentary procedure as soon as possible.

Jobless total continues to drop in June

LJUBLJANA - The number of registered jobless continued to decline in June reaching a new post-1990 low. At the end of the month, 53,860 unemployed persons were registered at the Employment Service, down 3.6% on May and 24.2% fewer year-on-year. At the end of June, there were 1,994 fewer registered unemployed people than in May, and 17,234 fewer compared to June last year. A total of 3,949 people registered as newly-unemployed, up 2% on May and 11.8% year-on-year, and 3,618 people found a job, down 6.5% in May and 36% year-on-year. Most of the newly-registered were unemployed due to the end of a fixed-term job.

Covid cases surge to over two-month high

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 1,815 new coronavirus infections on Monday, up 33% week-on-week, in what is a new high since mid-April. Two Covid patients died, shows fresh official data. The number of patients hospitalised with Covid as their primary condition remained broadly flat, with 31 in hospital altogether, down by seven week-on-week, including eight who are in intensive care, same as a week ago. The 14-day case notification rate per 100,000 population topped 520, rising by 165 on the week before.

State budget deficit slashed to EUR 128m at half-year

LJUBLJANA - State budget revenue in the first half of the year totalled EUR 6.4 billion and expenditure EUR 6.5 billion for a deficit of EUR 128 million, preliminary data from the Finance Ministry shows. The figure compares to a deficit of EUR 1.965 billion in the same period last year. Year-on-year, revenue rose by 18% and expenditure fell by 11.6%.

Privatisation of Cinkarna Celje halted

LJUBLJANA - The Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) decided on Monday to halt the procedure to sell an almost 13% share in chemical company Cinkarna Celje although it received two binding bids. BAMC said on Tuesday that the sale would not be appropriate under the current conditions and circumstances. BAMC will not be selling Cinkarna as all of its assets will be transferred onto the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) by the end of 2022 and SSH will then draft a joint assets management strategy.

Survey: Quarter of companies see current situation as life-threatening

LJUBLJANA - A survey by the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia (GZS) sees more than a quarter of the surveyed companies assessing that the raising prices of energy, raw materials and services are threatening their existence. The survey conducted in June among more than 60 companies, 80% of which are industrial companies, sees their biggest challenges in the need to increase prices of products, and in lower operating profit and competitiveness and a drop in market share. "These are strong arguments for the government to act immediately," GZS director general Aleš Cantarutti commented on the survey, presented on Monday.

Slovenian Ski Association head appointed FIS treasurer

ZURICH, Switzerland - Enzo Smrekar, the president of the Slovenian Ski Association, has been appointed the treasurer of the International Ski Federation (FIS) as the first Slovenian to be in charge of the financial affairs of the governing body for international skiing and snowboarding. Smrekar, director of Croatian-owned Slovenian food company Atlantic Droga Kolinska, was appointed at an inaugural meeting of the new FIS council in Zurich on Monday.

Slovenian and Italian firefighters sign cooperation agreement

NOVA GORICA - Slovenian and Italian firefighters signed an agreement on cooperation in the border area as part of the European CROSSIT SAFER project, which is expected to enable more effective action during rapid rescue missions. Aleš Markočič of the Nova Gorica fire brigade said it brought rapid, successful and precise interventions that will be safer for people and nature, as quoted by the national Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration on Twitter.

STA, 5 July 2022 - Similar to many parts of Europe, Slovenia is facing a drought which has become severe in the regions of Goriška, Gorenjska, Dolenjska and the greater Ljubljana area, according to the Environment Agency. Wildfire risks are still high, and many water supply companies have issued water use restrictions.

Many communities in the regions where the drought is most severe have been prohibited from using drinking water for watering of plants, washing cars and filling their pools.

The drought map as of 30 June 2022, which should be updated here

The most recent water use restriction was imposed on the cost on Tuesday, with local mayors warning in a joint statement that the possibility of further water use restrictions is high.

While residents are prohibited from washing their cars, filling pools and watering plants from the public water system, the local utilities shut off watering systems in public parks, public beach showers, water fountains and even drinking fountains.

While the eastern-most part of the country does not face low water levels for now, the Environment Agency has said that moderate drought has also taken a toll on underground aquifers around Kranjska Gora, Bovec, the coast, the regions of Notranjska, Savinjska, Spodnjesavska and Podravska.