STA, 10 March 2021 - Karl Erjavec, the leader of the Pensioners' Party (Demokratična stranka upokojencev Slovenije – DeSUS), announced on Wednesday he was stepping down as president. He is no longer a member of the party either, saying that this was no longer the party he led for 15 years.

The resignation marks the end of a short-lived return, Erjavec having been ousted as party leader by Aleksandra Pivec in early 2020, only to return towards the end of the year after Pivec became embroiled in an ethics scandal.

"You know I was urged to return as president last year... I took on the task mainly to consolidate the party, to salvage it. But the latest events have shown that the party is so split it cannot be salvaged," Erjavec said today.

The statement comes after a session of the party's council, which was supposed to debate the future course of DeSUS after Erjavec spearheaded a failed bid to unseat Prime Minister Janez Janša.

Speculation had been rife that he may call it quits, in particular after it was revealed he had taken a corporate job at telecoms equipment maker Iskratel, where he will advise the CEO on expansion to foreign markets.

Erjavec has had problems in particular with his deputy group, a portion of which refused to back the motion of no confidence in the Janša government.

"There was no courage among the four MPs to back me up and clearly say they support their party president for prime-minister designate," Erjavec said.

He also suggested some MPs had ulterior motives. "Some appear to be more interested in posts than the future of the party," he said in reference to committee seats some MPs may lose now that the party is in the opposition.

After the failed vote, some MPs wanted to align themselves with the government even though DeSUS left the governing coalition in December. It was eventually decided the party would play a constructive role in the opposition, a decision affirmed by the council today.

Until a new fully-fledged leadership is elected, the party will be headed by Anton Balažek, one of the two vice-presidents.

Balažek, who was backed in a 23:13 vote, said he would try to find points of common interest that would strengthen the party, and to avoid unnecessary conflict.

In line with the party's rules of procedure, the new leadership will be elected within a year.

STA, 10 March 2021 - Slovenia confirmed 952 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a drop of 21% from the same day a week ago, to push the 7-day average to 728 from 764 the day before. Covid-19 hospitalisations dropped below 500 again, but four patients died, data released by the government show.

Of the 6,017 PCR tests performed yesterday, 15.8% came back positive. In addition, 25,046 rapid antigen tests were also performed with all the positives there re-examined with PCR tests.

The number of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 dropped by 21 from yesterday to 485, 14 fewer than Saturday morning when hospitalisations fell below the 500 mark for the first time since late October.

Noting that development, Maja Bratuša, the government's Covid-19 spokesperson, said that 38 patients with Covid-19 had been admitted to hospitals and 55 discharged yesterday. The number of intensive care cases rose by two to 92.

With hospitalisations falling below 500, one of the two conditions for the country to move to a lower, yellow tier of restrictions at the national level has been met, but the 7-day average of new cases is still far from falling below 600.

Bratuša noted that the government was meeting today to re-examine the situation and potentially adjust measures.

Considering the situation in South-East Slovenia, one of the yellow-tiered regions, is deteriorating, while the situation in the red-tiered south-western region of Obalno-Kraška has been improving, there may be changes in the colour codes of the regions.

The national cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents is at 496. Obalno-Kraška still has the highest incidence, at 754.

Deputy chief epidemiologist with the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Nuška Čakš Jager said Slovenia's 14-day incidence was still high in international comparison, with only the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Malta having a higher one in the EU.

She noted that only 15 infections had been detected in care homes over the past fortnight, most of those in newly admitted residents. She also noted a decline in fatalities.

A weekly analysis of transmissions among children, youth and teachers in education institutions shows the share of transmissions among kindergarten children remains constant at 1.72%.

The share is increasing somewhat at schools, which Čakš Jager described as a normal trend.

Slovenia has so far reported 197,374 coronavirus cases, with 10,446 still estimated to be active, according to the NIJZ.

Data from the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org show that a total of 3,908 Covid-19 patients have died.

However, NIJZ data released on Monday show that 4,156 patients with Covid-19 had died by Sunday, 7 March. Adding Monday's seven fatalities and Tuesday's four to that figure, brings the death toll to 4,167.

NIJZ data as of 9 March show that a total of 150,144 people have received the first dose of a vaccine against Covid-19 and 63,908 have received two.

All the latest data on coronavirus and Slovenia

STA, 10 March 2021 - Chess player Laura Unuk has become the first Slovenian woman to win the International Master title awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE, the second highest-ranking title in chess.

Unuk won the title by bagging a victory at the chess tournament Mediterranean Flowers in Croatia's Rijeka on Tuesday. First she won against Ivana Hreščak and then against Olga Zimino from Italy in a live rating over 2,400.

Hit CC for the subtitles if they don’t play automatically

"I only needed this rating and I finally made it. I only needed the live rating to be over 2,400, but I will do my best that will also be the case on paper at the end of the tournament," said the 21-year-old student of chemistry and chemical technology, who has entered the tournament as Woman Grandmaster.

She won the Woman International Master title at the World Youth Chess Championships in Durban, South Africa, in 2014.

STA, 9 March 2021 - A European Parliament policy department service compiled an in-depth document on the situation in Slovenia in preparation for Friday's session of the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group. The document, which is for internal use only, also details Prime Minister Janez Janša's attacks on media.

"The government's relations with the media are very tense, with the prime minister directly attacking media and individual journalists, notably by Twitter," reads the document, prepared by the service of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

The 33-page document describes the developments in Slovenia mainly in the past year. With respect to media, it lists a long list of concerns in relation to media freedom and protection of journalists.

It notes attacks and threats, smear campaigns, prosecution of journalists and media, political and business pressures including by blocking public funds, which it says are leading to self-censorship.

The document also includes a table of attacks by the prime minister and other government representatives with hateful language against journalists and media.

"This behaviour is uncommon for leaders of European democratic states based on the rule of law and fundamental rights and respectful of the European values," reads the document.

It adds that persons in important governmental roles and representing a whole community and country are expected to strive to unite them by fostering dialogue and consensus, at all levels.

Direct and personal attacks by those in power, including by inciting others to do the same, as well as blocking or threatening to block funds for media, can be interpreted an abuse of a position of power aimed at intimidating and silencing them by exerting a chilling effect based on fear, it says.

The document also notes political influencing through media owners and the financing of Slovenian media by Hungarian companies affiliated with the ruling Fidesz party and Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

It says that Nova24TV was initially financed by members and supporters of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) but was later recapitalised by Hungarian companies, noting that Nova24TV generated a loss of over EUR 1 million in its first two years of activity, which suggested Hungarian media businessmen enabled the continued existence of the channel.

The document also writes about government officials' attacks on representatives of the judiciary and notes replacements in senior positions in the country's police, armed forces, statistics office and intelligence agency. "It was the first time that such dismissals happened without stating a cause," it reads.

The document furthermore notes pressure faced by NGOs, replacements in the leaderships of museums and procedures against government members, as well as anti-government protests and the fines faced by the protesters.

The European Parliament will discuss threats to media freedom in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia on Wednesday.

All out stories on media freedom and Slovenia

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: 

Janša calls on STA director Veselinovič to step down

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša called on the director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Bojan Veselinovič, to step down. "It is time for the director as a political tool of the extreme left to step down and take responsibility for his unlawful actions. And allow the STA to work and develop normally," Janša wrote on Twitter. The STA turned to the prime minister's office for explanation about which unlawful actions Janša was referring to, but the office would not comment. The Trade Union of Slovenian Journalists denounced Janša's call as unlawful interference in the STA's autonomy.

EP service's internal document provides in-depth analysis on Slovenia

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A European Parliament policy department service compiled an in-depth document on the situation in Slovenia in preparation for Friday's session of the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group. The document, which is for internal use only, also details Prime Minister Janez Janša's attacks on media. It says "this behaviour is uncommon for leaders of European democratic states". The European Parliament will discuss threats to media freedom in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia on Wednesday.

Hojs says protests in Slovenia not banned

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs rejected claims that protests in Slovenia were banned or that he was interfering in police work. He also told the STA in an interview that the gap between the EU Commission and Slovenia's views on migration solidarity remained wide, and did not expect Slovenia could ensure much progress on it during its EU presidency. In response to the interview, the Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy, said the minister's claims were inaccurate, pointing to a government decree banning any kind of rallies and a turned down petition to hold a small protest.

740 coronavirus cases and seven deaths on Monday

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 740 coronavirus cases from 4,700 PCR tests performed on Monday. The 7-day average of newly confirmed cases rose by two to 764 and hospitalisations dropped by 21 to 506 as the number of intensive care patients decreased by one to 90. An additional seven Covid-19 patients died, for a total of more than 4,000, according to data from the National Institute of Public Health. Slovenia will remember its Covid-19 victims with a memorial ceremony in Ljubljana's Žale cemetery on Sunday, to be addressed by President Borut Pahor.

Head teachers support Maribor student protesters

MARIBOR - Head teachers from the Podravje region expressed support for secondary school students from the Maribor area who had received fines and court summons for participating in a protest urging return to in-classroom learning in early February. The head teachers sent a letter to that effect to Education Minister Simona Kustec following their meeting on Monday. They supported the freedom of expression and said they expected appropriate constructive communication with them.

EU urged to protect independent journalism in Poland, Hungary, Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - A group of 19 NGOs and associations advocating media and human rights urged the EU to "take decisive action to protect independent journalism" in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia. The call comes a day before the European Parliament debates threats to media freedom in the three countries. A letter addressed to MEPs says that Hungary's ruling Fidesz party has "perfected the procedure to subjugate media by the state in the past decade", while the EU's failure to react has led to similar trends now being witnessed in Poland and Slovenia.

Logar talks bilateral cooperation with Algerian counterpart

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar talked with his Algerian counterpart Sabri Boukadoum over the telephone about ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The ministers called for boosting political dialogue and economic cooperation between Slovenia and Algeria. They also touched on regional issues, in particular the latest developments in Libya and the Sahel region, the Foreign Ministry said.

De-bureaucratisation bill ready for government

LJUBLJANA - The Government Strategic Council for De-bureaucratisation drew up a bill envisaging a cap on social security contributions, electronic sending of administrative mail and a registry of regulations. The bill would also increase powers of state secretaries. The ZSSS trade unions voiced concern about reduced legal safety and called for social dialogue, while the Information Commissioner questioned the purpose of collecting personal data of citizens such as e-mails and phone numbers. The government said this was to make communication with parties in procedures easier.

Committee passes controversial water act amendments

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary environment committee passed amendments to the water act changes under which hazardous substances could be used under certain condition by production facilities located in water protection areas. While the government says adequate safety mechanisms are envisaged, the opposition warns of harmful effects for water sources. Another major change is the possibility to allow the construction of public-use facilities on water and coastal properties, and intermittent lakes.

Ombudsman says Environment Ministry violating democratic standards

LJUBLJANA - Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina criticised the procedure whereby the Environment and Spatial Planning Ministry wants to change the environmental protection act. He says the ministry's actions are not in line with modern democratic standards, which has recently become an established modus operandi of the ministry. The ombudsman reviewed the procedure based on a request by a member an environmental NGO, finding a violation of the public's right to participate in public governance.

Top court improves judicial recusal oversight mechanisms

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court said on Monday that it had overhauled its internal oversight procedures to prevent mistakes related to judicial recusal. This was after media reported that one of the judges told the court he had unintentionally not excluded himself from a case. The court's president Rajko Knez said the court regretted the mistakes which had happened unintentionally. He wondered what the purpose of "the intensive media campaign we are subject to" in this case was.

Free testing to be available along Italian border

LJUBLJANA - The government is launching a free-of-charge testing campaign near border crossings with Italy. Rapid antigen testing will be available from Wednesday for commuters, students being schooled across the border and owners of property across the border. Testing will be available free of charge in the towns of Škofije, Kobarid, Solkan, Fernetiči and Rateče every weekday between 7am and 7pm. After a week, the schedule will be adapted to address the demand at individual locations.

Jožef Stefan Institute shares top prize in Pandemic Response Challenge

LOS ANGELES, US - A team of artificial intelligence experts at the Jožef Stefan Institute won the second grand prize at the Pandemic Response Challenge. The Slovenian team, led by Mitja Luštrek, head of the ambient intelligence group, will equally share the total prize purse of $500,000 with a Spanish team from Valencia, which ranked first only due to their exemplary submissions. The competition was held as part of the Xprize challenge in conjunction with the tech firm Cognizant.

Karavanke Tunnel work on schedule

JESENICE - Work on the second tube of the Karavanke Tunnel on the border with Austria is running on schedule. Turkish Cengiz workers have already bored some 550 metres of what is a roughly 3.5-km tube on the Slovenian side. No major problems have been encountered since boring started last August and is expected to be completed in two years. Supervisor Andrej Štimulak from Slovenian company DRI told the press that 6-9 metres of the tunnel is bored a day, depending on geological conditions.

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

STA, 9 March 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša called on the director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Bojan Veselinovič, to step down. "It is time for the director as a political tool of the extreme left to step down and take responsibility for his unlawful actions. And allow the STA to work and develop normally," Janša wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

The STA turned to the prime minister's office for explanation about which unlawful actions Janša was referring to. In response, the office said it would not comment additionally on the issue.

The prime minister also said in the tweet that since the STA had been led by Veselinovič, "journalists with fatal disease are being dismissed and lie is often being sold as the truth".

Odkar @STA_novice vodi direktor Veselinović, odpuščajo na smrt bolne novinarje in pogosto laž prodajajo za resnico. Čas je, da direktor kot politično orodje skrajne levice odstopi in odgovarja za svoja nezakonita ravnanja. Ter omogoči STA normalno delo in razvoj. https://t.co/cOHiFddUiG

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) March 9, 2021

Ever since @STA_novice are led by director Veselinović, they fire sick journalists and often sell lies for the truth. It is time for the director, as a political tool of the far left, to step down and be held accountable for his illegal actions. And enable STA normal work. https://t.co/1tS8qNNHWZ

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) March 9, 2021

Janša made the statements while sharing a tweet by the head of the Government Communication Office (UKOM), Uroš Urbanija, who tweeted that Veselinovič was lying when he told the TV show Tednik on Monday that the STA did not wish to respond to UKOM's inquiries about the length of news articles.

The government said on Twitter this was "fake news".

In response, the STA published a letter by Urbanija today, sent last October, in which Urbanija asks how many interviews with pop singers had the STA published, and how long they were.

He also inquired about how the STA guaranteed that statements written by someone at the agency were being objectively reported on, whether the opinion of every employee of the agency had been obtained before one such statement, and why the STA had not published an article about this.

The letter by Urbanija came a few days after the prime minister labelled the STA a national disgrace on Twitter after learning that an interview with rapper Zlatko published by the STA was longer than the agency's article about an event featuring Janša and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.

Urbanija also accused Veselinovič once again of concealing documents.

"Without arguments and proof the prime minister can obviously afford anything. Even abjectly abusing the deceased by means of untruthful statements that have been denied publicly on several occasions," Veselinovič said in response.

He said the comments made by Janša were unworthy of the prime minister of a country that will preside the Council of EU and celebrate its 30th anniversary this year.

The STA management has said several times that all the documents are available to the government as the legal representative of the sole shareholder of the agency. The government has not requested the documents but the UKOM has, providing no government authorisation for acting on its behalf.

The Trade Union of Slovenian Journalists denounced Janša's call for Veselinovič's resignation as unauthorised and unlawful interference in the editorial autonomy of a public information service.

The trade union added that the prime minister was also persisting in violating the legislator's clearly expressed and enacted will to provide uninterrupted financing to the STA to allow it to inform citizens in an unbiased and independent way.

The union expressed its support for the STA staff and management, urging the state again to honour its financing obligations, and the prime minister to stop stepping up uncertainty for "distinctly short-term political purposes".

The STA's operations are at risk after the financing of the public service has again been suspended in 2021 despite the provisions of the seventh coronavirus relief act, which says the STA must be funded in line with its business plan regardless of the signing of a special contract on the public services.

The STA requested for the contract to be signed at the end of 2020 but has not received a reply.

The STA receives about EUR 2 million for its public services from the state a year, which is almost half of the agency's annual revenue.

All our stories on media freedom and Slovenia

STA, 9 March 2021 - The newly established auction web portal of all Slovenian courts (sodnedrazbe.si) saw its first flat sold on Tuesday. The auction took 40 minutes and the flat was sold at nearly double the asking price. Next month, some 300 flats are to go on the portal's auction block.

The E-Auction website will gradually come to replace websites of individual courts. It will feature the sales of all real estate, movables and rights called after 1 February.

To take part, bidders must register with their online certificate and pay the security deposit. The portal enables auctions of real estate and rights in enforcement procedures, while other types of auction are explained on the portal, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.

It added that the portal is easy to use and that the bidding is completely anonymous. Credibility of bidding is ensured, as bidders are not allowed to either withdraw or deny their bids, they also cannot bid outside the designated time frame.

The portal, set up in February, works on all computer operating systems and mobile devices and is accessible also to the visually and hearing impaired.

You can visit the portal here

STA, 9 March 2021 - Slovenian police have arrested three of the five people they suspect were involved in a racket known as CEO fraud, a scam in which criminals impersonate executives to fool employees into making unauthorized wire transfers. The fraud was perpetrated mostly in the UK, while the money was laundered in Slovenia.

Martin Rupnik, the head of the white collar crime department at the Ljubljana Police District, told the press Tuesday that investigators had conducted 25 house searches during which three suspects were apprehended. They remain in detention.

The suspects are believed to have laundered the proceeds from criminal activities, mostly in the UK, after creating fake CEO identities and convincing employees to wire money to corporate accounts opened by a Slovenian legal entity.

They received wire transfers of around EUR 300,000, of which the police managed to seize EUR 170,000. The investigation is ongoing.

Police believe three to five foreign companies fell victim to the fraud, but the exact number will not be known until the investigation of electronic devices is completed.

"The pre-trial stage regarding fraud is under way abroad, not here. The Slovenian police have taken over the money laundering investigation," said Rupnik.

Večer writes that NLB bank alerted law enforcement authorities of bankers who gave loans to Raščan.

Money laundering in a criminal organisation carries a prison sentence of up to ten years in Slovenia.

STA, 8 March 2021 - Women in the labour market are frequently faced with precarious work forms, discrimination, harassment, sexism and do a lot of unpaid work, trade unions have warned on International Women's Day.

Young people in particular, especially women, are more subjected to precarious work forms. About 80% of females aged between 15 and 25 have fixed-term employment contracts, while for men the share is under 60%, said Mladi Plus, a union representing young workers.

Poverty has become more widespread among young women, mainly due to high unemployment rate in this group and precarious work forms. The unemployment rate among women aged between 25 and 34 is about three percentage points higher than among men.

"Employers often expect them to go on maternity leave, to be on sick leave more often (to provide for children or elderly) and to put family life before their job," the unions said, noting that employers saw this as risky and potentially costly, so they did not hire women as much.

The access to services in elderly care is increasingly restricted rather than being expanded, which means more unpaid work for women because of socially determined roles, and more absence from the labour market.

The state is trying to tackle the issue of higher unemployment of women with tertiary education with subsidies for self-employed women, which seemingly reduced the unemployment rate but does not solve the problem, the union said.

It also pointed to allegations of discrimination and bullying at work. Women looking for a job are often discriminated against and employers sometimes demand that they sign a statement that they will not get pregnant in a certain period.

Women are also still discriminated against when it comes to pay - with the pay gap increasing from 3.3% in 2011 to 9.3% in 2018. In 2016, women in the EU on average received 16.2% lower pay than men.

Mladi Plus also pointed to some unacceptable demands by employers, for example in the hospitality sector, where women are sometimes required to wear short skirts and low-cut tops, and to sexual harassment in institutions that should provide for education and equal opportunities and rights for all.

The union also warned of poverty among older women, who receive lower pension than man because the had also received lower pay.

The Covid-19 epidemic has also hit women hard. Most women who have been absent from work during the epidemic have been on furlough and more women than men have lost their jobs since the start of the epidemic, official statistics shows.

"The measures adopted by governments harm women by deepening the differences between the sexes in terms of unemployment, household choirs and financial security," the union said.

Moreover, jobs that are most exposed to infections are dominated by women in the sectors such as healthcare, social protection, education.

The ZSSS trade union confederation has joined a campaign by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) urging countries on 8 March to ratify the convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) against violence and harassment at work.

The union said that the epidemic had made the situation worse for women at work as well as at home, as domestic violence was also on the rise.

The ZSSS said it had called on the Labour Ministry and the government on several occasions to ratify the convention as soon as possible. This would place Slovenia among the first European countries to ratify it or start the ratification process, with Italy being the first one.

"It is the first international labour standard dealing with violence and harassment at work and envisaging efficient measures against it and victim protection," the ZSSS said.

The 8 March Institute, an NGO also warned of gender inequality on the labour market today, noting that the Covid-19 epidemic had aggravated inequalities as women took on the burden of home schooling and household chores, a survey conducted by the NGO has shown.

Particularly vulnerable are single mothers, said the coordinator of the survey, Mark J Užmah.

Tina Tomšič from the NGO said the most vulnerable group in Slovenia were single retired women, while self-employed women were also at risk because they could not go on maternity leave or take sick leave, which meant they did not enjoy labour rights.

A lot more data on women working in Slovenia is here

STA, 8 March 2021 - A cross-border partnership between Slovenia and Hungary has upgraded a network of 344 kilometres of bike paths as part of Iron Curtain Cycling, a EUR 2.3 million project designed to boost cycling tourism in the border area. 

Partner organisations on both sides of the border spent three and a half years setting up the network of paths along EuroVelo 13, a bike route running along the Iron Curtain. The project was co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

The route through Slovenia. Screenshot: eurovelo.com

Apart from marking the paths, the initiative also helped developed cycling-friendly services and cross-border cycling packages for tourists, the Murska Sobota public Institute for Culture, Tourism and Sport said in a press release on Monday.

New “Bike Slovenia Green” Tours Take You from Kranjska Gora to Koper, Train Ride Included

A mobile app has been created and cycling maps in four languages, moreover, a number of events have been organised dedicated to related topics, while local tourism establishments and guides have participated in special training and workshops.

The area now boasts 21 cycling centres on both sides of the border, featuring rest stops and bike rental services with total capacity of 59 conventional bikes and 19 electric bikes, as well as rooms for travellers.

You can learn more about the part that runs through Slovenia here