STA, 23 June 2022 - The Ana Desetnica festival of street theatre will take place from 23 June to 3 July in 13 Slovenian cities. Most events will be held in Ljubljana, including the opening spectacle and the birthday party.

Having first started in Ljubljana 25 years ago, the festival will bring performances to 12 other towns this year, including Maribor, Ptuj, Kamnik, Logatec and Nova Gorica.

Almost 100 artists from 10 countries will travel between the cities for 11 days to perform 37 shows and urban interventions, according to the producer Polona Prosen.

Nearly half of the events will take place in Ljubljana. The Ana Monro Theatre will perform the show River of Seven Names to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of the renowned architect Jože Plečnik.

The festival will host street groups from countries including Italy, France, Czech Republic and Argentina performing dance, circus and similar performances, including an aerial spectacle and a "skiing odyssey". The audience will even be able to watch one of the performances on bikes.

The festival was born out of the desire to spread performance art to urban spaces and it then led to the development of local street theatre, according to Goro Osojnik, director of the Ana Monro Theatre.

Over the years the festival has hosted over 5000 street performers from over 40 countries and their shows were viewed by nearly a million visitors.

See the full schedule here (PDF) or visit the official website

STA, 22 June 2022 - The cereals sales commission will propose to the government to purchase all wheat Slovenian farmers will harvest this year, and then sell it on to millers during the year. Slovenian farmers will grow 100,000 tonnes of wheat suitable for food in 2022, the commission's head Franc Küčan said after its Wednesday session in Ljutomer.

There are also foreign buyers interested in Slovenian wheat, but Küčan said that "farmers would like to sell Slovenian wheat to Slovenian millers".

This is why they call on all Slovenian buyers to enter talks with cooperatives to discuss the conditions, quality parameters and contracts.

For farmers not to sell below cost, a tonne of the lowest quality wheat should be at least EUR 330 and a tonne of best wheat EUR 410, the commission agreed.

"If the buyers, that is millers, and the government do not follow our price proposals, and if foreign buyers appear who are willing to pay more, farmers will also follow the principles of the single European market and free movement of goods and we will sell to whoever is more favourable," Küčan said.

Data shows there will be less wheat in Europe than initially expected this year. The amount and quality will be average everywhere, including Slovenia, Küčan said. These forecasts are based on the first results of the barley harvest, which has a lower yield and not exceptionally high quality.

The commission consists of representatives of wheat growers, the Farmers' Trade Union, the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry and the Slovenian Cooperatives Association.

It met to analyse the situation in the European countries that have been hit by drought, which has promoted these countries to rush with harvesting. Wheat harvest is in Slovenia expected to start around 5 July. Wheat markets around the globe have been additionally hit this year by the war in Ukraine and the rising energy prices.

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This summary is provided by the STA:

National Assembly paves way for reshaping of govt

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed changes to the government act allowing Prime Minister Robert Golob to shape his government as he wants as it deflected an attempt by the opposition Democrats (SDS) to hold a referendum on the act. While Prime Minister Robert Golob has said the restructured government should be in office by the end of summer, the SDS indicated it might mount another referendum attempt, this time gathering signatures from citizens instead of going the parliamentary path. Freedom Movement deputy group leader Borut Sajovic said that a new referendum attempt would make it clear even to the most naive that this was intentional troublemaking.

Pahor: Russian aggression confirmed need for highly trained army

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor said the Russian aggression against Ukraine had confirmed the need for Slovenia to have a highly trained and professional army, as he addressed via video call Slovenian soldiers serving in missions. Pahor, supreme commander of the Slovenian Armed Forces, noted this was the first time that the videoconference with troops serving abroad was being held amid a war in Europe.

Works council urges RTV Slovenija director general to resign

LJUBLJANA - The works council at public broadcaster RTV Slovenija urged director general Andrej Grah Whatmough to "step down immediately and irrevocably", presenting a number of reasons for its decision, which was taken on Tuesday, a day after RTV staff went on strike as the talks following the 23 May strike brought no major progress. Grah Whatmough has been urged to resign due to breach of legislation, poor management, and "numerous irregularities and reasonable suspicion of unlawfulness and of having exceeded his powers".

Committee urges end to pressure on editorial autonomy at RTV

LJUBLJANA - The Culture Committee has called on the management of RTV Slovenija to consistently ensure the constitutional right to information, to immediately stop undermining the editorial independence and autonomy of the public broadcaster, and to restore conditions for independent journalism. The management should also stop implementing politically-motivated personnel and other changes, and stop discrediting RTV staff or exerting pressure on them, follows from resolutions adopted at a session.

Remains of over 500 victims killed post-WWII near Brežice excavated

BREŽICE - The remains of at least 529 people executed in post-WWII summary killings have been unearthed from an anti-tank trench in Mostec near Brežice, east Slovenia, according to the Military Heritage Administration. Archaeological excavation at the site was carried out due to construction of a chain of power stations on the river Sava. In 2020, the remains of at least 276 people were found in some 20 metres of trench. This year's excavation work on another 30 metres to reveal the remains of at least another 253 people.

Farmers propose govt buy all Slovenian wheat

LJUTOMER - A multi-stakeholder commission for cereals proposed that the government purchase all wheat Slovenian farmers will harvest this year, and then sell it on to millers during the year. Slovenian farmers will grow 100,000 tonnes of wheat suitable for food in 2022, the commission's head Franc Küčan said. There are foreign buyers interested in Slovenian wheat, but Küčan said that "farmers would like to sell Slovenian wheat to Slovenian millers." If the price is not right, they will sell to whoever is willing to pay more.

Archbishop wants continuation of Church-state dialogue

LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore expressed the wish for a continuation of the dialogue between the state and the Roman Catholic Church as he berated previous governments for not showing willingness to address all open issues. "There has never been a concrete willingness to address all the remaining open issues," he said during a sermon at a mass celebrating the anniversary of Slovenian statehood. "Hopefully the government which has now taken the reign in Slovenia will find the willingness to tackle open issues."

Covid curve bends upwards

LJUBLJANA - Covid cases continue to grow as Slovenia enters a new wave of the pandemic. Health authorities reported 670 new cases for Tuesday, up by nearly 50% over the week before, as the share of positive PCR tests exceeded 6%. While the incidence has been increasing at a brisk pace - the 14-day case notification rate per 100,000 population is at 260 compared to 189 a week ago - hospital numbers remain subdued, according to the National Institute of Public Health.

30 years of Slovenia-Australia diplomatic relations marked

CANBERRA, Australia - The Slovenian Embassy in Canberra marked the 30th anniversary of Slovenian-Australian diplomatic relations and the upcoming Slovenian Statehood Day earlier this week. The reception was attended by more than a hundred of Australian officials, diplomats, representatives of both Slovenian and Australian organisations and other guests. The event featured a performance by the Australian Army Band Corps.

Minister for Slovenians Abroad meets Community in Austria

KLAGENFURT, Austria - Minister for Slovenian Abroad Matej Arčon travelled to Klagenfurt for his first official visit with the Slovenian community in Austria as minister. After a meeting with key community representatives, Arčon underlined the importance of regular dialogue and thanked the various organisations for their devoted work. Arčon met with Valentin Inzko of the National Council of Carinthian Slovenians, Marjan Sturm of Association of Slovenian Organisations in Carinthia and Heribert Kulmesch of the Community of Carinthian Slovenians.

Unior sells stake in Romania's Unior Tepid for EUR 2.5m

ZREČE - Unior, the Zreče-based tool maker and automotive supplier, last week reached a EUR 2.5 million deal with a Romanian buyer for the sale of its 49% stake in Unior Tepid SRL, Romania, the Slovenian company said. Unior signed the sale contract a week ago, on 15 June, and the buyer, Unior Tepid CEO Dan Dabuleanu, paid the purchase price a day later, reads the press release.

Two SSH supervisors dismissed

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly dismissed two supervisors of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) a week after the government said that Božo Emeršič and Leon Cizelj did not meet the requirements for the job. The former no longer qualifies because he has been appointed the CFO of railway builder 2TDK in April 2021, while the latter never satisfied the job requirements in the first place, not having had the required 10 years of experience in management.

Consumer confidence drops further in June

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's consumer confidence in June decreased by two percentage points on the month before and 16 percentage points year-on-year in what is a decline for the second month in a row, the Statistics Office said. The decrease in the confidence indicator at the monthly level was driven by more pessimistic consumer expectations about the financial situation in households (down by four points), the current financial situation in households (down by three) and the country's economic situation (down by two).

Wages in private sector down in April

LJUBLJANA - Slovenians earned an average net salary of EUR 1,304.32 in April, up by 0.2% in nominal terms and 2.7% in real terms compared to March, shows fresh data from the Statistics Office. Average gross earnings for April totalled EUR 2,001.93, down by 0.3% in nominal terms and down by 2.8% in real terms compared to March, with a rise of 1.2% in the public sector and 3.3% in the state administration, while the private sector experienced a fall by 1.1%.

Court hands down suspended sentences in Tušmobil abuse of office case

CELJE - Businessman Mirko Tuš and his wife Tanja Tuš received suspended prison sentences after pleading guilty to abuse of office and money laundering charges. Mirko Tuš got a two-year suspended prison sentence with a three-year probation and a fine of 450,000 EUR. Tanja Tuš got a suspended prison sentence of one year with a two-year probation plus a fine of EUR 90,000. The case concerned the transfer between 2011 and 2016 of the Tušmobil mobile telephony brand that was reported by creditors as an attempted fraud.

Supreme Court acquits 2014 torture case defendant

LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court acquitted Milan Trivković, one of four men found guilty of abducting and brutally torturing Zorica Škrbić, a 32-year-old woman whose abduction and death in June 2014 shocked Slovenia. Trivković will sue the state for damages for the five years he spent in detention and in prison, news portal siol.net reported. Trivković has maintained his innocence in several court proceedings, while his friends said he was hosting a party at the time of the crime.

Hailstorms rage in parts of the country, most damage in the south-east

LJUBLJANA - Hailstorms once again raged in parts of Slovenia on Tuesday evening, causing most destruction in the south-eastern and northern parts of the country. In some parts, the hail stones almost reached the size of a tennis ball. Municipalities that were hit most severely were Hoče-Slivnica, Lenart, Laško, Radenci, and Novo Mesto, along with Črnomelj, Metlika, and Semič.

STA, 22 June 2022 - The remains of at least 529 people executed in post-WWII summary killings have been unearthed from an anti-tank trench in Mostec near Brežice, east Slovenia, according to the Military Heritage Administration (Uprava za vojaško dediščino), which is part of the Defence Ministry.

Archaeological excavation at the site was carried out due to construction of a chain of power stations on the river Sava.

The anti-tank trench, originally dug out in 1945 by the occupying Nazi forces, is around 4.6 metres wide and 3 metres deep.

Historians claimed an area of 120 metres of the trench contained remains of people of various nationalities killed immediately after WWII, and several probes carried out after 2008 confirmed the presence of human remains.

In 2020, the remains of at least 276 people were found alongside thousands of personal effects as excavation was carried out on some 20 metres of the trench.

This year's excavation work on another 30 metres started in April and ended in June to find the remains of at least another 253 persons.

So far, the remains of 529 to 532 dead, including 25 to 46 women, have been excavated, and will be handled in line with the law, including the burial.

The Military Heritage Administration - launched a year ago to also manage activities related to war graves - says that excavation will have to continue on the rest of the anti-tank trench.

Since Slovenia gained independence in 1991, a number of mass graves containing the remains of the people executed in summary killings have been discovered.

While many Slovenians lost their lives in summary killings, the majority of the victims are believed to be Croats and Serbs, whom the allies sent back to Yugoslavia after they escaped to Austria's Carinthia as WWII was about to end.

The largest site of summary killings was discovered in March 2009 in the disused Barbara Rov coal mine, which contained the remains of over 1,400 victims.

STA, 22 June 2022 - Hailstorms once again raged in parts of Slovenia on Tuesday evening, causing most destruction in the south-eastern and northern parts of the country. In some parts, the hail stones almost reached the size of a tennis ball.

Municipalities that were hit most severely were Hoče-Slivnica, Lenart, Laško, Radenci, and Novo Mesto, along with Črnomelj, Metlika, and Semič. In Dravograd and Slovenj Gradec, north, the damages was less severe, according to the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration.

22 fire brigades across the country were called into action, along with municipal and road services workers, as well as electricity network and phone network maintenance services to help in 42 emergency cases.

Novo Mesto saw flooded basements and roads, while the Dolenjska region had a hailstorm with heavy downpours. In Črnomelj, some roofs were damaged along with fallen trees due to strong wind.

In the municipality of Metlika, a tree fell on the roof of a tavern, and the clergy house also saw roof damage.

Storm water flooded several basements and garages. The manufacturing facilities of the Iskra electronics company also suffered water damage.

STA, 21 June 2022 - The parliamentary EU and foreign affairs committees outlined on Tuesday Slovenia's foreign policy for the future. Following the closed session, Prime Minister Robert Golob said Bosnia-Herzegovina should get immediate EU candidate status and that Slovenia would help Ukraine with demining in the future.

Talking to the press, Golob said that the proposal for Ukraine and Moldova to become EU candidate countries was a clear message to the two countries that they can count on EU membership. He believes that Bosnia-Herzegovina deserves to receive the same message from the EU Summit this week.

"This is the first time that the European Commission did not use a technocratic approach," Golob also said. Today, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon also advocated this course of action for Bosnia-Herzegovina at the foreign affairs ministerial in Luxembourg.

Last week immediate candidate status for Bosnia was proposed by President Borut Pahor in a letter to EU Council President Charles Michel, while Golob advocated for it during his first visit to Brussels as PM, when he met with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Michel.

The two committees approved today a decision advising the EU Council to perform an in-depth discussion on the Western Balkans when in session later this week.

Moreover, some 20 MEPs appealed to EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola to support the proposal. The move was spearheaded by MEP Matjaž Nemec (S&D/SD), who succeeded Fajon in EU Parliament when she became foreign minister some three weeks ago.

Nemec expressed belief that Metsola will convey a clear message of support for immediate candidate status for Bosnia at the EU Summit. Apart from him, the appeal was also signed by Slovenian MEPs Milan Brglez (S&D/SD), Irena Joveva and Klemen Grošelj (both Liberals/LMŠ) and Franc Bogovič (EPP/SLS).

The two parliamentary bodies also discussed Slovenia's approach to aid for Ukraine, with Golob saying that Ukraine was currently most interested in Slovenia's demining capabilities.

"We have already promised this type of help. This way we meet the interests of Ukraine and are not forcing upon them what they do not need. If they request something that is in our power to do and it makes sense, we will provide more help."

Touching on Slovenia's decision to send armoured vehicles to Ukraine, he said the decision was made by the previous government and that it had not been a solo action by Slovenia but a coordinated effort by allies.

Meanwhile, opposition New Slovenia (NSi) MP Janez Žakelj said the government had not made clear its position on the war in Ukraine.

He also said the government was inconsistent in its stance toward defence spending. "At home, we're talking about drones and guerrilla warfare and in the EU we support increase in defence investments and battalion group formation, which was already advocated by the previous government."

STA, 21 June 2022 - Investment in digital advertising is on the rise in Slovenia and will see a 15% growth in this year. On average, an advertiser will invest EUR 546,000 in this type of advertising, shows a survey by pollsters iPROM and Valicon on the attitude of Slovenian companies towards digital advertising in 2022.

The most funds, 31% of total investment or around EUR 170,000 per advertiser, is allocated for display advertising. Last year EUR 137,000 was invested in this type of ads.

About 20% of resources goes for advertising on social media and 15% for search engine marketing. E-mail marketing is not as popular (10%).

Display advertisement and social media marketing are used by nearly 70% of advertisers, while almost half will use search engine marketing and e-mail marketing.

The budget for ad buying per advertiser increased by 14% to EUR 425,000 this year.

The increased investment into digital marketing is present in all sectors, with the strongest growth recorded in tourism, and health and beauty. The average investment in the latter category will be just under EUR 1.3 million.

Almost half of the advertisers are increasing their advertising budget and only 12% are lowering it.

iPROM and Valicon conducted the survey between January and April among 194 Slovenian trend setters in the advertisement sector.

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:

MPs reject referendum on changes to government bill

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly rejected in a 52:23 vote the opposition Democrats'(SDS) proposal to consult voters in a referendum whether the government should restructure its departments and expand them or not. The SDS opposes the plan to increase the number of ministries to 20, arguing public spending will also increase, while the coalition says the reorganisation will help the government to be more responsive and efficient to the benefit of the country. Now that the referendum is off the table, the changes to the government act will be discussed at an emergency session of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

Petrol prices on motorways up by 20 cents

LJUBLJANA - The prices of petrol and diesel at service stations along Slovenian motorways, which are completely deregulated as of today under the new fuel pricing model, went up by roughly 20 cents a litre compared to those at stations outside the motorway network, which are fully regulated. Regular petrol now costs EUR 1.851 at Petrol's and EUR 1.944 at OMV Slovenia's service stations, while diesel costs in excess of EUR 2 per litre.

Watchdog looking into Petrol, OMV over fuel shortages, report says

LJUBLJANA - The competition watchdog is launching an investigation into whether Petrol and OMV Slovenija, the country's two largest fuel retailers, have abused their dominant market position in recent days as there were fuel shortages right before a new pricing regime kicked in, the news portal Necenzurirano reported. The Competition Protection Agency (AVK) will check whether Petrol and OMV Slovenija, which control the vast majority of the market, have abused their position by filling storage tanks under their petrol stations too slowly or by deliberately emptying them in recent days.

Slovenia changes Ukraine aid policy, continues advocating for Bosnia

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary EU and foreign affairs committees outlined Slovenia's foreign policy for the future, with PM Robert Golob saying after the closed session that Bosnia-Herzegovina should get immediate EU candidate status and that Slovenia would help Ukraine with demining in the future. He added that the proposal for Ukraine and Moldova to become EU candidate countries was a clear message to the two countries that they can count on EU membership. Golob believes that Bosnia-Herzegovina deserves to receive the same message from the EU Summit this week.

FM Fajon tells Ukrainian counterpart she will visit Kyiv soon

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon spoke over the telephone with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday assuring him of Slovenia's support for Ukraine's EU candidate status and the country's post-war reconstruction. She also announced that she will visit Kyiv soon, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry tweeted. "Slovenia is committed to helping Ukrainian citizens to live in peace again as soon as possible. We will also help rebuild infrastructure and restore stability and hope."

High-ranking police officers sacked over hiring violation

LJUBLJANA - The new police commissioner sacked two high-ranking police force members, with 24ur.com reporting they had been involved in a contentious hiring of an employee in which security check results had been falsified. The General Police Administration said the sacking involved an employee at the Koper Police Department and an officer working at the General Police Administration. The newspaper Dnevnik reported that the matter involved the Koper Police Department chief Boris Korasa and the head of the General Police Administration's Internal Investigations and Integrity Sector Metod Jerman.

Petrol says price regulation to affect annual results

LJUBLJANA - Fuel price regulation in Slovenia and Croatia will affect energy company Petrol's business in the first half of the year, so the Slovenian group does not expect to achieve the planned results, its management said in a statement posted on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, where Petrol stock has suffered significant losses today.

Pahor nominates Court of Audit head, central bank vice-governor

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor has nominated Jana Ahčin for Court of Audit president and Milan M. Cvikl for a vice-governor of the central bank after completing consultations with parliamentary groups' heads last week and establishing both candidates enjoy the necessary support. The candidates will need at least 46 votes to get elected in a secret ballot.

Old Slovenian tanks en route to Ukraine, report says

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia donated 35 Yugoslav-era armoured combat vehicles to Ukraine, which crossed the Slovenian border on Monday evening and are expected to reach western Ukraine via Poland today, the 24ur news site reported. In return, Slovenia is to receive a credit from the US to be used for equipment needed by the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) in their operations.

Patrik Greblo appointed acting director of TV Slovenija

LJUBLJANA - After rejecting the candidacy of RTV Slovenija journalist Urban Laurenčič for the position of director of TV Slovenija (TVS), the public broadcaster's TV arm, the RTV programme council endorsed the appointment of music advisor Patrik Greblo as TVS acting director. Greblo, a journalist, conductor, composer, arranger of popular music and the director general's music advisor, will assume the job on Wednesday for a maximum of one year or until the appointment of a full-fledged TVS director. Andrej Grah Whatmough, RTV Slovenija director general, intends to publish a new call for applications as soon as possible.

No assets of Russian citizens frozen in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Foreign Ministry told the STA it had no information of assets of any Russian citizen under the EU sanctions being frozen in Slovenia since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The ministry is in charge of implementing the law on restrictions Slovenia introduces in line with legal acts and decisions adopted by international organisations.

Elaphe stepping up international cooperation

LJUBLJANA/SAN DIEGO, US - Elaphe, a Ljubljana-based maker of in-wheel electric motors, is stepping up cooperation with foreign partners. It has signed a cooperation agreement worth hundreds of millions of euros with Aptera Motors, a US start-up that builds solar e-vehicles, and intends to work with Dutch company Lightyear on the latter's new vehicle.

Covid case count up by 33% week-on-week

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 838 new coronavirus infections for Monday, up by 33% in weekly comparison, in what continues to be a steady increase in Covid cases. The total of patients treated for Covid-19 as their main condition in hospitals is at 37, including five in intensive care, shows data by the Health Ministry. No Covid-related deaths were reported yesterday.

Slovenia to build two European Digital Innovation Hubs

LJUBLJANA - Two European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) will be set up in Slovenia, the European Commission decided upon evaluating applications in the first call of the DIGITAL Europe Programme. The government Office for Digital Transformation announced that the EDIH projects went to the consortia DIGI-SI of Maribor University and SRC-EDIH of the Novo Mesto Development Centre. EDIHs will function as one-stop shops helping companies respond to digital challenges and boost their competitiveness.

Experiment crates for kids win Startup of the Year Award

LJUBLJANA - Inno Lab, the company that makes crates providing tools for a variety of experiments aiming to make children interested in physics, mathematics and IT, was declared the best startup in Slovenia for this year. Inno Lab took part in the TV competition Štartaj Slovenija in 2020 and now it is launching international sales of the Innobox through Italian Amazon. The shortlist for the Start:Up 2022 award included companies DeltaHub, Epidemic, mPOR and SaleSqueze.

Slovenian American on front line of fight against cancer

NEW YORK, US - Andreja Čerček, a Slovenian-American oncologist with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the US, is on the front line of the fight against cancer. After co-authoring a study on experimental treatment of early-stage rectal cancer with immunotherapy, she hopes that these findings could be applied to treatment of other cancers. News of a successful rectal cancer treatment that completely eradicated the disease in all twelve participating patients is making headlines in the US and around the world.

New architecture platform LINA launched in Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - A new architecture platform LINA was launched in Ljubljana on Monday, connecting 28 European and Mediterranean organisations. Its representatives gathered for a two-day general assembly in Plečnik's House. LINA, a continuation of the project Future Architecture, aims to support the work of young architects with research, prototype creation and exchange of know-how as well as promote environmentally friendly construction. It hopes to mobilise the European architectural sector for clean, circular and sustainable projects in line with the New European Bauhaus initiative.

Ljubljana Festival opens with tribute to pop song lyrics

LJUBLJANA - The 70th Ljubljana Festival, one of the most high-profile festivals in the country, opened in Congress Square with a tribute to the Slovenian poets who have contributed lyrics for some of the most memorable Slovenian pop songs, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. The Summer Night concert coincides with the 60th anniversary of Slovenian Pop Song, a festival that has produced some of the best Slovenian Golden Oldies. Twenty-three songs will be sung by 13 singers.

Storm in NE Slovenia uncovers roofs and topples trees

MARIBOR/SLOVENJ GRADEC - The regions of Štajerska and Koroška in north-eastern Slovenia were hit by a violent storm on Monday evening that uprooted many trees, uncovered roofs and damaged other infrastructure, the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief has reported. The largest number of firefighter interventions were needed in the municipality of Maribor, where according to the fire brigade commander Primož Osojnik they were mostly removing fallen trees, but also temporarily repairing roofs and removing light debris.

STA, 17 June 2022 - More than ten years after becoming the first city in Slovenia with a bike sharing system, Ljubljana has now also got its own e-bike rental system with 75 Nomago Bikes made available at 25 docking stations. 

With Thursday's launch of the new system, Ljubljana has become the 12th municipality with an e-bike rental system operated by Nomago, a travel and transportation company.

The bikes have a battery capacity from 60 to 80 km. Renting the bike for 30 minutes costs EUR 1.3, with different subscriptions also available.

Of the 25 docking stations, 17 are in public spaces, of which 15 next to existing BicikeLJ stations, one in the P+R Stanežiče parking lot and one in the parking lot at the foothill of Šmarna Gora, the popular Ljubljana hiking spot.

Some companies have joined the project as well and set up stations next to their buildings.

Attending the launch, Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković said he long opposed Ljubljana having an e-bike system. "Our city is ideal for non-motorised biking," he said, adding that his colleagues convinced him e-bike rental was a good opportunity to connect Ljubljana and the neighbouring municipalities.

Marjan Beltram, executive director for tourism and mobility at Nomago, said the company aimed to double the capacities in Ljubljana in a year and connect the system with neighbouring municipalities to set up a unified system for the whole urban region around Ljubljana.

Before the first use of the bike, users are required to register over the mobile app or website Nomago Bikes and connect a payment card, PayPal or Urbana to their account.

Accounts for e-bike systems in other towns can be used in Ljubljana as well and up to three bikes can be rented simultaneously with one account.

All bikes are equipped with smart locks so they can be returned even when the charging station is full.

A monthly subscription fee is EUR 15 and a yearly EUR 45, for international student card (ISIC) holders it costs EUR 10 a month and EUR 25 a year. For subscribers a 30-minute rental is free with every 30 minutes after that costing EUR 1.3.

More details at the website