STA, 23 October 2020 - The government has set more details regarding lockdown measures and exceptions to the ban on crossing Slovenia's statistical regions, as the whole country was declared a red zone on Thursday, including the coastal Obalno-Kraška region, the only one that was still orange-coded.

The government decided on Thursday that delivery of food, drinks, medications and basic necessities as well as room service will be allowed during curfew between 9pm and 6am. The curfew also does not apply for persons who are transiting the country or coming home from abroad.

The government also specified the rules for exceptions to the ban on crossing the regions for close family members, who can travel to another region together when going there to do maintenance or seasonal work on their property.

In line with the changed government decree, the exception applies for close family members such as a spouse, partner or a divorced spouse or partner who is paying alimony, their parents, legitimate or illegitimate child, adopted child or a child in the process of adoption, when they are travelling together.

The exception in place for providing care for a family member, now also applies for parenting and contacts with one's child.

On Saturday, Slovenia will go into a full lockdown for a week, meaning that hotels, shopping centres, and student dorms will close as well, with more details here.

All our stories on covid-19 and Slovenia

STA, 22 October 2020 - British company Ascent Resources has entered into direct negotiations with Slovenia in a bid to potentially settle the dispute over permits for the extraction of gas in the north-east of the country.

In an announcement made in a filing with the London Stock Exchange, Ascent Resources says the negotiations will be carried out on a strictly confidential basis.

The company says the negotiations will not prejudice its rights to pursue its investment treaty claim under the UK - Slovenia bilateral investment treaty and the Energy Charter Treaty.

Claiming that Slovenia is breaching its obligations under the two treaties to the detriment of the company's investments in Slovenia, Ascent Resources has formally begun procedures to start an investor dispute against Slovenia at international arbitration.

The request for arbitration cannot be entered after the expiry of a three-month period in which the parties can try to solve the dispute amicably.

According to explanations recently provided by the Slovenian State Attorney's office, request for arbitration can be filed after 23 October unless the dispute has been resolved by then. This is because the official notification on the existence of the dispute was handed to Slovenia on 23 July.

The company alleges that through Slovenia's violation of its obligations under the two treaties, it has sustained considerable harm, considering it has invested more than EUR 50 million in the development of the Petišovci oil and gas field.

The Slovenian Environment Agency issued a decision in March that an environmental impact assessment is needed before a permit can be issued for extraction of gas in Petišovci by re-stimulating two currently producing wells as planned by Ascent Resources and its Slovenian partner Geoenergo. The decision was upheld by the Administrative Court in June this year.

All our stories on Ascent Resources and Slovenia

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Slovenia to close non-essential shops, hotels, kindergartens to limit spread of coronavirus

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will put in place new restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus. Non-essential shops will be closed, as will hotels, kindergartens and student dormitories, Prime Minister Janez Janša announced. The measures, entering into force on Saturday, will initially be in place for a week and will then be re-evaluated. He noted that the option to limit movement to municipalities like was the case in the spring was still on the table. The government will decide on it in the coming days.

Yet a new daily coronavirus high, nine deaths

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's coronavirus tally soared to another daily record as 1,663 infections were confirmed from a record 6,215 tests on Wednesday, a positivity rate of over 25%. Data released by the government show that nine more Covid-19 patients died, but the total death toll is not clear due to different figures reported for the day before. Hospitalisations increased to 357, with 62 patients in intensive care. Covid tracker site data shows 10,136 active cases in the country. The cumulative 14-day average number of infections per 100,000 residents rose to 484.

Govt asks parliament to grant army limited police powers on border

LJUBLJANA - The government asked parliament to activate Article 37a the defence act which gives members of the Slovenian Armed forces certain police powers on the border. The proposal, which the government says is primarily needed because of the additional burdened placed on police by the epidemic, needs a two-thirds majority. Article 37.a was passed at the peak of the migration crisis, in October 2015, and once activated allows the army to help the police in "broader protection of the state border".

Janša and Merkel discuss bilateral ties, EU issues, pandemic

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke via videoconference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They discussed the Covid-19 situation in Europe, the EU presidency trio's activities and the situation in the Western Balkans. Janša said that Germany had offered emergency medical equipment should Slovenia require it.
He said the conversation with Merkel lasted an hour and involved a very in-depth estimate of the measures both countries have been taking to contain the virus.

FM meets Belarusian opposition leader, Lithuanian counterpart

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Foreign Minister Anže Logar met Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as part of his visit to Lithuania yesterday. He said that Slovenia advocated dialogue between all political stakeholders, called for peaceful talks, and expressed support for the efforts made as part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) and Council of Europe. Logar also discussed the situation in Belarus and other topics with his host and counterpart Linas Antanas Linkevičius today.

Slovenian, Portuguese, German defence ministers talk European defence

LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin had an informal videoconference with his German and Portuguese counterparts, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Joao Gomes Cravinho. The talks focused on European defence policy. Germany, Portugal and Slovenia form the current trio of presiding EU countries and the ministers called for a substantial headway in European defence policy during this time, the Slovenian Defence Ministry said.

Ex-ambassador: US elections to affect entire world

LJUBLJANA - Former Slovenian Ambassador to the US Božo Cerar told the STA ahead of the US presidential elections that the vote would be important not just for the US but the whole world. "Some say it will be decisive for the US democracy. But I'd say it will have an important impact on global relations, transatlantic relations and also on stability in Europe." He is "trying to be a neutral observer but I still think it would definitely be better for Europe and for trans-Atlantic relations if Biden won".

Free kindergarten for second child and beyond proposed

LJUBLJANA - The government has adopted amendments to the act on kindergartens. If a family has two kids in kindergarten at the same time, the second child would be enrolled for free. For families with more than two kids, kindergarten would additionally be free for the third child and beyond regardless of how many are in kindergarten at the same time. It says this will increase the rate of enrolment.

Consumer confidence down for second consecutive month

LJUBLJANA - Consumer confidence deteriorated for the second consecutive month in October, as Slovenians are becoming more pessimistic about the state of the national economy. The index has dropped by five percentage points over September and is 19 percentage points lower than a year ago and 23 points below last year's average. The Statistics Office attributes the annual decline to pessimism about jobs (-34 percentage points) and Slovenia's economy (-27 points).

Ascent Resources in talks with Slovenia over gas project row

LJUBLJANA - British company Ascent Resources announced it had entered into direct negotiations with Slovenia in a bid to potentially settle a dispute over permits for the extraction of gas in the north-east of the country. The company formally begun procedures to start an investor dispute against Slovenia at international arbitration claiming the country breached its obligations under the UK - Slovenia bilateral investment treaty and the Energy Charter Treaty.

Maribor Uni secures EUR 29m to upgrade research infrastructure

MARIBOR - The University of Maribor has signed a EUR 29 million contract to purchase additional equipment to upgrade the national research infrastructure, which is expected to raise research at the university to internationally comparable and competitive levels. While 80% of the amount will be provided by the European Regional Development Fund, the rest will be chipped in by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.

Singer-songwriter Vlado Kreslin wins Ježek Award

LJUBLJANA - Singer-songwriter, musician and poet Vlado Kreslin is the recipient of this year's Ježek Award, an accolade celebrating creative and witty radio and television oeuvres and achievements. Kreslin is instilling a spirit of freedom, solidarity, tolerance and joie de vivre in Slovenia's cultural sphere, the judging panel has said. Kreslin is seen as one of those who have picked up the baton of Frane Milčinski - Ježek, a famous poet, satirist and comedian, after whom the award is named.

Bear conservation project receives EU Life 2020 award

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Life Dinalp Bear, a Slovenian-led research project dealing with population level management and conservation of brown bears in the northern Dinaric Mountains and the Alps, has won the Life 2020 award in the nature category. The award was presented on Wednesday as part of the EU Green Week.

Chairs by designer Zupanc on show at MAO

LJUBLJANA - The Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) in Ljubljana is showcasing a selection of the oeuvre of internationally acclaimed product and interior designer Nika Zupanc. The exhibition, presented by the Centre for Creativity, displays a selection of chairs designed by Zupanc, from the latest ones designed for Natuzzi and premiered this year, to earlier ones designed for Moroso. Visitors are limited to groups of five due to coronavirus restrictions.

First poetry collection for deafblind comes out

LJUBLJANA - The Deafblind Association of Slovenia Dlan marked European Deafblind Day with the launch of two books, including the first poetry collection for the deafblind in Slovenia. The head of the Dlan association, Janko Plesec, had been working on the collection Veseli Vandrovček (Merry Traveller) since 2016, writing the poems down with the help of his personal assistants. The other book, about haptic communication with the deafblind, is by the association's secretary Simona Gerenčer Pegan.

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STA, 22 October 2020 - Slovenia will put in place new restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus. Non-essential shops will be closed, as will hotels, kindergartens and student dormitories, with some exceptions, Prime Minister Janez Janša announced on Thursday. The measures, entering into force on Saturday, will initially be in place for a week.

The new measures come after wide-ranging restrictions, including a 9pm-6am curfew, an inter-regional movement ban, limited gatherings, remote education for most children, the closure of bars, and mandatory masks outdoors were already introduced in the past week.

While non-essential shops are closing, delivery, including from restaurants, will still be allowed. Kindergartens, which Janša says were closing to due a significant rise in infections among staff, will still be available for children whose parents work and cannot secure daycare, but Janša also called on employers to switch to work from home if only possible.

Student homes will be closing for all who do not have other accommodation next week, while public transport will be scaled down to a third of full capacity.

The border regime is not changing and transit will continue to be allowed, with Janša saying that no noteworthy import of the virus from other currently was presently being recorded.

While no additional restrictions are being introduced for sports activities - top-level competitions continue, while recreational sport is already mostly restricted to individual activities -hair and beauty salons are closing down.

The prime minister, who urged compliance with protective measures and stressed that Slovenia already braved such circumstances in the spring, explained that the situation would be re-evaluated after a week.

He noted that the option to limit movement to municipalities like was the case in the spring was still on the table. The government will decide on it in the coming days.

Janša said that daily confirmed Covid-19 cases continued to rise and would for a while, which is why it was too early to say whether the measures adopted recently would be enough to contain the spread.

He said the option of mass testing was being examined as well, first for high-risk groups and in the weeks after that for the entire population.

Janša announced that a taskforce is already drawing up gudilines for a new stimulus package and that the measures would be similar to those seen in the spring.

He said that next week, when the autumn holidays are scheduled for school children, will be "the week of the fight to stop the spread of the virus among us".

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STA, 20 October 2020 - Slovenian filmmakers have made an urgent appeal to the government, the head of state and Human Rights Ombudsman in a bid to have the government release the approved funding for films, some of which have already been made but those working on them have still not been paid.

In an appeal sent out of Monday, the Association of Slovenian Filmmakers (Filmski producenti Slovenije) calls for an end to "the blockade of Slovenian cinematography", warning that the chronic lack of funding and the coronavirus pandemic is making the alarming state of the film industry worse by the day.

The reason for the situation is the hold-up of funds approved in the state budget for 2019 and 2020 under the previous government and confirmed in the revised budget for 2020 under the current government: "Those are payments based on contracts signed between the Slovenian Film Centre (SFC) and producers in 2018 and 2019, which the Culture Ministry has endorsed and put forward for confirmation by the government."

The appeal notes that the Culture Ministry put forward three claims for funds to the government between 13 March and 31 August, one for EUR 837,995, which was endorsed in early April, one for EUR 536,873 to fund ten projects in 2020 and 2021, and one for EUR 2.62 million for 21 projects this year and the next.

The association notes that work on most of the projects started a while ago and that some films had already been shot in 2019 or early this year, while some, in particular co-productions, have already had successful international releases.

"What they all have in common is that the creators and other workers have not yet been paid for the work they have done (even as far back as November 2019) and that ongoing projects cannot be completed because of the hold-up in funding," reads the appeal.

The SFC has managed to get less than one-fifth of the funds approved in the 2020 budget.

As a result film production planned for this year is all but on hold, as is most of pre-production and production for at least next two years, while most of those who have worked on 31 projects for which payments have been suspended have not been paid since November 2019.

Many of those have ended up without their livelihoods: even those who applied for a basic monthly income allowance, have been approved aid for two months and a half at the most, reads the release.

Furthermore, the filmmakers note that no new calls for projects have been published and even some of those published last year have not been completed yet, while the second wave of coronavirus is taking further toll on the audiovisual sector.

Unless the government approves funds already committed at the next session, the filmamkers plan to notify relevant international institutions.

STA, 22 October 2020 - Slovenia's coronavirus tally soared to another daily record on Wednesday as 1,663 infections were confirmed in a record 6,215 tests, show fresh government data. The test positivity rate remained above 25%. Nine Covid-19-related fatalities were recorded.

Initially it was reported that five persons infected with coronavirus died yesterday, however the government later tweeted that there were nine fatalities.

Hospitalisation numbers continue to rise as well. There were 357 patients in hospital yesterday, 24 more than on Tuesday, including 62 in intensive care, up by seven. A total of 32 were discharged home.

Data from the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org show that there are currently 10,136 active cases in the country. The incidence rate, the average number of cases per 100,000 residents over the past fortnight, is 484.

Gorenjska remains the statistical region with the highest incidence rate, 759, followed by Koroška and central Slovenia, heard today's government briefing.

The coastal Obalno-Kraška region, the only one still to be orange-coded, has had the lowest incidence rate, however the situation is worsening there as well. The incidence rate there is currently 131, nine points short of the threshold for red-listing the region.

Matjaž Jereb, head of the intensive care unit at the Department of Infectious Diseases at the UKC Ljubljana hospital, said via videolink that estimates show there are currently 15,000-20,000 active cases in Slovenia.

He pointed out that apart from rising hospitalisation figures, a major issue was also the virus spreading among healthcare staff. More than 100 health workers are infected at UKC Ljubljana, a ballpark figure, he said.

Jereb believes that a steep curve of new cases is a result of prevention measures being flouted and a critical mass of the infected surpassed.

Responding to Health Minister Tomaž Gantar's suggesting a complete lockdown to contain the epidemic, Jereb said the measure was an unpopular course of action due to its ramifications, however he believes "it would likely solve the problem".

He also commented on Slovakia's plan to test the entire population, deeming it impractical including due to limited lab capacities. He highlighted that heeding precaution measures was vital.

When it comes to the option of treating patients outside hospitals, in makeshift facilities, during extreme situations, Jereb said that would not be a wise decision in case of severely ill patients, however it could serve the purpose for less serious cases.

There has been some unclarity as to the number of Covid-related fatalities for Tuesday with the Health Ministry and tracker site data showing ten fatalities, while government spokesman Jelko Kacin and the government tweet yesterday reported eight deaths for the previous day.

The tracker site shows five fatalities rather than nine fatalities for Wednesday, so the overall death toll is not clear; tracker site has 207.

Germany puts all but one Slovenian region on red list

STA, 22 October 2020 - Germany has expanded its list of international risk areas, travellers from where need to undergo a 14-day quarantine, adding the Slovenian regions of Posavje and Goriška to leave only one Slovenian region out of the list.

As of Saturday, Posavje and Goriška will be on the list together with all other Slovenian regions except the Coastal-Karst region in the south west.

Germany started putting Slovenian statistical regions on the red list on 23 September, and updated it once more at the beginning of October.

Travellers coming to Germany from these regions may shorten their two-week quarantine by producing a negative test for Covid-19.

Germany's red list is determined by the federal ministries of health, interior and foreign affairs following opinions of the Robert Koch Institute based on the latest incidence data, as well as other criteria.

As of Saturday, all regions of Poland and Switzerland will also be on the list, as well as entire Austria with the exception of the state of Carinthia. Many other countries and regions have also been red-listed by Germany.

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STA, 21 October 2020 - There were technical issues preventing some students from participating in remote learning when students from grade 6 switched top remote learning on Monday. The authorities say the kinks have now been ironed out and the system is robust enough even if all students switch to remote learning.

On Monday many students reported having problems logging into accounts that were set up specifically to access online classrooms run by the Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES), which provides internet infrastructure for educational and research institutions in Slovenia.

On Tuesday there were still some glitches with the online classrooms, while today ARNES witness two distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks, at 8am, when most students were logging in, and again at 10am. The online classrooms were therefore unavailable for roughly 15 minutes, but both attacks were successfully deflected, ARNES said today.

ARNES director Marko Bonač provided assurances that the problems have been sorted out as he met with Education Ministry State Secretary Jure Gašparič today. "I hope it stays this way," he said.

Gašparič said the system was now "sufficiently robust and resilient" even if students from grades one to five of primary school were to switch to remote learning now.

Education Minister Simona Kustec expressed regret and said she expected the system will be stable in the future. "I hope that this was a beginners' mistake that will not happen again because it must not happen."

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia

STA, 21 October 2020 - Several violations were reported after a 9pm-6am Covid-19 curfew took effect on Tuesday, according to the Health Inspectorate. Several warnings were issued in Maribor, where a protest took place, and one minor offences proceeding was initiated. In Ljubljana ten warnings were issued.

A group of around 50 gathered in the central square in Maribor yesterday evening to protest the curfew. Maribor police said warnings were issued and one minor offences proceeding initiated. The crowd dispersed by 9:30pm.

In Ljubljana, ten warnings were issued.

Ljubljana police were also notified of a gathering of a larger group of persons in Fužine borough. A patrol car which arrived at the site asked for reinforcements, during which time several people started throwing items into the car.

The individuals dispersed before more patrol cars arrived at the scene. The police said the individuals could not be identified.

Compliance with the curfew is monitored by the Health Inspectorate along with the police. Fines for violations range from EUR 400 to EUR 4,000.

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: 

Record 1503 coronavirus cases in Slovenia on Tuesday, eight people die

LJUBLJANA - A record 1,503 Sars-CoV-2 infections were confirmed in Slovenia on Tuesday as the test positivity rate exceeded 25%. In the deadliest day yet, eight Covid-19 patients died, raising the death toll to 200. Covid-19 hospitalisations rose by 20 to 333. The number of patients in intensive care decreased by one to 55. Health Minister Tomaž Gantar said the number of beds required for Covid-19 patients increases by 10-12 every day but enough beds were still available. According to him, 100-150 ICU beds for Covid-19 patients was manageable, but he noted that beds as well as trained staff were required.

Cinemas, music venues being shut down, top-level sport may continue

LJUBLJANA - Galleries, museums, archives and libraries will be the only cultural venues that are allowed to provide in-person services to visitors in most of Slovenia from Thursday under government decrees that entered into force today. Some top level sports may continue for registered athletes over age 15 as well. Top-level competitions in selected group sports - ice hockey, basketball, football, volleyball and handball - and in individual sports are allowed.

Constitutional Court, C-bank nominees fall short of needed parliamentary support

LJUBLJANA - Anže Erbežnik ended up two votes short of appointment as Constitutional Court judge in a 44:35 secret ballot at the National Assembly. The result was the same for the nominee for Banka Slovenije vice-governor Arjana Brezigar Masten, who also needed the absolute majority of all votes. The majority of deputy groups did not state their preferences in the debate leading to the vote. Both candidates had been endorsed at the committee level. President Borut Pahor said he will repeat both calls for applications.

Key changes to act governing anti-graft commission passed

LJUBLJANA - MPs passed changes to the integrity and prevention of corruption act which the government argues strengthen the preventive and supervisory role of the anti-graft commission. They also aim at clearly delineating the powers in prosecution of corruption between the commission on the one hand and the police and prosecution on the other. Transparency International Slovenia welcomed the changes, but said this was only the first step in what should be a comprehensive overhaul of the anti-corruption framework.

Logar discusses Covid-19 measures with Latvian counterpart

RIGA, Latvia - Foreign Minister Anže Logar continued his three-day tour of the Baltics by meeting his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevičs for talks that focused on the importance of coordinating measures to battle the Covid-19 pandemic. They called for a joint EU approach in coordinating these measures but noted that this was largely within the purview of national governments. The ministers talked about the possibility to cross national borders in a way which would affect EU citizens the least and enable companies to continue to operate normally.

Parliament amends act to tackle packaging waste management

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly unanimously passed amendments to the environmental protection act designed to tackle the long-running problem of packaging waste and to transpose EU directives in the field. Under the amendments, packaging waste treatment companies will need to accept all waste from waste collection utility companies based on a fee paid by the companies that produce such waste. The amended law will allow for a decree to be passed that will extend the liability to pay waste packaging fee to those that put less than 15 tonnes of packaging on the market a year, the threshold that is being blamed for the large amounts of waste piling up at utility companies.

Parliament passes efficient energy use act

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a new act on efficient use of energy, with nearly all deputy groups expressing satisfaction with the document drafted to exclude energy use from the energy act and incorporating EU legislation in the field. The act lays down measures to boost efficient energy use in all sectors and involving all players. At the EU level energy efficiency must be increased by 32.5% by 2030, while Slovenia aims for 35% between 2007 and 2030, Infrastructure Ministry state secretary Blaž Košorok told the MPs.

Legal basis for e-tolling of cars passed

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly endorsed an amendment to the motorway tolling act that creates the legal basis for the e-tolling of cars. The new system is to become operational by the end of next year and drivers will be able to buy "electronic vignettes" via an app, online or at service stations. Slovenia currently has annual, monthly and weekly toll stickers for cars, and annual, six-month or weekly toll stickers for motorbikes. These categories will remain unchanged, as will prices for the time being.

Slovenia sees agreement on CAP as exceptional achievement

BRUSSELS/LUXEMBOURG - EU agriculture ministers reached agreement on the new common agricultural policy (CAP) for 2021-2017 after lengthy negotiations. Slovenia's Jože Podgoršek labelled the deal as an exceptional achievement for the entire agricultural sector. "Slovenia has managed to secure important elements for the development of agriculture, while considering the environmental protection guidelines," he said. The minister added that special attention was paid to small farmers in that the administrative burden will be reduced.

C-bank says economic outlook worsening, labour market still stable

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian central bank noted that economic outlook had been sharply deteriorating in recent weeks, with services being the most vulnerable sector. The increasing uncertainty is expected to delay companies' decisions to invest, while the situation on the labour market is still favourable due to the government measures. In its latest Economic and Financial Trends publication, Banka Slovenije says the crisis in the eurozone would have been much deeper without the fast and extensive response of economic policies.

Prosecution appeals decision to stop procedure against late collaborationist general

LJUBLJANA - The prosecution has appealed against the Ljubljana District Court's decision to stop renewed criminal proceedings against late collaborationist general Leon Rupnik after the Supreme Court quashed his 1946 death sentence, according to a report by the newspaper Dnevnik. The prosecutor in charge filed the appeal on 12 October, challenging the District Court's argument that a dead person could not be found guilty of a crime and that the case would put the court in an absurd position when it passed a milder sentence from the one already executed. The prosecution reportedly argues that a retrial in the case no longer constitutes criminal prosecution and that the procedure could not be halted as in a regular criminal procedure.

Slovenia close to OECD average in digital government

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia ranks 17th in the 2019 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI), the first OECD survey measuring the use of digital technologies and data for user-driven public services in 33 countries. With an overall score of 0.51 Slovenia is just above the OECD average of 0.50. Slovenia ranked close to the OECD average in most categories, but it was above it in the category "open by default", meaning the extent to which data, information, systems and processes are open to the public.

Changes in work during pandemic discussed at AmCham event

LJUBLJANA - The coronavirus pandemic has shown what work might look like in the future, AmCham Business Breakfast participants agreed. However, it also revealed the shortcomings of work from home, and Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said that the government was aware of the challenges and was doing its best to address them. The mass shift toward remote working has shown shortcomings in terms of companies' preparedness and also in legislation, Sanja Savič of PwC Slovenija said at the online event. The minister agreed that administrative procedures needed simplifying and said that the ministry was trying to see to it that a simple labour contract annex would suffice for transition to remote work.

NGOs face eviction from Metelkova compound

LJUBLJANA - More than a dozen independent producers and non-governmental organisations face the threat of eviction from the state-owned premises in a former military compound in Metelkova Street in Ljubljana that witnessed some of the landmark events leading to Slovenia's independence. Some of the NGOs that have their premises in the building received an appeal from the Culture Ministry on Monday that they move out by the end of January 2021 or face a court-imposed eviction. The ministry, which has highlighted that the users have been paying rent and that some have not even paid for their running expenses, says the building is in a bad state of disrepair and is slated for renovation. The NGOs argue that budget funds for the planned renovation are not planned until 2023 and are refusing to leave.

Cinematheque launches new exhibition space with Fellini display

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Cinematheque will open its new exhibition space with a display dedicated to Italian director Federico Fellini on Friday. Alongside the exhibition, the Cinematheque also planned a Fellini retrospective, as a way to honour the centenary of his birth. However, screenings have had to be postponed due to the coronavirus situation. The travelling exhibition features set photographies, Fellini's original drawings, costumes and interviews, as well as private letters and family pictures, among other things.

Indictments filed in Croatia for drug smuggling through Slovenia

ZAGREB, Croatia - The Croatian prosecution indicted 13 persons, presumably including two Slovenian citizens, over the smuggling and sale of illicit drugs which also took place on Slovenian territory. The Croatia Office for the Suppression of Organised Crime and Corruption (USKOK) said the drugs were acquired in the Netherlands, and that rented apartments in Slovenia's Pohorje Hills were used as a location for stashing the drugs.

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STA, 21 October 2020 - More than a dozen independent producers and non-governmental organisations face the threat of eviction from the state-owned premises in a former military compound in Metelkova Street in Ljubljana that witnessed some of the landmark events leading to Slovenia's independence.

Some of the NGOs that have their premises in the building received an appeal from the Culture Ministry on Monday that they move out by the end of January 2021 or face a court-imposed eviction.

The ministry says the building is in a bad state of disrepair and is slated for renovation, but the NGOs say that budget funds for the planned renovation are not planned until 2023 and are refusing to leave.

The NGOs say the ministry has not offered them substitute premises or engaged in dialogue with them, which is why they understand the move as an "attack on civil society and independent culture in the desire to prevent the activity of a critical public".

The building is home to several internationally renowned independent producers and organisations active in cultural and artistic production, research and advocacy of minority and marginalised groups, including the Peace Institute, Zavod Maska, Škuc, the producers of City of Women and Kino Otok film festival, dance company PTL, and the arts collective NSK.

In a press release on Tuesday, the organisations noted that their work can be traced back to the legacy of the movements that "in the 1980s promoted the society's democratisation and demilitarisation, thus decisively contributing to the adoption of a democratic constitution after independence".

The compound was where Janez Janša, the incumbent prime minister, was detained by the Yugoslav army in 1988 before being put on trial by the military for allegedly divulging a military secret in a newspaper article, along with three other defendants in what is known as the JBTZ process.

The quartet's arrest and subsequent trial triggered massive protests and acted as a catalyst for Slovenia's democratisation and independence.

One of the key symbolic events in the efforts for democratisation and demilitarisation as pointed out by the NGOs was in 1993 when culture workers, artists and activists occupied what used to be the Yugoslav army's Ljubljana headquarters.

"Ever since it has constituted a public space where we respect diversity, solidarity, dialogue and critical thought. Those values and historical facts are what the current government seeks to erase, even though the prime minister used to count himself among pacifists," the NGOs say.

They say the building in Metelkova 6 is the only one that the Culture Ministry has allocated to independent cultural, artistic and research organisations working in the interests of the public, but that the ministry chose to "withdraw our basic infrastructure amid the pandemic".

The building is the only part of the south section of the Metelkova compound that is yet to be renovated. Owned by the Culture Ministry, the section is home to three museums and several other cultural institutions.

The north section of the compound, known as AKC Metelkova Mesto, has developed into an alternative culture hub after being squatted by artists in the early 1990s as the city authorities, which assumed ownership of that part of Metelkova, started pulling down the buildings. The former military prison has been turned into a hostel called Celica.

The NGOs insist that they will "not leave the building and will stand up full force against attacks on the civil society, independent culture and democracy".

In response for the STA, the Culture Ministry said the building concerned was unsafe to reside in: "The main structure is undermined, the roof is leaking, part of the roofing has fallen off and damaged a car in the parking lot."

The ministry noted that the building, which is not earthquake safe, had been planned for urgent renovation under the previous government, and to avoid any risk it urged the 18 users to move out so the building could be refurbished.

The ministry said that none of the users of the building have been paying rent and that some have not even paid for their running expenses.

The NGOs facing eviction have been backed by the centre-left opposition, in particular the Left, and an online petition signed by more than 2,300 people, which accuses the government of "trying to destroy the cultural sector, and in particular NGOs".

Related: 25th Anniversary of the Conquest of Metelkova