09 Jul 2020, 04:30 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 9 July 2020

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:

Govt limits gatherings to 10 people, as 24 more infections confirmed

LJUBLJANA - The government lowered the number of persons allowed in public gatherings from 50 to 10. Official events of up to 50 people will be allowed if the organiser keeps a record of all the participants. The decision came as Slovenia recorded 24 new infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus after 1,607 people were tested on Tuesday. The outcome is in line with the slightly raised but still fluctuating curve seen in the past week. The number of active cases rose to 223, out of 1,763 positive cases so far. A total of 14 Covid-19 patients were in hospital on Tuesday.

Janša calls for single European coronavirus tracing app

BRUSSELS, Belgium - PM Janez Janša called for a uniform and not entirely voluntary coronavirus tracing app for the whole of Europe, saying this was the only option that would allow tourism to continue and prevent public life from coming to a halt again. Janša made the call in a video debate on the challenges of the EU organised by the Foundation for a Civic Hungary and also featuring Hungarian PM Viktor Orban and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Janša also spoke of "cultural Marxism" as the biggest ideological threat to the EU.

Pahor, Van der Bellen to mark 100 years of Carinthian plebiscite together

VIENNA, Austria - Slovenian and Austrian presidents, Borut Pahor and Alexander Van der Bellen, agreed to mark the centenary of the Carinthian plebiscite, which determined the border between Austria and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, together. The programme of the 10 October event has largely been agreed, Pahor said, arguing this would be an opportunity to reflect on the past and think about the future. Pahor and Van der Bellen met on Tuesday evening ahead of the seventh trilateral meeting of the presidents of three neighbouring countries - Slovenia, Austria and Croatia. Today the presidents, including Croatia's Zoran Milanović, discussed measures to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to fight climate change.

PM Janša fails to notify parliament of Interior Minister Hojs' "irrevocable resignation"

LJUBLJANA - Parliament did not receive a PM Janez Janša's formal notification of Interior Minister Aleš Hojs's 30 July "irrevocable resignation that was accepted by the PM" by the Tuesday midnight deadline. This raises the question of whether Janša did not accept it and whether Hojs is staying on. The PM's office has not yet provided an explanation, while Hojs said when asked whether he was staying on, that this was in Janša's hands. The minister stepped down when the police carried out several house searches, including at the home of Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, as part of a probe into alleged wrongdoing in the procurement of PPE during the epidemic.

Ex-PM warms up to the idea of alternative interim cabinet

LJUBLJANA - Marjan Šarec, the former prime minister and leader of the largest opposition party, appears to have had a change of heart about the idea of attempting to form an alternative government. However, he believes the new PM should not come from a political party. Šarec initially rejected the idea, championed by Alenka Bratušek, another former prime minister, to call a "constructive vote of no confidence" in incumbent PM Janez Janša by putting forward a new PM candidate, as flawed. Bratušek's SAB party and the SocDems welcomed Šarec's change of mind. The Left insists on a snap election.

Report: Ministry working on media reform not just changes to RTVS act

LJUBLJANA - The Culture Ministry is not preparing only changes to the RTV Slovenija act but a media reform that would affect the acts on the media, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and audiovisual media services, the newspaper Delo reported. The changes to the act on the STA would change the appointment procedure for supervisors and for dismissing the STA director, putting the government in charge instead of parliament. The changes to the media act would extend the status of special importance also to other printed and on-line media, so they too would be financed from a part of the RTV Slovenija licence fee. Meanwhile, the opposition Left tabled amendments to the STA act to assign the wire service the duty to inform the international public in English about volunteer activities and NGOs.

30 years on, reconciliation still far away

LJUBLJANA - Divisions remain rife among Slovenians 30 years, to the day since a commemoration was held in the Kočevski Rog woods in a bid to heal the wounds the nation suffered as a result of post-WWII summary killings by Partisans. The event is believed to have made the nation more united when it was seeking independence, while many are convinced that it is even more divided now. More than 30,000 people attended the 8 July 1990 commemoration, which was led by then Ljubljana Archbishop Alojzij Šuštar and addressed by then President Milan Kučan.

C-bank expects labour market deterioration, especially once support is removed

LJUBLJANA - Banka Slovenije pointed out that the coronacrisis stimulus measures are having a marked effect on the labour market and that employment and wage statistics could deteriorate significantly once they are lifted. The central bank added that a deterioration on the labour market was also heralded by surveys conducted among companies. Banka Slovenije's latest quarterly report moreover says Slovenia suffered a strong decline in GDP in April, the prospects for the second half of the year are, however, more favourable. The financial situation of businesses meanwhile remains stable, while the state's fiscal situation has deteriorated. Revenue in the first five months decreased year-on-year by EUR 720 million or 9.2%, while expenditure was up by EUR 874 million or 11.4%.

Ljubljana airport operator's boss Skobir makes another call for state aid

BRNIK - Passenger numbers at Ljubljana airport have been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic even if many routes have already been relaunched. This is why Fraport Slovenija director Zmago Skobir believes the government should help airlines with state aid to preserve routes and aviation as a whole, which he sees as extremely important for Slovenia. "The situation now is no better than we anticipated back in April," Skobir said in an interview with the STA. The airport thus expects to realise only 30% of the planned passenger transport for 2020, or half a million passengers, but only if the relaunched routes are kept.

Lonstroff announces production expansion

LOGATEC - Lonstroff, a Swiss maker of elastomers, announced that its facility in Logatec south of Ljubljana, which was launched in January, would be an excellent starting point for expanding production across Europe. The company plans to boost workforce and increase production capacities in Slovenia. The 15,000-square metre facility is turning into Sumitomo's largest plant for medicinal products, said Naofumi Harada, director at the Lonstroff owner, the Japanese multinational Sumitomo Rubber Industries. Some six million products are expected to be produced there per year.

Hisense Gorenje setting up global R&D centre in Velenje

VELENJE - Home appliances maker Hisense Gorenje announced it would set up a global R&D centre for cooking appliances and dishwashers for the entire Hisense group in Velenje. "This means the in-house development team will be in charge of the entire development of the technology and appliances," the company said. This is an important step as until last year, Hisense Gorenje had only been developing products for factories in Europe. Hisense Europe employs some 360 experts in R&D, 290 of whom in Slovenia.

Slovenia preserves 12th ranking in Agenda 2030 implementation

LJUBLJANA - A report on progress towards the goals of UN's Agenda 2030 for sustainable development keeps Slovenia ranked in 12th place, while also ranking the country seventh when it comes to the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the 17 goals, Slovenia is marked best when it comes to the first goal, the eradication of extreme forms of poverty, and goal 16, the guaranteeing of peace, justice, and strong institutions. The biggest outstanding challenges for Slovenia concern measures targeting the eradication of poverty, securing sustainable ways of production and consumption, as well as measure against climate change and the preservation of the sea and its resources.

Embassy puts on display Germany's EU presidency priorities

LJUBLJANA - The German Embassy in Ljubljana inaugurated a photo exhibition featuring some of Germany's main political goals as the EU presiding country in a bid to draw the attention to the presidency's priorities beyond the coronavirus crisis. Large boards featuring urban environments, infrastructure, memorials, the countryside and people were put on the fence around the embassy in the city centre where Prešeren Road and Šubič Street meet. The exhibition runs until the end of the year.

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

08 Jul 2020, 16:02 PM

New Limits on Gatherings in Slovenia, Stricter Border Controls with Croatia, Austria

Updated at 17:25, 8 July

RTV Slovenia reports that the government is now limiting most gatherings to no more than 50 people, and that all meeings and parties for between 10 and 50 people will only be allowed in the organiser has everyone’s details - names, addresses and phone numbers - and keeps them for at least a month. The restriction will apply to private events, including weddings.

Changes to the ban on gatherings do not apply however to the number of people in restaurants and pubs or on buses. Church masses are allowed.

Sports and cultural events with up to 500 people are still possible if there is a police presence and the seating order is known.

Meanwhile, STA reports that the government has amended the border regime in force for passengers arriving in Slovenia from Covid-19 red-coded countries. As a result, only the Obrežje border crossing with Croatia is open around the clock for arrivals who are required to quarantine since last midnight.

Under amendments to its decree adopted by the government late last night, quarantine orders will be handed daily only between 6am and 10pm at the Gruškovje, Obrežje, Metlika and Jelšane crossings on the border with Croatia, Pince on the border with Hungary and Ljubljana airport.

Meanwhile, quarantine orders for arrivals who come from the Covid-19 high-risk countries coded red will continue to be handed around the clock at the Obrežje crossing.

At checkpoints on the border with Austria and Italy and at airports in Maribor and Portorož police will collect data on passengers, referring them to the Health Ministry, which will hand quarantine orders at the address of residence or where the person will be quarantined in Slovenia.

Quarantine orders are being handed at the border since Saturday. More than 1,000 such orders were issued at the weekend at the six designated border crossings.

Under the new system, health inspectors will be able to perform up to 500 inspections of adherence to quarantine rules a day.

The Health Inspectorate will also step up oversight of how eating and drinking establishments abide by the rules and measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus, including whether the distance between the tables is sufficient and whether antiseptics are available.

The Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak is quoted by RT Slovenia as stressing that it's very important for everyone entering Slovenia from Croatia to have evidence that they had not been travelling elsewhere. For Slovenians this would be a hotel receipt or proof of owning a property in Croatia. For Croatians the evidence is less clear, but Pečjak said that the Slovenian Police may contact their neighbours to find out if the travellers had recently been outside Croatia. All such evidence will be accepted at the discretion of the police officer, with Pečjak adding: "If they suspect that this person is not coming from only Croatia or any other EU country on the yellow list, they can issue a quarantine decision."

slovenia coronavirus who can enter.jpg

More on these lists here

He went on to say that a bill for coffee or lunch would not be sufficient for Slovenians, "as this only proves that this person was in Croatia", but not prove that they had not been in another country. The evidence “must be personalized and must prove that this person was present in the Republic of Croatia at all times and did not go to any of the areas on the red list.”

RTV Slovenia also reports that Austria is tightening controls on it's Slovenian and Hungarian borders. Crossings will still be allowed, but there will be more inspections.

This is a developing story, and there will probably be updates later today, so please check the main page, if needed,

08 Jul 2020, 12:12 PM

Bank of Slovenia Expects More Unemployment, Lower Wages When Covid-Support is Removed

STA, 8 July 2020 - Banka Slovenije has pointed out that the government's corona-crisis stimulus measures are having a marked effect on the labour market and that employment and wage statistics could deteriorate significantly once they are lifted. The central bank added that a deterioration on the labour market was also heralded by surveys conducted among companies.

Banka Slovenije's latest quarterly report, released on Wednesday, also says Slovenia suffered a strong decline in GDP in April, the prospects for the second half of the year are, however, more favourable.

The central bank pointed to a survey by the Statistics Office, which suggests demand will increase substantially in the third quarter, while it simultaneously projected a deterioration of the labour market situation in the second half of the year.

The financial situation of businesses meanwhile remains stable, which Banka Slovenia attributes to ample liquidity reserves, favourable bank financing, labour costs subsidies, the possibility of deferred tax payments, as well as the government's loan guarantees scheme.

On the other hand, the state's fiscal situation has deteriorated significantly. Revenue in the first five months decreased year-on-year by EUR 720 million or 9.2%, while expenditure was up by EUR 874 million or 11.4%.

The state deficit could reach around 8% of GDP this year, whereas public debt could rise to 2015 levels, when it stood at a record 82% of GDP.

08 Jul 2020, 11:20 AM

Culture Ministry Working on Proposals to Reform Slovenian Public Interest Media

STA, 8 July 2020 - The Culture Ministry is not preparing only changes to the RTV Slovenija act but a media reform that would bring changes to the media act, the act on the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and the act on audio-visual media services, the newspaper Delo reported on Wednesday.

The changes to the act on the STA would change the appointment procedure for supervisors and for dismissing the STA director. Under the proposal - the new supervisors would be appointed by the government within 15 days since the implementation of the act - the rules of the companies act would apply for appointments and dismissals at the STA.

The Culture Ministry thus proposes that the government and no longer the National Assembly appoint four supervisors, while one would be elected by the workers.

The STA director could be dismissed before the end of the term if a majority of the supervisory board decided so.

The changes to the media act would extend the status of special importance also to printed and on-line media which serve the public interest, so they too would be financed from a part of the RTV Slovenija licence fee.

Distributing a part of the licence fee to some other media is envisaged by the changes to the RTVS act. According to media reports, the draft changes envisage allocating 3% of the money to finance the STA and 5% to "implement public interest". RTV Slovenija would also have free access to STA contents.

But the public broadcaster would lose its transmitting business, which would be transferred onto a new fully state-owned company. The ministry would on the other hand mitigate advertising restrictions for RTV Slovenija.

A fund would be set up to finance Slovenian TV production. Led by the Culture Ministry, it would be financed by operators. Eligible to its funds would be TV broadcasters that have the status of a non-profit media outlet of special importance and reach at least 0.3% of viewers per month on average or are available for free via DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial).

Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti started presenting the planned changes to coalition partners last week, but no public presentation was held yet as the ministry says changes to the draft proposal are still possible.

08 Jul 2020, 09:56 AM

Planet TV Sold to Hungary’s TV2 Media, Associated with Orban

STA, 7 July 2020 - National telco Telekom Slovenije signed a contract on Tuesday with Hungarian media company TV2 Media selling Planet TV, its subsidiary which produces the eponymous TV channel. TV2 Media will pay EUR 5 million for the 100% share, Telekom said in a press release. The deal is expected to be finalised by autumn.

Today's development confirms the previous media reports on the sale and the value of the deal.

Telekom's supervisors have already given the green light while all the other approvals are expected by the end of September.

TV2 Media is owned by Jozsef Vida, whom media associate with the business network of the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz. Speculation that TV2 is eyeing Planet TV started in early June, when reports also mentioned Croatian entrepreneur Ivan Ćaleta as a second candidate.

The news portal Necenzurirano.si also reported about unofficial plans to merge Planet TV and Nova24TV, the news portal and website associated with the ruling Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and also in the ownership of Hungarian individuals reportedly close to Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban.

Telekom launched Planet TV in 2012 under the then SDS-led Janez Janša government. It was reported that the telecoms incumbent had been looking for a strategic partner which would buy a 49% share in the TV production company already at the beginning of January, only to change its mind later on.

According to the newspaper Delo, Planet TV has cost Telekom Slovenije EUR 80 million in the form of capital injections, advertisements, loans and other services since it was launched in September 2012, and has operated in the red.

The latest blow was the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce ordering Telekom last year to pay a EUR 23 million buyout to Antenna Group, the Greek partner who wanted out of the joint venture.

Telekom, which thus became the sole owner of Planet TV, saw the buyout significantly reduce its profit last year, which reached a mere EUR 1.2 million.

After initially announcing the search for a strategic partner, Telekom said in mid-March that selling the outright stake in Planet TV was also an option.

According to Necenzurirano.si, some supervisors expressed great reservations about the sale at today's session. They argued they had been presented only the Hungarian bid, which was picked as the best by the Telekom management and a financial consultant.

Several bids had reportedly arrived, with the second and third best bidders allegedly offering only one euro for the company.

Unlike the other bidders, the Hungarians reportedly received an assurance from Telekom that it would continue to advertise on Planet TV. Telekom reportedly also pledged to turn EUR 30 million in loans into Planet TV's capital before the sale is completed.

Telekom also allegedly plans to write off some EUR 3 million in business claims and contribute another million to help keep Planet TV afloat.

The portal also says that Hungarians could extend the sales procedure until the end of the year, but in that case Telekom would have to transfer another EUR 2 million to cover Planet TV's loss.

All our stories on Slovenia and Hungary are here

08 Jul 2020, 04:07 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Wednesday, 8 July 2020

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:

Flattening of curve urged as Slovenia turning Covid-19 yellow

LJUBLJANA - Officials announced ramped up inspections and testing and the possibility that gatherings could be limited to 10 people as the country recorded 23 new cases out of 1,325 tests conducted on Monday. Urging adherence to existing measures to flatten the curve, Mario Fafangel, the chief epidemiologist at the National Institute of Public Health, said the cumulative average infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants in the past two-weeks was 9.85, meaning at the 10 threshold "we've been using for other countries when designating them no longer safe" and coding them yellow. While the number of infections at the Vipava care home rose by one to 11 residents and seven staff, Fafangel revealed that another resident tested positive at a small care home in Kras. Cerknica, south of Ljubljana, is another hotspot after five residents tested positive Monday, having attended a private party of 30-40 people. Local authorities thus fear more infections.

Von der Leyen ready for dialogue with Slovenia on ECB archives

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission would like to keep the dialogue with Slovenia on ECB archives, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her response to a recent letter PM Janez Janša addressed to her over the suit the Commission has brought against Slovenia because of a 2016 seizure of ECB documents. Janša had inquired whether there was any chance the Commission withdraw the lawsuit, arguing it brought the investigation of alleged wrongdoing in the 2013 bank bailout in Slovenia to a standstill. Janša is scheduled to meet von der Leyen in Brussels on Thursday, so the issue could come up at the meeting.

Contact tracing app step closer to being adopted

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Labour Committee endorsed late on Monday a legislative package in preparation for the second wave of Covid-19 which seeks to save jobs and create a legal basis for a contact tracing app. Since they have failed to get the latter removed from the bill, the opposition announced they would challenge the app at the Constitutional Court. The government wants to make the use of the app mandatory for persons who test positive for the novel coronavirus and those ordered to quarantine. The package, to be debated by the plenary later this week, also extends the furlough scheme and expands where residents can redeem government holiday vouchers, among other things. Today, the Ljubljana Law Faculty's Institute for Criminology joined calls against the mandatory introduction of the app, saying the solution was not transparent, and interfered with legally protected human rights.

Planet TV sold to Hungarian media company for EUR 5m

LJUBLJANA - National telco Telekom Slovenije signed a contract with Hungarian media company TV2 Media selling Planet TV, its subsidiary which produces the eponymous TV channel. TV2 will pay EUR 5 million for the 100% share. The deal is expected to be finalised by the end of September after its gets all clearances, Telekom said in a release. TV2 is owned by Jozsef Vida, whom media associate with the business network of Hungary's ruling party Fidesz. Media reports suggest Planet TV could merge with Nova24TV, the TV associated with the ruling Slovenian Democrats (SDS) and also owned by Hungarian individuals reportedly close to Hungarian PM Victor Orban. Planet TV was launched in 2012 under the then SDS-led Janez Janša government.

Pahor meeting Austrian, Croatian counterparts in Vienna

VIENNA, Austria - President Borut Pahor arrived in Vienna tonight for what is the 7th trilateral meeting with his Austrian and Croatian counterparts, Alexander Van der Bellen and Zoran Milanović. The main topic of the talks, which will be held tomorrow, will be Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic and after it. They will talk about their countries' experience in facing the pandemic, measures to mitigate its impact and relaxing restrictions, as well as the EU's action to tackle the fallout from the pandemic.

Brussels keeps Slovenia forecast for 2020 at -7%

BRUSSELS, Belgium - In its summer forecast, the European Commission kept its projection for Slovenia's economy to shrink by 7% this year, while downgrading its outlook for the country for 2021 by 0.6 of a percentage point compared to the May forecast to 6.1% growth. The economic outlook for Slovenia for this year is better than for the eurozone as a whole, which is projected to see a 8.7% drop in GDP, which is a full percentage point more than the contraction projected in the spring.

DeSUS Ljubljana loses confidence in party leader Pivec

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana members of the junior coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) passed on Monday a motion of no-confidence in DeSUS leader Aleksandra Pivec, accusing her of failure to react to contentious government actions, acting contrary to the party's platform and engaging in opaque staffing. It wants the matter to be discussed by the DeSUS council, which has the power to discuss support for the president. In a brief written statement for public broadcaster TV Slovenija, Pivec said this was a carefully orchestrated affair. TV Slovenija added the no-confidence motion reflected the opinion of a minority of DeSUS members and had practically no chance of success. Pivec has led DeSUS since defeating long-serving leader Karl Erjavec at a party congress in January.

Profit for banks halved in first five months of year

LJUBLJANA - Banks in Slovenia generated EUR 152 million in pre-tax profit in the first five months of the year, a 50% drop year-on-year. Growth in loans to households was halved and loans to companies are gradually declining too. Exposure to non-performing loans due to anti-coronavirus crisis measures is not increasing yet, Banka Slovenije said in its latest report. The total assets of the banking system rose to EUR 42.9 billion in May, which is 7.2% more than in May 2019.

Insurance sector well capitalised after a successful year

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian insurance sector performed successfully last year, while it is facing a demanding year in 2020, primarily due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Insurance Supervision Agency's report for 2019 shows. The sector's capital adequacy nevertheless remains high, standing at 2.17 for insurers, and 2.82 for reinsurance companies. "The insurance sector is solid and is well capitalised," the agency's director Gorazd Čibej told the press, so it was well prepared for future challenges.

Police discover EUR 38m worth of tax evasion in two investigations

LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana criminal police presented the successful completion of two lengthy investigations which discovered a total of EUR 38 million in evaded taxes. One involved trade in electronic equipment among companies from several European countries and one discovered massive tax evasion in trade with scrap metal. Martin Rupnik, the head of the Ljubljana Police Department's sector for corporate crime, told the press the separate investigations into crimes that carry prison sentences of one to eight years, lasted several years, having had an international dimension. Criminal complaints were filed against three Slovenian companies and 28 individuals, of whom six British and three Italian citizens.

HIT records 50% drop in visits as casinos reopen

NOVA GORICA - Slovenia's largest gaming company HIT, which reopened its facilities on 13 June, is recording half the visitors seen in the Nova Gorica area (W) the same period last year, while turnover in its establishments in Kranjska Gora and Šentilj is somewhat better. The Nova Gorica-based company told the STA, following the reopening after the anti-coronavirus measures had been lifted, visits to HIT casinos were in line with the expectations. Out of 1,660 employees, some 100 remain on furlough.

Slovenians acquire most properties in Croatia since it joined EU

ZAGREB, Croatia - Since Croatia entered the EU in 2013, Slovenian citizens purchased a total of 9,439 properties in the country, which makes them the most numerous foreign owners of real estate in Croatia in that period. Unofficial estimates meanwhile put the total number at 110,000, mostly houses or apartments on the coast, as the bulk of them had been bought during the time of the former Yugoslavia, writes the Croatian newspaper Večernji List, citing data from the Croatian Tax Administration.

Charter flights with Greece set up again

BRNIK - A consortium of travel agencies has relaunched charter flights connecting Slovenia to Croatia's Dubrovnik and ten Greek islands. The first passengers flew to Greece from Brnik airport last Friday, so now more than 1,000 people are already holidaying there. The charter flights by air carrier Trade Air are being organised by travel agencies Palma, Kompas and Relax. According to Palma CEO Matej Knaus, the demand for package holidays in Greece is in line with expectations, at some 30-40% of last year's bookings. Some 200 flights are planned in the second half of the year. The consortium plans to maintain Slovenia's connectivity the whole year around to replace the charter flights that were in the past in the domain of the bankrupt Adria Airways.

Newspaper publishers investigated over ownership of dealer

LJUBLJANA - Radio Slovenija reported the Competition Protection Agency (AVK) had investigated the newspaper publishing companies Delo, Dnevnik and Večer over their failure to notify their ownership of Izberi, a leading national distributor of print and packages. The investigation is based on a 2019 report in which the three newspaper publishers are suspected of having taken over Izberi without notification of concentration. Delo reportedly holds a 52% stake, while Dnevnik and Večer, which are in the process of merging, hold 24% each. Izberi supplies over 2,450 outlets with daily newspapers and magazines issued by Slovenian publishers, and distributes print to more than 100,000 households.

Slovenia's guest of honour appearance in Frankfurt and Bologna postponed

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Book Agency announced that Slovenia's stint as the guest of honour country at the Frankfurt Book Fair was postponed for a year to 2023 due to coronavirus ramifications. So was the country's planned guest of honour appearance at the Bologna Children's Book Fair moved forward to 2022. The move comes after Canada, the country that was expected to be in the spotlight at this year's Frankfurt Fair, requested to postpone its status due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Writer Boris Pahor to be conferred state orders as part of Trieste ceremony

LJUBLJANA - The 13 July commemoration marking 100 years since the burning down of the Slovenian National Hall in Trieste by Fascists will also see President Borut Pahor and his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella confer the highest state orders on Trieste-born Slovenian author Boris Pahor, who witnessed the arson as a child. President Pahor is to confer on the 106-year-old concentration camp survivor the Order of Exceptional Merits for his life-long contribution to the understanding and connecting of European nations and for relentless efforts for Slovenianhood and democracy. Despite some initial reservations, the writer will accept the honours and dedicate them to everybody who died in concentration camps.

Survey finds distance learning more challenging for pupils and teachers

LJUBLJANA - Half of the Slovenian pupils think that remote learning poses more challenges than in-classroom learning, shows a survey presented by the National Education Institute. Teachers concur with that, highlighting that most targets have been achieved despite taxing circumstances. The study on the functioning of the educational system during the coronavirus epidemic involved some 10% of all primary and secondary school children, a third of Slovenian teachers and two thirds of head teachers. As many as 70% of teachers believe that remote work produced worse results than in-classroom teaching.

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

07 Jul 2020, 19:25 PM

23 New Coronavirus Cases on Monday, No Travel Changes

STA, 7 July 2020 - Slovenia's count of active coronavirus cases has increased to 205 after 23 of the 1,325 tests for Sars-CoV-2 came back positive on Monday, fresh official statistics show. The total case count stands at 1,739.

Twelve patients are hospitalised with Covid-19, one more than the day before after one patient was discharged and two more were admitted yesterday, government data show. None of them need intensive care.

According to the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org, most of the new cases were recorded in Cerknica (5) and Maribor (4) with 11 further municipalities recording one or two cases each.

With Cerknica apparently a new hotspot, Radio Slovenija reported that Covid-19 had been transmitted at a private party with some 30-40 people aged around 30.

The local authorities fear there are more infections in the municipality since, following National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) instructions, the party goers who had no signs of infection were allowed to go to work, except those working in healthcare and education.

The municipality has already advised locals against using playgrounds, benches and sports facilities to prevent the youth, who seem to be the most affected group in the second Covid-19 wave in the country, from socialising.

One of the latest cases in Slovenia was also a resident of the Vipava care home, discovered from 81 tests there. This brings the number of infections in that outbreak to 11 residents and seven staff members, Martin Kopatin, the facility's director, told the STA on Tuesday.

All 108 residents of the Pristan home for the elderly and 45 staff have been tested, but tests will be repeated.

Five of the 11 infected elderly residents have been moved to the Ljubljana UKC hospital's department of infections diseases. Only one of them has some health problems, while the others feel fine.

The remaining six residents are isolated in the care home and other residents need to remain in their rooms.

Meanwhile, Mario Fafangel, the chief epidemiologist at the NIJZ, told today's press briefing that a resident of a small Kras care home unit in Postojna had also tested positive.

Slovenia has not recorded Covid-19 related fatalities for over a month now when the death toll reached 111. A large majority of those fatalities were at homes for the elderly.

07 Jul 2020, 15:33 PM

Melania’s Statue Burned by Unknown Attackers

This Sunday locals informed the Krško Firefighting Unit that the wooden statue of America’s First Lady Melania Trump, which had been erected in in Rožno, was on fire.

The wooden sculpture of Trump in a blue dress was raised on July 5^th 2019 in a settlement not far from her hometown of Sevnica.

The sculpture was a work of local sculptor and craftsman Aleš Župevc Maxi and commissioned by American artist Brad Downey, who also filmed a documentary about the making of the statue.

The sculpture was met with mixed responses from the public and received a great amount of attention from local and international press.

The Novo Mesto Police have been informed about the incident, and are currently investigating the circumstances of the event.

trump on fire screenshot.jpg

Earlier this year, a wooden statue of President Donald Trump was also burned, this time entirely, in Moravče, some 30 kilometres east of Ljubljana.

All our stories on Melania Trump and Slovenia can be found here

07 Jul 2020, 13:33 PM

Slovenes Bought Most Properties in Croatia Since 2013, Followed by Germans, Austrians, Italians & Swedes

STA, 7 July 2020 - Since Croatia entered the EU in 2013, Slovenian citizens purchased a total of 9,439 properties in the country, which makes them the most numerous foreign owners of real estate in Croatia in that period.

Unofficial estimates meanwhile put the total number at 110,000, mostly houses or apartments on the Croatian coast, as the bulk of them were bought during the times of the former Yugoslavia.

Citing data from the Croatian Tax Administration, Večernji List says that there should be no concern in Croatia that the Slovenian government would prohibit its citizens from entering Croatia.

Slovenia will not be restricting its citizens in going to the neighbouring country during the Covid-19 pandemic because it will protect the interest of property owners, the Croatian newspaper adds in a report on Tuesday.

When it comes to purchases of real estate in Croatia in the last seven years, Slovenians are followed by Germans (4,969), Austrians (2,867), Italians (1,612), Swedes (1,232) and Hungarians (949).

According to the Croatian Tax Administration, only around 4,400 foreign owners are officially leasing their real estate to tourists and pay tax for that.

Večernji List says that the state body has no complete data on real estate owners in one place, and that precise data will be obtained after a census, which is planned in Croatia next year.

07 Jul 2020, 10:52 AM

Overnight Storms Cause Damage & Floods Across Slovenia

STA, 7 July 2020 - Storms raged across swathes of Slovenia last night as fierce winds uprooted trees and unroofed buildings and heavy rain flooded premises and roads in particular in central and eastern parts of the country.

Firefighters were busy throughout the night, including in Ljubljana, where the railway underpasses in Celovška and Drenikova streets and Šentvid were flooded, leaving three cars stranded in Šentvid.

According to the duty meteorologist at the notification centre of the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration, the Ljubljana Bežigrad weather monitoring station recorded 28.84 millimetre of rain per half an hour and winds gusting at speeds of up to 90 kilometres an hour. The Moste station recorded 23.5 millimetre of rain per half an hour.

Almost as high rates were measured at the monitoring stations in Logarska Dolina in the north of the country and Sora Suha in the north-west.

Flash floods disrupted traffic not only in Ljubljana but also in several other areas, with reports of floods closing down roads in the north-east of the country.

The winds ripped off the roofing and toppled trees on cars in several communities across the country, there have been reports of landslides and flooded premises, including at a police station and the Slovenj Gradec hospital.

A lightning struck a house in the Slovenj Gradec municipality, uncovering the roof. Despite some smoke there was no fire.

News

Editorial

Gourmet

Photo of the Month

Photo galleries and videos

Real Estate in Slovenia