05 Jul 2020, 04:45 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Sunday, 5 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:

Slovenia's daily coronavirus case count surges to 30

LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR - Slovenia recorded 30 new coronavirus infections from 1,456 tests on Friday, a new high since mid-April. The latest official data bring the number of active cases to 160. On the up side, only six Covid-19 patients remain in hospital, after four were discharged. None of them requires intensive treatment. More than half of the new cases are aged up to 44, including a child less than four years old. The number of infected staff at the emergency medical unit of the Maribor community health centre increased to eleven, plus one at the UKC Maribor hospital.

Janša offers app as solution until Covd-19 vaccine found

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša responded to the daily number of coronavirus infections hitting an eleven-week high by warning that there is a limited scope for action until an effective medication or vaccine against Covid-19 has been developed, offering a contact tracing app as a solution. Reacting on Twitter, Janša said one of the options was drastic shutdown of public life, border closures, social distancing and depression, while the other was mandatory use of a contact tracing app. The legislative proposal for such an app will be debated in parliament next week.

Border restrictions in force for citizens of Croatia, France, Czechia

LJUBLJANA - Croatia, France and the Czech Republic are no longer deemed green Covid-19 safe countries by Slovenia. Citizens of the countries demoted to the so-called yellow list will be submitted to a mandatory two-week quarantine on entering Slovenia unless they are just transiting the country or have booked accommodation here while their country was still green and also have a valid certificate proving they have tested negative for Sars-CoV-2. Belgium and the Netherlands have been promoted to the green list of what are now 21 countries for which no restrictions apply.

Ex-PM sceptical about impeachment motion

LJUBLJANA - Marjan Šarec, the former prime minister, expressed doubt about the Social Democrats' (SD) idea to seek an impeachment motion against PM Janez Janša after scepticism had already been aired by the opposition Left and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB). So the leader of the LMŠ party sceptical about Bratušek's idea to seek to put forward an alternative PM. "It will be hard for anyone to persuade us again to attempt a third government this term just so it is not Janša. We've seen that before," Šarec, who resigned as PM in late January, said on his Facebook profile.

ALDE to send fact-finding mission to Slovenia

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The ALDE party's bureau has decided to send a fact-finding mission to Slovenia, expectedly after the summer break, according to unofficial information available to the STA. The mission is to assess political developments in Slovenia with ALDE saying that more details would be announced later. However, ALDE party press service said yesterday there was "no discussion on expelling any of the Slovenian parties" from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). This was in response to rumour that the Modern Centre Party (SMC) was to be expelled.

Only Janša yet to get damages for imprisonment in Patria case

LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Dnevnik reported that retired brigadier general Tone Krkovič, one of the defendants in the Patria defence corruption trial, had reached a settlement with the state for EUR 60,000 in damages for wrongful imprisonment. This means that only Janez Janša, the incumbent PM, is yet to get damages for wrongful imprisonment over a guilty ruling that was quashed by the Constitutional Court in 2015. Businessman Ivan Črnkovič settled for EUR 63,000 in 2018. Janša claims EUR 900,000.

Slovenia recycled almost 40% of all waste in 2018

LJUBLJANA - Almost 3.6 million tonnes of waste was recycled in Slovenia in 2018, which is 38% of all waste generated in Slovenia or imported to the country. Another 43% of the waste or 4.1 million tonnes, mainly construction and demolition waste, was used for backfilling, the Statistics Office said. Still, 157,000 tonnes of all types of waste or 2% of all waste ended up on landfills. Some 207,000 tonnes or more than 2% was incinerated and utilized for energy and the remaining 39,000 tonnes was incinerated.

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

04 Jul 2020, 21:28 PM

Slovenia Found 30 New Coronavirus Cases Friday, Highest Since Mid-April

STA, 4 July 2020 - Slovenia has recorded as many as 30 new coronavirus infections from 1,456 tests on Friday, a new high since mid-April, fresh government data show.

On the up side, only six Covid-19 patients remain in hospital, after four were discharged yesterday. None of them requires intensive treatment.

According to the national Covid-19 tracker site, Slovenia now has 160 active infections out of the total case count of 1,679. As many as 105,652 tests for Sars-CoV-2 have been performed so far.

The list of countries on the green travel list is here

Bojana Beović, the head of the Covid-19 advisory group at the Health Ministry, said the latest numbers came as a negative surprise. She told Radio Slovenija they had expected about 20 new cases.

"This is a reflection of the situation about a fortnight ago and we hope the measures recently taken, such as border restrictions and return to mandatory face masks, will contribute to a better situation over the coming days," said the epidemiologist.

The dilemma faced by the group she heads and the government is whether to wait for the effects of the latest measures to show or take more drastic steps now.

Her concern is that the prescribed measures are being flouted: "There are continuous reports about inconsistent border checks, about life at bars," she said, warning that the riskiest industries could be forced back into lockdown if the infection curve kept increasing and safety measures were not heeded.

Most of the latest cases, 5, were confirmed in Ljubljana, which has now 30 active cases. Fourteen other municipalities had at least one new case, while three new infections were among foreign citizens.

More than half of the new cases, 18, are young, up to the age of 44, including a child, up to the age of four.

The UKC Ljubljana hospital said a member of the non-health staff at the Paediatric Clinic has fallen ill with Covid-19. The person stayed home as soon as noticing the symptoms, had not been directly involved in the handling of patients and had been wearing a surgical mask at work all the time.

Meanwhile, the number of infected staff at the emergency medical unit of the Maribor community health centre has increased to eleven, including eight doctors and three paramedics, assistant director there Aleksander Jus told reporters today.

He said no infections or symptoms had been detected in patients who had been in contact with the first responders or visited the unit at the UKC Maribor hospital emergency ward on the critical day. Nor have there been any infections among the relatives of the infected health workers.

One of the staff at UKC Maribor has been additionally positive from that cluster, presumably originating in an infection transmitted from abroad.

Data from the National Institute of Public Health published by the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org show that there have been a total of 190 coronavirus cases confirmed among Slovenian health workers.

There have been no fatalities for over a month now with the death toll at 111.

All our stories on Slovenia and coronavirus

04 Jul 2020, 12:30 PM

Last Week in Slovenia: 26 June - 2 July, 2020

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

FRIDAY, 26 June
        LJUBLJANA - The Interior Ministry announced it had drafted changes to the international protection act envisaging solutions for a more effective strategy to tackle a growing number of asylum seekers and prevent any abuse of the system. The proposal re-introduces a possibility of bringing an appeal before the Supreme Court.
        LJUBLJANA - The editorial board of the weekly magazine Mladina filed a criminal complaint against Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, suspecting him of abuse of office in the procurement of protective and medicinal equipment during the coronavirus epidemic.
        TACEN - Addressing the main ceremony ahead of Police Day, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and Police Commissioner Anton Travner thanked members of the police force for their professional work and sacrifice. Hojs promised stepped up action against paramilitary groups if needed and support in the protection of the border.
        LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left submitted to parliament a proposal to reinstate 80% pay compensation for workers ordered in quarantine irrespective of the circumstances. Workers are presently only entitled to 50% after coronavirus stimulus measures regulating this were lifted on 31 May.
        LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Armed Forces executed a new rotation of a part of their contingent in NATO's KFOR mission in Kosovo, the first after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. All the rotated members tested negative before being sent home, but they will still be subjected to 14-day self-isolation in Slovenia.
        LJUBLJANA - Anti-government protesters took to the streets of Ljubljana, packing Prešeren Square to protest against police erecting fences, and put chains around the monument of Slovenian poet France Prešeren in a symbolic move to warn about the cultural crisis.

SATURDAY, 27 June
        LJUBLJANA - Police Commissioner Anton Travner praised the police force for its work in weekly anti-government protests and its response to the challenges of the coronavirus in an interview marking Police Day. He said he would, however, like to see more staff hired and better equipment.
        LENART - Defence Minister Matej Tonin apologised to Independence War veterans that their flag bearers had not been able to take part in the national ceremony to mark Statehood Day on 24 June. Last week's ceremony was capped at 500 people due to a ban restricting the gathering of more than 500 people because of coronavirus contagion risk.
        LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Dnevnik reported that the former head of the national Statistics Office, Bojan Nastav, who was dismissed in late May, would be challenging the dismissal at the Administrative Court. The dismissal was followed by a letter from European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni asking Prime Minister Janez Janša to clarify the move.

SUNDAY, 28 June
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted an emergency bill in preparations for a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic to adopt measures initially planned as amendments to the third stimulus package to avoid a procedural glitch. These include an extension to the furlough scheme until at least 31 July and a legal basis for a Covid-19 tracing app.
LJUBLJANA - Milan Krek, the director of the National Institute of Public Health, said that the current epidemiologic status in Croatia was grave and that stricter measures would have to be implemented if the situation did not improve there.

MONDAY, 29 June
        LJUBLJANA - The government lowered the cap on public gatherings from 500 to 50, except for events sanctioned by health authorities, and indicated stricter oversight of quarantine orders in the face of a growing number of coronavirus cases.
        LJUBLJANA - Matej Pirc, the chief supervisor of 2TDK, the state-run company established to manage the project of a new rail link to the port of Koper, resigned. No reason was given for the decision, which comes amid speculation that the government is about to replace the entire supervisory board and subsequently the management.
        LJUBLJANA - The European Commission approved a EUR 600 million state aid scheme for Slovenian companies affected by the coronavirus crisis. Under the scheme, companies from various sectors will receive aid as grants, payment breaks and subsidies.
        LJUBLJANA - The IMAD government macroeconomic think tank recommended that measures to help relaunch the economy in the wake of the coronacrisis should also target the country's key development challenges - large share of people in precarious work, systemic shortcomings of long-term care, long waiting periods in healthcare, the lack of digital skills and red tape.
        STRASBOURG, France - The European Committee of Social Rights warned Slovenia over the failure to honour the right to equal pay and opportunities in the workplace regardless of gender. The gender pay gap substantially increased in Slovenia in 2010-2017, with Eurostat data showing women in Slovenia faced a wage gap of 8% in 2017, which compares to EU average of 16%.
        LJUBLJANA - The number of registered unemployed persons was down last week for the fourth week in a row, staying below 90,000, preliminary data from the Employment Service showed.
        LJUBLJANA - A soldiers' trade union filed a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator on suspicion of slander against the state after the Guard of Honour of the Slovenian Armed Forces was being called traitors ahead of last week's Statehood Day ceremony.
        LJUBLJANA - The ruling Democrats (SDS) lost some ground in a monthly poll run by POP TV, but continued to command a firm lead, while the opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) lost support to the Left and the Social Democrats (SD).
        LJUBLJANA - The home of opposition National Party (SNS) head Zmago Jelinčič was pelleted with several bottles of a fluid believed to be spent motor oil. The incident comes after Jelinčič was put in the spotlight in a video in which he said that "The people are stupid. It was a mistake to give money to the people," a reference to government stimulus payments.

TUESDAY, 30 June
        LJUBLJANA - Police conducted house searches at eleven locations over suspected abuse of office in the procurement of medical ventilators, including the EUR 8.8 million deal with Geneplanet. The probe, which also targeted Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, prompted the resignation of Police Commissioner Anton Travner and Interior Minister Aleš Hojs, who claimed the investigation was politically motivated. While coalition parties were rather reserved in their reactions, the opposition called for the entire government to resign.
        LJUBLJANA - The government appointed Andrej Jurič acting police commissioner effective from 1 July after Anton Travner resigned. Jurič has been with the police force since 1986, most recently as a senior inspector at the Centre for Minor Offence Cases at the Uniformed Police Directorate of the General Police Department.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia allocated EUR 70,000 to support programmes of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Syria and Turkey for 2020-2021. The donation was made as part of a donor conference which raised a total of EUR 6.9 billion for internally displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries.
        LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry confirmed that Slovenian Ambassador to Switzerland Marta Kos had stepped down, citing no official reason. Kos meanwhile told the newspaper Dnevnik the resignation was linked to recent oversight of her management of the Embassy in Bern.
        LJUBLJANA - The Office of the Information Commissioner voiced reservations about government plans for a coronavirus contact tracing app for mobile devices, in particular the requirement that app use would be mandatory for those with confirmed infections.
        LJUBLJANA - Faced with the coronavirus crisis, Slovenia recorded a general government deficit of EUR 739 million or 6.6% of GDP in the first quarter. The figure exceeds last year's quarter one deficit by EUR 647 million, data from the Statistics Office showed.
        KRŠKO - Gen Energija, a power utility that manages Slovenia's half of the Krško nuclear power station, said its net profit rose by almost 20% to EUR 48.5 million even as sales declined by 5.5% to EUR 2.25 billion. The Krško plant accounted for 81% of total production.

WEDNESDAY, 1 July
        LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said he did not intend to step down following house searches related to an investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the procurement of medical supplies and PPE during the epidemic. He said he had PM Janez Janša's full support to carry on, while his Modern Centre Party (SMC) was also strongly behind him.
        LJUBLJANA - Director of the National Bureau of Investigation Igor Lamberger rejected the allegation by outgoing Interior Minister Aleš Hojs that the house searches related to the procurement of medical and protective equipment were politically motivated. Hojs's statements were also strongly criticised by police associations and trade unions.
        LJUBLJANA - The government's chief Covid-19 adviser Bojana Beović raised concern about the emergence of secondary infections as well as cases without no apparent source as cases are rising exponentially. She said she was worried Slovenia might close down its borders too late.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša reiterated the need for the EU to adopt the next multi-year budget before the summer break as he talked to EU Council President Jean Michel in a videoconference. He warned that the current, relatively advantageous situation, as far as the coronavirus pandemic went, might be misleading as everything could change very quickly.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor's plan to pay tribute to Italian victims of post-WWII killings on the sideline of a 13 July ceremony with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella stirred a debate at a high level. While FM Anže Logar told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee he did not understand the disquiet, opposition SocDems leader Tanja Fajon said that such a gesture could end up serving not reconciliation but historical revisionism.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia joined the EU's declaration which expresses the bloc's concern with China's 30 June adoption of a law which curbs Hong Kong's autonomy as well as rights and freedoms of its residents. The document urges preserving Hong Kong's high-degree autonomy as set down in the Hong Kong basic law and China's international commitments.
        KRANJ - The Slovenian telecoms equipment maker Iskratel was acquired by the Austrian group S&T under a EUR 37.5 million deal. The transaction is expected to be finalised in the autumn as it awaits regulatory approval.
        IDRIJA - The Swedish multinational Lindab announced it would close down the IMP Klima Group, its Slovenian-based cooling arm that it acquired in 2015 from industrial conglomerate Hidria. The decision will affect 212 jobs in Slovenia by the end of the year.
        LJUBLJANA - Gabrijel Škof resigned as the chairman of Slovenian Sovereign Holding, the custodian of state assets, citing personal reasons. Taking over temporarily from Škof, who assumed office on 1 October 2019, is Igor Kržan, a member of the supervisory board.
        LJUBLJANA - The state-owned SID export and development bank issued its first "Covid-19 bonds" to collect almost EUR 350 million with the maturity of five years, as part of its regular borrowing on capital markets to finance its programmes aimed at helping the Slovenian economy exist the coronavirus crisis.
        LJUBLJANA - Transparency International Slovenia announced it had launched a website called Integrity Watch, featuring tools for keeping track of lobbying contacts of the government and parliament, and applicable business restrictions.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's pensioners, people with disabilities and war veterans were entitled to free intercity bus and train rides as of this day in line with relevant legislative changes passed in October 2019. Some 600,000 persons are eligible.
        LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Festival opened with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Piano Concerto No. 3. Conducted by Charles Dutoit, and featuring Slovenia's leading pianist Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak. The 68th summer festival will be running in Ljubljana until 30 August.

THURSDAY, 2 July
        LJUBLJANA - Out of 1,198 coronavirus tests conducted the previous day, 21 came back positive, the highest daily figure since 16 April when Slovenia recorded 36 new cases, government data showed. The National Institute of Public Health expressed concern, saying it had detected two hotspots - one in the Štajerska region in the north-east and the other in Koroška in the north. In a bid to contain the virus, the government was to meet for a correspondence session today to remove Croatia, France and Czechia from the green list of countries considered epidemiologically safe by Slovenia, effective on Saturday. Being put on the yellow list means that most foreign citizens arriving in Slovenia from these countries need to subject themselves to a two-week quarantine, while this does not apply to Slovenians returning from yellow-listed countries.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša published a letter he had recently sent to State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa in which he says the prosecution is neglecting its role in relation to the anti-government protests by failing to respond to inciting to violence. The letter has been met with strong criticism, with Šketa saying the prosecution was efficient and acting in line with the law, and the head of the opposition SocDems, Tanja Fajon, mulling an impeachment motion against Janša.
        BUDAPEST, Hungary - Paying an official visit to Hungary, President Borut Pahor confirmed with his counterpart Janos Ader the excellent and friendly relations between the two countries and pointed out Slovenia and Hungary were among the countries successfully managing the new coronavirus. He briefed Adler on Slovenia's plan for the EU presidency in the second half of 2021 and broached the issue of "greater Hungary" maps. Migration was another topic discussed.
        VIENNA, Austria - Parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič met his Austrian counterpart Wolfgang Sobotka in what was Zorčič's first foreign visit. The pair discussed improving the situation of the Slovenian minority in Austria and exchanged experiences in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
        LJUBLJANA - The situation in the automotive industry seems to be slowly stabilising after the epidemic, as the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce said in the first six months of the year, sales were down by a third but in June the year-on-year drop was only 7.27%.
        TREBNJE - KZ Krka and KZ Trebnje, two agricultural cooperatives operating in the south-east of Slovenia announced plans for a merger that will create the largest cooperative in the country with almost 1,000 members, 260 employees and an expected annual revenue of almost EUR 65 million.
        LJUBLJANA - As much as 85% of the FFP2 face masks delivered to Slovenia by mid-June were supplied without the required certificates, with all but one supplier putting forward legally invalid certificates by issuers not certified for testing personal protective equipment (PPE), the Slovenian web portal Oštro reported. The revealed a similar situation across Europe.

All our posts in this series are here

04 Jul 2020, 09:21 AM

Border Restrictions Now in Force for Visitors from Croatia, France, Czechia, While Belgium, Netherlands Added to Green List

STA, 4 July 2020 - Croatia, France and the Czech Republic are no longer deemed green Covid-19 safe countries by Slovenia from today, which entails some restrictions for nationals of these countries when entering Slovenia.

Citizens of the countries demoted to the so-called yellow list will be submitted to a mandatory two-week quarantine on entry unless they are just transiting the country or have booked accommodation here while their country was still green and also have a valid certificate proving they have tested negative for Sars-CoV-2.

The list of countries on the green list is here

Slovenians and EU and Schengen country citizens that are residents of Slovenia who are returning from Croatia can re-enter without restrictions if they can produce some proof at the border that they in fact have been staying there such as hotel bill or a property ownership document.

Border police officers will have a discretion to decide whether the proofs are valid, or else they will assume the arrivals have come from a red-listed Balkan country, which would entail a mandatory two-week quarantine.

The authorities say this was after it turned out some of those entering Slovenia from Croatia had failed to report that they had in fact been visiting one of the countries further to the south.

Slovenia has seen an increase in new coronavirus cases over the past couple of weeks as a result of cases imported from the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Those who expect to be handed quarantine orders can enter Slovenia by four border crossings from Croatia (Gruškovje, Obrežje, Metlika and Jelšane) and one from Hungary (Pince). Others can use other crossings as well.

Also from today, Belgium and the Netherlands have been promoted to the green list of what are now 21 countries for which no restrictions apply [ed. the official list - now in English - is here, but check when last updated].

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia

04 Jul 2020, 09:13 AM

11th Week of Anti-Govt, Anti-Fascist & Anti-Anti-Fascist Protests in Ljubljana (Video)

STA, 3 July 2020 - Police security was beefed in the centre of Ljubljana on Friday as the anti-government protests held every week in the Slovenian capital were joined by a smaller counter-protest of government supporters.

Taking to the streets for the 11th consecutive Friday, hundreds of demonstrators remounted their bicycles to voice their opposition to the government, as well as against fascism and nationalism.

Even before the protest, a smaller group of a few dozen government supporters clad in yellow vests gathered in Prešeren Square carrying banners saying Anarchists and Left Fascists and Antifa=Terror, as well as a picture of a swastika and the red star with the equals sign between them.

Zbor podpornikov vlade na Prešernovem trgu: pic.twitter.com/ygBZOOhtPd
— Delo (@Delo) July 3, 2020

The group first appeared among the anti-government crowd at the alternative Statehood Day Ceremony held on 24 June shortly before the official state ceremony, announcing they would stage counter protests for each anti-government rally.

They told the media their intention was to "prevent a coup", thwart attempts to "bring down the government by means of show trials", and prevent "falling back in totalitarianism".

The yellow vests also moved to the square in front of the parliament building and then filed past the headquarters of RTV Slovenija, criticising the public broadcaster and calling for it to be scrapped.

The yellow vests' rally had been "condemned in the strongest terms" by almost 100 organisations and initiatives supporting the anti-government protests.

In a press release issued before the events, they said the yellow vests were in fact members of neo-Nazi groups, their links to the ruling Democratic Party (SDS) being "well documented, their discourse virtually identical to the discourse of the political".

They argued that "neo-Nazi gangs have come to the defence of the ruling coalition with the intention to provoke and escalate" the situation.

Concern was raised after pictures emerged from the 24 June protest showing one of the yellow vests performing a Nazi salute, and online posts saying several yellow vests were Blood&Honour members.

The police tightened security, telling the STA beforehand they had zero tolerance of all forms of displays of hatred, intolerance or violence and were taking action targeting deviant conduct.

Despite some tension, the protests passed off without a major confrontation, as did a similar protest and counter-protest in Maribor, Slovenia's second city.

Already in the morning, some of the anti-government protesters had been received by President Borut Pahor for what his office said was an "exchange of opinions and views, which differed on some points".

Pahor appealed for dialogue, which he said should be sought even when it appeared to have been exhausted.

One of the protesters who took part in the meeting, Tjaša Prošek told the STA that they had posed concrete questions but failed to get any answers. Pahor would also not respond to their invitation to address the crowed rallying every Friday.

Množica, ki se pomika proti DZ-ju vzklika "lopovi" #petkovprotest #izbalkonovnakolesa pic.twitter.com/ruvOlEavWk
— Gorazd Kosmač (@kosmacg) May 29, 2020

Part of protesters and some of the groups involved said the protesters who attended the meeting with Pahor did not represent them.

"Those representatives certainly do not represent the whole protest movement. We hope their response has to do solely with political naivety and adventurism," several groups said in a press release.

All our stories on protests in Slovenia

04 Jul 2020, 04:28 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Saturday, 4 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:

Logar, Maas, Silva say EU better prepared for potential second Covid-19 wave

BRDO PRI KRANJU - Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his German and Portuguese counterparts, Heiko Maas and Augusto Santos Silva, found the EU was better equipped to deal with a potential second wave of coronavirus infections. Speaking after a trio EU presidency meeting at Brdo estate, where Maas was present in person and Santos Silva via video link, the ministers said they did not wish for strict preventive measures to be reintroduced, but they were willing to step up efforts if needed. Apart from the trio presidency plans they also discussed the EU multi-year budget and recovery plan. Maas also met Prime Minister Janez Janša and President Borut Pahor.

Three countries removed from Covid-19 safe list

LJUBLJANA - The government confirmed delisting of Croatia, Czechia and France as Covid-19 safe countries from Saturday, while decreeing that Belgium and the Netherlands be moved from yellow to the green list. As a result, a 14-day quarantine will apply to citizens of the new yellow-listed countries, safe for exceptions, while even Slovenians returning from Croatia would have to prove they had actually come from there rather than from a red listed country, or else they will be served quarantine orders. Interior Minister Aleš Hojs threatened the border could be "fully closed" should the latest measures not help to contain the virus's spread.

Sixteen Covid-19 cases on Thursday

LJUBLJANA - In what is in keeping with the slightly raised but mostly flat curve of new coronavirus cases in Slovenia in the past week, 16 infections were confirmed as 1,274 people were tested on Thursday. Ten patients are hospitalised. The latest data take the number of active cases to 136 and the overall tally to 1,649. The death toll remains at 111. The epidemiologists are currently following 11 infection clusters in Slovenia, most of which were imported from abroad. One of them appeared in a large trade company, while restaurants are also a source of infection, a public health official said.

Jobless total down 1.1% in June after three months of growth

LJUBLJANA - The registered jobless total in Slovenia stood at 89,377 at the end of June, a 1.1% decrease on May but 26.3% more year-on-year. The Employment Service said this was the first decrease after three consecutive months of unemployment growth. The number of newly registered fell by 4.7% from May to 7,558, up 83 year-on-year. Roughly half saw their fixed term contracts expire, 588 were first-time job seekers, 69 lost jobs in bankruptcies and 2,201 were permanently redundant.

European Commission president to receive Janša next Thursday

BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will receive Prime Minister Janez Janša in Brussels next Thursday, European Commission chief spokesperson Eric Mamer announced. While no official information about the context of the meeting is available, the talks are expected to focus on the recovery package after the Covid-19 pandemic and Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2021. Unofficially Janša is also expected to meet European Council President Charles Michel, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Janša talks Covid-19 situation with Hungarian, Czech PMs

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša talked with his Hungarian and Czech counterparts on the phone. With Hungarian PM Viktor Orban he talked about the preparations for the upcoming session of the Council of the EU and about the coronavirus situation in the region. The talks with his Czech counterpart Andrej Babiš focused about the epidemiologic situation in their respective countries as well as about measures to allow safe tourism. This was after Babiš criticised Slovenia for remove his country from the list of Covid-19 safe countries.

Pahor on phone with Icelandic counterpart

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor talked with his Icelandic counterpart Gudni Johannesson on the telephone, congratulating him on his landslide victory in Saturday's election. According to the president's office, the pair also talked about their countries' successful response to Covid-19. Phor invited the Icelandic president to visit Slovenia, an invitation that Johannesson accepted, announcing he would visit as soon as a suitable opportunity arose.

Coalition makes pact with opposition SNS, minority MPs

LJUBLJANA - The ruling coalition parties signed a deal on cooperation with the opposition National Party (SNS) and the Italian and Hungarian minority MPs. The SNS and the two minority MPs agreed to support government bills and projects in the 2020-2022 period. The parties committed to adopting systemic reforms necessary for development and overcoming the coronavirus crisis. Other opposition parties turned down the offer to join the partnership on the grounds that Janša did not inspire trust. They admitted though that any action against the government was now doomed to failure.

Security tightened as rival protests held in Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - Police security was beefed in the centre of Ljubljana as anti-government protesters took to the streets for the 11th consecutive week, while a smaller group of government supporters wearing yellow vests staged a counter-protest. The anti-government protesters and some media linked the yellow vests to the neo-Nazi groups and to the ruling party. Despite some tension the protests passed off without a major confrontation, as did similar campaigns in Maribor.

Banks receive EUR 400m-worth of loan payment deferral requests

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian banks received EUR 401.1 million worth of requests for a deferral of loan payments in the three months since the relevant legislation took effect. The number of requests filed was 23,700, which amounts to 3.6% of all loans, Banka Slovenije said. Banks have processed over 90% of the requests, approving the bulk of them. Deferred loan payments for SMEs amounted to EUR 160.7 million, for large companies to EUR 150 million, for micro companies to EUR 54.9 million and for individuals to EUR 35.6 million.

GZS proposes changes to state loan guarantee scheme

LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) urged changes to the state loan guarantee scheme for companies beyond those envisaged by the new stimulus package because of delays in its implementation. It proposes that the maximum possible amount of loans be raised to 25% of the company's annual sales. GZS conducted a survey among 272 companies showing that only less than 10% of them are interested in the guarantee scheme. "Among those companies, 54% inquired about a loan of EUR 100,000 to one million, and 33% about a loan of over one million euro."

Hoteliers expect tourism recovery in 2024

BLED - Experts expect tourism to achieve 2019 results again as late as in 2024, said Gregor Jamnik, the head of the Slovenian Association of Hotels told a conference held by the organisation. Hotel operators estimate that business will somewhat return to normal in the second half of 2021, depending on the air traffic situation. Business as usual or at least some kind of normalcy next year hinges on the coronavirus situation stabilising to a certain extent at the start of 2021, open borders and air links being resumed, said Jamnik.

Govt overhauls 2TDK supervisory board

LJUBLJANA - The government replaced four of the five supervisors of 2TDK, the company established for the construction and management of a new rail link to the port of Koper, appointing Robert Rožič the new chief supervisor. The new supervisors of what is the country's largest construction projects, roughly estimated at EUR 1 billion, are Rožič as one of two Finance Ministry representatives along with Iztok Černoš, as well as Infrastructure Ministry representatives Andrej Špenga, Peter Pungartnik, and Matej Čepeljnik. The move comes amid speculation the government will also replace the management.

Telekom Slovenije has not yet decided on sale of Planet TV

LJUBLJANA - Following unofficial reports that Telekom Slovenije has decided to sell its subsidiary Planet TV to the Hungarian free-to-air channel TV2, news broke that the supervisors of the state-owned telco had postponed a decision on the matter to next Tuesday, unofficially because they had had too little time to examine the bids. It was the editor of the news portal Požareport, Bojan Požar, who wrote on Tuesday that Planet TV, which produces the eponymous TV channel, has been sold for EUR 5 million, transaction still outstanding, to TV2.

Govt absolves four hospitals of bailout payback duty

LJUBLJANA - The government absolved four hospitals of the duty to pay back EUR 1.8 million in restructuring funds they had used in 2017 for costs that occurred after a retroactively set cut-off date. It was reported in January that five hospitals needed to return the funds spent for invoices issued after the cut-off date, but the government said the interpretation of the relevant act, passed in March, absolved them of this responsibility.

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

03 Jul 2020, 15:04 PM

Meet the People: Ambrož Jakop, Boating Instructor

Just as one needs to obtain a driving licence in order to drive a car, a boating licence is needed for someone who wishes to operate a boat. But what kind of boats need what kind of licences in Slovenia, and in which waters?

We met with Ambrož Jakop, a boat leading instructor at AJ Navtika to learn a bit more about how to get legal on the water and to broaden our perspective on the possibilities for adventure.

Who can apply for a boating licence, what are the limitations?

The boating licence exam can take any person who is 16 and older and has passed the first aid exam and medical examination. Since the latter two are the same one needs for a driving license, holders of any driving license (A, B, C, D etc.) are considered to be medically fit and have passed the first aid test. Until the age of 18, however, a holder of a boat licence may not operate boats longer than 12 metres or speedboats.

Are there different licenses one can get for various categories of boats?

Yes, you can either take the basic test that allows you to handle boats under 7 metres in length and with an engine below 10 horse power (7.35 kW), or the boat guiding test which includes five topics and will allow you to operate boats up to 24 metres and without engine power limitations. Both tests take place in front of the state commission at the Slovenian Maritime Administration, and the acquired licenses are also internationally valid. I teach courses that prepare the candidates for these exams.

Let’s say I pass the boat guiding test. Where can I take my boat then, in the sea or only in rivers and lakes?

Sea and fresh water sailing regimes are regulated by different legislations, which is why separate exams have to take place for taking a boat on the seas or in rivers and lakes. However, not many rivers or lakes in Slovenia have sailing regimes or ones that would allow the presence of boats with a mechanical drive unit.

So one doesn’t need a boating license in order to paddle a kayak or a SUP?

No, a license is not needed for sports equipment and vessels without a mechanical drive unit that are under 3 meters long. There are exceptions, however, such as an eight rowing boat, which is longer than that but doesn’t need to be signed in the boat registry, and therefore can be used without a license.

Where can people take a course to get a licence?

Due to the corona situation, we currently do the first theoretical 12 hours in an online course. The remaining 4 hours of practical charting of sailing direction, we do onsite, wherever a specific course is being held.

How did you become a boating license tutor?

At first I was just a sailing enthusiast. Then I established a sailing club and sailing school for children, sailing school for adults and then various courses. This was about 15 years ago when one still needed a Yachtmaster 100 BT license if you wanted to instruct courses, so I did that too. Soon my hobby turned into my job.

Do you have a boat?

I share a sailboat with my friends, a Y40 (40 feet), designed by the Slovenian architect Andrej Justin.

Where do you usually take it?

Mostly across the Adriatic. We’ve just sailed it from its berth in Koper to Lošinj and back home. Later this summer we are planning to sail alongside Dalmatia. And for this corona year, that will probably be all.

If you'd like to learn more about learning how to sail in Slovenia, then visit AJ Navtica here

Photos: Ambrož Jakop

03 Jul 2020, 14:46 PM

Dončić Ready for NBA to Restart, Thanks US Ambassador to Slovenia for Help (Video)

STA, 3 July - Slovenian NBA star Luka Dončić recently held his first news conference after the Covid-19 pandemic. He said in a videoconference that he was in good shape and could not wait to return to the court. He highlighted the role US Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda C. Blanchard played in helping him return to his homeland during the outbreak.

The 21-year-old returned to Dallas, Texas almost two weeks ago to start preparing for a tentative comeback of the 2019-2020 NBA season after spending lockdown in Slovenia. The NBA is expected to resume on 30 July.

"The league is doing all it can to make sure that all the participants would not feel any consequences. Every two days we are tested and everyone is taking care of our health," Dončić said.

He has never considered sitting out the season; he missed basketball a lot and just wants to play, he told the reporters, adding that he had full trust in the NBA system but was of course concerned about the situation as much as the next person.

Recently there was a misunderstanding regarding his shape which raised some dust in the US sports world - Dončić's personal trainer was mistranslated as saying the NBA star had gained some weight during his two months in Slovenia.

Dončić dismissed any such rumours, highlighting he was in good shape and would only get better when the season restarted.

The 2018-2019 NBA Rookie of the Year told the press that he maintained his shape during lockdown by playing tennis and football. He was glad he could spend some time with his friends and family in Slovenia and again thanked the US ambassador for helping him make that happen as well as for assisting him in returning back to the US.

The Dallas Mavericks small forward will be soon experiencing another lockdown, an NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida where NBA players are to be isolated from the rest of the world. The Dallas Mavericks are eyeing the playoffs, with Dončić saying that their chemistry would only grow.

The NBA star used the time in Slovenia to heal the minor injuries he was struggling with prior to the season suspension. "I think the break helped. I think a lot of people had some small injuries, they weren't 100%."

"Obviously the [hardest] thing for me was not being able to play basketball," he replied about being asked about the biggest quarantine challenges.

Before the corona suspension, Dončić had an average of 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game.

03 Jul 2020, 11:56 AM

Moravče Mayor Reintroduces Strict Anti-Corona Lockdown; 16 New Cases in Slovenia Thursday

STA, 3 July 2020 - Moravče, a municipality some 30 km north-east of Ljubljana, is in a full lockdown as of Thursday. Its mayor, Milan Balažic, resorted to the strictest measures so as to stop the spreading of the new coronavirus, as three cases were confirmed there in the last week.

Given the number of inhabitants in Moravče, three cases means the situation is graver than in Ljubljana, the mayor said in explaining his decision to ban all public gatherings, including sports trainings, private parties and church masses.

He also restricted access to the town hall to staff only, banned serving of guests inside bars and restaurants, and made face masks mandatory in all closed public spaces.

"We had two cases in the first wave. We took immediate action, introduced a little bit stricter measures and stayed at this number throughout the epidemic," Balažic said.

The mayor said his decision was met with a mixed response among locals. "On the one hand they are not thrilled, because it means limiting their freedom and day-to-day life, and on the other it seems that most of them understand that it is necessary," he said.

Balažic believes that if a hotspot is detected in a municipality mayors are obligated to act. He himself acted based on the local government act and the Moravče municipality statute.

Government spokesman Jelko Kacin would not comment on the Moravče case at yesterday's press conference. He said that the government's latest moves were aimed at preventing the imported infections to spread so that mayors would not have to take any additional measures. "But if people are socialising there, we understand people's concern," he added.

Balažic previously served as ambassador to Australia in 2014 but was recalled due to his contacts with Nicholas Oman, an arms trader and convicted paedophile. He became mayor in 2018.

Since he took over, Moravče made headlines outside Slovenia as well because of a giant wooden sculpture resembling US President Donald Trump that was erected there and later torched.

The statue, standing almost eight metres tall and mimicking the Statue of Liberty, had originally been erected in Selo, a small village some 20 kilometres north of Ljubljana, but was relocated to Moravče due to unease that it was causing among the Selo locals and the media interest that came with it.

trump statue slea kickstarter 1.JPG

Photo: Kickstarter

Sixteen Covid-19 cases detected in 1,274 tests on Thursday

STA, 3 July 2020 - In what is in keeping with the slightly raised but mostly flat curve of new Covid-19 cases in Slovenia in the past week, 16 infections were confirmed as 1,274 people were tested on Thursday. One person was hospitalised, taking the total number in hospitals to 10. No patient required intensive care and there were no deaths.

The latest data, released by the government on Friday, thus take the total number of Covid-19 cases discovered so far with 104,201 tests to 1,649, while the death toll remains at 111. The current number of confirmed actively infected individuals is 136.

Following an increase in new cases in the past week, many of which were imported cases, the government decided on Thursday to remove Croatia, along with France and Czechia, from the green list of epidemiologically safe countries, effective on Saturday. They are to be yellow-listed, meaning most foreign citizens arriving to Slovenia from them need to go into quarantine.

The government also announced stricter controls on the Croatian border to make sure people are not arriving from red-listed Balkan countries, as well as a more effective regime for serving quarantine orders, which includes the option to already serve them on the border.

A tightening of protective measures was moreover announced at nursing homes and healthcare centres and at least two hospitals - the UKC Ljubljana, the country's biggest, and the Slovenj Gradec general hospital - issued a prohibition on visits of most hospitalised patients today.

03 Jul 2020, 10:31 AM

Janša Calls on State Prosecutor to Take Action Against Any Anti-Govt Protestors Inciting Violence

STA, 2 July 2020 - PM Janez Janša has sent a letter to State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa, saying the prosecution is neglecting its legal role in relation to the anti-government protests for failing to respond to inciting to violence. The letter in which he also says Šketa will be responsible if the violence escalates has been met with strong criticism.

Janša published the letter dated 19 June in full on Twitter today after the newspaper Dnevnik ran an article about it. Janša tweeted he had decided to publish the letter "because the unofficial Official Gazette of the deep state (globoka država), Dnevnik.si, published insinuations" about the letter.

Ker je neuradni Uradni list #Globokadržava @Dnevnik_si objavil insinuacije o mojem pismu Generalnemu državnemu tožilcu glede organiziranih grožnjah s smrtjo, ki jih omogoča in posredno vzpodbuja ljubljansko tožilstvo, si lahko v nadaljevanju preberete celoten dopis. pic.twitter.com/dHQdJVThTZ
— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) July 2, 2020

In the letter, the prime minister says that "we have been witnessing stepping up of organised death threats" in recent months and that the prosecution was passively observing this despite the clear restrictions that the Constitution and the Penal Code impose on such behaviour. Janša says that in some cases the prosecution indirectly even encourages such behaviour.

"You will be directly responsible for any potential victims of the organised threats," Janša wrote Šketa, referring to slogans and banners reading "Death to Janšism".

He also says that members of different extremist organisations from neighbouring and other countries, which are known for the use of street violence and other types of violence, are taking part in the protests held on Fridays, calling for a violent bringing down of the existing constitutional order. "And the state prosecution is silent like a fish in the tank."

Janša notes that slogans such as Juden Raus or Death to Fascism have in the past led to the killings of first individuals and then to genocide and crimes against humanity.

The prime minister sees the events at the anti-government protests as "organised death threats to an entire democratic political bloc", and calls on Šketa to act before it is too late.

Šketa responded to the letter today by asserting that the prosecution was efficient and acting in line with the Constitution and law.

He said that he had been noticing a growing amount of intolerance and hostility in the public discourse for years. Noting that he never gave any guidelines or instructions to prosecutors, who must be fully independent in their work, Šketa said that reports on the work of the prosecution showed that prosecutors decided to act against inciting to violence or hostility only when they detect legally-set signs of a criminal act or offence.

According to Dnevnik, the State Prosecutorial Council discussed the letter on Monday and is expected to publicly respond to it next week.

A much stronger reaction meanwhile came from former State Prosecutor General Zvonko Fišer, who told Dnevnik that he had not witnessed such a move in his entire career as prosecutor, not even in Yugoslavia.

He finds this kind of pressure completely inappropriate and inadmissible.

Heavy criticism also came from the head of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), Tanja Fajon, who said the letter was "very inappropriate, presumptuous and unacceptable".

She sees it is yet another attack on independent institutions and a severe encroachment upon another branch of power, which is why the party plans to initiate an impeachment motion against the PM.

At least ten MPs can initiate the impeachment, so SD MPs alone could do it. Fajon said the party had not discussed the move with other opposition parties yet.

The Justice Ministry told Dnevnik that the law enforcement was in charge of passing judgements on individual actions and was completely independent and that the law enforcement must be allowed to do its job professionally. If it fails to do so, certain surveillance mechanisms are available.

This was echoed by Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič before today's government session. Asked whether she sees Janša's letter as a form of pressure on an independent branch of power, she said this was the PM's decision, which was why she would not comment.

She noted though that any kind of intolerance or hostility must be processed as part of a criminal or minor offence proceedings because too much of that was happening.

Asked to comment on the statements by the outgoing interior minister, Aleš Hojs, that the National Bureau of Investigation and the crime police were full of staff linked to the firmer Communist secret service UDBA and the Communist Party, Kozlovič said she had no such information.

The Office of President Borut Pahor, which also received a copy of the letter, said that the prosecution must be independent in its work.

Our stories on the protests in Slovenia

News

The Red List

The Yellow List

My country is on the yellow list – can I come to Slovenia?

What about Croatia?

Sixteen Covid-19 cases detected in 1,274 tests on Thursday

Editorial

Gourmet

Photo of the Month

Photo galleries and videos

Real Estate in Slovenia