STA, 16 July 2019 - Orpea, a French multinational that specialises in assisted living services, has entered the Slovenian market via its Austrian subsidiary Senecura by purchasing a retirement home in Radenci, eastern Slovenia, called Dosor.

Senecura purchased the facility earlier this year from Radenci municipality and the Austrian bad bank Heta and plans to use it as a springboard for Slovenia, having previously acquired the licence to build several small retirement homes around the country with a total of 310 beds.

The company, the biggest private operator of retirement homes in Austria, acquired Dosor because of the quality of care it provides, favourable location and its reputation in Slovenia, Senecura board member Anton Kellner told the press on Tuesday.

Radenci municipality sold its 50% stake for EUR 1.5 million, while the rest was acquired with the purchase of Heta's EUR 7.6 million in claims to Dosor.

Dosor has 178 beds and 100 employees. It was built as a public-private project in 2008.

Together with the planned network of small retirement homes, the acquisition puts Senecura on track to compete with the biggest Slovenian private provider of elderly care, Deos, which has eight facilities in Slovenia.

There are currently over 100 elderly care facilities in Slovenia offering just over 20,000 places, most of which are publicly owned and operated by municipalities.

All our stories on the elderly in Slovenia are here

STA, 17 July 2019 - Ascent Resources, the UK developer of the Petišovci gas field in eastern Slovenia, has reportedly launched administrative dispute proceedings in Slovenia after it was ordered to get a separate permit for hydraulic fracturing.

The move, reported on Tuesday by the Stock Market Wire news portal, comes after the Environment Ministry upheld a decision of the Environment Agency (ARSO) on the controversial gas extraction project in Petišovci.

The ministry agreed that an environmental impact assessment and a separate environmental permit were necessary because the location of the gas wells was close to water sources and because underground waters and agricultural land in the area do not have very good ability to regenerate.

"The decision of ARSO and the Environment Ministry ignores the opinion of the six independent expert bodies whose advice ARSO sought," Ascent said.

The decision mistakenly concluded that the project fell within a conservation area and misapplied EU case law in relation to mitigation measures, Ascent also said as it announced multi-pronged legal action against Slovenia on 14 July, a day before the deadline for the Administrative Court appeal.

Aside from challenging the decision at the Administrative Court, Ascent plans to submit a claim for damages against the state for breach of EU law including for the unreasonably long time it took for the decision to be reached.

The company will seek damages for loss of future income from the project "which would have been expected to have been a multiple of the historic investment of some EUR 50 million."

It also plans to lodge an investment treaty arbitration claim under the Energy Charter Treaty.

All our stories on Ascent Resources are here

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This summary is provided by the STA:

Šarec and Židan also expect date for N Macedonia EU talks in October

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's expectation that the EU will give North Macedonia the green light to start accession negotiations in October was reiterated as Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and Parliamentary Speaker received North Macedonia's President Stevo Pendarovski. Šarec and Pendarovski, who chose Slovenia as the first country to visit since assuming office in May, focused on bilateral relations and the inclusion of North Macedonia into Euro-Atlantic alliances. Židan said it was important that countries striving for EU membership be treated individually, on the basic of their achievements.

Anti-graft watchdog looking into Kangler inquiry

LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has initiated proceedings against the National Council on suspicion that ethics and integrity of the upper chamber of parliament have been violated through the initiative for a parliamentary inquiry into prosecution of councillor Franc Kangler. The anti-graft watchdog's letter urging the National Council to hand over the documents pertaining to the initiative for the parliamentary inquiry for the purpose of anti-graft proceedings was published by Kangler on his Twitter profile on Monday.

French multinational enters Slovenian elderly care market

RADENCI - Orpea, a French multinational that specialises in assisted living services, has entered the Slovenian market via its Austrian subsidiary Senecura by purchasing a retirement home in Radenci, eastern Slovenia, called Dosor. Senecura purchased the facility earlier this year from Radenci municipality and the Austrian bad bank Heta and plans to use it as a springboard for Slovenia, having previously acquired the licence to build several small retirement homes around the country with a total of 310 beds.

Ombudsman urges office holders to refrain from hate speech

LJUBLJANA - Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina has urged holders of public office to refrain from hate speech, a response to a far-right MP saying how he would shoot a migrant who recently stabbed a taxi driver. "All holders of public office and politicians must refrain from discriminatory and hateful statements, written or spoken, that belittles, intimidates or harms anyone in any way," Svetina said. His statement comes after National Party (SNS) MP Dušan Šiško told the parliamentary Home Policy Committee on Monday that "I would send a shot in his head" when he referred to an Iraqi man who recently assaulted a taxi driver and was shot in the leg by police.

Two migrants cross Drava into Slovenia with five children

ORMOŽ - Two migrants were apprehended by Slovenian police officers in the Ormož area Monday evening after they crossed illegally into the country across the Drava river with five children. According to a press release from the Maribor Police Administration, an Iraqi national crossed the border river with four children and a Syrian with one child. Starving, the children and adults were given food and water before being taken to an asylum centre where they applied for international protection.

Turnišče eyeing EUR 14 million investment

TURNIŠČE - An investor is reportedly interested in buying a large plot in Turnišče, eastern Slovenia, to build a EUR 14 million plant for the production of electric vehicles, the municipality revealed. The municipality is in the process of selling three hectares of land in an industrial zone valued at EUR 168,000. Turnišče Mayor Borut Horvat told the STA that a company looking for a car production location for a foreign investor is interested in the plot. While refusing to reveal the company's name, Horvat said the municipality had been in talks and had signed a memorandum of understanding. The investor has an Egyptian and a Slovenian director.

Slovenia's Roglič renews contract with Jumbo Vismo

LJUBLJANA/AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - Slovenian cycling star Primož Roglič has renewed his contract with the Dutch Team Jumbo-Visma until the end of 2023. The agreement has been reached through a verbal promise and is to be signed in the upcoming days, Slovenian media reported citing the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. The cyclist's current contract with the Dutch bicycle racing team would expire in 2020. Roglič, who is one of the hottest cyclists in the market at the moment, will thus continue to race for the Jumbo-Visma team, participating in multi-stage races, including the three major ones - the first one, the Tour of Spain, will take place at the end of summer.

Slovenian mountaineer dies in Pakistan

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian mountaineer Janez Svoljšak, a member of the Kranj Alpine Association, died on Monday during an expedition in Pakistan, the Slovenian Alpine Association (PZS). The 25-year-old from Škofja Loka (NW) died in a base camp under the 6,650 m Tahu Rutum mountain in the Karakoram mountain range. He was an established mountaineer, having conquered peaks in Pakistan, Patagonia, the Canadian Rockies as well as Montana and Colorado in the US. His career highlights include climbing the Schmidt route up the North Face of the Matterhorn alone as well as a sole single-day ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc via the Innominata ridge - both achievements are considered a tour-de-force of mountaineering.

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

July 16, 2019

Summer street festivals are not only a feature of the capital, but take place in other parts of the country as well.

In its 17 years of existence the Littoral Street Festival has hosted around 800 street performers and puppeteers from some 40 different countries, and among a variety of shows we will this year see also some of the earliest, Commedia dell’arte originating puppet characters such as Mascarredas, Harlequin and Colobina, Pulcinella and a Slovenian version of the character, Pavliha.

The festival will last till the end of August and will feature shows along the main promenade path of Koper/Capodistria every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Thursday shows take place at Hlavaty Park, Friday shows at Ukmar Square and Saturday shows on the corner of the Hlavaty Park and Semedela promenade. In case of rain, shows will move under the roof of Taverna.

For information on shows, please visit: https://www.mclu.info/puf

PUF started as a puppet street festival and later extended its programme into other fields of performative arts.

In the last week of the festival from August 26 to 30 PUF will move to the villages in the outskirts of Koper/Capodistria in Slovenian Istria: Sokoliči, Hrvoji, Gračišče and Truški.

The grand finale of the festival will take place in Koper on August 30 with Etno HistEria concert, which will then move to Snežnik Castle as Floating Castle festival, which will only last for one day this year.

STA, 15 July 2019 - A bill to limit commission fees for leasing real estate and other costs which real estate agencies can charge their clients was vetoed by the National Council on Monday.

The veto comes as real estate agencies have vehemently protested the bill and have threatened to petition the Constitutional Court.

Under the changes to the act on real estate agency tabled by the Left, landlords would fully pay the commission fee charged by a real estate agency for a service commissioned by them.

This means tenants would no longer shoulder part of the fee, tackling one of the biggest complaints by individuals - the fact that tenants pay a fee for a service they have not commissioned.

A cap would also be imposed on the commission fee that can be charged by apartment rental agencies to landlords. The capped amount would correspond to one monthly rent but would not be lower than 150 euros.

The restrictions apply only to rental to individuals, business-to-business transactions are exempted.

Councillor Mitja Gorenšček, who led the veto initiative, argued today that the proponents of regulation should be targeting other fields on the market and not an area that the average persons encounters once or never in their life.

The Left's Luka Mesec begged to differ, arguing Slovenia had not developed a long-term flat renting market, with most tenants signing 12-month contracts and then being forced to pay for a service they did not commission every few years.

While the Left argued one of the goals of the bill was to enable people affordable housing, Gorenšček said the real problem was insufficient supply and that this was where the state should intervene with measures. He however also echoed the claims of businesses that the bill was an encroachment on the free market.

Environmental and Spatial Planning Ministry State Secretary Marko Maver however also came out in the defence of the bill, saying it followed housing policy guideline. He said it would increase accessibility and also encourage long-term contracts.

Meanwhile, the bill also introduces EU rules in acquiring qualifications for a real estate agent; Slovenia had already received a warning about a delay from the European Commission.

The Left is confident the bill receive the absolute majority needed in the National Assembly to override the veto.

All our stories on property in Slovenia are here

STA, 16 July 2019 - Slovenian mountaineer Janez Svoljšak, a member of the Kranj Alpine Association, has died during an expedition in Pakistan, the Slovenian Alpine Association (PZS) said on Monday.

The 25-year-old from Škofja Loka (NW) died in a base camp under the 6,650 m Tahu Rutum mountain in the Karakoram mountain range in the wee hours of Monday.

Svoljšak reportedly uttered a wheezing sound during sleep, passed out and stopped breathing. His team started resuscitating him immediately but gave up after three hours of futile efforts. Arrangements are now being made to bring his body back to Slovenia.

Svoljšak was an established mountaineer, having conquered peaks in Pakistan, Patagonia, the Canadian Rockies as well as Montana and Colorado in the US.

His career highlights include climbing the Schmidt route up the North Face of the Matterhorn alone as well as a sole single-day ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc via the Innominata ridge - both achievements are considered a tour-de-force of mountaineering.

In May, he and a fellow mountaineer completed a series of climbs in remote mountains of Alaska on routes that no human ever set foot on before, conquering three virgin peaks in the process.

The deceased mountaineer was the European Champion in ice climbing in 2016 as well as the winner of one of the World Cup games.

STA, 15 July 2019 - In the next three years, some EUR 200 million will be invested in the building of broadband optical networks in rural parts of Slovenia as part of the RUNE project, co-funded by the EU and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The Rural Network Project will be launched this year and will bring internet speeds of up to 10Gb/s to rural households, according to RUNE Enia, the company in charge of the investment in Slovenia.

The project, which is also being launched in Croatia, is co-funded by the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF) set up by the EU and the EIB in order to help fund commercial investments. RUNE investment in Croatia is somewhat lower than in Slovenia, at EUR 50 million.

According to the European Commission's web site, the goal is to generate between EUR 1 billion and EUR 1.7 billion investments by providing EUR 500 million in incentives.

STA, 15 July 2019 - The parliamentary Home Policy Committee discussed joint Slovenian-Italian border police patrols at an emergency session on Monday with the opposition arguing that these were misguided and could give an excuse to Italy to carry out its threat and put up a border fence.

Jernej Vrtovec, the deputy for opposition New Slovenia (NSi), which called the session, labelled joint border patrols as a mistake with long-term consequences.

He argued that in this way Slovenia would give Italy an excuse to consider other, stiffer measures to control migration, including erecting a fence on the most exposed sections of the border.

"Italy is a sovereign country, it can build, but this is not in the European spirit. Slovenia must send a clear message to Italy that such surveillance would seriously impact on people's lives on the border," he said.

Concerns about Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's threat to erect a fence and reinstate police checks on the border with Slovenia were also raised by the mayors of border communities of Nova Gorica and Renče-Vogrsko, Klemen Miklavič and Tarik Žigon.

However, Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar rushed to assure everyone present that joint patrols were not reinstating border controls, saying that most citizens would not even notice them.

"Joint patrols send out a signal that borders are being efficiently secured and make migration routes towards the west less attractive," said the minister.

Foreign Minister Miro Cerar, who is in Brussels today, labelled the claims of the opposition MPs as misleading and said that this measure was a step to prevent Italy from introducing border checks.

Slovenia cooperates with police forces of all neighbouring countries and continues to conduct joint border patrols with Croatia and Hungary. Italy maintains such patrols with its other neighbours as well.

The initiative for the joint border patrols was made by Italy in late April and four joint patrols became operational on 1 July.

They will exercise surveillance in the shared security space during night-time for three months in a bid to prevent cross-border crime and illegal migration.

Like the minister, Police Commissioner Tatjana Bobnar underscored that the joint patrols were not conducting border checks.

Most coalition deputies argued that joint patrols were an effective way to provide security with Tina Heferle from the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) saying they could prevent erection of border obstacles.

Gregor Perič, an MP for the Modern Centre Party (SMC), maintained that Salvini could find another reason to put up a border fence, rather than a potential failure of joint patrols.

However, Maša Kociper from the coalition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) does not favour joint patrols.

Vrtovec and Branko Grims from the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) argued that joint patrols made no sense because it was not in Slovenia's interest to stop migrants who want to enter Italy.

Moreover, Vrtovec said that joint patrols were Slovenia's admission that it was not coping with the situation on its south border.

The NSi believes that measures should be taken to step up protection of the Schengen border, which would render joint patrols superfluous, an idea also supported by the SDS and National Party (SNS).

Minister Poklukar argued that Slovenia already exercised effective control of the Schengen border, something that he said was confirmed by Frontex and Europol in their assessments, as well as by the fact that Italy returned a mere 169 migrants to Slovenia this year.

The border with Croatia is being secured by various police units, backed up by troops, drones and helicopters. More fence has been commissioned as well and extra budget funds made available.

The committee failed to endorse the NSi's proposals to call on the government to take all measure needed to effectively secure the border with Croatia, and to take steps to restrict Slovenia's asylum law.

STA, 15 July 2019 - The National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, vetoed on Monday legislative changes that cut state funding for private primary schools, arguing the cut was in opposition to the Constitutional Court decision ordering that funding be equalised with that for public schools.

The veto could spell trouble for the controversial changes, adopted last week in a 42:36 vote after a tug-of-war over the interpretation and enforcement of a 2014 top court ruling.

For the lower chamber to override veto, the changes would require absolute majority, meaning 46 MPs. The repeat vote is expected to be held on Thursday, but Gregor Perič of the Modern Centre Party (SMC), the coalition party that abstained from voting last week, already confirmed today the SMC would not change its mind and could not support the bill.

He said the SMC was not afraid of its decision having political consequences, arguing the party had played with open cards all along.

The councillors who filed the veto proposal argued the changes mean a cut in funds and run contrary to the December 2014 decision of the Constitutional Court that ordered full state funding for publicly approved curricula.

The opponents of the changes claim the legislator introduced an unfair distinction between publicly approved curricula and those that obtained public certification, the latter applying for private schools.

The changes introduce full state funding for the segment of private schools curricula corresponding with the public curricula, but completely scrap state funding for additional programmes, which continue to be covered for public schools.

Until now, private schools got 85% of the total state funding received by public schools. Opponents of the changes say that the cut also affects programmes that are part of compulsory primary education, which runs against public interest.

Education Minister Jernej Pikalo defended the changes today, arguing they were in line with the Constitutional Court ruling.

He said international documents also clearly stated that while the state should enable parents to raise their children in line with their world view, the state was not obliged to fund this.

A special commission of the National Council met ahead of today's vote to reject the veto proposal 6:1, with its chair Branimir Štrukelj arguing that private education caused segregation.

National Council president Alojz Kovšca disagreed, saying this was a political and ideological issue, while some councillors argued there are regions in Slovenia where parents do not have the option to send their child to a private school at all.

The opposition right-leaning parties rejected the changes last week. While the Left backed the coalition to help pass them, the SMC abstained from voting.

All our stories in education are here

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also ollow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here

Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here

This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenia to join Instex mechanism to preserve trade with Iran

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia will join to Instex mechanism meant to help European companies continue doing business with Iran despite US sanctions against the Gulf country, Foreign Minister Miro Cerar announced. The mechanism was set up in January by Germany, France and Great Britain and allegedly eight more members already announced they would join. Cerar quoted the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini as saying that the number of members wishing to join is growing, while third countries are also expressing interest. Unofficially, 12 EU member states have so far expressed interest to participate, including the three founders.

Pahor and Pendarovski urge EU to start North Macedonia accession talks

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor reiterated Slovenia's support for North Macedonia to join the EU and NATO as he hosted North Macedonia President Stevo Pendarovski. Pahor expects the EU to deliver on its promise and green-light the start of accession negotiations in October. Pendarovski picked Slovenia as the destination for his first official visit abroad since taking up his post in May. He said North Macedonia had felt disappointed in June, but highlighted he had been assured the postponement was of a technical nature and thus he remained optimistic about October.

Concerns in parliament over Italy's plans for border fence

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Home Policy Committee discussed joint Slovenian-Italian border police patrols at an emergency session with the opposition arguing that these were misguided and could give an excuse to Italy put up a border fence. Jernej Vrtovec, the deputy for opposition New Slovenia (NSi), which called the session, labelled the joint patrols a mistake with long-term consequences. He argued that in this way Slovenia would give Italy an excuse to consider other, stiffer measures to control migration, including erecting a fence on the most exposed border sections.

National Council vetoes cut of state funding for private primary schools

LJUBLJANA - The National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, vetoed legislative changes that cut state funding for private primary schools, arguing the cut was in opposition to the Constitutional Court decision ordering that funding be equalised with that for public schools. The opponents of the changes claim the legislator introduced an unfair distinction between publicly approved curricula and those that obtained public certification, the latter applying for private schools. The veto could spell trouble for the controversial changes, adopted in a 42:36 vote. The coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC), which abstained from voting last week, said it would not change its mind, meaning the absolute majority needed to override the veto is not there.

Upper chamber vetoes bill curbing realtors' rental fees

LJUBLJANA - A bill to limit commission fees for leasing real estate and other costs which real estate agencies can charge their clients was vetoed by the National Council. The veto comes as real estate agencies have vehemently protested the bill and have threatened to petition the Constitutional Court. While the supporters of the bill, led by the opposition Left, argue the cap on the commission fee for rentals and having landlords cover it in full would protect the weakest, businesses argue the changes encroach on the free market. Having the back of the coalition, the Left is confident the veto will be overridden by the National Assembly.

Bad bank reports record yield in 2018

LJUBLJANA - The Bank Asset Management Company (BAMC), managing more than EUR 800 millions in assets, generated EUR 57.7 million in profit after tax last year and EUR 228 million in turnover, according to an audited annual business report. The bad bank's capital gains yield reached a record 28.8%, far over the required 8%. The bank's capital increased by EUR 53.4 million to EUR 199.9 million last year. At the end of the year, the bad bank managed EUR 830.1 million in fair value assets. The figure was 13% lower than in 2017. Loans accounted for 67% of the assets managed by BAMC, followed by real estate (22%) and investments (11%).

Slovenian researchers in major materials breakthrough

LJUBLJANA - A group of researchers from the Jožef Stefan Institute has discovered what they describe as an entirely new kind of matter that cannot be understood with existing physics and which opens up an entirely new field. Their paper was published in the latest issue of Nature Materials. Conducting experiments designed to create new kinds of quantum materials under non-equilibrium conditions, the researchers used short laser pulses to crate an unusually thick amorphous matter in which electrons become jammed because of strong interaction.

Average pay up year-on-year

LJUBLJANA - The average gross salary in Slovenia was at EUR 1,728.12 in May and EUR 1,113.88 net. Compared to May 2018, average gross salary was 3.9% higher in nominal terms and 2.5% higher in real terms. Net salary was 3.4% higher in nominal terms and 2% higher in real terms compared to the May of last year, according to the Statistics Office. The highest net wages were paid out in the financial and insurance sector, EUR 1,556.92 net. Compared to April, average gross and net pay was 0.1% lower in nominal terms and 1% lower in real terms.

EUR 200m broadband internet investment launched in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - In the next three years, some EUR 200 million will be invested in the building of broadband optical networks in rural parts of Slovenia as part of the RUNE project, co-funded by the EU and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The Rural Network Project will be launched this year and will bring internet speeds of up to 10Gb/s to rural households, RUNE Enia, the company in charge of the investment in Slovenia, said.

Šarec party's lead wearing thin in Delo poll

LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec's party slipped back in the latest poll commissioned by the newspaper Delo, its lead ahead of the opposition Democrats (SDS) narrowing down to a mere 0.3 percentage points. The poll, conducted by Mediana and carried by Delo, gives the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) 14.6%, down as much as four points from the month before. The SDS is now at 14.3%, having lost 0.8 points, followed by the Social Democrats (SD), who slipped half a point to 7.8%. While the leading trio lost ground, the Left gained as much as 1.5 points, the most of all parties, to poll at 7.7%.

British Airways launching flights to Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - British Airways is launching a new route to Ljubljana with its first plane from London Heathrow Airport due to touch down at Jože Pučnik Ljubljana Airport. The British air carrier had already operated scheduled flights to Ljubljana from Gatwick airport at the turn of the millennium, when Slovenian air carrier Adria Airways was flying to Heathrow. Becoming the third carrier to fly between London and Slovenia's capital, British Airways will link the capitals twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, on a 220-seater Airbus 321.

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