FRIDAY, 4 September
BRDO PRI KRANJU - PM Janez Janša dismissed at the annual meeting of Slovenian diplomats concerns Slovenia is drifting away from the EU's core countries, saying the "saga about a core Europe" was a false dilemma that testified lack of confidence. However, Slovenia does not have an inferiority complex, he added.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Slovenian and French FMs Anže Logar and Jean-Yves Le Drian coordinated the preparations of their respective countries for their upcoming EU presidencies in the second half of 2021 and first half of 2022, respectively, as Le Drian presented a vision for a more confident EU as a guest at the annual meeting of Slovenian diplomats. He also met with President Borut Pahor.
LJUBLJANA - European People's Party (EPP) president Donald Tusk visited Slovenia to honour the 20th anniversary of the New Slovenia (NSi) party, underscoring that even though EU countries and EPP parties might pursue different interests, the EU's fundamental values such as freedom of speech, tolerance and the rule of law, were non-negotiable.
LJUBLJANA - The New Slovenia (NSi) marked its 20th anniversary, with its head Matej Tonin labelling the party a bridge between the left and right. "I believe we can create a wave of cooperation together, which is to unite Slovenian politics," he said.
RIJEKA, Croatia - The builder Kolektor Koling signed the latest in a series of high-value construction contracts in Croatia, this time for a EUR 35 million reconstruction of transport surfaces and rails at the port of Rijeka.
LJUBLJANA - The telecoms incumbent Telekom Slovenije announced the sale of TS Media, a subsidiary running several online businesses, including the popular siol.net news portal.
SATURDAY, 5 September
RAB, Croatia - The presidents of Slovenia and Croatia, Borut Pahor and Zoran Milanović, attended a ceremony honouring the victims of the Fascist concentration camp on the island of Rab. Pahor said the joint gesture "symbolised the importance of friendship and a shared awareness of the need to preserve memory, which should also serve as a warning".
BLED - Matt Boyse, deputy assistant secretary at US Department of State's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, told the STA that relations between the US and Slovenia were becoming markedly stronger. He praised Slovenia's efforts in the Three Seas Initiative, expressing his belief its October summit would bring notable headway.
SUNDAY, 6 September
PAU, France - Slovenian riders made history at the Tour de France as Tadej Pogačar won the 9th stage and Primož Roglič came in second to take the yellow jersey. The Jumbo-Visma rider has become the first Slovenian ever to claim the leader's jersey at the world's most prestigious cycling race, and is still holding the first place overall.
BASOVIZZA, Italy - Four victims of Fascism, known among Slovenians as the Basovizza Heroes, were remembered with a ceremony at the site they were executed 90 years ago following a short trial before a Fascist court in Trieste. Parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič told the ceremony the four had become a symbol of resistance to a murdering and oppressive regime and ideology that incited hatred and violence among people.
STIČNA - PM Janez Janša remembered the spirit of cooperation and mutual trust between people of different political persuasions as he addressed a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of a secret meeting that set out plans for Slovenia's defence on breaking independent from Yugoslavia.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia defeated Moldova to secure first win in this year's UEFA Nations League after drawing with Greece two days earlier. Slovenia now rank second behind Greece in Group C3. The next games will be played in October against Kosovo and Moldova.
MONDAY, 7 September
LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Dnevnik reported that the Information Commissioner had launched oversight of the police over "lack of clarity in expansion of police powers" related to measures to contain coronavirus. The privacy watchdog is looking whether police measures are warranted by law.
LJUBLJANA - As the second week of school started with a number of groups of children in quarantine due to coronavirus cases detected among their classmates, the Education Ministry said it was developing an application which would contain all relevant information in one place. It is planning to start publishing data on a weekly basis soon.
KLAGENFURT, Austria - A political group of the Slovenian minority in Austria urged the mayors of municipalities in the bilingual parts of the state of Carinthia to set up bilingual place names in 37 villages. SKUP called on the mayors to follow the example of another two municipalities, which decided in July to set up bilingual place names in 23 villages.
LJUBLJANA - A landmark ruling by the Administrative Court was announced in which the right of NGOs to participate already in the preliminary stage of permit proceedings is asserted if they are able to prove an investment would have significant environmental impact.
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Business Club (SBC) presented a set of proposals to fight the consequences of Covid-19. It wants the freezing of the minimum wage act provisions which will increase the minimum wage as of 1 January 2021, and the criteria for additional liquidity funds with state guarantee to be changed and the measure extended until next June.
LJUBLJANA - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) dismissed an appeal lodged by two Roma families in June who alleged violations of basic human rights because of inadequate access to drinking water and sanitation.
TUESDAY, 8 September
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for a joint approach to coronavirus and to illegal migration as they held a meeting, at which they agreed a full lockdown should be avoided this autumn. Turning to illegal migration, Janša called for a strengthening of border protection, a joint EU approach and assistance to the countries that could be hit the hardest.
LJUBLJANA - Several MPs of the LMŠ party of the former PM Marjan Šarec self-isolated after coming into a contact with a person who had tested positive for the new coronavirus. Šarec said four LMŠ MPs had been issued quarantine orders, with two more self-isolating as a precaution.
TRIESTE, Italy - The Trieste-based Slovenian newspaper Primorski Dnevnik reported that Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese had announced Italy would not close small border crossings with Slovenia to fight to increased migration, but would instead bolster the presence of the military and police in the border area.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission gave its go-ahead for an EUR 80 million investment out of the cohesion fund to co-finance the new rail section from Divača to Koper, which is valued at EUR 1.194 billion. The funds will be spent on building a tunnel and two viaducts supporting the track.
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Finance Committee backed a proposal for a 2% rise in pensions in December regardless of the amount of GDP growth in the past year, which would come at the cost of EUR 94 million. The government has not yet taken a position on the proposal, however it appears to have been agreed within the ruling coalition.
LJUBLJANA - The Gorenje Group said it generated a net loss of EUR 55.2 million last year, down from 2018's EUR 111.2 million, while revenue rose by 4% to EUR 1.23 billion. The group said the loss was largely a result of poor performance in the first quarter when the volume of sales was rather low. The group expects to post a profit this year.
WEDNESDAY, 9 September
LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The General Court of the EU dismissed Slovenia's appeal to annul the European Commission delegated regulation of May 2017 to allow Croatian wine producers to use Teran, the name of a red wine protected by Slovenia, on their wine labels. Slovenia, which had the wine grown in the region of Kras recognised as a protected designation of origin, challenged the delegated regulation in September 2017. The decision was met with frustration and blame game at home.
LJUBLJANA - Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) leader Aleksandra Pivec resigned despite previously vowing to fight efforts by the party's council to unseat her over mixing official and private business on two trips to western Slovenia. She announced, however, that she would run for chairmanship again when the party holds an election congress, until which the party will be led by Tomaž Gantar, the health minister.
LJUBLJANA - The government announced that 78 new coronavirus cases had been detected from 2,560 tests carried out a day earlier, an absolute daily record for the numbers of new cases and daily tests since the first case was recorded in the country on 4 March. As many as 590 cases were active.
LJUBLJANA - FM Anže Logar said he wanted to overhaul Slovenia's foreign policy within a year "given the geostrategic changes and the new dynamic of relations in the global arena". Slovenia's foreign policy should become more confident and active, and stronger transatlantic relations are also a priority, said Logar.
LONDON, UK - The UK-based company Ascent Resources was revealed to have formally begun procedures to start an investor dispute against Slovenia at international arbitration for taking measures to protect its groundwater from fracking, the NGO Friends of the Earth announced.
LJUBLJANA - The Environment Ministry unveiled the long-awaited draft climate strategy until 2050. The centrepiece of the document is zero net emissions or climate neutrality by the target year. The use of coal is planned to be reduced by 60% by 2030 compared to 2005, and a decision on a new generator at the NEK power plant is to be made by 2027.
LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office said that Slovenia's exports amounted to EUR 2.94 billion in July, a 2.9% year-on-year decrease, while imports were down by 10.9% to EUR 2.74 billion, which made for the second highest external trade surplus in a decade.
POSTOJNA - The operator of the Postojna Cave said it was forced to lay off a number of employees as it grapples with a 83% drop in visit due to the corona crisis and looks to secure long-term sustainability of operation. The newspaper Primorske Novice reported that up to 60 out of the 174 employees are to be sacked.
IG - Slovenia's Equality Rights Ombudsman found that prisoners in the country's sole incarceration facility for women were discriminated against compared to their male counterparts in Slovenia's largest prison when it comes to visitors, private and intimate contacts, phone calls and electronic communication.
THURSDAY, 10 September
LJUBLJANA - The government decided that Slovenia would cut mandatory quarantine imposed on arrivals from Covid-19 risky countries from 14 to 10 days starting from Sunday, a decision that was taken on the proposal of the expert government advisory group. Some exemptions for family visits or funerals in Slovenia were also loosened.
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Health Committee unanimously endorsed amendments to the act on communicable diseases under which unvaccinated children would be barred from public or publicly financed kindergartens.
LJUBLJANA - Responding to a growing number of illegal migrants entering Slovenia from Croatia, six police departments along the border said they would enhance border surveillance. Officers will be preventing, detecting and processing instances of illegal crossing of the border until 18 September.
BREŽICE - The government commission for concealed mass graves began work on a site of summary execution at Mostec near Brežice, so far discovering the remains of at least 139 victims believed to have been executed between May and October 1945.
LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council expressed reservations about the proposed supplementary budget for this year and the revised budget framework for 2020-2022. Even though Slovenia is allowed to depart from mid-term budgetary objectives, it said some expenditure was either not sufficiently transparent or projected to grow at an excessive pace.
LJUBLJANA - The government decided to open an honorary consulate in Brno, the Czech Republic, and appointed businesswoman Andrea Ungerova the honorary consul. The consulate is to help Slovenian companies enhance business ties with Czech partners.
LJUBLJANA - Croatian poet Sibila Petlevska won this year's Vilenica Crystal, an award the Vilenica International Literary Festival gives to one of the authors featured in the festival's anthology. The jury described the work of the 56-year-old Petlevska as combining a rich imagination, distinct voice and subdued yet vivacious playfulness.
LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office said Slovenia recorded the third consecutive monthly rise in industrial output in July. Up 8%, the output is however still below pre-Covid-19 levels and was 4.6% lower than in July 2019. The last time output was up year-on-year was February.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia advanced five places to 62nd among 162 countries in an economic freedom report published by the libertarian institutes Visio from Slovenia and Fraser from Canada. Slovenia remains one spot behind Croatia.
