What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 9 April
LJUBLJANA - The government overhauled the colour-coded strategy of coronavirus restrictions as the 1-11 April circuit-breaker lockdown was about to end, softening some rules applying to each of the five tiers and abolishing the night curfew as of 12 April. The epidemic was extended by another 30 days from 17 April.
LJUBLJANA - The government extended the partial wage subsidy for furloughed workers into May to reduce the risk of layoffs due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The extension is to cost the state some EUR 31.5 million, with an estimated 45,000 employees to be included.
LJUBLJANA - The government set up a strategic council for digitalisation as an advisory body to the prime minister. The new council is headed by Mark Boris Andrijanič of US ride hailing platform Uber.
LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Public Health received almost 3,820 reports of side effects after 404,000 Covid-19 vaccinations. In 16 cases, serious side effects were reported after vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine, but link to the vaccine was not confirmed.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia exported EUR 3 billion worth of goods in February, up 2.6% year on year, and imported EUR 2.7 billion, down 2.2%. The export-import ratio reached 109.7% for the third highest monthly surplus in the last decade, the Statistic Office said. The country's industry meanwhile contracted at an annual rate of 1.5%.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia Sovereign Holding (SSH) published a takeover bid for spa operator Terme Olimia, offering EUR 27.50 per share for the shares the state does not own yet. The move is part of the government's efforts to pool tourism companies under one roof.
ČRNOMELJ - An unknown perpetrator threw a petrol bomb though the window of the house of a local councillor for the opposition LMŠ in Črnomelj, Vesna Fabjan, but nobody was hurt in the fire, which was put out quickly. Senior Slovenian officials strongly condemned the incident.
SATURDAY, 10 April
LJUBLJANA - The outdoor mask mandate was ended. Masks must now be worn only if a sufficient physical social distance cannot be observed.
LJUBLJANA - The Culture Ministry confirmed media reports that comparative literature expert Aleš Vaupotič was appointed the new director of Moderna Galerija, the national museum of modern and contemporary art. His five-year term started on 6 April.
MARIBOR - Around 400 people gathered in Freedom Square to protest against the government's measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, criticising the announced self-testing for the coronavirus in schools, continued closure of bars and restaurants and face mask wearing.
BILBAO, Spain - Cyclist Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) won the Tour of the Basque Country for the second time in his career, with his younger compatriot Tadej Pogačar finishing third.
MONDAY, 12 April
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia entered the red stage of coronavirus restrictions under an overhauled traffic-light system after an eleven-day lockdown. The night curfew was lifted after nearly six months, most shops and other services reopened, including museums, galleries and libraries, and pupils went back to school.
LJUBLJANA - Some changes to entry in Slovenia without quarantine or a negative PCR test were introduced to include accredited journalists and persons who enter for emergency reasons, while Austria was red-listed. A negative test produced at a border crossing can now also come from the US and UK.
LJUBLJANA - The Covid-19 vaccination task force at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) decided the AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered to everyone over 18 without any restrictions, after the European Medicines Agency found no connection with side effects to either age or gender.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovin/LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Zorica Bukinac was summoned to the Bosnian Foreign Ministry after Bosnian media reported PM Janez Janša sent to the EU a non-paper on re-writing of borders in the Western Balkans. Janša denied the claim and the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said the only non paper on the Western Balkans Slovenia had joined was Croatia's from the end of last year.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission was on a virtual visit to Slovenia in preparation for its second Rule of Law Report, due in July, to obtain additional information or clear up any issues after the country submitted its assessment of the situation in late March.
LJUBLJANA - A review of a number of closed National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) cases that was ordered by Interior Minister Aleš Hojs last year found zero mistakes or shortcomings in the audited police work, shows a report obtained by news portal 24ur.com.
LJUBLJANA - In a bid to resolve the financing dispute, STA director Bojan Veselinovič offered the government access to all books of account and documents, even though the STA had never received a formal request to that effect. He said the government should say, in writing, who would access the documents on its behalf and in what way.
TREBNJE - The sub-zero temperatures that hit Slovenia last week could result in EUR 40-50 million in damage caused to fruit and wine growers, Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek estimated as he continued visiting the frost-stricken areas. He announced state aid for the affected farmers.
TUESDAY, 13 April
MARIBOR/LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest two vaccination centres repirted massive cancellations by those due to get an AstraZeneca vaccine. Half of those invited turned down the jab in Maribor and a third in Ljubljana, the local community health centres said. Bojana Beović, the head of the national immunisation advisory commission, expressed surprise considering the vaccine involves no risk for the age group in principle.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar noted the significance of enhanced cooperation between the EU and the US in the changed international and security environment, as he took part in an online international conference called the Raisina Dialogue.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Slovenian maker of prefabricated construction elements Trimo by the Irish Kingspan Group over concerns that the transaction may reduce competition and lead to price increases.
LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Transport and Communications Workers came out against legislative changes that would provide a legal basis for ride hailing platforms such as Uber. Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said the goal was to make transport services cheaper and more modern.
WEDNESDAY, 14 April
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee that Slovenia's strategy on the Western Balkans had not changed as he responded to a question about an alleged non-paper on the Western Balkans PM Janez Janša was supposed to have sent to Brussels.
ROME, Italy - President Borut Pahor and his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella called for completing the process of returning National Home, a Slovenian centre in Trieste, to the Slovenian minority in Italy as soon as possible as they met in Rome.
LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and European Commissioner for Justice and Consumer Protection Didier Reynders discussed the priorities of Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency in terms of consumer protection. Počivalšek said Slovenia supports an ambitious take on the bloc's consumer policy.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Stanislav Raščan pledged Slovenia's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the EU's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as he took part in a virtual EU-Brazil event on climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development.
LJUBLJANA - Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti held an online talk with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović to discuss media freedom and the freedom of expression. The ministry said Simoniti had assured the commissioner the Slovenian government thinks media freedom is crucial.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - The government decided to allow hospitality establishments in eight of Slovenia's twelve statistical regions to serve guests at outdoor tables from 7am to 7pm starting from 19 April. It added the Sputnik and Johnson&Johnson vaccines to the list of vaccines the vaccination with which exempts a person from having to quarantine or get tested upon entering Slovenia. It also decided to give over 10,000 unemployed who have lost job since the coronavirus epidemic was first declared in March 2020 a one-off solidarity allowance of EUR 150.
LJUBLJANA - The college of deputy group leaders voted not to allow four independent MPs - three defectors from the coalition SMC, including Speaker Igor Zorčič, and one from the opposition DeSUS - to take part in parliamentary bodies. Voting against their participation were all three coalition parties as well as the opposition SNS and DeSUS plus one minority MP. The centre-left coalition fears this is an attack on parliamentary democracy.
LJUBLJANA - After failing to muster support in parliament to dismiss Education Minister Simona Kustec in mid-March, the four centre-left opposition parties mounted a new attempt to have the minister either resign or be replaced, arguing she had let down her brief and the groups she is responsible for.
THURSDAY, 15 April
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court said it had cleared a law securing EUR 780 million in investments in the Slovenian Armed Forces in 2021-2026 as well as parliament's decision not to allow a referendum on the law. It argued the National Assembly and the government had reasonably grounded the urgency of the investments and the decision not to allow the referendum.
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court stayed the implementation of a government decree that temporarily bans public gatherings and events arguing that a new decree should be adopted with due consideration of the right to gatherings being a fundamental human right and an important means of expressing political opinions.
LJUBLJANA - The online portal Necenzurirano published a non-paper proposing changes to borders in the Western Balkans that has been raising controversy in recent days. While its authorship remains unclear, "some information indicates part of the content has been written in Budapest. Nevertheless, it is referred to in Brussels diplomatic circles as a 'Slovenian' non-paper as allegedly the Janša office has been involved in its mailing to various addresses," wrote the portal.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly hosted the 17th conference of parliamentary speakers from the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative as part of Slovenia's presidency of the initiative. President Borut Pahor said in his address the group was an important leverage of regional cooperation and European integration of Western Balkan countries.
