FRIDAY, 11 June
LJUBLJANA - Former Slovenian President Milan Kučan said that the government declassifying a 2011 document compiled by him on possible further paths in the process of Bosnia-Herzegovina's constitutional reform was a move to divert attention from the allegations that PM Janez Janša was spreading a non-paper on re-drawing of Western Balkans borders in the Western Balkans.
LJUBLJANA - The heads of four independent oversight state bodies signed a joint statement calling for appropriate communication in the country and respect for independent state bodies. Signed by the Information Commissioner, Commission for Corruption Prevention, Court of Audit and Human Rights Ombudsman, the statement expressed concern about the relentless pressure of politics on institutions.
LJUBLJANA - The Prosecution Council announced it had proposed that the State Attorney's Office file a lawsuit against the government for breach of law to the detriment of public interest after the government annulled the procedure to appoint Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors.
LJUBLJANA - The government decided on 10 June that Slovenia will donate 10,530 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the Czech Republic in an expression of solidarity. The donation will be made from one of the future supplies of the vaccine destined for Slovenia and will be delivered directly by Pfizer.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - It was announced that Slovenia had asked for a extension of the two-month term for the assessment of its national recovery and resilience plan along with Poland, Sweden, Croatia and Romania. The European Commission granted the request and the deadline was extended by two weeks.
LJUBLJANA - A building in the centre of Ljubljana where the coalition New Slovenia (NSi) has its headquarters was defaced with paint the night before, an act that the party said reflected the growing intolerance in society.
LJUBLJANA - The executive committee of FIBA Europe decided Slovenia will host the 2023 European Women Basketball Championship, with two groups of the preliminary round to be played in Celje and Koper, and the elimination round in the capital of Ljubljana.
SATURDAY, 12 June
LJUBELJ - A ceremony marking the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Ljubelj labour camp, a Mauthausen sub-camp, heard warnings of the dangers of the spread of hatred. "There are too many politicians who sow hatred and politicians who allow and calmly observe this or pretend there is no danger," said keynote speaker Dragan Petrovec.
LJUBLJANA - National Council President Alojz Kovšca argued in an interview with the STA that Slovenia would not be successful until politics was capable of compromise and the government featured individuals of leftist and rightist political proclivity. He also called for a stronger stance on sovereignty.
SUNDAY, 13 June
LJUBLJANA - Igor Kršinar, a journalist for the magazine Reporter, initiated a private prosecution against PM Janez Janša over two Twitter posts in 2019 that implied he was a drug user. Kršinar said the claim that he was a drug user "exceeds the boundaries of appropriate and permitted communication".
NOVO MESTO - Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar won the Tour of Slovenia, the country's biggest cycling road race, after defending the leading position in the final stage from Ljubljana to Novo Mesto. This marked the 25th career victory for the 22-year-old UAE Team Emirates rider, who won last year's Tour de France.
MONDAY, 14 June
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Arriving at a NATO summit, PM Janez Janša said Slovenia would not be able to reach the NATO target of 2% of GDP in defence spending by 2024, but it must do its homework. He noted that under the current government the spending trend had been reversed.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - China is NATO's key challenge, PM Janez Janša said ahead of a NATO summit. "The world has changed in the last three decades and threats have changed as well," Janša said, adding that China was definitely a topic that would dominate not only this but future summits as well.
ROME, Italy - FM Anže Logar and his Italian counterpart Luigi di Maio chaired the 7th session of the Coordinating Committee of Ministers between Slovenia and Italy. They voiced the desire for stronger cooperation in security and migrations, infrastructure, sustainable mobility, industry, the green transition and science.
LJUBLJANA - Police Commissioner Anton Olaj filed a criminal complaint against the opposition Left on suspicion of making false accusations against him in response to the party filing a complaint against him on suspicion of abuse of office. Olaj highlighted that the police were unbiased and professional.
MEŽICA - TAB, the maker of starter batteries for cars and industrial batteries, announced it would launch production of lithium-ion cells in Prevalje in the first such facility in Slovenia in spring 2022 in a joint venture with the Chinese company Haidi Energy Technology.
LJUBLJANA - Four former and current police officers who organised a police patrol in 2015 to pull over and breathalyze the then Public Administration Minister Boris Koprivnikar received suspended sentences at the Ljubljana District Court.
LJUBLJANA - The average mark for the government's performance slightly increased for the second month in a row in the latest poll run by the newspaper Delo, however more than half of respondents remained unsatisfied with the government. The ruling SDS remained in the lead. The share of undecided voters rose to almost 20%.
TUESDAY, 15 June
LJUBLJANA - Marjan Dikaučič, an official receiver, became Slovenia's new justice minister after a 44:41 vote in parliament. Dikaučič would not comment on the setback in the appointment of European delegated prosecutors from Slovenia, the reason for his predecessor's resignation.
LJUBLJANA - The Covid-19 epidemic, which was declared in Slovenia in October, officially ended, but all existing restrictions remained in place. Proof of either Covid recovery or vaccination or a negative test result will still be required in many cases.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor attended a ceremony at the Linden Tree of Reconciliation at Ljubljana's Žale cemetery, marking Day of Guilt, Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Recalling long-standing efforts to right wrongs, Pahor endorsed a declaration adopted by the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU).
CELJE - GE STEAM Power Systems, the legal successor to Alstom, struck a plea bargain with the prosecution in a case involving an alleged bribery scheme in the construction of TEŠ6. GE STEAM Power Systems agreed to pay EUR 23 million in damages plus EUR 50,000 in legal costs, subject to approval by the judge.
LJUBLJANA - The SD leader Tanja Fajon proposed that four opposition parties forge a closer partnership, starting with a "partnership discussion" that would chart the way forward. Fajon wants the opposition to convince people of its capabilities.
LJUBLJANA - With new coronavirus infections steadily declining, the NIJZ relaunched the active tracing of contacts of those who have tested positive, which had been suspended in autumn due to an unmanageable inflow of daily cases. Between 70 and 100 contact tracers will be available each day.
LJUBLJANA - More than half of Slovenian respondents (51%) believe that corruption increased last year, showed the Global Corruption Barometer for the EU 2021, a survey by Transparency International. Responses by Slovenian participants suggested the second worst deterioration of the situation in the EU.
LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court upheld a guilty verdict against Andrej Šiško, the leader of Štajerska Guard, a self-proclaimed militia, who was found guilty in March 2019 of trying to subvert the constitutional order. He had already served out his eight-month sentence.
WEDNESDAY, 16 June
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's central bank markedly upgraded its economic growth forecast for the country, projecting the economy to expand by 5.2% this year, up 2.1 percentage points on the December forecast, followed by a 4.8% growth in 2022, up from 4.5%.
BRNIK - A new passenger terminal was inaugurated at the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport. The expansion brings 10,000 square metres of new surfaces. The new terminal will open on 1 July, just in time for the start of Slovenia's EU presidency.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded no daily Covid-19 deaths for the first time since 10 October as 83 new cases were logged, pushing the 7-day average case count and 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents below 100. Government data show 250,288 people had recovered from Covid-19 and 4,724 died had died.
LJUBLJANA - US President Joe Biden sent his congratulations ahead of Statehood Day to President Borut Pahor. Biden sees the coming Slovenian EU presidency as a great opportunity for the country to contribute to the EU's resilience to health crises and cyber attacks.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - FM Anže Logar argued for a credible continuation of the process to expand the EU to the Western Balkans as he took part in the Global Security Forum. Logar argued the EU should think geo-strategically and preserve and enhance a high level of trust for the Western Balkans.
LJUBLJANA - It was announced that the government will host the College of European Commissioners, including EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as Slovenia takes over the rotating EU presidency on 1 July.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor nominated Damjan Kukovec, senior lecturer in law at Middlesex School of Law in London, for one of Slovenia's two judicial posts on the EU's General Court. Kukovec was endorsed as the most suitable out of eight candidates by the Judicial Council.
LJUBLJANA - Finance reported that the Serbian AIK Banka was close to signing a deal to buy all of Russian Sberbank's operations in SE Europe, including those in Slovenia. A potential merger of Sberbank in Slovenia and Gorenjska Banka, which is owned by AIK, would create the third largest banking group in the country.
THURSDAY, 17 June
LJUBLJANA - The government passed an emergency law to help the embattled tourism sector. The package is worth EUR 243.5 million, with new tourist vouchers accounting for the bulk of new spending. Businesses think the aid falls short.
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted legislation that involves EUR 1.9 billion in spending on health investments over the next ten years for hospitals and educational institutions to beef up the capacity of the national health system. The money will be secured in regular annual budgets from 2021 to 2031.
LJUBLJANA - The government decided to lift many existing restrictions in retail and services sectors as of 21 June, including the 10pm cap. A new restriction was introduced for public rallies and events with more than 100 persons. Participants of such events will need to be vaccinated, tested or reconvalescent from 21 June. The new rule will be in force until 27 June.
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a long-awaited bill on long-term care. A gradual approach is planned and a special mandatory contribution for long-term care, a key component of the system, will be put in place later, by mid-2024 at the latest.
ANTALYA, Turkey - FM Anže Logar attended a ministerial of the South-East European Cooperation Process, discussing the possibilities for regional cooperation. In his address, Logar highlighted the importance of strengthening regional cooperation in the period following the Covid-19 pandemic.
PODGORICA, Montenegro - Speaker Igor Zorčič started a two-day official visit to Montenegro by meeting his counterpart Aleksa Bečić. Zorčič said Slovenia would do everything in its power during its six-month stint at the helm of the Council of the EU to speed up Montenegro's EU accession talks.
LJUBLJANA - The Court of Audit assessed that Slovenia was partly successful in achieving the objectives of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the 2013-2019 period. It noted that 2030 targets were very ambitious and would be difficult to reach with the current structure and pace of measures.
LJUBLJANA - Two members of the European Parliament from the Greens-European Free Alliance group concluded their three-day mission to Slovenia, assessing that, politically-speaking, the situation was very complex, and that they were leaving the country feeling concerned.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Stanislav Raščan announced at a virtual donors' conference in solidarity with Venezuela's migrants and refugees in Latin America that Slovenia will donate EUR 60,000.
