What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 25 June
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša symbolically took over the presidency of the EU from Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva at the Statehood Day ceremony. He warned against using double standards and said that as the presiding country, Slovenia would fight for equal standards for everyone.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor made an appeal for a new national consensus in his address to the Statehood Day ceremony, highlighting the importance of shared goals and cooperation. He also called for a respect of differences and diversity. The prime ministers of Austria, Croatia and Hungary, the foreign minister of Italy, and the president of the European Council also congratulated Slovenia on the 30th anniversary of its independence as they addressed the ceremony.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - PM Janez Janša told reporters as part of the EU summit that there would be enough Covid-19 vaccine and that now the key problem would be how to utilise all resources so that as many people as possible got vaccinated. As for the new Hungarian law on the LGBTIQ community, he said Slovenia did not want to be part of any new divisions in Europe.
LJUBLJANA - Organisers of weekly anti-government protests staged an alternative celebration of Statehood Day, with the crowd filling Prešeren Square as speakers criticised political elites. In inviting people to the protest, the organisers said the event was open to all people who recognise that this is a holiday of the people, not a holiday of political elites.
LJUBLJANA - Several international NGOs promoting freedom of the press called on the Slovenian government to refrain during the presidency of the EU Council from attempts to undermine initiatives that aim to improve the conditions for freedom of the press in EU member states and in EU candidate countries
LJUBLJANA - The Romanian Orthodox Church announced it had established a parish in Ljubljana in order to provide spiritual care for the Romanian diaspora. "It is a moral obligation to take care of all Romanians, wherever they are," said Patriarch Daniel.
LJUBLJANA - The pandemic severely affected population statistics in Slovenia in 2020, as a high death rate was coupled with fewer births. Life expectancy declined by almost a year, Statistics Office said.
SATURDAY, 26 June
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his German and Portuguese counterparts, Heiko Maas and Augusto Santos Silva called for EU enlargement to the Western Balkans in an op-ed published on the BalkanInsight web portal, describing such efforts as a strategic and shared interest.
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša discussed the values of independence as well as what he called high treason in an interview with the commercial broadcaster Nova24TV, saying that while independence never divided the nation it did divide politics, owning to those for whom an independent Slovenia was not an "intimate option".
ŠMARJEŠKE TOPLICE/ŠENTJERNEJ - A meeting discussing Slovenia's green future was held under the auspices of President Borut Pahor, who stressed the need for a consensus on the green future of the country. Robert Golob, chairman of Gen-I, which organised the conference, highlighted the importance of joint efforts to fight climate change.
MARIBOR - Maribor held its second Pride Parade, a week after a similar event was held in Ljubljana, with the city's local authorities and the university joining. The organisers said they had distributed all the 300 promotional bracelets among the participants.
SUNDAY, 27 June
BERLIN, Germany - Slovenia as a whole was removed from the list of Covid risk areas by Germany, which means those who arrive in Germany from Slovenia by land can enter without restrictions. The change in Slovenia's status comes after parts of the country were already removed from the list of risk areas in mid-June.
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša and the first prime minister of the independent Slovenia, Lojze Peterle, noted the vital role that the Slovenian diaspora played in the independence efforts, as they addressed the 27th annual get-together of Slovenians living abroad.
LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the first session of the Slovenian World Congress where a commemorative plaque was unveiled. He was presented with a distinction awarded to individuals and institutions whose activities strengthen the national consciousness of their compatriots.
TOMAJ - Josip Osti, a Sarajevo-born poet, writer and translator who earned international acclaim for his literary work as well as praise for his efforts in linking different cultures, died in his home town of Tomaj at the age of 76.
MONDAY, 28 June
LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister Matej Tonin informed his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as she visited Slovenia that the government would purchase German eight-wheeled armoured fighting vehicles Boxer for the Slovenian Armed Forces. The ministers called for greater cooperation and announced a joint task force.
ROME, Italy - Foreign Minister Anže Logar took part in the ministerial session of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh, pledging Slovenia's commitment to enhanced cooperation against the militant group. Logar also met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - National Assembly Speaker Igor Zorčič said Slovenia would seek to accelerate the enlargement process during its presidency of the Council of the EU as he took part in the summit between the European Parliament and parliamentary speakers from the Western Balkans.
LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court ruled that the interpretation by the National Assembly of the provisions of the criminal procedure act that instruct destruction of evidence obtained by means of covert surveillance if no criminal prosecution is initiated in two years after evidence is obtained is unconstitutional.
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor nominated law professor Janez Kranjc, an associate member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU), for a vacancy on the Constitutional Court. Pahor's office described Kranjc as a highly esteemed law expert both at home and abroad.
LJUBLJANA - Police Commissioner Anton Olaj ordered supervision of the work of the Ljubljana Police Administration in policing the 25 June alternative celebration of Statehood Day by anti-government protesters in Prešeren Square. He said there were doubts as to whether all protesters were treated the same.
LJUBLJANA - The government as the STA's sole shareholder asked its communication office to transfer EUR 845,000 advance to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) for the expenses related to the performance of public service once the STA provides UKOM with access to business documentation for the last ten years and if a contract on public service is signed.
BRESTANICA - The Brestanica Thermal Plant (TEB) inaugurated its seventh gas unit in an investment valued at EUR 26.4 million. The 56-megawatt Unit 7 and the 53-megawatt Unit 6, which has been in operation since 2018, will replace three lower capacity units that are nearing the end of their lifespan.
TUESDAY, 29 June
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia presented to Brusssels correspondents the priorities of its presidency of the Council of the EU with the Fit for 55 legislative package attracting the most interest. Slovenia's Permanent Representative to the EU Iztok Jarc said Slovenia hoped for a breakthrough in accession negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania by September to provide for a better atmosphere ahead of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Slovenia on 6 October.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - PM Janez Janša met the ambassadors of the EU member states for a working lunch, to note that the key challenges of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU are the Covid-19 situation, economic recovery, improving resilience, the Conference on the Future of Europe and EU enlargement, the government said.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Five MEPs and a German MP called on the European Commission and the European Council to take measures regarding the situation in Slovenia. They think that the Commission should trigger the mechanism under which funds are conditional upon the respect of the rule of law due to pressures on the media and judiciary.
LJUBLJANA - The government decided to call in reserve police to make up for absences as active police force members take on additional tasks to protect the events during Slovenia's EU presidency, secure the border and to provide the security at sporting events. About 2,000 reserve police deployments are estimated to be required.
LONDON, UK - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) upgraded by 1.5 percentage points its GDP growth forecast for Slovenia in 2021 to 5%. The institution expects that Slovenia's economy will expand by a further 4% next year.
AJDOVŠČINA - Slovenian military pilots are to train on and test aircraft produced by the light aircraft maker Pipistrel under an agreement signed by Defence Minister Matej Tonin and Pipistrel director Ivo Boscarol. The sides also agreed a special partnership that includes efforts to obtain EU and NATO funds for development projects.
WEDNESDAY, 30 June
MARIBOR - Podravje, Slovenia's second largest region, was offered the prospect of EU-subsidised investment for a development breakthrough as the government toured the region. Prime Minister Janez Janša said the goal was to keep young people, in particularly the highly-educated, at home.
PODLEHNIK - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs visited the Gruškovje border crossing to meet with mayors of municipalities located along the southern Schengen border as part of the government's visit to the Podravje region. He announced the deployment of reserve police officers to help guard the border.
LJUBLJANA - National Assembly President Igor Zorčič symbolically took over from Portugal the parliamentary dimension of the presidency of the Council of the EU today alongside National Council President Alojz Kovšca. Slovenia's presidency will mainly focus on the EU's post-pandemic recovery and efforts to strengthen the bloc's resilience, Zorčič he said.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, urged the Slovenian EU presidency to provide better protection to refugees in Europe and around the world. It also called for an agreement on the EU pact on migrations and asylum.
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian government is overseeing an increasingly systematic effort to undermine critical media, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a coalition of press freedom organisations and journalism groups warned in a report released after conducting a virtual fact-finding mission to Slovenia in late May and early June.
LJUBLJANA - Pope Francis appointed Andrej Saje the new bishop of Novo Mesto. The priest of the Ljubljana Archdiocese and native of the town in south-eastern Slovenia has previously worked as a judicial vicar of the Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Court in Ljubljana and teacher at the Ljubljana Faculty of Theology.
LJUBLJANA - Unhappy with collective bargaining with the government, professional firefighters went on a token strike. The trade union of professional firefighters said the strike was not directed at the people and they would not feel it as firefighters would still protect lives and property.
LJUBLJANA - Measures to mitigate the consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic affected Slovenia's public finances also in the first quarter of the year, with the general government deficit amounting to EUR 969 million or 8.3% of the country's GDP, the Statistics Office said. This is somewhat less than in the last quarter of 2020.
LJUBLJANA - Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia increased by 2.4% to EUR 16.6 billion last year despite there being no major takeovers like the year before, according to a report from the central bank. Austria ranks as the biggest investor with a 25.6% share in the total value of incoming FDI.
RENNES, France - Slovenian cycling star Tadej Pogačar won stage five of the Tour de France race. Last year's winner of the Tour was 19 seconds faster than Stefan Küng from Switzerland in the 27.2-kilometre individual time trial between Changé and Laval Espace Mayenne.
THURSDAY, 1 July
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Rule of law was one of the main topics discussed during the visit by the College of Commissioners. Prime Minister Janez Janša said that in a rule of law, final decisions are in the hands of courts. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was important to always respect the rule of law and European values.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Prime Minister Janez Janša said the procedure to appoint European delegated prosecutors (EDPs) from Slovenia could be wrapped up by the autumn. "How fast the procedure will be depends on those who participate in it ... in my assessment it could be concluded by the autumn if everybody does their job."
BRDO PRI KRANJU - EU enlargement is one of Slovenian EU presidency priorities and a response to strategic challenges, Prime Minister Janez Janša said after a meeting between the government and the EU Commission delegation marking the start of the presidency stint. In the next six months there will be a return to addressing enlargement as a strategic response to open issues.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Prime Minister Janez Janša and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the EU's post-covid recovery as a major issue that Slovenia's EU presidency will deal with. The past 15 months had shown that "the EU has been part of the solution during this time," according to Janša, who said resilience, recovery and the EU's strategic autonomy were among the Slovenian presidency's priorities.
BRDO PRI KRANJU - Media freedom was one of the topics that the College of Commissioners discussed as they met the government at the outset of Slovenia's presidency of the EU. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expects that Slovenia will swiftly sort out the financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and ensure its independence.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission endorsed on Slovenia's EUR 2.5 billion national recovery and resilience plan. Pending confirmation by member states, Slovenia will be able to draw EUR 1.8 billion in grants and EUR 705 million in loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
LJUBLJANA - The Administrative Court struck down an application by the pair of prosecutors who have been approved for Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors before the government annulled the appointment procedure on procedural grounds. It said it had set aside the lawsuit and the request for a temporary stay on the government's decision.
BRNIK - The new passenger terminal at the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport received its first passengers in what the airport operator labelled as a landmark in Slovenian aviation history. "It is a great event ... as Slovenia has gotten infrastructure that it had long desired," Fraport Slovenija director Zmago Skobir said.
LJUBLJANA - The centre-left opposition rejected the coalition's call for a political truce during Slovenia's EU presidency. They are determined to continue to use all the available means at their disposal and are not ruling out a new attempt at a vote of no confidence.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Slovenia turned fully green on the map of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as the western part of the country joined the eastern part, which made it to the green list last week.
KOPER - An honorary consulate of Hungary was inaugurated in Koper, with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto highlighting the strategic position of Koper for Hungarian companies and good relations between Slovenia and Hungary.
