Luka Koper management agrees to resign
KOPER - The management board of port operator Luka Koper agreed with the supervisory board on Friday to resign. CEO Dimitrij Zadel and the other two members, Metod Podkrižnik and Irma Gubanec, will serve until 15 November, chief supervisor Franci Matoz told the press after the extraordinary session of the supervisory board. Matoz said that the management performed well, but they had concluded that a new management team was needed for the company's strategic development. "We believe that Luka Koper needs faster development and a bigger breakthrough," said Matoz. Zadel was named CEO in December 2017 after his predecessor was dismissed.
Upward trend continues with almost 2,000 new coronavirus cases
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged almost 2,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, up almost 80% week-on-week, according to data from the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). The share of positive tests stood at 28.6%, up by more than seven percentage points from a week ago. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents increased by 53 to 759, and the rolling seven-day average of new daily cases was up by 123 to 1,429. The government reported that hospitalisations were at 440 today, which is 19 more than on the day before, with 120 patients requiring intensive care. Nine Covid-19 patients died yesterday, two more than on Wednesday.
Janša says solution on rule of law should be sought in cooperation with Poland
BRUSSELS, Belgium - An important conclusion of today's EU discussion in Brussels on the primacy of EU law is that a solution needs to be sought in cooperation with Poland not against Poland, stressed Prime Minister Janez Janša after a two-day EU summit. He said only one country had directly proposed setting the rule of law as condition for EU funding. The debate on how the EU should respond to a ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court rejecting the core principle that EU law has primacy over national legislation was shorter than expected and much calmer than a debate at the European Parliament beforehand, Janša said.
Janša: Green transition in energy crisis should be seen as solution
BRUSSELS, Belgium - In the energy crisis, green transition should be seen as a solution, not a problem, Prime Minister Janez Janša said as he addressed the press after a two-day EU summit. He again urged the use of nuclear energy in the transition to a fossil-free future. Calculations show transition will be impossible to make without nuclear energy, because it accounts for 27% of Europe's electricity and even a bit more in Slovenia. If it is excluded, the only other transition energy source is natural gas, in which case the EU would agree to being strongly dependant on external factors, he said.
C5 ministers urge cooperation in post-pandemic recovery efforts
VIENNA, Austria - Foreign Minister Anže Logar was in Vienna for a meeting of foreign ministers of the Central 5 (C5) group hosted by Austrian counterpart Michael Linhart. The ministers have urged further cooperation of the five European countries - apart from Slovenia and Austria, also Hungary, Czechia and Hungary - particularly in post-Covid recovery. Logar said talks on a declaration to be adopted at the summit had already started, while he stressed that since 2017, the summit would be the first in-person meeting with this group of countries - apart from Belarus, also Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Tonin says EU strategic autonomy not to rival NATO
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Coming out of a two-day NATO ministerial, the first in-person session in over a year, Defence Minister Matej Tonin said he had made it clear the EU's strategic autonomy was not meant to compete with NATO or the US. Speaking to reporters, Tonin said the important thing was everyone understood strategic autonomy the same way. As the chair of the EU Council, he underscored clearly, including to US allies, that strategic autonomy was not about competition with NATO or the US, but "merely about our greater autonomy".
Spa boss doubts leaked tape of his conversation with minister genuine
LJUBLJANA - Bojan Petan, the CEO of spa Terme Čatež and publisher DZS, broke silence over the leaked recording of his alleged conversation 14 years ago with Andrej Vizjak, the economy minister of the time. In a written statement he said he did not remember having such a conversation, calling for law enforcement authorities to examine its authenticity. "Considering the repeated media reports about the recording of the alleged conversation between me and Minister Vizjak I emphasise that I have never recorded any my conversation with any person, including ministers of any Slovenian government," Petan said.
Minister urged to act amid controversy over rapid tests
LJUBLJANA - An opposition MP has urged Health Minister Janez Poklukar to appoint a competent group of experts to look into the verification of rapid antigen coronavirus tests bought by the state last year after a senior microbiologist at the verifying authority who has since lost her job told a parliamentary inquiry they were inadequate. The Health Ministry bought the controversial tests from Majbert Pharm in December 2020 to be used for voluntary mass testing against coronavirus. They were verified by the National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food (NLZOH), which found them to be up to the standard.
Speaker stresses importance of multilateralism at CoE conference
ATHENS, Greece - Parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič underlined the importance of multilateralism in responding to present-day challenges and the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans as he addressed the plenary session of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament from Council of Europe (CoE) countries. "The Covid-19 pandemic has harshly reminded us of humanity's vulnerability, but it has also shown us that only cooperation guarantees solving problems," said Zorčič. He also addressed yesterday's discussion on the pandemic, saying that democracy and the rule of law should never become its collateral damage.
State investments underperformed last year due to epidemic
LJUBLJANA - The return on equity of state-owned investments and those owned by Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) reached 4.3% last year, down on the previous year and below the target value. The lower return is due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the SSH said in its annual report. The net return on equity (ROE) of the managed portfolio reached 4.3% in 2020, 2.6 percentage points lower than in 2019 and 1.6 percentage points below the target set in the annual plan. However, the amount of dividends received was above target value at almost EUR 151 million. "The reason for the lower profitability is the Covid-19 epidemic, which has completely changed business conditions and the global macroeconomic situation," the state assets custodian said.
Finance Committee rejects all changes to draft 2023 budget
LJUBLJANA - The Finance Committee discussed the draft national budget for 2023 as the last parliamentary body to do so, voting down all changes proposed by MPs. The document now goes back to the government to potentially make changes, while parliament is to take the final vote on it together with the supplementary 2022 budget in November. The government projects EUR 11.84 billion in revenue in 2023, and EUR 13.36 billion in expenditure, down EUR 580 million compared to 2022. The government based the 2023 budget on 3.3% economic growth forecast by the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development.
Government to promote vaccination by incentivising GPs
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted on Thursday a project to boost Covid-19 vaccination, deciding to provide incentives for general practitioners and their teams who actively promote vaccination. They will be eligible for bonuses if at least 45% of their registered patients aged over 50 have received the first dose, or at least 55% have been fully vaccinated. The goal of the project is to increase the vaccination rate, especially among the people over 50, the government said after a correspondence session. The project will be financed from the national budget. Doctors and nurses warned that their workload was excessive as it is and some also voiced concern about the ethical aspect of such a campaign.
Slovenia to donate over 610,000 Janssen vaccine doses to COVAX
LJUBLJANA - The government decided on Thursday to donate 612,064 doses of the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine to the COVAX initiative. The vaccine doses, which Slovenia ordered under a joint European public procurement contract and are to be delivered this year, are expected to be shipped on to Africa. Africa is the continent with the lowest vaccination rates, while hygienic and other conditions, make it difficult to effectively combat the pandemic, the government said. It also decided to withdraw the decision made on 28 September to purchase an additional 100,000 doses of the Janssen vaccine from Hungary.
Business calls for import of foreign labour to address shortages
LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) has called for action to deal with staff shortages in particular in manufacturing and services, including closing agreements with countries in the region, Ukraine and the Philippines to facilitate import of foreign labour. Citing surveys by the national statistics office and Eurochambers, the GZS said at least a third of manufacturing companies and a fifth in the services sector were grappling with staff shortages, while the issue was a major problem for the whole economy.
Average gross pay down in August to EUR 1,900
LJUBLJANA - The average gross pay in Slovenia in August stood at EUR 1,900, down 2.1% nominally and 2.2% in real terms compared to July. The average net wage was EUR 1,228, down 1.7% in nominal terms and 1.8% in real terms, the Statistics Office said. The average gross pay in August was EUR 2,179 in the public sector and EUR 1,773 in the private sector, while the average net pay stood at 1,400 and 1,149, respectively. The average gross pay in the public sector was 7% lower month-on-month, while it was up by almost 1% in the private sector. The highest average gross pay was recorded in electricity, gas and steam supply (EUR 2,864).
Business sentiment down in October for fourth month running
LJUBLJANA - The downward trend of business sentiment in Slovenia continued for a fourth month in a row in October, as the relevant indicator dropped by 2.5 percentage points compared to September, the Statistics Office said. The monthly drop in October is mostly attributed to the decline in the indicators of confidence in manufacturing (contributing two percentage points), of consumer confidence (0.7 of a point) and of confidence in retail (0.4 of a percentage point). Year-on-year, the business sentiment indicator was up 8.3 percentage points, mostly due to the higher confidence in the services sector.
Protesters in Ljubljana demand independent journalism
LJUBLJANA - Friday's protesters gathering in Ljubljana's city centre demanding the government's resignation and an early election, today raised the issue of pressure on media freedom and the suspension of funding of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) as well as leaked recordings of Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak, which they said that in any other normal democracy would lead to the minister's resignation.
