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This summary is provided by the STA:
Independence anniversary celebrated on Italy-Slovenia border
NOVA GORICA/GORIZIA, Italy - Senior officials from Slovenia and Italy marked the 30th anniversary of Slovenia's independence in the square linking the city of Nova Gorica with its Italian counterpart Gorizia on Wednesday in what President Borut Pahor hailed as an "unprecedented" occasion. Apart from Pahor, the ceremony in Europe Square was also attended by Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch and Massimiliano Fedriga, president of Friuli Venezia Giulia, among others.
Portuguese FM confident Slovenian presidency can make breakthrough in N Macedonia, Albania EU accession
LJUBLJANA - Portugal will hand to Slovenia as the next EU presiding country many dossiers, including the endorsement of national recovery and resilience plans and EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said after meeting his counterpart Anže Logar in Ljubljana. Santos Silva said Portugal's presidency had managed to organise the first inter-governmental accession conferences with Serbia and Montenegro under the new enlargement methodology. He believes that Slovenia will manage to confirm the accession negotiations frameworks for North Macedonia and Albania to enable the start of accession talks.
Janša attending EU summit on pandemic, economic recovery
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša is among the EU leaders attending a summit in Brussels dedicated to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, post-pandemic economic recovery, migrations, and relations with Russia and Turkey. Janša did not make a doorstep statement or take questions from reporters on arrival in Brussels.
Govt adopts budgeting framework for 2022-2023
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a spending ceiling for the coming two years. In 2022, expenditure is capped at EUR 13.30 billion and at EUR 13.05 billion in 2023. Relevant institutions were now tasked with drawing up proposals for changes to the 2022 state budget and for a draft 2023 state budget by 15 August, the government said after its session.
Govt adopts 2021 investment plan for army worth EUR 73m
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted the annual investment plan for the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) worth around EUR 73,4 million, which will enable the Defence Ministry to conclude contracts on investments to build an infantry battalion group and a special operations unit, as well as buy a transport plane and light 4X4 armoured vehicles.
Climate Fund to finance sewage sludge mono-combustion, low-carbon projects
LJUBLJANA - The government issued a decree setting the allocation of funds from the Climate Fund in the 2021-2023 period. A total of EUR 429.9 million will be available, including for processing sewage sludge in mono-combustion and for technological innovation in efforts for a low-carbon society. The decree includes measures that have already been envisaged in the previous years and adds new ones such as the processing of sewage sludge in mono-combustion, the Environment Ministry said after today's government session.
Govt endorses plans for logistic hub in Maribor airport area
LJUBLJANA - The government is planning for a multi-modal logistics hub to be built as part of development of Maribor airport until 2025. The Smart Hub Maribor is to be expanded from the initial 50 hectares to 630 hectares in 2030, Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec announced after the government session.
Opposition expects Slovenia to respond to Hungary's anti-LGBTQ law
LJUBLJANA - The centre-left opposition called for Slovenia's top officials to protest against Hungary's controversial new anti-LGBTQ law, voicing disappointment over Slovenia's failure to join the 16 EU countries that expressed their concern over the law in a joint statement. The SocDems expect the protest to be voiced as Hungarian PM Viktor Orban visits Slovenia for the independence ceremony anniversary on Friday. The LMŠ endorsed the joint statement by the 16 EU countries, while the Left criticised UEFA for blocking Munich's bid to illuminate its stadium in rainbow colours for Wednesday's Euro 2020 match between Germany and Hungary.
Reynders asks for explanations from Slovenia about EPPO appointment
BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders reiterated his concerns over the fact that Slovenia has still not appointed its European delegated prosecutors (EDPs). He contacted Slovenian Justice Minister Marjan Dikaučič today to voice his concerns and request explanations for the situation. Several MEPs also expressed concern.
Both candidates sue govt over non-appointment as EU delegated prosecutors
LJUBLJANA - The State Attorney's Office said it had not decided to sue the government over a decision not to get acquainted with the appointment of Slovenia's European delegated prosecutors as proposed by the Prosecution Council. However, a suit was filed by both candidates for the European delegated prosecutors, Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir, for whom the government's failure to get acquainted with their candidacies meant they are no longer in the running for the post.
43 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, no deaths
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 43 new coronavirus cases for Wednesday in what continues to be a significant decrease on all levels. No Covid-19 patients died, the seven-day average of new daily cases fell to 54 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents dropped to 49, according to fresh official data. The latest infection numbers (43) come from 2,146 PCR tests for a positivity rate of 2%, the lowest in the second wave of the epidemic. This week, 18 cases of the Delta variant of the virus have been confirmed in Slovenia, which puts Slovenia among the countries where the B.1.617.2 strain is not very widespread.
Slovenia test-introduces digital Covid certificate in trail phase
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia test-introduced the European digital Covid certificate today, while the system will be fully up and running next week, Health Minister Janez Poklukar told the press. For registered uses with digital identity, the certificate became available on the zVem portal this evening.
Slovenia to donate 48,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Bosnia
LJUBLJANA - The government decided to donate 48,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Bosnia-Herzegovina as a humanitarian aid during the Covid-19 epidemic. The epidemiological situation there is not favourable and only 7.7% of the population was vaccinated with at least one shot until 13 July, the government said.
Pahor addresses Slovenian soldiers serving at missions abroad
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor addressed Slovenian troops serving at missions abroad via videolink to congratulate them on Statehood Day and thank them for their contribution to Slovenia's reputation in the international community. At the video conference at which Defence Minister Matej Tonin and Deputy Chief of Staff, Brigadier Roman Urbanč, were also present, Pahor received a report from commanders of Slovenian contingents in Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Latvia and Mali.
Central bank celebrates 30th anniversary
LJUBLJANA - Banka Slovenije, Slovenia's central bank, celebrates its 30th anniversary on Friday, as it was set up together with the country on 25 June 1991. "In this period, we have constructively contributed to the development of the country and participated in many important milestones for Slovenia," the bank said on the eve of the anniversary.
Kučan says govt turned politics into fight of gladiators
LJUBLJANA - Former Slovenian President Milan Kučan believes the Janez Janša government has turned the political arena into gladiatorial combat and the government's biggest "achievement" is a major divide in which Slovenia is nearing its 30th anniversary. Kučan was also critical of President Borut Pahor's inaction in this respect.
Residential property prices in Slovenia rise in Q1
LJUBLJANA - Residential property prices in the first quarter were on average 3.1% higher than in the previous quarter and 7.3% higher compared to the same period in 2020. The total value of residential property sold was EUR 297 million, which is EUR 33 million less than in the fourth quarter of last year and about the same as in the first quarter of 2020. Prices of new residential property (new houses and flats combined) rose by 7.5% on the quarter before in the second consecutive quarter of growth.
Business sentiment improves for 7th month
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's business sentiment improved for the 7th straight month in June. The indicator is now at 8 percentage points, up 2.2 points from May and up 31.2 points year-on-year, the Statistics Office reported. Month-on-month, confidence improved in services (+2.1 points), retail (+0.4 points) and consumers (+0.2 points), but deteriorated in manufacturing (-0.6 points) and construction (+0.1 points). I rose in all sections ear-on-year.
Kresnik Prize goes to Borut Kraševec for debut novel Agni
LJUBLJANA - The publisher Delo conferred the Kresnik Prize for best novel of the year on Borut Kraševec for his debut novel Agni. His work challenges the reader's fixed perceptions about the novel as the genre as well as about life in general as it fuses various voices. Receiving the prestigious prize atop Rožnik Hill late on Wednesday, Kraševec said that the Kresnik, which comes with a EUR 7,000 cheque, was an outstanding accolade since it was a sign that others had been satisfied with the book too.
New book collection to present Slovenian gastronomic traditions
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's gastronomic cultural heritage is presented in a new collection of four books entitled Gastronomy of Slovenia, written by ethnologist Janez Bogataj. Launched on Wednesday, each book represents one of four gastronomic macro-regions of Slovenia - Central Slovenia with Ljubljana, Pannonian, Alpine and Mediterranean Slovenia. Within those the country has a total of 24 unique gastronomic regions, all of which feature in the book with 430 selected foods, dishes and beverages.
Slovenia make it to semi-finals of Volleyball Nations League
RIMINI, Italy - The Slovenian men's volleyball team has fulfilled an ambitious goal to advance to the semi-finals of the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League after beating Bulgaria convincingly in Rimini, Italy on Wednesday. The feat came after 15 games in the preliminary round, ranking Slovenia third among semifinalists. In the semi-finals the team will play Poland, world champions, whom it has already beaten in this tournament in a move that inspired self-confidence.
