18 Nov 2021, 13:14 PM

Picasso: Writing into Drawing Exhibition at +MSUM

STA, 18 November 2021 - An exhibition of Pablo Picasso's illustrations termed Picasso: Writing into Drawing, marking the 140th anniversary of the birth of the great artist, will open at the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (+MSUM) this evening, bringing almost 260 mid-20th century illustrations from a private collection in Italy.

The exhibition was originally scheduled to open at Moderna Galerija, the national museum of modern and contemporary art, on 30 September, but was postponed due to significant flood damage the gallery suffered on the day before.

It will feature prints of illustrations for Max Jacob's Chronicle of Heroic Times, Pierre Reverdy's Song of the Dead, 20 Poems by Luis de Gongora, Count de Buffon's Natural History, Prosper Merimee's Carmen, Fernand Crommelynck's The Magnificent Cuckold, and for Picasso's own illustrated book Le Carmen des Carmen.

Pablo Picasso, Le Carmen des Carmen, 1949 (1964)

The museum said the illustrations on display showed how Picasso approached illustration of different literary genres or the illustrated book, which can slowly transform into an artist's book.

This is especially so for handwriting, which sometimes "spills over" directly into drawing or painting and consequently further away from the usual understanding of illustration.

"Picasso's prints are one of the hallmarks of his inexhaustible artistic research. He was constantly occupied by printmaking: from his first experiences with etching, dating back to 1899, and all the way to his death in 1973."

The extensive body of his prints covers all the techniques of artistic reproduction (etching, dry-point, engraving, woodcut, lithography, linocut), with the prints usually proving groundbreaking due to high quality and personal stamp in experimenting.

Illustrations of three books - Song of the Dead, 20 Poems and Chronicle of Heroic Times - shift one's perspective of Picasso's work because they are not necessarily immediately seen as Picasso's most typical examples of printmaking, the museum said.

The exhibition, curated by Marko Jenko and sponsored by the Spanish Embassy in Ljubljana, is accompanied by a catalogue.

Jenko has told the STA that the private collection is owned by two sisters who had been old acquaintances of the late Slovenian painter Zoran Mušič (1909-2005) and are admirers of his work.

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18 Nov 2021, 11:54 AM

Police Commissioner Rejects Allegations of Purges, Politicisation

STA, 17 November 2021 - Police Commissioner Anton Olaj has dismissed allegations of political staffing in the force after a trade union complained that recently adopted legislation had resulted in a "purge" in the top echelons of the police force.

"I deny allegations about politicisation of the police, insinuations about 'staffing purges' and simplified claims about replacements across the force," Olaj told the STA.

His statement came after the Police Trade Union of Slovenia (PSS), one of the two unions in the force, said the directors of internal units in the police as well as the commander of all police stations, more than a hundred staff in total, had received decisions that their terms have ended in line with the new law.

Olaj confirmed this was the case, noting that all this staff would stay on until selection procedures have been completed. The selection procedures and the job criteria will be prescribed by the minister at Olaj's proposal.

The PSS said these procedures were indeed based on the new law, but they constitute a "purge" and "open the door wide to interference by politics and other interest groups" in the work of the police.

It is particularly dangerous that the minister has total discretion in determining the selection requirements for all the posts, according to the union.

The union said it would challenge certain provisions of the new law at the Constitutional Court.

When the new law was passed by the National Assembly in October, the opposition warned that it would lead to a politicisation of the police and jeopardise its independence.

Miroslav Žaberl, an expert on police powers at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, said at the time that the law paved the way for a "lustration" of all police commanders, department directors and heads of internal organisational units.

18 Nov 2021, 11:44 AM

Krka Reports 14% Rise in Profits for Jan-Sept ‘21

STA, 18 November 2021 - Drug maker Krka reported a group net profit of EUR 240.1 million for the first nine months of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 14% and the highest nine-month profit in the company's history, on the back of revenue that increased by 1% to EUR 1.18 billion.

Profit before income tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was down by 8% to EUR 352.7 million, whereas pre-tax profit (EBIT) increased by 12% to EUR 271.3 million, shows the company's interim report released on Thursday.

Sales rose across all markets except Western Europe, where they declined by 13% due to fewer product launches and decreased use of medicines decreased due the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its key markets, in Central and Eastern Europe, sales rose by 4% and 5%, respectively. Sales in its largest single market, Russia, were flat in euro terms but rose by 14% in roubles.

Broken down by product category, sales of prescription drugs remained flat across the group, whereas sales of over-the-counter drugs rose by 8% and animal health products grew by 16%.

The group allocated EUR 45.3 million to investments in the first nine months of 2021, slightly less than in the same period last year, whereas overall R&D spending rose by 1% to EUR 113 million.

Chief executive Jože Colarič said the January-September figures were in accordance with expectations.

"We recorded the highest sales and net profit in the first nine months since incorporation. We maintained profitability at a high level and obtained marketing authorisations for 11 new products," he was quoted as saying.

The company's priorities remain to ensure sales growth, achieve higher-than-average sales growth in terms of market dynamics, and place among the leading branded generic pharmaceutical companies on individual markets and in selected therapeutic classes, he said.

18 Nov 2021, 04:30 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, 18 November 2021

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Deal signed in Rome for Slovenia to purchase transport aircraft

ROME, Italy - Defence Minister Matej Tonin signed an agreement on the purchase of a Spartan C-27J transport aircraft with his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Guerini in Rome. The Defence Ministry said the value of the implementation agreement is roughly EUR 72 million, VAT included, where the basic price of the aircraft is EUR 48 million and the additional modules are valued at EUR 11 million. Tonin said the aircraft would serve not only the Armed Forces but Slovenia as a whole and the country would also be able "to share it with other countries".

Start of self-testing in schools largely problem-free

LJUBLJANA - Mandatory self-testing of children in primary and secondary schools students got off to a largely problem-free start. Reports from schools suggest the vast majority of parents consented to testing and only a small percentage of parents decided to switch to remote schooling in protest. There were a few small protests in front of schools in the morning. Police detected only three violations of public law and order, two in Maribor and one in Koper.

Slight weekly drop in new coronavirus cases, 19 deaths

LJUBLJANA - Another 4,276 people tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, a drop of 4.5% on the same day a week before. According to the National Institute of Public Health, the seven-day average of new cases dropped by 59 to 3,225, while the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population increased by 39 to 2,193. The number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients increased by 21 to 1,095, including 251 in intensive care, 15 more than the day before, government data show. Another 19 people died of Covid-19.

Police commissioner denies allegations of "purge"

LJUBLJANA - Police Commissioner Anton Olaj dismissed allegations of political staffing in the force after a trade union complained that recently adopted legislation had resulted in a "purge" in the top echelons of the police force. Olaj confirmed though that the terms of directors of internal units in the as well as the commanders of all police stations, more than a hundred staff in total, had ended in line with the new law. He said all the staff would stay on until selection procedures have been completed.

Slovenian Tourist Board director steps down

LJUBLJANA - Maja Pak, the long-serving director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, stepped down citing differences in views with Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek over the management of the organisation. Pak, a close aide of Počivalšek's, did not specify how her views differ from the minister's, but said she was leaving the organisation in top shape and proud of its achievements over the past seven years. Počivalšek thanked Pak for her effort but did not specify what the divergence of opinions was either.

Ministry denies allegation of tailored construction act changes

LJUBLJANA - The Environment Ministry denied media reports that it had commissioned a law firm to draft amendments to the construction act and that they were tailored to allow an MP from the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) legalise his house on the coast. The web portal of POP TV reported last week the amendments had been drawn up by the Neffat Law Firm, which represents DeSUS MP Branko Simonovič. The ministry said the changes, which it had drafted itself, would equally apply to all real estate owners, but the Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning denied the ministry's claim it had initiated the changes.

Support for sector transformation discussed at European Tourism Forum

BRDO PRI KRANJU - While there are reasons for the European tourism sector to be optimistic after a good summer season, there is still a long way until full recovery, speakers at the European Tourism Forum agreed, noting that the sector must become more resilient, sustainable and digitalised. The online event as part of an informal meeting of the EU ministers for tourism, saw addresses by Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, among others, and featured panel debates on the green and digital transformation of the European tourism industry.

Insurer Triglav reports 48% higher nine-month profit

LJUBLJANA - Triglav Group, Slovenia's largest insurer, saw its net profit in the first three quarters of the year increase by 48% on the same period a year ago to EUR 75.2 million as consolidated gross written premium rose by 10% to EUR 1.06 billion. The group expects to trump the initially planned annual profit target, to amount to roughly EUR 115-125 million. In 2022 the group plans to increase its written premium volume to over EUR 1.4 billion and profit before tax to EUR 120-130 million.

Housing prices surged in first half of 2021

LJUBLJANA - The latest semi-annual report by the Surveying and Mapping Authority (GURS) shows the prices of apartments and houses rising rapidly since the real estate market started recovering in March. In the first half of the year, they rose by around 8% year on year, the highest six-month growth since the 2008 real estate crisis. Prices of apartments in multi-apartment buildings rose record high in major towns, except Ljubljana. The median price for used flats at national level reached EUR 1,980 per square metre.

Biogas plants in spotlight over allegations of conflict of interest

LJUBLJANA/MURSKA SOBOTA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption is looking into the purchase of two biogas plants in eastern Slovenia in the aftermath of media reports suggesting the chairman of the bad bank may have been in a conflict of interest. The Hungarian group Pannonia Bio has recently bought two biogas plants, in Vučja Vas and Dobrovnik, one from Franci Matoz and one from the Bank Assets Management Company, where Matoz is chairman. Media reports suggest Matoz made a profit in the process.

Unions take state to ILO over occupational diseases

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's largest trade union association, ZSSS, announced it had filed a complaint against the state with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) alleging violation of Article 11 of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention over absence of regulation that would allow notification of most occupational diseases. The union says that since the country ratified the 1981 convention in 1992 it has only put in place a regulation on the procedure to notify asbestos diseases.

Students say current generation in unenviable position

LJUBLJANA - On International Students' Day, the Slovenian Student Organisation pointed to what it sees as an unenviable position of the current generation of students due to the Covid-19 epidemic and consequences of measures to stem it. The Statistics Office data show that 48.6% of Slovenians aged 19 to 24 study, which makes Slovenia an EU leader. In the 2020/21 academic year, almost 82,700 students studied in almost 870 tertiary education programmes, of whom 9.2%, or just over 7,600, from abroad.

Police boat retiring after 26 years of service

KOPER - After 26 years of service, Slovenia's oldest police boat made its final sail off the Koper coast before it is consigned to a museum. Built in Italy in 1994, the P-111 boat will be moved to the Park of Military History in Pivka on Sunday. Addressing a ceremony on the occasion, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs noted the symbolic value of the P-111 patrol boat for Slovenia's sovereignty. He is confident that police will get a suitable replacement for the boat next year.

17 Nov 2021, 17:26 PM

Maja Pak Resigns as Slovenian Tourist Board Director, Citing Differences with Govt

STA, 17 November 2021 - Maja Pak, the long-serving director of the Slovenian Tourist Board (STO), has stepped down citing differences in views with Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek over the management of the organisation.

Pak, a close aide of Počivalšek's, did not specify how her views differ from the minister's in a press release circulated by the STO, but said she was leaving the organisation in top shape and proud of its achievements over the past seven years.

Responding to the news, Počivalšek thanked Pak for her effort and cooperation but did not specify what the divergence of opinions was either.

He said tourism needed solutions that must "address key segments more boldly, and it must dedicate more time to looking for ways to implement premium solutions."

Pak's first stint at the helm of the organisation was in 2010-2012, when the STO was merged into the investment promotion agency SPIRIT Slovenia.

She returned as director in 2015, when the STO became independent again, and received a new five-year term in March this year.

Pak's resignation takes effect on 1 December and she will return to her previous job at the organisation.

17 Nov 2021, 14:40 PM

Housing Prices Rise 8% Year-on-Year in First Half of 2021

STA, 17 November 2021 - The prices of apartments and houses have been rising rapidly since the real estate market started recovering in March. In the first half of the year, they rose by around 8% year on year, the highest six-month growth since the 2008 real estate crisis, according to the Surveying and Mapping Authority (GURS).

The prices were pushed to a record high level in the first half of 2021 by the record high rise in prices of apartments in multi-apartment buildings in major towns, except Ljubljana.

In Koper, Kranj, Celje and Maribor the prices jumped by 10-12%, GURS says in today's report on the real estate market in the January-June 2021.

The median price for used flats in multi-storey buildings at national level reached EUR 1,980 per square metre.

After exceeding EUR 3,000 per square metre for the first time ever in the second half of 2020, the median price for Ljubljana apartments stood at EUR 3,250 per square metre in the first half of this year. The record growth in the capital was achieved in 2018, when the prices surged by 15% year on year.

At the coast, the median price of used apartments was EUR 2,700 per square metre, in Kranj EUR 2,520, in the northern and southern Ljubljana area EUR 2,500, in Celje EUR 1,600 and in Maribor EUR 1,550.

"The high growth in housing prices is on the one hand driven by strong demand, encouraged by low interest rates and the availability of money, and on the other hand by limited supply of new-build properties," GURS said, adding that low interest rates encouraged both purchases of properties for own use and as investment.

The prices are being inflated also by the rising prices of building land, and indirectly construction costs as a result of globally rising prices of transport and construction material due to the pandemic.

The high prices of apartments are also driving an increase in demand for construction land, and a construction expansion. "This is the most evident in Ljubljana, where the current and planned construction of new housing buildings can already be compared to the pre-crisis period before 2008," GURS said.

GURS expects housing prices to continue to rise until the supply exceeds the demand. At the moment most new apartments in major towns and tourist areas are sold before they are built despite the record-high prices.

In the first half of 2021, transactions in flats and building land were level with the second half of last year, at 8,350, which is almost 30% higher than in the first half of 2020, which was marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. Compared to the first half of 2019, they were down by 5%, GURS said.

Since the start of 2019, the transactions were up the most in the second half of 2020, by almost 30% compared to the first half of 2020.

At the start of 2021, transactions were first down somewhat, reaching a second bottom since the start of the epidemic in February (the first being recorded in April 2020). Real estate started selling again after the third wave of the epidemic in March. At the end of the first six months, translations already exceeded pre-epidemic figures.

17 Nov 2021, 12:38 PM

Primary, Secondary School Students Start Self-Testing in School if Not Vaccinated, Recovered

STA, 17 November 2021 - Primary and secondary school children who have not been vaccinated or recovered from Covid will be required to self-test in school three times a week starting from Wednesday in what the authorities say is an urgent measure in order to keep schools open amid a severe outbreak of the disease in the country.

The children and youths who will not self-test will be required to switch to remote schooling. If they come to school without consent forms signed by their parents, the schools have been instructed to call the parents to come and pick them up, and to notify social services.

Self-testing on school premises is mandatory for all school children, except for those with special needs, who will self-test at home. This is despite a last-ditch attempt by headteachers and the teachers' union to allow the youngest children to self-test at home as a transitional measure.

The call came amid severe opposition by some parents who have threatened schools to take legal action. A form threatening a reprimand and a criminal complaint against teachers over self-testing has been circulating on social networks.

Commenting on that, Branimir Štrukelj, the head of the SVIZ trade union, said that the Education Ministry had assured them the teachers would have their legal protection paid for. The union too would provide legal protection for its members should they face lawsuits.

If due to massive objections to self-testing a school should find itself in a position where it could not organise classes in person, the ministry has instructed for head teachers to propose for the whole school to switch to distance learning.

Responding to calls for children up to the age of 11 to be allowed to self-test at home, Health Minister Janez Poklukar and Education Minister Simona Kustec said the measure was absolutely required in order to keep schools open.

"We have two groups of the infected peaking. One is the 5 to 15-year-olds and the other is those between 24 and 45 years of age. Most infections happen in the family; between school children and parents the virus is spreading unchecked. We need to stop this to be able to cope with the situation in healthcare," said Poklukar.

The children who test positive will need to self isolate until they get back their PCR test results. Until then their classmates will continue with classes in person. Only if the PCR result is positive they will be ordered to quarantine as well.

Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković, who was among those supporting the call for the youngest pupils to be allowed to self-test at home, has said that a PCR testing point will be organised at Stožice sports complex for all students of Ljubljana primary and secondary schools who get a positive self-test.

17 Nov 2021, 06:40 AM

Italian Medical Staff Come to Help in Slovenian Hospitals

STA, 16 November 2021 - A hospital official has announced that Slovenian hospitals will get help from neighbouring countries to cope with a surge of Covid-19 patients, asserting that an agreement has apparently been reached with Italy. However, the Health Ministry said that no conclusive agreement had been reached yet.

"The information has come today that heath staff from neighbouring countries will come to [Slovenia's] aid," said Dunja Savnik Winkler, the medical director of the Šempeter hospital, on the border with Italy, on Tuesday.

"An agreement is said to be already in place with Italy for five internal medicine consultants and ten nurses. We would like to make it possible for all Slovenian Covid patients to be treated in their home country," Savnik Winkler said.

However, the Health Ministry said that talks on aid in the form of staff with countries in the vicinity were still ongoing. "At the moment no conclusive agreement has yet been officially concluded," it said.

Savnik Winkler earlier explained that it was "almost easier to get staff from abroad than organising transport for critically ill patients to foreign countries".

The Šempeter hospital does not yet face a situation that could be compared to that in Bergamo at the peak of the Covid-19 emergency in Italy last year, she said.

However, she said the workload on the staff at the hospital was about one third bigger than usual at this time of year. The paediatric department is full all the time due to the many respiratory diseases.

The hospital currently treats 42 Covid patients at the regular ward and seven in intensive care, including one child. By Wednesday or Thursday the hospital will increase its ICU capacity from 12 to 15 beds.

Country-wide a total of 236 Covid-19 patients were treated in intensive care this morning, out of a total of 1,074 hospitalised.

Health Minister Boštjan Poklukar announced that hospitals had 288 ICU beds ready in what was the maximum planned intensive care capacity for Covid-19 patients.

The Slovenian Armed Forces have deployed four medical teams featuring a total of 20 members to help hospitals cope with the influx of patients.

All the lastest data on covid and Slovenia

17 Nov 2021, 04:35 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Wednesday, 17 November 2021

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Planned Covid capacity fully established as cases keep climbing

LJUBLJANA - Hospitals have secured the full planned intensive care capacity for Covid-19 patients, meaning 288 beds. Health Minister Boštjan Poklukar announced that a state of extreme emergency would be declared in healthcare if the number of ICU patients exceeded this figure. There are now 236 Covid-19 patients in intensive care, out of a total of 1,074 hospitalised. The Slovenian Armed Forces jumped in to help hospitals with four medical teams featuring a total of 20 members. This was as 3,763 more people tested positive on Monday in a continued week-on-week increase and five patients died.

Slovenia pleased with EU Strategic Compass

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia "must be pleased" with the EU's Strategic Compass, a shared vision for EU security and defence, Defence Minister Matej Tonin said after EU defence ministers launched debated the draft document. The first responses to the document, prepared by the presiding trio of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, are good and confirm that the direction is right, but some details are yet to be hashed out, said Tonin. The goal is to confirm the Strategic Compass in March next year.

LIBE mission expresses concern over climate of hostility in Slovenia

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A delegation of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) that visited Slovenia on a fact-finding mission in mid-October expresses deep concern over the climate of hostility and deep polarisation in Slovenia in a draft report that will be discussed by LIBE at a session on Thursday. In the draft report that has been obtained by the STA, the delegation finds the climate has eroded trust in and between various public bodies in the country.

Hojs calls for stronger police cooperation between EU, W Balkans

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs called for stronger cooperation between the police forces of EU member states and Western Balkan countries as he addressed a virtual meeting of the board of the EU border agency Frontex. "The Western Balkans is undoubtedly a priority partner. But I wish to emphasise that cooperation must be mutual and that each partner must contribute their fair share," Hojs said. He urged for countries in the region to sign status agreements as soon as possible.

Slovenia urged to hold discussion on EU's eastern border

LJUBLJANA - A group of Slovenian NGOs called on the Slovenian government in its capacity as the EU presiding country to launch in-depth discussion on the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border at the ongoing meeting of the EU foreign and defence ministers. The Coordination of Slovenian NGOs for Migration and Refugees pointed to violations of human rights along the EU's eastern border and expressed deep concern over migrants being prevented from accessing asylum and international protection.

Slovenia embarking on energy transition with mix of renewables, nuclear

LJUBLJANA - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said Slovenia was counting on nuclear in its energy transition since renewable sources alone would not suffice to cover the production shortfall once coal was phased out given that the country had missed many opportunities already. "There is potential for more photovoltaic plants and four hydro power plants. We also have some wind potential that we have to harness... But renewables will not be enough," he said.

Green, digital transition at core of tourism recovery

BRDO PRI KRANJU - EU ministers in charge of tourism agreed at a virtual informal meeting that the green and digital transition must form the core of the tourism sector's post-pandemic recovery if the sector is to be put on a sustainable footing. "I'm glad that we have the same general positions on the recovery of the tourism ecosystem," said Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, who chaired the session.

Slovenia welcomes decisions on new strategy for forests

BRUSSELS, Belgium - EU agriculture ministers adopted on Monday decisions on a new EU strategy for forests until 2030, stressing the importance of forests in combating climate change and biodiversity loss. Slovenia's Jože Podgoršek labelled the decisions as a great achievement of the Slovenian EU presidency. The ministers agreed that forests should make a greater contribution to the European Green Deal and the global goals of the Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030.

Progress on EU health and digitalisation under Slovenian presidency

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU has achieved progress in some of the key dossiers in negotiations with the European Parliament on legislation in areas such as health and digitalisation. It hopes for further progress by the end of the year, including on the minimum wage. One of Slovenia's key tasks in the role of the EU presiding country has been representing EU member states in legislative talks with the European Parliament.

NBI director no longer in acting role

LJUBLJANA- The acting director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a police unit specialised in white-collar crime, has been named fully-fledged director on a temporary basis under recent changes to the act on the organisation of police that critics said would emaciate the special unit. Petra Grah Lazar was "temporarily assigned to the post of director" for a period of three months on 13 November, the Interior Ministry said as it rejected a report by POP TV that she received a full term as director.

Minister Jaklitsch visits Slovenians in Austria

GRAZ, Austria - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch visited the Slovenian community in the Austrian state of Styria on Monday to talk about its challenges during the pandemic. Jaklitsch said at a meeting with officials from the Faculty of Arts of the Karl Franz University in Graz that the attitude of the university to the Slovenian department was important not only from the point of view of studying but also on a symbolic level, as the Slovenian language has been present in the area for centuries.

Top officials get booster shots

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's top officials have received booster shots of coronavirus vaccines nearly nine months after they received their first shots in the early stages of the vaccination campaign. President Borut Pahor received his booster shot on Tuesday and Prime Minister Janez Janša on Monday. Speaker Igor Zorčič was vaccinated last week. A total of 176,740 people in Slovenia have so far received booster shots, just over 8% of the entire population and roughly a third of those aged 70 or more.

Surgeon fired over opposition to hospital's Covid bed plans

NOVA GORICA - Danijel Bešič Loredan, the head of the Nova Gorica general hospital's orthopaedic ward, received a termination due to his opposition to moving patients from his ward to expand the hospital's capacities for Covid-19 patients. He said the management had closed the ward three times in two years, while there had been no talks in the summer on what to do with Covid patients should the situation deteriorate. The management said legal proceedings were initiated against the doctor because he jeopardised the hospitals's ability to cope with the epidemic.

New acting director appointed at Commodity Reserves Agency

LJUBLJANA - The government has relieved Tomi Rumpf of his duties as the director of the Commodity Reserves Agency, as Rumpf recently tendered his resignation, and appointed Andrej Kužner as the acting director. The government said after Monday's correspondence session that Rumpf had tendered his resignation on 11 November, and that his term ended on 15 November.

Atlantic Grupa sells Slovenian baby food production facility to Gittis

MIRNA - Atlantic Grupa, a Croatian multinational that owns Slovenian food producer Droga Kolinska, has sold its production facility in the Slovenian town of Mirna to Austrian baby food company Gittis Naturprodukte as it continues divesting its non-core businesses. Atlantic Grupa said it had signed the contract with the Pöll family, which owns Gittis Naturprodukte, thus completing the process which started last year with the sale of baby food brand Bebi to Serbian group Nelt.

Police get first hybrid patrol vehicles

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian police force got its first hybrid patrol vehicles which officials said would reduce noise pollution in settled areas and contribute to cleaner environment. A total of 56 new vehicles were formally handed over to the police at a ceremony at the Tacen Police Academy compound by Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and Deputy Police Commissioner Danijel Žibret. The new fleet comprises 41 hybrid speciality patrol cars, ten hybrid speciality cars and five speciality patrol 4WDs.

Controversial stadium renovation project extended by five years

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana city council has extended by five years the contract for the Bežigrad Sport Park project, which includes renovation of the dilapidated landmark stadium designed by Jože Plečnik. The contractors have welcomed the decision, while a civil initiative opposing the project said private interest had outweighed public interest.

16 Nov 2021, 13:31 PM

Nova Gorica Surgeon Fired After Opposing Hospital’s COVID Plans

STA, 16 November 2021 - Danijel Bešič Loredan, the head of the Nova Gorica general hospital's orthopedic ward, has received an extraordinary termination due to his opposition to moving patients from his ward to expand the hospital's capacities for Covid-19 patients.

Confirming the news for the STA on Tuesday, he said the management had closed the ward three times in two years, while there had been no talks in the summer on what to do with Covid patients if the situation should deteriorate to the point where the country is now.

"I insisted it's not possible to close the ward if we want to treat patients who need 'urgent' or 'very fast' treatment," said Bešič Loredan, accusing the management of playing "a dirty game that is not necessary in this situation".

He finds it unacceptable that there are 60 or more empty beds at the hospital's new building that could be used for Covid patients if the hospital had taken a different organisational approach. He believes this means that with the same number of staff, other programmes could also be carried out at 30% capacity.

He hopes the new director, who was recently appointed by the hospital's council, will be endorsed by the government as soon as possible to put the regional hospital at the level it deserves and to take care of patients.

Bešič Loredan intends to prove in court that his extraordinary termination of employment was unlawful.

The hospital's acting director Ernest Gortan said he was "forced to initiate certain legal proceedings against" the doctor over his opposition to the Covid reorganisation plans.

"We have merged surgery wards [...] All heads complied with the decision except the orthopaedic ward head Bešič Loredan. He was opposed arguing the conditions in the main building were not safe enough for patients," Gortan said.

The director then ordered for the patients to be moved to the Valdoltra orthopaedic hospital, but the doctor again failed to comply thus "jeopardising the hospital's ability to efficiently cope with the Covid epidemic".

The doctor has been banned from work at the hospital and is awaiting an interview. He was first issued a written warning and then a violation warning with an invitation for an interview.

An attempt was made to hand him the warning at the hospital, but as he failed to come into work that day without excusing himself, the paperwork was to be handed to him at his home address.

The hospital's medical director Dunja Savnik Winkler said that Bešič Loredan was not fully employed at the hospital; since summer he had only worked 60% of the full time at his own request.

Earlier she said the orthopaedic ward had been moved to another floor where there are several other wards, while some of the staff had been assigned to the Covid ward.

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