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This summary is provided by the STA: 

EU-Western Balkans summit confirms commitment to enlargement, brings no progress

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The leaders of EU and Western Balkan countries confirmed the Western Balkans' EU perspective and their commitment to enlargement as they met for a summit in Brdo pri Kranju. However, the summit brought no major progress for Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU not launching the talks undermined its role and reputation in the region. Western Balkan leaders left the summit with mixed impressions. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić identified minor progress, while North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev urged the EU to act.

EU leaders seek stronger autonomy for the bloc

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The EU must strengthen its capacity to act autonomously in order to become more effective and assertive on the international stage, EU leaders agreed at Tuesday's informal dinner according to a statement by Council President Charles Michel. "Our unity is our core asset. By acting together, we will leverage our strengths," Michel said was one of the main messages of the debate. The office of the Slovenian prime minister said the leaders conducted a "strategic debate" on the EU's role in the international arena against the backdrop of recent events in Afghanistan, a debate on the AUKUS security partnership, and relations with China.

STA funding, media freedom discussed at EU-Western Balkans summit news conference

BRDO PRI KRANJU/LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša disagreed with the claim that Slovenia is setting a poor example to EU candidates by suspending the funding of the STA and not respecting media freedom at a press conference in Brdo pri Kranju. But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was clear, as she spoke to the press after the EU-Western Balkans summit alongside Janša, that current STA funding is a must.

IFJ head warns media freedom deteriorating, also in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - President of the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Mogens Blicher Bjerregaard warned that media freedom is deteriorating in several European countries, including Slovenia. Speaking at a press conference as the Media Freedom Rapid Response delegation wrapped up its visit to Slovenia, Bjerregaard called on the European Commission and EU leaders to take a stand and call on their counterparts to support media and journalist freedom.

Protest ringleader among those arrested after riots

LJUBLJANA - Police made several arrests during Tuesday's riots in Ljubljana, including the protest organiser Zoran Stevanović and the rapper Zlatko, one of the mainstays of anti-government rallies. Police would not confirm the identities of those arrested beyond saying that three people had been apprehended on suspicion of criminal activity and 22 more due to violations of the act on the police. Police said six officers had sustained minor injuries and two protesters required medical assistance due to inhalation of tear gas.

Police refute allegation of excessive use of force against protesters

LJUBLJANA - The police and Interior Minister Aleš Hojs rejected the allegation that excessive force was used to disperse Tuesday's protest and rioting against coronavirus measures in Ljubljana, as NGO The Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy urged MPs to open a parliamentary inquiry to look into the matter. The centre-left opposition meanwhile demanded an emergency session of the National Assembly over what they described as "a state of war" unfolding in Ljubljana, repeating their call for a snap election.

EU political groups meet on margins of summit with W Balkans

BRDO PRI KRANJU/LJUBLJANA - Meetings between leaders and politicians from the EU political groups - the European People's Party (EPP), Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and Renew Europe, took place on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans summit. The talks revolved on the Western Balkans' efforts to join the EU. The participants of the EPP meeting adopted a declaration reiterating their unequivocal support for a credible enlargement and EU accession perspective for the Western Balkans.

Slovenian MEP Tomc to be in EP's fact-finding mission to Slovenia

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Parliament's fact-finding mission that is expected in Slovenia next week will feature Slovenian MEP Romana Tomc, a member of the ruling Democrats (SDS) and of the European People's Party (EPP). A group of MEPs will visit between 13 and 15 October to meet representatives of the media, NGOs and government agencies to check the level of democracy in the country. Tomc said she saw the mission as political and directed against the Janez Janša government.

Border controls in Schengen zone can exceed six months, EU court says

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Controls on Schengen borders can be extended beyond six months because threats to public policy or internal security are not necessarily limited in time, an advocate general of the European Court of Justice says in his opinion regarding a case concerning border controls between Austria and Slovenia. Advocate General Henrik Saugmandsgaard Oe also says this is subject to particularly strict criteria, so every time a Schengen zone member notifies the European Commission of its plan to extend border controls, the Commission must examine thoroughly whether all the strict conditions are met.

Human rights ombudsman urges active stance against climate change

NAVPLIJ, Greece/LJUBLJANA - Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina participated in a session of the General Assembly of the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen, calling on his colleagues to take an active and determined stance against climate change. He considers climate change to be the most complex challenge facing humanity in modern times.

Petrol completes acquisition of Croatian fuel retailer Crodux

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian energy group Petrol completed the acquisition of an outright stake in Croatian fuel retailer Crodux after having fulfilled all suspensive conditions. This is the company's largest acquisition in a decade and it affirms its position as the second largest provider of oil derivatives in Croatia. The purchase consideration was EUR 191.7 million and Petrol will also assume net financial liabilities to banks in the amount of EUR 19.2 million, the company said.

EIB extends EUR 30m loan for recovery of SMEs, municipalities

LJUBLJANA - The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide the Slovenian Regional Development Fund with a EUR 30 million loan to help secure a new line of credit intended for facilitating the recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mid-caps and municipalities post-Covid-19. The funds are intended for companies from agriculture, manufacturing and service sector that have been the most affected by the epidemic.

Farmer reps warn situation in agriculture sector worrying

LJUBLJANA - Representatives of farmers warned that the situation in the agriculture sector is worrying. Energy as well as the prices of inputs have increased significantly since the summer, with the prices of seed increasing on average by 39%, of fertilisers by 24%, of pesticides by 22%, and of fodder by 38%. Buy-in prices, on the other hand, have been stagnating. "The situation in which agriculture has found itself in is seriously worrying," said Janez Pirc, the director of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry.

Energy production in Slovenia up last year, consumption down

LJUBLJANA - A total of 153,000 terajoules (TJ) of energy was produced in Slovenia last year, which is 4% more than in 2019, while final consumption was down by 9% to 188,000 TJ. The share of energy from renewable sources in final consumption was up by 2.2 percentage points to 24.16%, the Statistics Office said.

STA, 6 October 2021 - Representatives of farmers have warned that the situation in the Slovenian agriculture sector is worrying as inputs are more expensive while the prices of agricultural products are stagnating. The situation is worst in the production of livestock and milk.

"The situation in which agriculture has found itself in is seriously worrying," Janez Pirc, the director of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry (KGZS) told the press on Wednesday as he presented an analysis statistical data.

In addition to energy, the prices of inputs have increased significantly since the summer, with the prices of seed increasing on average by 39%, of fertilisers by 24%, of pesticides by 22%, and of fodder by 38%.

The buy-in prices did increase in plant production, but only marginally, while the yield was considerably lower due to frost, hail and drought, which means that revenue of farms is lower and does not enable investments in future production.

According to Pirc, the situation is even worse in livestock production, where the prices of key products (milk, beef, pork, poultry) have been practically stagnating for the last few years, while the prices of inputs have increased.

"These data show that the relationships in the farm-to-fork chain are not fair," added KGZS president Roman Žveglič, noting that farmers would not be able to invest in farms given such buy-in prices.

They will not be able to invest in upgrading machinery or in meeting the standards society expects from them, in particular in terms of animal welfare and environmental standards.

Žveglič stressed that farmers needed much more development funds, noting that EUR 123 million had been approved in the 2014-2020 rural development programme for higher productivity and technological development, with applications worth a total of EUR 70 million being rejected.

Under the strategic plan for the common agricultural policy for 2023-2027, EUR 60 million is expected to be available for this purpose. "This is too little, farms will stagnate," he assessed.

The chamber has estimated that an additional EUR 380 million would have to be earmarked for the 2023-2027 period, with part of these funds to be allocated for investments, agriculture in less favoured areas, environmental payments, and animal welfare.

The KGZS will coordinate requests for additional payments with other relevant organisations next week and send them to the government.

STA, 6 October - Vaccination against the flu will be free of charge for all Slovenian residents with health insurance this season after it was already free last season, the Health Ministry has told the STA. The National Institute of Public Health has ordered 360,000 doses of the vaccine.

The order exceeds the 290,000 doses available last year, when there was an exceptional interest in vaccination because it was strongly encouraged by health authorities. This was to prevent a collapse of healthcare in the event of major complications stemming from flu as the Covid-19 epidemic was gaining momentum.

For the 2020/2021 season, the authorities initially selected several vulnerable groups to qualify for free-of-charge flu vaccination, but expanded eligibility too all holders of health insurance, based on a provision from a coronavirus relief legislation.

Since the legislation is valid until the end of 2021, flu vaccination, which usually starts in the second half of October, will also be free of charge for all this season.

The flu season was rather atypical in 2020/21 with practically no case confirmed in the country, largely as a result of a lengthy school lockdown and other preventive coronavirus measures. However, a rise in respiratory diseases in children this autumn shows the coming virus season could be different.

STA, 6 October 2021 - Police made several arrests during Tuesday's riots in Ljubljana, including the protest organiser Zoran Stevanović and the rapper Zlatko, one of the mainstays of anti-government rallies, according to media reports.

The arrest of Stevanović was confirmed by his party, Resni.ca, which said last evening he had been taken into custody.

The rapper Zlatko was apprehended in front of the cameras after urging the crowd to start marching around the city.

Police would not confirm the identities of those arrested beyond Danijel Lorbek, the head of the Ljubljana Police Directorate, saying that three people have been apprehended on suspicion of criminal activity and several more due to violations of the act on the police.

Lorbek told TV Slovenija last night that the crowd initially numbered around 3,000 and was joined by more people as the march around the city began.

He said police had used "the whole palette of coercive means," from the cavalry to dogs, a water cannon and tear gas.

According to Lorbek, there are indications a fresh protest will be held on Wednesday.

Yesterday's rally devolved into rioting around the centre of Ljubljana as hundreds of riot police appear to have tried to prevent the crowd from blocking main thoroughfares like they did last week.

The rioting went on for several hours. By nightfall, only small groups of protesters remained in the city centre and by 9pm the crowd had been dispersed and "order established," police said today.

According to the police statement, six officers had sustained minor injuries and two protesters required medical assistance due to inhalation of tear gas.

STA, 5 October 2021 - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs called for better control over who enters the EU as he took part in a meeting of the home affairs ministers of the Visegrad Group plus Austria and Slovenia in Budapest on Tuesday. He said securing EU borders should remain top priority.

The meeting, featuring officials from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, as well as Austria and Slovenia, focused on current challenges in migration and management of EU borders.

"Protecting the EU's external borders must remain our absolute priority, to tackle security risks and prevent potential migration pressures. We must not allow a repeat of the 2015 scenario so we must refrain from statements that could represent a pull factor," Hojs said as quoted in a press release from his ministry.

He urged a united approach to external dimensions of migration. "The European Commission must, in cooperation with us, the member states, establish close cooperation with third countries. This cooperation should be based on the principle of mutual benefit."

As a representative of the EU presiding country, Hojs presented the contents of the next session of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, in particular further debate on the new pact on migration and asylum.

He argued that the EURODAC regulation, which deals with the EU's asylum and migrant fingerprint database, should be debated as a matter of priority in order to implement interoperability as soon as possible and to improve migration and asylum management, in particular in the field of returning of migrants.

The Hungarian MTI agency reported Hungarian Foreign Minister Sandor Pinter said the ministers were in complete agreement that the EU's external borders needed to be protected. He added that the challenge of migration as a result of the situation in Afghanistan would apply to all European countries in the future.

According to the Interior Ministry, Hojs thanked his counterparts for a constructive approach in adopting in a joint statement on the situation Afghanistan at the August meeting of home affairs ministers in Brussels, adding that it should be followed up by implementation.

The statement said the EU was determined to prevent uncontrolled influx of migrants from Afghanistan and that any encouragement to illegal migration should be avoided. The ministers also supported enhancing support to third countries hosting large numbers of migrants and refugees. They committed for the EU and member states to do everything to prevent the situation in Afghanistan to lead to new security threats to EU citizens.

STA, 6 October 2021 - The EU must strengthen its capacity to act autonomously in order to become more effective and assertive on the international stage, EU leaders agreed at last nights’ informal dinner according to a statement by Council President Charles Michel.

"Our unity is our core asset. By acting together, we will leverage our strengths," Michel said was one of the main messages of the debate.

In this sense, the EU is "committed to consolidating our strengths and strengthening our resilience by reducing our critical dependencies."

The first meeting since June, the gathering saw the leaders address the fallout from the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and the formation of the AUKUS alliance between the US, UK and Australia.

Happy to attend the @EU2021SI Presidency informal dinner of EU 27 leaders this evening.

The EU faces a challenging global environment.

I look forward to discussing how we can maintain strong partnerships and strengthen our position on the international stage. pic.twitter.com/xwRpMRdzzv

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 5, 2021

Michel said the bloc remained "committed to working with our allies and like-minded partners, in particular the US and within NATO which is the cornerstone of our security."

As for ties with China, he said the EU would "pursue our own interests" and considered China "a competitor, a partner and a systemic rival".

The office of the Slovenian prime minister said the leaders conducted a "strategic debate" on the EU's role in the international arena against the backdrop of recent events in Afghanistan, a debate on the AUKUS security partnership, and relations with China.

It said relations with strategic partners needed to become "a key component of a strong foreign policy".

"The EU's goals in this field have not changed, but due to the recent events it is necessary to think about the best way to achieve them."

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: 

Court overturns govt decision not to appoint European delegated prosecutors

LJUBLJANA - The Administrative Court has sided with the two prosecutors picked to represent Slovenia on the European Public Prosecutor's Office as it overturned a government decision to annul the selection procedure. The decision, released today, means that the government must now re-examine the appointment of the two prosecutors, Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir, who initiated the court proceeding, whereby the law requires that it only take note of the result of the selection procedure. The judgement is final. The Supreme State Prosecution, Frank Eler and Oštir now expect the government to immediately take note of the selection and forward both candidates to the European Public Prosecutor's Office.

Monday case count down week-on-week

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 979 new coronavirus infections on Monday in what is a drop in the daily case count week-on-week, show the latest official figures. Another eight persons with Covid died. Data released by the government show 426 Covid-19 patients were treated in hospitals this morning, down by five compared to yesterday, including 121 in intensive care, down by one. The 7-day average of new daily cases dropped by eight from the day before to 862 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents was down by 15 to 565, show data by the National Institute of Public Health. There are an estimated 11,965 active cases in the country, down by 325.

Protesters flock to Republic Square, then disperse around Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - Opponents of the government anti-coronavirus measures gathered in thousands in Republic Square in front of the parliament building, which the police protected and cordoned off after a similar protest turned violent last week. The police used a water cannon and tear gas and the crowd dispersed around the centre of Ljubljana, continuing to protest. Zoran Stevanović of the non-parliamentary Resni.ca party and the organiser of this and last week's rallies repeated his demand for the government to do away with anti-coronavirus measures and call an early election. According to the same source, rapper Zlatko was arrested in the city centre and removed from the protest in a police car.

Pahor honours Merkel with Slovenia's top decoration

BRDO PRI KRANJU - President Borut Pahor presented German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the Order of Merit for Distinguished Service, Slovenia's highest honour, for her personal contribution to deepening the relationship between the two countries and for her credible and trust-inspiring European leadership. "Angela Merkel is capable of what is the most difficult in politics. She inspires trust in people and the belief that all will end well," Pahor said. Merkel thanked Pahor for the decoration and said she was honoured by it, noting that it was a commitment for her and for all future German governments to continue to work for the close, good and friendly relations between the countries and their people.

Hojs calls for more control over who enters EU

BUDAPEST, Hungary - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs called for better control over who enters the EU as he took part in a meeting of the home affairs ministers of the Visegrad Group plus Austria and Slovenia, and said securing EU borders should remain top priority. "Protecting the EU's external borders must remain our absolute priority, to tackle security risks and prevent potential migration pressures. We must not allow a repeat of the 2015 scenario so we must refrain from statements that could represent a pull factor," Hojs said as quoted in a press release from his ministry.

Slovenia's joblessness declines further

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's jobless total fell further in September with only 66,122 people registered with the Employment Service, 4.6% fewer than the month before and a fifth (21.1%) fewer than a year ago. The service registered 4,616 newly unemployed in September, a fifth more than in August and 29% fewer than a year ago. Out of the 7,786 people struck out of the unemployment registry, 5,708 found a job or became self-employed, which is 75.5% more than in August but almost 30% fewer than in September 2020. The inflow into joblessness dropped substantially in the nine months to the end of September; 44,863 registered with the Employment Service anew, 39.6% fewer than in the same period a year ago.

Defence committee approves military resolution, Left opposes

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Defence Committee approved the draft resolution on the general long-term programme for the development and equipping of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) until 2035. Defence Minister Matej Tonin explained that the resolution is the army's key development-guidance document that outlines the plans for the future development of the Slovenian Armed Forces. The resolution is strongly opposed by the Left party, which plans to propose a consultative referendum. Its MP Miha Kordiš noted it envisaged EUR 5.4 billion for the SAF until 2035, mostly for the purchase of weapons "which are not needed in this country, only intended for NATO operations".

Opposition demand answers over wait times in healthcare

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and Social Democrats (SD) filed for an emergency session of the parliamentary Health Committee to discuss why waiting times have grown longer despite an increase in the number of doctors and nurses. The parties found the number of doctors employed with Slovenia's 27 hospitals increased from 2,700 15 years ago to just over 4,000 in 2020 as nursing staff numbers rose from 8,200 to 11,000 in the same period. Meanwhile, accessible data shows that the number of cases handled increased by only 10% during that period, SD MP Dejan Židan said.

Slovenia failed to implement any of GRECO's 15 recommendations

STRASBOURG, France/LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has failed to satisfactorily implement or address any of the 15 recommendations the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) made in its 2018 evaluation report. The country has partly implemented only one recommendation, the Council of Europe's (CoE) body said in its latest compliance report on Slovenia. The country has made very limited progress concerning top government officials as it has only made some efforts to raise awareness about integrity, while not introducing any internal mechanism to encourage awareness-raising. Transparency International (TI) Slovenia argued that fighting corruption is not a priority of decision-makers, while the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption said it expected the authorities to take a more active approach in implementing the recommendations.

Fiscal Council: Volume of coronavirus measures three times higher than planned

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's budget deficit in the first nine months of the year reached EUR 2.453 billion, mostly as a result of financing a variety of coronavirus measures. The figure represents 89% of the deficit planned for the entire year, the Fiscal Council said, citing preliminary data. The guardian of the balanced budget rule said the volume of coronavirus measures totalled EUR 2.311 billion in this period, or three times as much as planned for the entire 2021 after this year's budget was supplemented last October. In the absence of the coronavirus measures, the budget deficit in the January-to-September period would have reached only EUR 388 million.

Five schools get Digital School award, union cry foul on World Teachers' Day

LJUBLJANA - Five Slovenian primary and secondary schools were presented with the Digital School award for the promotion of development of digital technology skills to mark World Teachers' Day, and a new tool in support of digital teaching and learning was also launched on the occasion. Meanwhile, the Education, Science and Culture Trade Union of Slovenia (SVIZ) expressed its frustration with the authorities. Teachers are still being ignored despite proving their contribution to a functioning society during the epidemic, said Branimir Štrukelj, the secretary general of SVIZ.

NGO points to discrimination of self-employed in epidemic

LJUBLJANA - The NGO Inšitut 8. Marec brought to the public's attention discrimination of the self-employed, who are not entitled to compensation for the loss of income when they are in quarantine or for taking care of their children when they are sent to quarantine. The relevant law only refers to workers who have an employment contract, which the self-employed do not. Several self-employed workers turned to the NGO when realising they are not entitled to compensation, the NGO told the press. It has asked the ministry whether it intended to address this issue, but has so far received no reply.

Medical chamber, doctor reach settlement over vaccine statements

LJUBLJANA - The Medical Chamber and GP Nada Hiti of the Domžale Community Health Centre have reached a settlement on the doctor's video in which she discussed a problematic heavy metal content in anti-coronavirus and flu vaccines. In a written statement that is part of the settlement, Hiti has distanced herself from her statements. The doctor said that based on the content of heavy metals discovered in the vaccines, it could not be claimed these could dangerously accumulate in the body if a person is vaccinated with these vaccines several times.

Report: Man from Maribor sentenced to prison for sexual abuse

MARIBOR/LJUBLJANA - Media reported that the Maribor District Court had sentenced a man from Maribor, a prominent member of the self-styled militia Štajerska Guard, to a year and two months in prison for sexual abuse of a defenceless person. The trial of the 54-year-old Vlado Čehić started in August and was held behind closed doors due to the sensitivity of the case. The victim just barely turned 18, the newspaper Delo reported, and according to the newspaper Večer, she is the man's daughter. Čehić has been released from custody, while the prosecution has announced an appeal.

Minority poet Maja Haderlap wins Christine Lavant Prize

VIENNA, Austria - Slovenian minority poet and writer Maja Haderlap from Carinthia, Austria, has won the Christine Lavant Prize for her work, including a novel about the battle of Slovenians living in Carinthia against National Socialism in Austria, the newspaper Delo reported. The jury said that the 2021 Christine Lavant Prize was a "tribute to one of the most important Austrian writers". The prize is worth EUR 15,000. Haderlap accepted the award at a ceremony in Vienna on Sunday.

Slovenian art historian gets memorial plaque at Polish Embassy

LJUBLJANA - A memorial plaque was unveiled on the facade of the Polish Embassy to honour Vojeslav Mole (1886-1973), a Slovenian art historian, archaeologist, poet, writer and translator with close links with Poland. Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Olendzki said at the ceremony that Mole "was an extraordinary personality of Polish art history" and "his outstanding life and works are the most beautiful expression of Slovenian and Polish culture".

STA, 5 October 2021 - Opponents of the government anti-coronavirus measures gathered on Tuesday in Republic Square in front of the parliament building, which the police protected and cordoned off after a similar protest turned violent last week. The police used a water cannon and tear gas and the crowd dispersed around the centre of Ljubljana, continuing to protest.

Police officers IDed the protesters at the start of the rally around 3pm, with some saying the police had kept 30 buses full of protesters away from the scene of the rally, which the police denied for the STA.

A protester said in her address she disagreed with the restriction of movement in the area of Republic Square arguing there was no legal basis for it or the IDing.

At the protest, Zoran Stevanović, head of the non-parliamentary Resni.ca party and the organiser of this and last week's rallies, repeated his demand for the government to do away with anti-coronavirus measures and call an early election.

Following the introductory speeches, the protesters proceeded around the streets in the city centre, first towards Congress Square.

There they ran into one of the delegations attending the EU summit held at Brdo pri Kranju, according to the 24ur.com news portal, which said that once surrounded, the delegation started backing up towards Slovenska Cesta.

According to the same source, rapper Zlatko was arrested in the city centre and removed from the protest in a police car as protesters were throwing items at the vehicle.

Around 5pm, the police used a water cannon and tear gas, while a police helicopter was circling the centre of the city.

The crowd then headed towards Slovenska Cesta again, but the police stopped them, so they turned towards the Tržaška Cesta thoroughfare, and then towards Tivoli Park, where the police used the water cannon and tear gas again.

The protesters answered by throwing pyrotechnics, rocks, bottles and other items at police officers.

Vnovič vodni top. pic.twitter.com/dwKj3vaO4O

— Neža Pušnik (@NezaPusnik) October 5, 2021

They then tried to come close to Intercontinental Hotel, where a part of delegations of the EU-Western Balkans summit is accommodated, only to be again detoured towards other parts of the city by the police.

The protest was violent at times, with the protesters breaking glass at the entrance to the headquarters of the N1 news portal, and also trying to prevent work by journalists on the streets by insulting, threatening or pushing them.

Stevanović said a few days ago this week's rally would he held on Tuesday to coincide with EU leaders gathering at Brdo pri Kranju, some 20 km north of Ljubljana, for an informal dinner.

It was thus speculated on social media the rally could take place at Brdo pri Kranju, but Stevanović said last evening the location remained the same, Republic Square.

In order to protect public order, the government decided yesterday to task the police with restricting movement on Tuesday and Wednesday in Ljubljana, Bled and Brdo.

Based on the government's decision, the police issued a notice saying that people would be warned if they are in a restricted area and that coercive measures would be used should they not heed the warning.

STA, 5 October 2021 - Slovenia has failed to satisfactorily implement or address any of the 15 recommendations the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) made in its 2018 evaluation report. The country has partly implemented only one recommendation, the Council of Europe's (CoE) anti-corruption body says in its latest compliance report on Slovenia.

The recommendations from the fifth-round evaluation report, released 8 March 2018, concerned the prevention of corruption and encouragement of integrity in top government officials and law enforcement agencies.

GRECO now says that Slovenia has made very limited progress concerning top government officials as it has only made some efforts to raise awareness about integrity, while not introducing any internal mechanism to encourage awareness-raising.

The country has meanwhile failed to address a number of other issues - increasing staff and funds, improving a procedure of the national Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK), tightening lobbying and employment rules for when an official's employment terminates, expanding the need to declare assets to include family members, adopting an umbrella integrity plan for the public administration or organisational strategies to address the conflict of interests.

It has neither made any progress in the timely publication of declared assets of ministers and state secretaries, substantive checking of these assets, or violations regarding assets declaration.

The country's efforts in the field of the police have also been rather limited, says the report Greco adopted at the end of October 2020 but only released on Tuesday.

Despite introducing some legal changes to police organisation and work to better manage corruption risks, no tangible results have been achieved.

There has also been no progress in ensuring that promotion and dismissal procedures in the police are fair, merit-based and transparent.

GRECO, however, noticed some positive steps towards encouraging women to join the police force and employing them in it.

The evaluation report thus concludes that progress is needed for Slovenia to show an acceptable level of compliance with the recommendations in the coming 18 months, and urges Slovenia to draft a second report on the situation to include the potential progress by 30 April 2022.

Transparency International (TI) Slovenia is not surprised by the findings, arguing that fighting corruption is not a priority of decision-makers, which the report only corroborates.

"Although these findings are almost a year old, and there has been some progress later on, which the report does not cover, the general impression from the past few years is that the fight against corruption is at the bottom of the list of priorities of decision-makers," the NGO wrote in a response for the STA.

TI would like to see not only a more comprehensive reform of legislation but also more preventive activities to strengthen oversight institutions and the civil society, where the trend is negative, "since the society's ability to fight against corruption is decreasing with the attacks on journalists, NGOs and media".

The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption said it expected that the authorities would take a more active approach in implementing the recommendations.

Despite the numerous examples of best practice in this field implemented by individuals bodies and organisations within the public sector, there has been (almost) no progress in implementing these recommendations, it added.

"This progress is even more important in the current circumstances, when new corruption risks related to the anti-epidemic measures taken by the government are being detected, and when the trust of public in the most senior public office holders attaining ethical standards is low."

A PDF of the full report, in English

STA, 4 October 2021 - The parliamentary interior affairs and justice committees urged on Monday the police and prosecution to immediately act against the organisers of unregistered rallies and against violent protesters. The Ljubljana Administrative Unit was meanwhile urged to ban rallies which could turn violent.

The session was requested by the ruling Democrats (SDS), after an unregistered mass rally against the Covid pass mandate in Ljubljana last Wednesday turned violent.

The SDS MPs believe the police and prosecution do not act effectively enough against the organisers of unregistered protests and individuals who threaten politicians.

Presenting the case on behalf of the SDS, MP Branko Grims criticised the prosecution and judiciary for not doing their job. He wondered how it was possible that they did not take action against the publicly known organisers of protests.

"In a normal state, someone who organises illegal, violent protests, who threatens with a coup and a blockade of the country, is not received by the president, but is paid a visit by criminal police," Grims said in reference to today's meeting between President Borut Pahor and Zoran Stevanović, head of the non-parliamentary Resni.ca party.

Supreme State Prosecutor Aleš Butala rejected the allegations about passivity and double standards, saying that in order to prosecute, the prosecutors need to receive data and evidence from the police.

Police Commissioner Anton Olaj disagreed, saying the prosecutors gave guidance to police. He said "the police get blamed for everything, even if you prevent them with your guidance from doing what they should".

The SDS's criticism was also directed against the State Attorney's Office.

State Attorney General Jurij Groznik however said the office had not received any proposal for filing a damages claim or a request to issue a legal opinion in connection with the latest violent protest. This means it does not have a basis to act within its jurisdiction.

Interior Minister Aleš Hojs meanwhile accused Groznik of pretending ignorance, saying it was clear who the organiser of the 29 September rally was "as he was today received by Pahor".

Hojs assured the MPs that the police will do everything in its power in the coming days to properly protect public law and order.

The coalition MPs largely expressed support for the proposed resolutions, with SDS MP Anja Bah Žibert saying they were urgent to prevent riots, while the centre-left opposition highlighted the reasons for dissatisfaction among the people.

Predrag Bakovič (SD) said the coalition MPs were talking about the protection of legal order while the government was violating it, including by not appointing European delegated prosecutors, not financing the STA or governing with decrees.

Željko Cigler of the Left said people had been "literally pushed on the streets", with the introduction of the Covid pass mandate, especially the convalescent-vaccinated (PC) rule, being the last straw.

Rudi Medved (LMŠ) believes today's debate is continuation of political pressure on the police, prosecution and judiciary. He said it was obvious that the government and coalition wished to activate Article 9 of the police tasks and powers act to ban movement of people in certain areas.

The government activated this article later in the day, as Slovenia hosts an EU-Balkans summit in the coming two days and as a protest has been announced for tomorrow.

Andrej Rajh (SAB) said that the law enforcement should first establish who finances and supports the violent protesters and provokers.

All our stories on protests in Slovenia