04 May 2022, 10:44 AM

Golob Suspects Fuel Retailers Engaged in Price Fixing

STA, 3 May 2022 - Robert Golob, the presumptive prime minister-designate, has criticised the outgoing government's decision not to extend fuel price administration. Golob, who feels smart regulation would be in order in what he feels is presently a malfunctioning market, suspects a cartel agreement might be behind the very similar price increases in Slovenia.

The leader of the Freedom Movement told the press after coalition talks on Tuesday that by no longer capping the fuels prices, the government was in a way taking revenge for not being given another term by the voters. "This comes to show that all the pre-election carrots had strings attached to them."

While finding that smart regulation would now be the right decision to take, he pointed to the incredibly similar price increases among fuel retailers as price administration was lifted on 1 May.

He said his party's lawyers were taking a closer look at what he suspects could have been price fixing. "If this continues, the Freedom Movement will call on the competition watchdog to take action."

Responding to Golob's statements, Slovenia's largest fuel retailer Petrol said that it independently determined its pricing policy and was not coordinating it with other providers.

In the response for the STA, Petrol pointed to the findings of the Competition Protection Agency in its December report on a survey of the retail fuel market.

"It has established that the purchase price has the greatest impact on the retail price ... that prices after deregulation were not the same in all providers," the company said.

Petrol added that the regulator had also found that the system for announcing and changing prices in Slovenia through the goriva.si app enables providers to quickly adjust their prices.

Fuel prices in Slovenia surged on Sunday, with regular petrol going up by about 8% and diesel by more than 20%.

Data reported by petrol stations showed regular petrol cost between EUR 1,617 and EUR 1,619 per litre depending on provider, up to EUR 1,628 along motorways. Until Saturday, it was capped at EUR 1,503.

Diesel is priced at between EUR 1,817 and EUR 1,824 at major providers Petrol and OMV, and even higher at some smaller petrol stations, EUR 1,876, while it cost EUR 1,514 on Saturday.

Prices were capped in mid-March in a bid to mitigate the surging prices of energy on global markets. Last Friday, the government said the measure would not be extended since the markets had stabilised.

The reduced excise duties, which are part of measures to mitigate the impact of the energy price hike on the population and businesses, meanwhile remain in place until 31 July.

04 May 2022, 10:40 AM

Call for Action After Dramatic Fall in Slovenia’s Press Freedom

STA, 3 May 2022 - Slovenia's human rights ombudsman and journalist organisations have urged action to address deteriorating press freedom in the country after Slovenia slid 18 spots to 54th in the latest World Press Freedom Index, the worst yet since Reporters Without Borders started compiling the ranking.

Ombudsman Peter Svetina says it is the authorities' duty to create a climate conducive to media freedom, and expects a suitable legal framework to be put in place to guarantee media freedom, ownership transparency and a ban on dissemination of hate speech in the media.

"For several years, we have been calling for amendments to the media act to provide for ways to protect the public interest, measures to remove illegal content or hate speech, and sanctions on media outlets that condone such speech. It is important the damages awarded are high enough to deter the media from publishing increasingly sensationalist and populist stories," Svetina wrote.

He urged decriminalising defamation, which being a criminal offence he sees as a threat to media freedom. Journalists are often targets of online harassment, and there are increasing reports of strategic lawsuits against journalists.

The ombudsman expects the new government to take on changes to the media law as a priority. "I expect the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and the public broadcasting service [RTV Slovenija], which usually fall hostage to the winners of each election, to be able to work autonomously and without disruption."

The ombudsman also called for steps to make media advertising by national and local governments more transparent, saying the European Commission's noted the country's lack of transparent principles on the payment of media content, in particular at the local level. One problem is state-owned enterprises invoking business secrecy over those data.

The ombudsman also raised precarisation of journalism as another threat to media freedom, urging the state to find appropriate normative solutions to limit the problem.

Calls to change media law and in particular the act on the public broadcasting service have also come from journalist organisations and the NGO Legal Network is working with media experts on a new bill on RTV Slovenija.

The Slovenian Journalists' Association (DNS) noted that RTV Slovenija became the next target of the outgoing government after the STA showed it could not be pressured into submission, also with the help of crowdfunding launched a year ago.

Even though the DNS is not in favour of unsystematic changes to media legislation, they believe urgent action is needed to depoliticise RTV Slovenija and stop the decline in trust and professional standards and to allow the public media to function normally.

Their goal until next World Press Freedom Day will be to reform media legislation in a bid to create a systemic framework for successful functioning of the media in the country. "To do this, we need competent leadership and a team at the Media Directorate [at the Culture Ministry]," the DNS said, adding they expected the new government to deliver on those promises.

"Traditional media are finding it increasingly difficult to fund content that is not just click-bait. Politics, especially the incumbent ruling party, wanted journalists to be loyal political propagandists, and smeared those who refused to cooperate in every possible way," the DNS summed up how it sees the media situation in the country.

Jernej Amon Prodnik of the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, the main journalism school in Slovenia, sees the decline in the country's press freedom ranking as a result of attacks on journalists and in demolition of the media space taken on systematically by the Janez Janša government when it assumed power in 2020.

"We have never seen such brutal attacks or political appointments of completely incompetent people in Slovenia, even though politics had tried to influence the media before," he said, adding that attacks on and interference in the media are a feature of authoritarian politics worldwide where Slovenia was no exception.

As a key measure to tackle the situation, Amon Prodnik underscored a reform of media law, along with self-restraint exercised by politics. Slovenia's legislation is completely outdated, which in the case of RTV Slovenija act "apparently makes it possible to stage a complete political takeover of a public service".

The leaders of the three parties that are in talks to form the next government reiterated today that tackling media legislation to ensure media freedom would be one of the first priorities of the next government.

Luka Mesec, the leader of the Left, said they had already talked about a media law as one of the first that needed changing and they had solutions ready for the RTV Slovenija act, with Social Democrat leader Tanja Fajon adding the goal was to remove politics from the bodies running RTV Slovenija.

Robert Golob, the leader of the Freedom Movement, the party that won the election, said the slide on the World Press Freedom Index was but one of the signs it was high time to change government "and one of the easier goals for us to make better. We'll need to do that quickly."

PM Janez Janša commented on Twitter, asserting the situation in the Slovenian media space "is much worse still than what various media organisations are finding". He said Reporters Without Borders were not aware of the strong links the left bloc had to the media, noting that "editors and relatives" of the news portal 24ur.com and RTV Slovenija "stood on the tickets of left parties" in the 24 April election.

See the full report

04 May 2022, 03:22 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Wednesday, 4 May 2022

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:

Freedom Movement & partners keen to form govt by 3 June

LJUBLJANA - The Freedom Movement, the party that won the 24 April election, and its prospective coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SD) and the Left, would like to form a government by 3 June and will set out the distribution of ministerial briefs between them by the end of the week after they met for their first round of talks today. "The pre-condition is that we've agreed on most points before 13 May so that we can go ahead with fast-track formation of parliament," Golob said after meeting SD leader Tanja Fajon and the Left's Luka Mesec.

Slovenia down 18 spots in World Press Freedom Index

PARIS, France - Slovenia is down 18 spots in the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to rank 54th among 180 countries. Although the legal framework protecting press freedom remains strong, the media are subject to political pressure and strategic lawsuits against public participation, the report says about Slovenia. Jernej Amon Prodnik of the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, the main journalism school in Slovenia, sees the drop as a result of attacks on journalists and demolition of the media space taken on systematically by the Janez Janša government when it assumed power in 2020.

Slight restructuring of government portfolios in the making

LJUBLJANA - As the potential future coalition partners launched official talks, there are indications that changes to the government act are in the making to slightly reshuffle the structure and responsibilities of individual ministries. Freedom Movement leader Robert Golob announced before the talks started that he would split the current Ministry of Education, Science and Sport into two ministries - a ministry of education and sport and a ministry of higher education, science, innovation and digitalisation. At the same time, the infrastructure and environment ministries could be merged into one department.

Journalists call for autonomy on World Press Freedom Day

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Journalists' Trade Union and RTV Slovenija journalists pledged to continue to insist on journalist autonomy and fight against politics interfering as they held a news conference to speak about the situation at the public broadcaster on World Press Freedom Day in front of RTV Slovenija premises. Alenka Potočnik, the union's president, regretted that since a campaign for the survival of the STA was launched a year ago following the government's refusal to grant it funds for public service, the state of the media in Slovenia had deteriorated further.

Pahor stresses need to support Ukraine in interview for Der Spiegel

BERLIN, Germany - President Borut Pahor argued in an interview for Der Spiegel in favour of continued arms supplies to Ukraine and warned of the unpredictability of Russian President Vladmir Putin, saying it could lead to a nuclear conflict. He warned against underestimating the Russian military and noted the risk of the conflict spreading to Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans.

Defence ministers discuss Ukraine, W Balkans, cooperation

MALI LOŠINJ, Croatia - Defence Minister Matej Tonin met his Croatian counterpart Mario Banožić in the Croatian town of Mali Lošinj, discussing the situation in Ukraine and the Western Balkans, and exchanging experience with transporting military equipment, the Slovenian Defence Ministry said. The pair assessed bilateral cooperation as very good. Tonin, who visited Croatia with Major General Robert Glavaš, chief of the general staff, proposed the countries intensify the cooperation in training and education.

Golob suspects price fixing among fuel retailers

LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob, the presumptive PM-designate, criticised the outgoing government's decision not to extend fuel price administration beyond April. He feels that smart regulation would be an answer to what he sees as a malfunctioning market, while he also suspects cartel agreement behind the very similar price hikes on 1 May. Responding to Golob's statements, Slovenia's largest fuel retailer Petrol said it determined its pricing policy independently.

Officer shared protester's personal info with Russian embassy

LJUBLJANA - The police and the Information Commissioner have launched a probe after the personal information of a Polish citizen who took part in a recent protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Ljubljana was shared with an embassy employee by a police officer, the newspaper Delo reported. The Polish citizen, protesting at a security fence of the heavily guarded embassy, was asked by a police officer to step back and was IDed.

Children from Ukrainian orphanage arrive in Slovenia

POSTOJNA - Twenty children from a Ukrainian orphanage arrived safely in the village of Slavina near Postojna, where they will stay until the end of the war in their country. Most of them are between one and three and a half years old. Sandi Curk, commander of civil protection of the Notranjska region, told the STA that they had been warmly welcomed. They were also greeted by kindergarten teachers from Postojna, who helped carry them from the bus and helped them with their first meal.

Yield on Slovenian bonds highest since bank bailout

LJUBLJANA - High inflation and the prospect of monetary policy restrictions have dampened interest in state bonds in the secondary market, driving up the yield on state debt. The yield on the Slovenian 10-year bond has topped 2%. The yield on the benchmark German bond on the MTS electronic exchange briefly reached 1% for the first time since 2015 when the eurozone was still recovering from the debt crisis in some member states. It currently trades at 0.95%.

Factor Banka's art collection to be transferred to the state

LJUBLJANA - The art collection of the liquidated bank Factor Banka, the largest collection of art pieces from the late 1980s to 2012, which was transferred to the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) in 2016, will be transferred to the state, the newspaper Delo reported. "BAMC has already taken a decision on the transfer of all art pieces to the state, the process has already been launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, and BAMC has removed all the art pieces from sale," the bad bank told the paper.

Pandemic curve continues to flatten

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 455 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, a drop of more than 70% over the week before amidst severely reduced testing due to the holiday. Hospital figures remain flat, but two patients with Covid-19 died, Health Ministry data show. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 population dropped by 156 to 684 whereas the number of active cases is broadly flat at just under 13,000.

Slovenian journalist in prison in Iraq

LJUBLJANA - Matej Kavčič, a reporter for the Slovenian independent radio station Radio Student who was arrested in Iraq two weeks ago together with German journalist Marlene Foerster, is alive and well, a Slovenian Foreign Ministry official told TV Slovenija. Andrej Šter, head of the ministry's consular service, said Kavčič was in prison in Baghdad, and the ministry was trying hard to contact him and have him released. The reason for their arrest is not known yet. Kavčič headed for Iraq with Foerster in January to report on the Yezidis. He has an international press card, which was however not recognised by the Iraqi authorities.

Slovenian killed in robbery in Kenya

LJUBLJANA - A 56-year-old Slovenian citizen was killed in a robbery in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi a week ago, the Slovenian N1 news portal reported, citing Kenyan media. The Slovenian Foreign Ministry confirmed the news of the death, saying they were in contact with the relatives but could not provide other details. The robbery and murder occurred as the man and his girlfriend were returning to their accommodation in Mlolongo area from a club in a car with their driver.

Slovenia defeat Lithuania as Division I Championship starts

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia opened the Group A tournament of the Ice Hockey World Championship Division I, hosted by Ljubljana's Tivoli Arena, with a 4:2 win against Lithuania to establish themselves as a contender for advancing to the elite group. In the first match of the day, Hungary defeated South Korea 5:1 to atop of the group standings with a goal difference of +4. Slovenia are second with the same number of points and a goal difference of +2. On Wednesday, Lithuania will play Hungary and the hosts Slovenia will take on Romania, who were idle today.

03 May 2022, 15:43 PM

Pahor Stresses Need to Support Ukraine in Der Spiegel Interview

STA, 3 May 2022 - President Borut Pahor argued in an interview for Der Spiegel in favour of continued arms supplies to Ukraine and warned of the unpredictability of Vladmir Putin, saying it could lead to a nuclear conflict. He warned against underestimating the Russian military and noted the risk of the conflict spreading to Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans.

The president told the German paper that he could unfortunately no longer rule out a nuclear conflict, having lost confidence in the Russian president's judgment. While a nuclear conflict would make no sense, Pahor argued Putin had also not been deterred by the senselessness of the war in Ukraine.

Pahor, whom Der Spiegel described as one of Europe's most experienced statesmen, also stressed that he disagreed with an immediate embargo on Russian energy products. "I am in favour of a gradual reduction of dependence on Russian energy products, even though such a step may seem cowardly to some", Pahor added.

He also touched on criticism from Eastern Europe, where Germany is being accused of dragging its feet when it comes to imposing sanctions on Russia.

Pahor pointed out that if an embargo on Russian fossil fuels were imposed, Germany would suffer substantial economic damage, which explains the concerns. Nevertheless, Germany has radically changed its policy towards Russia, which makes him very proud of Germany.

The president moreover noted that Putin's pursuit of a military victory did not bode well for a start of serious peace negotiations at present.

On the contrary, the war could escalate, as Russia is prepared to make heavy sacrifices to win. In Moldova in particular, there is a strong fear of the conflict spreading to its territory, and the war could, he said, indirectly affect Georgia and the Western Balkans as well.

Pahor gave the interview during a working visit to Berlin on 28 April, where he met his German counterpart Frank Walter Steinmeier. The pair discussed, among other things, Russia's aggression against Ukraine and exchanged views on the situation in the Western Balkans.

On Ukraine, the two presidents agreed on the need for an early end to the Russian attacks and for diplomacy to regain its role and push for a peaceful solution. They said that Ukraine should be assisted in every way, politically, militarily and morally.

03 May 2022, 12:27 PM

Police Officer Shared Polish Protester's Personal Details with Russian Embassy

STA, 3 May 2022 - The police and the Information Commissioner have launched a probe after the personal information of a Polish citizen who took part in a recent protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Ljubljana was shared with an embassy employee by a police officer, Delo reports on Tuesday.

The Polish citizen, protesting at a security fence of the heavily guarded embassy, was asked by a police officer to step back and was identified.

Once the officer wrote down the information, he was approached by an embassy employee who had been recording the protest and demanded that the officer show what he had written down.

The officer complied and the embassy employee took a photo of his notes with a mobile phone, Delo says.

Concerned about his security, the Polish man contacted the Polish Embassy in Ljubljana, Polish Ambassador to Slovenia Krzysztof Olendzki told the paper.

As soon as he learnt about the incident, Olendzki filed a complaint against the police officer's conduct.

The police confirmed that an internal probe was under way, while the Information Commissioner initiated inspection proceedings on suspicion that the police officer mishandled personal information.

03 May 2022, 09:31 AM

Freedom Movement, SocDems & Left Start Coalition Talks

STA, 3 May 2022 - Robert Golob, the presumptive prime minister-designate, is expected to officially launch government formation talks on Tuesday with prospective coalition partners, the Social democrats and the Left. Golob has indicated he would like to form an operative government before summer.

Golob's Freedom Movement, which won 34.53% in the 24 April general election, which translates into 41 MP seats, would like to form a government as soon as possible, so it would become operative before the summer recess of parliament to be able to prepare for a potential new outbreak of Covid-19 and for the anticipated energy price hikes.

Informal talks between Golob and SD head Tanja Fajon and Luka Mesec from the Left started last week, immediately after the election, with the official talks slated to start today.

Fajon said after the election she would like the government formation talks to start as soon as possible, as Slovenia needed a stable and strong government.

Mesec, who got the party council's mandate for talks with the Freedom Movement, said he expected concrete steps towards a new government today.

It is expected that today's talks will result in an approximate distribution of ministries among coalition partners.

03 May 2022, 07:37 AM

20 Ukrainian Orphans, Others Heading to Slavina, Near Postojna

STA, 2 May 2022 - A convoy of 20 orphans from Ukraine and accompanying staff is on its way to Slovenia, where they will be accommodated in the village of Slavina near Postojna, Sandi Curk, commander of civil protection of the Notranjska region, said on Monday. The journey will be challenging, he admitted, expressing hope that the children will reach Slovenia soon.

Apart from 20 children, aged between one and seven, the convoy includes three doctors, several nurses and teachers and their children, Curk told the STA.

He said the journey would be a challenge "because of traffic jams and obstacles on the Ukrainian territory". Still, Curk believes "in the international law and the openness of territory" and hopes the children will cross the EU border in "foreseeable time".

He could not say when the convoy is to arrive to Slovenia, but noted the public would be informed.

The orphans are from the Luhansk orphanage No. 2 in eastern Ukraine. They are accompanied by 18 members of staff from Ukraine and their children, and are to stay in Slovenia until the end of the war in Ukraine.

Postojna Mayor Igor Marentič said a few days ago that everything was ready for their arrival and that locals were offering their help on a daily basis to make the children feel as comfortable as possible in Slovenia.

The children will be accommodated at the Folk School in Slavina, while the accompanying staff will stay at the Secondary School of Forestry and Woodwo

03 May 2022, 04:48 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Tuesday, 3 May 2022

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:

Mufti Porić says epidemic revealed all weaknesses of society

LJUBLJANA - Nevzet Porić, mufti of the Islamic community in Slovenia, stressed in his address marking Eid al-Fitr that the Covid-19 epidemic had brought all the weaknesses of the society to the surface in the last couple of years. He pointed to domestic violence, poverty, lack of solidarity, double standards and the selfishness that many nations attested during the distribution of medical equipment and vaccines. He also noted that the Islamic community in Slovenia had received no Covid aid form the state.

Convoy of 20 Ukrainian orphans on its way to Slovenia

POSTOJNA - A convoy of 20 orphans from Ukraine and accompanying staff is on its way to Slovenia, where they will be accommodated in the village of Slavina near Postojna, Sandi Curk, commander of civil protection of the Notranjska region, said on Monday. The journey will be challenging, he admitted, expressing hope that the children will reach Slovenia soon. Apart from 20 children, aged between one and seven, the convoy includes three doctors, several nurses and teachers and their children, Curk told the STA.

Covid cases down further

LJUBLJANA - The number of new coronavirus infections dropped to 229 on Sunday, down 99 week-on-week and 248 on the day before. Hospitalisations are up by seven to 88, according to the Health Ministry. The number of Covid patients in intensive care remains at 12. Two more patients have died. The National Institute for Public Health estimates there are currently 12,880 active infections in the country, down 163 from the day before.

02 May 2022, 04:05 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Monday, 2 May 2022

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:

Fuel prices surge after price caps end

LJUBLJANA - Fuel prices in Slovenia surged after the government decided to end price administration. Regular petrol was about 8% more expensive than yesterday, with diesel up by more than 20%. Data reported by petrol stations show regular petrol costs between EUR 1,617 and EUR 1,619 per litre, and diesel was priced at between EUR 1,817 and EUR 1,824 at major providers Petrol and OMV, and even higher at some smaller petrol stations, EUR 1,876.

Unions not content with state of labour rights

LJUBLJANA/RAVNE NA KOROŠKEM - Trade unionists highlighted persistent problems with the exercise of labour rights as they pledged in Labour Day speeches that the fight for rights was not yet over. "We're far from the ideal when it's not going to be all about profit, added value and competitiveness, when the human - the worker - becomes the focus," said Lidija Jerkič, president of the ZSSS trade union association.

Slow decline in coronavirus continues

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia reported 477 new cases of coronavirus for Saturday, down six percent over the week before, as hospitalisations remained broadly stable. One patient with Covid-19 died. The overall number of patients hospitalised due to Covid rose by five to 81, while the number of ICU case remained unchanged at 12.

01 May 2022, 14:35 PM

Fuel Prices Surge After End of Price Caps

STA, 1 May 2022 - Fuel prices in Slovenia surged on Sunday after the government decided to end price administration. Regular petrol is about 8% more expensive than yesterday, with diesel up by more than 20%.

Data reported by petrol stations show regular petrol costs between EUR 1,617 and EUR 1,619 per litre depending on provider, up to EUR 1,628 along motorways. Until yesterday it was capped at EUR 1,503.

Diesel is priced at between EUR 1,817 and EUR 1,824 at major providers Petrol and OMV, and even higher at some smaller petrol stations, EUR 1,876. Yesterday it cost 1,514.

Prices were capped in mid-March in a bid to mitigate the surging prices of energy on global markets. On Friday, the government said the measure would not be extended since the markets had stabilised.

The announcement late on Friday that price administration will not be extended resulted in long queues at petrol stations around the country yesterday as people rushed to fill up, many showing up with additional canisters to stock up.

Many service stations ran out of diesel during the day.

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