09 Apr 2022, 04:59 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Saturday, 9 April 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:

Largest solar power plant in Slovenia opens near Hrastnik

HRASTNIK - The state-owned power utility HSE launched a 3.036-megawatt solar power plant in a rehabilitated and closed section of the Prapretno landfill near Hrastnik. The largest facility of the kind in the country, worth EUR 2.5 million, is expected to provide electricity for around 800 households. A total of 6,748 photovoltaic modules installed at the former brownfield site will produce more than 3 GWh of electricity a year, and the plan is to expand it to a total installed power of 14 megawatts.

Rail operator SŽ acquires 50% stake in Nomago group

LJUBLJANA - National rail company Slovenske Železnice (SŽ) and coach group Nomago signed a contract under which SŽ acquired 50% of Nomago, with an option to buy the entire stake until the end of 2024. SŽ will pay EUR 15.75 million as the fixed part of the purchase price, with the remaining part depending on Nomago's performance in the coming years. The deal still needs clearance from the competition regulator.

Border municipalities to get EUR 5m over migration pressure

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian border municipalities can count on receiving EUR 5 million from the national budget this year as compensation for enhanced border surveillance as the country fights illegal migrations, Interior Minster Aleš Hojs said. EUR 2 million will be distributed among all border municipalities, with the EUR 3 million to go to those along the southern border, that is the Schengen border with Croatia.

Parsifal poll shows Freedom Movement closing gap on SDS

LJUBLJANA - The latest public opinion poll by Parsifal sees the leading Democrats (SDS) slipping among decided voters, while the closest pursuer, the Freedom Movement, are improving are narrowing the gap. Almost 18% of the respondents are undecided. Among the decided respondents, the SDS would get 27.5% of the vote, which is 3.8 percentage points less compared to last week, while the Freedom Movement improved by 3.2 points to 25.4%.

Voting from Russia will not be possible

LJUBLJANA - The National Electoral Commission decided that there will be no organised polling station at the Slovenian Embassy in Moscow for the 24 April general election in Slovenia. Voting by mail from Russia will not be possible, either. This comes after the Foreign Ministry said that voting from the Embassy in Russia could not be guaranteed due to the security situation and logistical conditions for business in the country, and due to the suspension of postal traffic with the country.

Asylum seekers note double standards for refugees

LJUBLJANA - The way refugees from Ukraine have been taken in in Slovenia is more humane and sensible than procedures involving refugees from other countries, reads an open letter by a group of asylum seekers. from aliens centres Kotnikova and Vič in Ljubljana. Ukrainian refugees are dealing with much more relaxed conditions, they note, urging an end to these double standards, including the right to immediate access to work and welfare system, free movement, and decent living conditions.

Women, employment in focus of International Romani Day

LJUBLJANA - Roma integration and the position of Romany women in society are in the focus as Slovenia observes International Romani Day. Amanda Fetahi, the head of the Loli Luludi association, told the STA that Romany women were still largely confined to the role of housewives and upbringing their children. Most Roma women but also men in Slovenia face obstacles in education, employment, accommodation or access to social and health services. Few Roma women finish secondary school and even fewer higher education.

President highlights coexistence, inclusion in Romani Day address

MURSKA SOBOTA - President Borut Pahor emphasises common values, rights and obligations for all, but also the need to appreciate diversity, as he addressed a ceremony marking International Romani Day. "We live in a single country, our shared motherland, in which we must take care of each other, respect one another, and appreciate both the shared values and the diversity that enriches us as a multicultural society," he said.

Top court bans disclosure of personal data of tax defaulters

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court annulled the provision of the tax procedure act that allows disclosure of personal information about individuals who own legal entities that are tax defaulters if these entities had already had due tax liabilities before these individuals became their owners. The appellant found it disputable that public disclosure of personal information of an individual is required even if they had nothing to do with tax liabilities of the legal entities they own.

EUR 10m available for tourism and hospitality companies

LJUBLJANA - The SPIRIT public agency has published a call worth nearly EUR 10 million to help micro, small and medium-sized companies in tourism, hospitality, and arts and culture get up and running again after coronavirus restrictions have been lifted. Companies have until 22 April to apply for funds. The call is to contribute to preserving companies and jobs in these sectors. 500 companies are expected to benefit from the funds.

Lowest weekday Covid count since late February

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia logged 1,860 coronavirus cases on Thursday, the lowest weekday figure since late February. Hospitalisations fell as well to 186 this morning, including 21 in intensive care, but four patients with Covid-19 died, Health Ministry data shows. The 7-day average of new cases fell below 2,000 to 1,964, and the 14-day notification rate per 100,000 of the population is at 1,501.

Awards given out as Week of Slovenian Drama closes

KRANJ - Solo, a theatre production directed by Nina Rajić Kranjac, won the Šelih Award for best production among eight competing productions at the 52nd Week of Slovenian Drama. The jury labelled Solo as "a very brave and theatrically inventive" piece, which is an attempt at improvisation focussing on "what it means to be on one's own". The audience of the festival chose as their favourite a production about Edvard Kocbek (1904-1981), a writer and politician who fell out of favour with the communist authorities soon after WWII.

Choreographer Clug reinvents Stravinsky's masterpieces

MARIBOR - Choreographer Edward Clug's take on Igor Stravinsky's ballets The Rite of Spring and The Wedding will be staged at the SNG Maribor opera and ballet house this evening. Clug's reinvention of the first ballet will return to the Slovenian stage after a decade. The Romanian-born dancer and choreographer, whose productions have sold out the Bolshoi Theatre and London Coliseum, finds the two ballets pieces of a bygone age that nevertheless have an avant-garde character.

Rog creative centre to open next year

LJUBLJANA - A new creative centre that is emerging from the defunct Ljubljana bicycle factory Rog will open its doors in the summer of 2023. Rog Centre will promote cultural and creative activities, especially product making, applied arts, architecture and design. The hub will feature seven production labs, 25 production facilities, five residential areas, a socialising and exhibition area, a library and cafes. There will also be two smaller shops where products manufactured at the labs will be sold.

08 Apr 2022, 15:50 PM

Slovenia’s Largest Solar Power Plant Opens Near Hrastnik

STA, 8 April 2022 - The state-owned power utility HSE launched on Friday a 3.036-megawatt solar power plant in a rehabilitated and closed section of the Prapretno landfill near Hrastnik. The largest facility of the kind in the country, worth EUR 2.5 million, is expected to provide electricity for around 800 households.

A total of 6,748 photovoltaic modules installed at the former brownfield site will produce more than 3 GWh of electricity a year, and the plan is to expand it to a total installed power of 14 megawatts.

HSE said that the launch of the solar power plant in the former coal mining region was an investment in security of electricity supply that followed EU guidelines on reducing carbon emissions.

HTZ, a subsidiary of the coal mine operator Premogovnik Velenje, was hired to supply the equipment and install and launch the power plant.

The opening ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Janez Janša, who noted that Slovenia now had sustainable and green energy sources at its disposal after decades of production of electricity mainly from fossil fuel sources.

He added that the state would give back to regions where coal had been extracted for electricity production by providing funds from the Just Transition Fund.

The prime minister noted that the energy crisis in the aftermath of Russia's attack on Ukraine made the resources Slovenia had at home more valuable today than in the past, adding that Slovenia needed to continue to build small hydro and solar power plants.

HSE director general Viktor Vračar said that the new installation pursued the objective of secure and reliable electricity supply, adding that international events had forced Slovenia to strategically restructure its energy sector.

The goal is decarbonisation and reduced dependence on foreign energy, and this means investment, he said, adding that the ECB had assessed that EUR 350 billion was needed for this over the next decade.

Hrastnik Mayor Marko Funkl added that the municipality would establish this month an energy cooperative for the "transition from brown to green" that would build the largest cooperative solar power plant in the country.

The 300 KW array will be installed on the roof of a local primary school, Funkl said, adding that "energy is returning to the Zasavje region in green form."

08 Apr 2022, 13:24 PM

Election 2022: How Parties Plan to Deal with Slovenia’s Pension System (Feature)

STA, 8 April 2022 - Most parties standing in the upcoming general election agree that a comprehensive pension reform will be needed to ensure a sustainable pension system. They do differ though on the ways to achieve this. They also have different proposals on how to improve Slovenia's demographic situation.

Every year the public pension fund covers the shortfall due to insufficient revenue by funds from the state budget. Last year, EUR 718.7 million went to cover the gap. The average number of pensioners was some 624,800, an increase of 0.01% year-on-year, the smallest uptick in the past 31 years.

Responding to questions from the STA on the matter, the parties urged a new pension reform as the existing system is already ten years old. They also called for efforts to tackle problems facing youth, including housing, and demographic challenges with most having in mind incentives for more children.

The ruling Democratic Party (SDS) would aim to ensure a pension system that provides decent pensions and is financially sustainable. They are in favour of educational system changes that would be aligned with the challenges of the time. They would also continue their family-friendly policy and tax policy.

New Slovenia (NSi) would strengthen the second pillar through tax and other incentives for both employees and employers. They also propose a tax-free year for first-time employees and improving work-life balance. For a worker replacing an employee on parental leave, contributions would be exempted.

The Freedom Movement party, SDS's main rival according to opinion polls, finds it key that pensions must not be less than 10% above the poverty threshold. The second pillar should become mandatory and participation in the third pillar and staying in employment longer would be further encouraged.

Strengthening all the three pillars is what the Social Democrats (SD) have in mind. Slovenian Sovereign Holding would remain the guardian of state assets, and the party plans to tap the return of state-owned enterprises as a permanent source of a demographic fund. They also plan construction of 10,000 public rental flats and free kindergarten and school meals.

The Marjan Šarec Party (LMŠ) believes that the pension reform will be necessary but only in 10-15 years. They would also incentivise participation in the second and third pillars, boost value added, build non-profit flats and come up with measures to facilitate international adoption procedures.

Meanwhile, the Left says that Slovenia is not facing a demographic but a social crisis. An ageing population is not unusual, but society should take proper care of the elderly, they note, urging a pension increase. They see a gradual equalisation of employer and employee contributions as a key new source of co-financing pensions.

The Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) would strive to ensure the retirement age does not increase and pensions are not lowered. Their priority is more non-profit rental housing and they would also cap rents. Moreover, 5,000 jobs for young people would be provided in the public administration.

Tying pension adjustment to wage growth is part of the Pensioners' Party's (DeSUS) platform. They regard mechanism that would compensate for the shortfall of contributions due to robotization as a new source for the pension fund. Anyone emigrating from Slovenia would have to pay back the costs of their education.

The National Party (SNS) highlighted that any pension reform was contingent on coordination among all parties in parliament, so listing measures made no sense at the moment. They would make the educational system more aligned with business. They mentioned "normalisation of the approach to sexuality" as a way to improve the demographic situation.

Our Land would ensure pensioners can work without restrictions if they want to and if their employer agrees. They would set up a targeted mechanism to encourage young people to take up farming.

Connecting Slovenia, which also includes the party Concretely, would not raise the retirement age but would allow pensioners to work in the private sector according to the needs of the labour market. Young people should not be misled into professions that do not offer a decent living, they added.

08 Apr 2022, 11:29 AM

New Creative Centre Opening at Trubarjeva’s Rog in 2023

STA, 8 April 2022 - A new creative centre that is emerging from the defunct Ljubljana bicycle factory Rog will open its doors in the summer of 2023. Rog Centre will promote cultural and creative activities, especially product making, applied arts, architecture and design.

The building of the former factory, which at the end of the 19th century housed a tannery, is part of Ljubljana's key industrial heritage and will as such be preserved at the new centre, deputy head of Rog Centre Renata Zamida told the press on Thursday.

The new creative centre will feature seven production labs, including for textile, wood processing, ceramics and glass, and green and culinary labs, for which there will be a membership fee similar to a library fee.

A total of 25 production facilities will be available free of charge based on calls for applications. The use of the facilities will be limited to three to four years. The first call is to be published this autumn.

Five residential areas will be available to users from other countries, also to encourage a cultural exchange with their countries.

The centre will also have a large area for socialising and exhibitions, a library and cafes. There will also be two smaller shops where products manufactured at the labs will be sold.

The building will have four floors and a total of 8,500 square metres. Outside the building a park will stretch at 8,000 square metres.

The building will have a solar roof and will be partly energy self-sufficient. The centre will be open around the clock.

A car park will be partly used by the centre users and partly rented out to near-by residents.

How it might look. Image: www.ljubljana.si

The Rog building, where the first bicycles were made in 1953, was the first reinforced concrete building in Slovenia, according to Zamida. A part of its façade with elements of Czech Cubism will be preserved.

The investment is estimated at about EUR 20 million and the project is partly funded by the EU.

Meta Štular, acting director of strategic development and programmes, said a very diverse programme would be offered at Rog. It will be open and accessible to all citizens.

Particularly young women will be invited to head the technological labs, while older users will be encouraged to share their knowledge as mentors to Rog users.

Rog Centre was founded by the Ljubljana municipality last May. The renovation started after an autonomous social and cultural community was evicted from the premises in January 2021 with the help of police.

Meta Štular regretted that a solution had not been found through dialogue at the time and expressed hope that some of the former Rog users would return to the renovated centre.

There are guided tours of the construction site every first Thursday of the month.

08 Apr 2022, 11:12 AM

Slovenia Proposes 5% Tax on Liquidation of Over €10k Cryptocurrency a Year

STA, 7 April 2022 - The government on Thursday adopted a bill that would impose a 5% tax on natural persons when they turn their cryptocurrency into a fiat currency or buy goods or services, but only if the sum exceeds EUR 10,000 a year.

The government proposed the bill be rushed through the National Assembly. When passed, the tax would apply to the sums redeemed since the date it came into effect.

The Finance Ministry estimates the budget receipts from the new taxation would amount to at least EUR 1 million a year in the first few years.

A release from the government says the bill tackles taxation of virtual currencies on redemption "in an administratively simple and understandable way" while securing fiscal revenue resulting from the tax.

"The regulation of this area will improve Slovenia's competitive position in taxation of virtual currencies, especially in light of the increasingly uncertain situation on the global financial markets, where virtual currencies are gaining ground, which also increases the opportunity costs borne by the state due to untimely taxation of this new source of tax revenue," the release reads.

The new tax would apply to natural persons who pay taxes in Slovenia when they exchange cryptocurrency for a fiat currency and transfer the proceeds to a transaction account or buy goods, services or other assets with cryptocurrency.

The tax would not apply to legal entities which have cryptocurrency recorded as their assets or for individuals who hold cryptocurrency as their business assets.

A natural person who buys and sells cryptocurrency in their own name and on their own account would not be considered to be carrying out a business activity, regardless of the number of cryptocurrency transactions carried out.

The tax liability would arise the moment the virtual currency is redeemed, unless in case of a proven loss. At the same time, each natural person could redeem EUR 10,000 worth of virtual currencies a year tax-free.

The tax base would be determined by deducting the EUR 10,000 exemption from the sum of the value of all the cryptocurrency liquidated in a calendar year. Of that base 5% tax would be paid.

The individuals concerned would be able to submit a tax return once a year or each time after liquidating virtual currency. At any rate they would be required to pay tax within 30 days after submitting the return.

The government proposes the law take effect on the 15th day after its publication in the Official Gazette. Even though it would not be valid for the entire calendar year of 2022, the government proposes the exemption apply in the full EUR 10,000 even that year.

Individuals who do not have a business currently do not pay tax for turning cryptocurrencies into liquidity. The Financial Administration examines case by case whether the person is involved in business activity, taking into account the number of transactions and the sum liquidated.

08 Apr 2022, 04:50 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Friday, 8 April 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:

Logar for ban on Russian gas imports as Slovenia joins energy independence initiative

BRUSSELS - Foreign Minister Anže Logar called for a prompt EU ban on Russian gas imports as he arrived at day two of a NATO ministerial. Logar believes that the EU paying "bloody energy euros to Russia" actually prolongs Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He stressed that developments are moving in the direction of the ban, while Slovenia is actively and successfully looking for sources to replace Russian gas. Slovenia meanwhile joined an initiative of eleven EU countries calling for ending the EU's dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

Govt bolsters Climate Change Fund assets

LJUBLJANA - The government secured extra funding for the Climate Change Fund. By amending the 2021-2023 Climate Change Fund spending programme, the government earmarked an additional EUR 15 million for investments by individuals into photovoltaic systems after all of the available funds have been used up. An additional EUR 28 million is being earmarked to install heat pumps and biomass boilers in vulnerable households, which will make it possible to reopen the relevant public call that was closed because the funds were used up.

Russia reacts to Slovenia's cutting number of Russian diplomats

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian government's decision to reduce the number of staff at the Russian Embassy in Ljubljana is highly irresponsible and unfriendly, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. These moves reflect the anti-Russian stance advocated by the current government, which occasionally crosses the line into Russophobia, it added. "It is clear that these moves are designed to systematically destroy the Russian-Slovenian relations, which celebrate 30 years this year," reads the ministry's website.

Govt proposes 5% tax on liquidation of cryptocurrency

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a bill that would impose a 5% tax on natural persons when they turn their cryptocurrency into a fiat currency or buy goods or services, but only if the sum exceeds EUR 10,000 a year. The government proposed the bill be rushed through the National Assembly. When passed, the tax would apply to the sums redeemed since the date it came into effect.

Government introducing incentive for approval of wind farms

LJUBLJANA - The government has adopted a decree that looks to incentivise municipalities to approve the installation of wind farms in their territory by providing compensation amounting to 3% of the estimated annual revenue from the energy produced by this source. The decree based on the act promoting the use of renewable energy tasks the producer of electricity from wind power to pay the compensation for the municipality where the wind farm is located.

Slovenia can accept up to 60 patients from Ukraine

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian hospitals can admit up to 50 patients from Ukraine and centres offering rehabilitation programmes another 10, according to a decree on relocation of Ukrainian patients the government adopted at its session. In line with this decision, Slovenian hospitals can admit up to 30 patients at regular wards, up to 5 in intensive care plus up to 5 children and 10 adults with cancer.

Pension fund gets over EUR 718m from budget in 2021 to cover revenue gap

LJUBLJANA - The government approved the 2021 financial report of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (ZPIZ) that had its revenue and expenditure levelled at EUR 6.2 billion last year. To cover the shortfall in revenue, the national public pension fund received EUR 718.7 million from the state budget in 2021. Among the report's findings, the government pointed out that the ZPIZ received a total of nearly EUR 981.5 million from the state budget last year. The EUR 718.7 million was allocated to cover the gap between revenue and expenditure in line with the pension law, the government said.

NGO targeted by inspectors amid charge of illegal election campaign

LJUBLJANA - An NGO that has been collecting signatures in support of a repeal of several government measures they see as harmful, 8 March Institute, has been urged by the Home Affairs Inspectorate to provide explanations after some members of the ruling coalition called their campaign unlawful. The NGO denied the allegation they were leading an election campaign, arguing they were not disseminating political advertising content, as set forth in the election and referendum campaign act. It is considering a criminal complaint over what is seen as an instance of SLAPP.

Fiscal Council urges tripling of funds for climate-energy goals

LJUBLJANA - The Fiscal Council has assessed that achieving climate and energy goals will be one of the major challenges for fiscal policy in the coming years. While such investments averaged around one billion euros a year in 2016-2020, roughly 2% of GDP, this figure will need to be increased almost threefold by 2030, to 6% of GDP per year. The Fiscal Council proposes several scenarios, all of which would require public spending beyond earmarked funds.

Vrtovec pledges state support for road tunnel in Maribor

MARIBOR - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec announced today the government's support for the construction of a road tunnel under the city centre in Slovenia's second largest city. He also vowed progress on the construction of the city's western ring road and on tackling the precarious situation of Maribor Airport and signed a protocol with Maribor Mayor Saša Arsenovič and Hoče-Slivnica Mayor Marko Soršak.

Kolektor gets new management, new business model

LJUBLJANA - Kolektor Group has reorganised under a new business model into a holding with three groups - Mobility, Technologies and Construction. It plans to raise sales revenue to EUR 1 billion in 2022 from just over EUR 900 million last year, and the plan by 2030 is EUR 1.5 billion, the company said as it presented the new management which took charge on 1 April. Valter Leban took over as the new chairman of Kolektor Group from Radovan Bolko, who led the company for eight years. He has been joined by Darja Petrič and Žiga Kogej, both coming from inside Kolektor.

Ocean Orchids receives two million for reinjection well

DOBROVNIK - Ocean Orchids, Slovenia's leading orchid grower and one of the biggest users of geothermal energy in the country, received funds for building the first reinjection well in Slovenia. The EUR 2m government subsidy will cover two-thirds of the total costs. Director Roman Ferenčak said the project was "immensely important" to the company as it would help solve environmental issues and reduce costs. They will be able to cut down on natural gas or even stop using it as an additional heating source completely.

One bid arrives to build tunnel systems on Koper-Divača track

LJUBLJANA - A subsidiary of the national railway company in conjunction with a Slovenian and Turkish builders is the only bidder to submit an offer for the construction of rail and tunnel systems on the new rail link between the port town of Koper and the Divača junction inland. The consortium's cost estimate is EUR 198.54 million, VAT excluded, significantly above the ceiling value of EUR 142.2 million. 2TDK, the state-owned company managing the project, said it would take a decision in the shortest time possible.

Steel group not impacted by war in Ukraine for now

LJUBLJANA - The steel group SIJ, one of Slovenia's largest exporters, says it is not feeling any major impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its fallout for the time being although it cannot predict all the consequences as yet. "We have enough raw material stocks and orders, so our production and business processes are running normally," the company said on releasing audited annual report for 2021.

Stocks stabilise in wake of panic over Russia's invasion

LJUBLJANA - The Russian invasion of Ukraine sent investors into panic but the stock market has since recovered. In Ljubljana, the worst affected issues were pharma company Krka's and NLB bank's, an online event hosted by the Ljubljana Stock Exchange was told. First quarter data for the Ljubljana Stock Exchange shows the investors who sold shares at the start of the Russian invasion are probably worse off now, Urban Belič of the brokerage Ilirika assessed.

Kangler to get EUR 50,000 in damages for wrongful conviction

LJUBLJANA - Franc Kangler, a state secretary who served as Maribor mayor in 2006-2012, will receive EUR 50,000 in damages for his wrongful conviction of seven months in prison for awarding a fortune teller a municipal flat, Delo reported on a decision with which a higher court upheld a decision of a first-instance court. The Ljubljana Higher Court's decision comes after Kangler appealed against the Ljubljana District Court's decision to award him only EUR 50,000 in damages.

School lockdown survey reveals several challenges of remote schooling

LJUBLJANA - An international study of how the educational system fared during the Covid pandemic shows worrying results for Slovenia in the segments of achievement of learning objectives, knowledge standards and marks. The study, carried out by the Education Institute, also shows that many teachers and pupils reported about a lot of stress.

Hospitalisations stable as new Covid cases keep falling

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's coronavirus case count keeps falling with 2,109 new cases reported for Wednesday, 23% fewer than a week ago, as the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals was slightly up for the second day, and six patients with Covid-19 died. The 7-day average of new cases is now at 2,036 and the 14-day notification rate per 100,000 of the population is at 1,549.

07 Apr 2022, 15:19 PM

Scientists Protest Politicisation of Institutions

STA, 6 April 2022 - Several hundred scientists gathered in the centre of Ljubljana on Thursday to protest against the transformation of private educational and research institutions into public entities eligible for public funds, a policy they say is driven by political interests rather than expert judgement.

"We cannot consent to the duplication of activities and irrational spending of hard-won funds via alternative routes instead of regular routes applicable to other scientific institutions," said Martina Lukšič Hacin, one of the Scientific Research Centre at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU).

The protest, organised by the Chancellors' Conference and Coordinating Body of Slovenian Research Institutions, comes after the National Assembly passed in mid-March a bill transforming the Pomurje Academic and Science Union, led by an Education Ministry state secretary, into a public institution.

Just a week later, the government endorsed the creation of Rudolfovo, a research hub in Novo Mesto seen as a key step in the creation of a new public university in Novo Mesto run by staff with close ties to the government.

And today the National Assembly was due to vote on the transformation of a Novo Mesto faculty into a public institution, another planned piece of the Novo Mesto university, a step which has been temporarily derailed by a referendum motion lodged by the opposition.

The organisers of the rally demand that autonomy of science be respected, they want the National Research Agency, where there was recently a change of ownership, to have a "politically independent leadership", and they demand transparent distribution of public funds.

Gregor Majdič, the chancellor of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia's largest public university, expressed concern about the formation of new public institutes and regional universities without any analysis or consultations.

"Slovenia still invests the lowest share of public funds in all of EU in science, development, innovation and higher education. We have to ask ourselves whether we are rational and responsible in the distribution of funds that are low as it is."

The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport responded by pointing to an increase in funding for science and research. It said this year they would increase by EUR 44.3 million or 13.7% to EUR 369 million, which was up 21.8% compared to realised funding in 2021.

The funding is to increase by an additional 7.2% in 2023 to EUR 395.6 million.

It said the goal was to earmark 1% of GDP in public funds for science and research with an annual growth rate of 0.08% of GDP. It added that budged funds for science wound double by 2025.

So far there have been 16 science and research institutes in Slovenia, of which 15 in Ljubljana and one in Koper, the ministry said, adding that only decentralisation in the field could activate as much potential as possible and create conditions conducive to applied research.

"The fear of the scientific research community that the creation of a new public research institution would jeopardise its current or future material situation is thus completely unnecessary, all the more so as funding for science will only increase in the years to come," the ministry's release reads.

07 Apr 2022, 15:12 PM

New State-Owned Company Formed to Manage Public Transportation for All of Slovenia

STA, 6 April 2022 - The National Assembly fast-tracked on Wednesday a bill to create a state-owned limited liability company tasked with managing the tactical aspects of passenger transportation on road and rail as a public service.

The company, headquartered in Postojna, will plan public transportation and its financing, participate in infrastructure planning and strategies, and manage the integrated mass transit tickets that Slovenia has had for several years now.

It will act as the tactical layer of public transportation management as Slovenia strives to complete a three-layer approach (strategic, tactical and operational) to public transportation.

The company will manage all financial sources earmarked for public transportation from state and local budgets, and other sources of financing. It will also be able to get commercial funding.

The government labelled the bill as the first step towards optimising the organisation and management of public transportation.

Confirming the bill in a 47:1 vote less than three weeks after it was adopted by the government, deputies said it marked the start of improvement of public transportation in the country after years of neglect.

07 Apr 2022, 11:40 AM

Parliament Confirms Higher Scholarships, Meal Subsidies for Students

STA, 6 April 2022 - The National Assembly endorsed an opposition bill on the status of university students that will raise state scholarships by 20% by 2024, increase funding set aside for the construction of student dorms, and raise meal subsidies.

Another notable feature is that a large share of income earned through student work and scholarships, up to the level of minimum wage, will be exempted from means testing.

There are also provisions on assistance to special-needs students, according to Speaker Igor Zorčič.

The bill was tabled by five opposition deputy groups and was initially rejected by the government, but Education Ministry State Secretary Mitja Slavinec said amendments attached on committee made it acceptable.

The legislation was confirmed in a cross-partisan vote. Several deputy groups said it was a long overdue improvement for students that would make their studies easier.

In a separate vote, the National Assembly endorsed a bill to equalise the minimum gross hourly pay for pensioners with the minimum rate for student work.

Pensioners will thus get the same rate as students for work they are allowed to do after retirement, though the net pay will be slightly different due to differences in contributions.

The rate has been set at EUR 4.49 net for pensioners, which is 29 cents more, as the coalition rejected the idea of the original proponents of the bill, the opposition Left, that the rate should be equal on a net basis.

07 Apr 2022, 11:30 AM

Parliament Passes Bill to Help Those Under 38, Young Families Get Housing Loans

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