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Pahor to call general election for 24 April

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor formally informed the National Electoral Commission (DVK) that he would sign a presidential decree for a general election on 9 February, setting Sunday, 24 April, as the election date. This is in line with his earlier announcement that he would call this year's election at the earliest possible date. He believes that despite the Covid epidemic, the DVK has enough time to prepare and organise the election.

More than 10,000 Covid cases on Wednesday, Slovenia sending PCR samples to Germany

LJUBLJANA - A total of 10,288 new coronavirus cases were reported in Slovenia for Wednesday, a day after a record of more than 12,000 infections was confirmed, show official data. Roughly three weeks into the Omicron-driven wave, hospitals are gradually starting to fill up, with 580 Covid-19 patients hospitalised this morning. Seven patients with Covid-19 died yesterday. Overwhelmed with PCR test samples, the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food started sending part of the samples to Germany for analysis. The Eurofins lab processes them in 48 hours, which is in line with the new PCR testing protocol that kicked in yesterday.

EU Parliament endorses Slovenian candidate for Court of Auditors

STRASBOURG, France - The European Parliament endorsed on Wednesday Jorg Kristijan Petrovič, Slovenia's candidate for the European Court of Auditors. The non-binding vote was 487 in favour and 196 against, with 11 abstentions. The endorsement came after Petrovič, currently the first deputy president of the Slovenian Court of Audit, assured MEPs of his political independence and impartiality.

Pahor says Slovenia advocates One-China principle

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor said as he responded to PM Janez Janša's statements about China and Taiwan that ever since Slovenia and China established diplomatic relations, Slovenia had consistently advocated the One-China principle, a principle the EU is also bound to. "Taipei has representation offices in 20 EU member states. The idea to open one such representation office in Slovenia is not new. The president sees it as an encouragement to economic relations," Pahor's office said and made a point noting the difference between Taipei as Taiwan's capital and Taiwan as a country.

Business council says companies feel consequences of Janša's Taiwan statements

LJUBLJANA - After calling for stable political relations following PM Janez Janša's statements on closer ties with Taiwan, the Slovenian-Chinese Business Council said that Slovenian companies in the Chinese market were already facing a response from Chinese partners, some of them terminating contracts and exiting the agreed investments. Janša's statements prompted three centre-left opposition parties to request an emergency session of the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee today, as they believe these could have long-term consequences for relations with Asian countries.

Počivalšek urges Janša to bear economy in mind in relations with China

LJUBLJANA - In the aftermath of PM Janez Janša's recent comments about Taiwan, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said on Wednesday Slovenia's foreign policy must keep the country's economic interests a priority, as China was one of Slovenia's largest economic partners outside the EU. "Personal views, even if given with the best of intentions, must take into account the economic reality," he said.

NLB management board expanded from three to six members

LJUBLJANA - The supervisory board of the NLB bank appointed Hedvika Usenik, Antonio Argir and Andrej Lasič to the management board to expand it from three to six members. Their five-year terms will start after approval from banking regulator, and they will continue to serve as assistants to the management board until then.

FURS head Simič new chief supervisor of SSH

LJUBLJANA - Ivan Simič, director general of Slovenia's Financial Administration (FURS), was appointed the chief of the supervisory board at Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), taking over on Friday, SSH said. At the same session today, the supervisory board dismissed Simič's predecessor at the helm of the supervisory board Karmen Dietner, who however remains on the board.

Hungarian fund reportedly eyeing Sava stake

LJUBLJANA - Diofa Asset Management, a Hungarian asset manager, is the most likely buyer of a 43% stake in Sava, Delo and POP TV reported on Wednesday. The stake is held by York Global Finance Offshore, which is reportedly willing to sell it for EUR 35 million. The state assets guardian meanwhile dismissed today speculations that a sale of the state stake was on the horizon. Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said in a response that it would be detrimental for the tourism sector if the state sold its stake in Sava in the state it was today.

Car maker Revoz cutting production further

NOVO MESTO - After switching from two shifts to one and a half in mid-November due to uncertainties in the car industry associated with the global semiconductor crisis, the Novo Mesto-based Revoz, Renault's Slovenian subsidiary, continues to shrink its production by switching to a single shift in April. Around 450 workers will be affected.

Government extends regulation of heating oil prices

LJUBLJANA - The government decided to extend the administered pricing of heating oil through the regulation on the pricing of petroleum products that was introduced last year, under which the distributors' margin has been limited to a maximum of six cents per litre of heating oil.

IMAD says productivity is rising, but progress is too slow

LJUBLJANA - The report by the government macroeconomic think thank IMAD on productivity in Slovenia, presented today, shows that while progress exists, it is not significant enough. Slovenia is lagging behind the top EU countries and is being caught up with by its rivals from Central and Eastern Europe, the think thank said.

Govt adopts negotiating position for pay talks with doctors

LJUBLJANA - The government adopted its negotiating position for pay talks with trade unions representing medical doctors, estimated at EUR 111.57 million annually. The negotiating position says that the top pay bracket for doctors could rise by six brackets to the 63rd under the public sector pay system.

Ex-CEO ordered to pay EUR 13 million in damages

NOVA GORICA - Former CEO of brewer Pivovarna Laško, Boško Šrot, and his family business Atka-Prima have been ordered to pay EUR 13 million in damages to fruit drinks producer Fructal over several deals dating back to 2008 and 2009, Primorske Novice reported. Šrot's lawyer Uroš Pogačnik told the paper that they would appeal the ruling.

Culture Ministry denies NGOs not awarded funds for political reasons

LJUBLJANA - The Culture Ministry has denied the allegations that the distribution of funds among independent culture producers for 2022-2025 was politically motivated, as it responded to criticism that certain producers have not received state funds as part of the four-year scheme worth EUR 14.4 million because they are critical of the government.

Slovenia's Expo pavilion hosted over 200 businesses in 2021

LJUBLJANA/DUBAI, UAE - The Slovenian Expo pavilion in Dubai has hosted 211 Slovenian companies up until the end of December and was visited by almost 400,000 people during that period, which is a fair number given the Covid-19 restrictions, said Matic Volk, Slovenia's Expo commissioner. "We are planning for a total of 350 companies to present themselves individually or through delegations at the Slovenian pavilion by the end of the Expo," he added.

Survey shows energy price rises putting companies at risk

LJUBLJANA - A survey by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) has shown that almost half of the 148 participating companies find the steep energy prices to be threatening to their long-term viability. The GZS has called for measures that would mitigate the situation, at least in the short term.

STA, 20 January 2022 - President Borut Pahor has formally informed the National Electoral Commission (DVK) that he will sign a presidential decree for a general election on 9 February, setting Sunday, 24 April, as the election date. This is in line with his earlier announcement that he would call this year's election at the earliest possible date.

Pahor believes that despite the Covid epidemic, the DVK has enough time to prepare and organise the election so that no shadow of doubt would be cast on the election outcome.

He recalled in Thursday's press statement that all but one deputy group agreed 24 April was the best possible date when consulting them in November, and he shared their view.

Before Pahor's November announcement of the election date, there were mounting calls for an early election due to the government's handling of the epidemic and its perceived undermining of the rule of law.

However, opposition SNS leader Zmago Jelinčič would still like the election to be held on the last possible date, 5 June, arguing the epidemic would subside by then.

Pahor said that while "this is a legitimate stance, it's within my powers and it's my responsibility to decide, sign the decree and call the election".

He said that over 40 local, regional or general elections had been held in Europe over the past two years, with the countries finding various ways to held them smoothly.

He is grateful to DVK members for today's constructive discussion, saying he did not doubt they would do their best for the election to be held so that "we'll all trust the outcome, and that despite the Covid situation, everyone will have a chance to exercise their right to vote".

DVK president Peter Golob said the commission members had assured Pahor they would do everything in their power for the election to be held legally and flawlessly.

They also told Pahor "the electoral legislation does not envisage all electoral procedures to be carried out in these (Covid] circumstances".

They thus suggested that the legislation be changed or that the government intervene with certain decisions, Golob was quoted as saying by the president's office.

In this view, Pahor was asked that as a political and moral authority, he urges all stakeholders to start tackling the challenges as soon as possible.

Earlier this week, the DVK discussed ways of making sure people can cast their ballots even if they have to isolate or quarantine, deciding to seek additional inputs from health authorities before proceeding with the debate.

Slovenia does have a system of mail-in voting and absentee voting, but the way these rules are designed, voters have to register well in advance, which may not be suitable in a time when thousands are sent into quarantine or isolation on a daily basis.

Under Slovenian law, a scheduled general election is called 135-75 days before four years have passed since the first sitting of the current parliament. The vote must be held between 60 and 90 days after the election is called. The last general election, a snap vote, was held on 3 June 2018.

STA, 20 January - Former CEO of brewer Pivovarna Laško, Boško Šrot, and his family business Atka-Prima have been ordered to pay EUR 13 million in damages to fruit drinks producer Fructal over several deals dating back to 2008 and 2009, Primorske Novice reports.

The trial against Šrot and Atka Prima at the District Court in Nova Gorica started in 2012 and concerns damage allegedly caused by loans between Fructal and Šrot's firm when Fructal was still a part of the Laško group.

The parties confirmed that the court had upheld Fructal's claim, according to Primorske novice. Šrot's lawyer Uroš Pogačnik told the paper that they would appeal the ruling.

Šrot is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence for abuse of office and this is just the latest case in which he has been ordered to pay damages to companies that Pivovarna Laško used to control when he was the CEO.

STA, 19 January 2022 - Members of an autonomous social and cultural community that had squatted the defunct Ljubljana bicycle factory Rog for years before being forcefully removed from the premises a year ago warned at a press conference on Wednesday of what they perceive as shrinking of the public space. They also reiterated that the eviction had been illegal.

Addressing the press to mark the first anniversary of the eviction, the squatters said that many of them had lost their home during the eviction, a place to create and work, while in a wider sense an important hub for promoting self-organisation, developing a critical, anti-authoritative thought and solidarity and support has been lost.

They believe Rog was "one of the last strongholds of the culture of living that is not, cannot and will not be a commodity".

The Rog premises were not empty when the demolition started and the Ljubljana municipality crashed into the building without a court order or a bailiff, they said, adding that the police had participated in this illegal activity, preventing residents from accessing their belongings and animals.

They claim that the municipality then tried to conceal the crime by misleading the media and launching a smear campaign against the "victims of the mayor's violence".

Many Rog squatters have lost everything in the ruins, including trust, and nothing has happened in the past year that would restore their trust in the city's policies.

They still do not know where to find their belongings, and finding a place to live and work that would at least to some extent compensate for what has been lost has become increasingly difficult.

"The city is becoming increasingly closed as a public space, controlled and cleansed of any 'anomalies', so many of us feel like we no longer belong here," they stressed.

A rally against social cleansing of the city has been announced for 6pm in the Tabor park to point to privatisation of public space in the city, and adjusting to tourism and other businesses while citizens, especially those who are not well-off are increasingly being pushed to the margins and the social bottom.

A group of culture workers joined the activities marking the anniversary of Rog eviction. They said the rally would be a "political campaign, which will also present art installations, performances and other ways of expression to show how public space can be filled and clearly say that the city belongs to the people not the interests of the capital".

The Ljubljana city authorities launched construction work on the site of the former Rog factory on 19 January 2021. Squatters were forcefully removed from the premises with the help of police. In April the public institute Rog Centre was founded.

The new Rog Centre is to house more than 500 artists and creative groups at more than 8,000 m2, according to the municipality. It will also feature 20 new production halls that will be available for short- or long-term use to different production groups.

The project has been estimated at EUR 27.6 million.

STA, 19 January 2022 - MP Violeta Tomić resigned on Wednesday from the opposition Left party. It is not yet clear whether she will join another party or deputy group.

Tomić, a second-term MP and one of the most outspoken members of the party, recently confirmed for the daily Večer that she will not contest the upcoming general election on the slate of the Left.

She said she had been offered the opportunity to run in Maribor, but turned it down because she has been living in Ljubljana for more than 40 years.

The party's executive committee told the STA it decided not to field Tomić in the Ljubljana-Center district, the Left's heartland, whereupon she declined an offer to run in another district.

"We reached this decision due to a partial loss of trust recently and some disagreements on substance," it said, adding that they "came to the mutual agreement that continued cooperation was no longer possible."

Tomić told the STA the Left was "far from the party we built at the beginning", noting that intergenerational differences regarding the party's conduct and thinking had gone "beyond the limit of my tolerance".

Tomić is the third MP to quit the Left in this parliament. MP Željko Cigler defected to the Social Democrats (SD) last week, following in the footsteps of MP Franc Trček, who joined the SD in March 2020.

The defections shrink the Left deputy group to six MPs.

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: 

New daily record in Slovenia as case count tops 12,000

LJUBLJANA - The number of new coronavirus cases spiked even further in Slovenia on Tuesday, with as many as 12,286 coronavirus infections recorded. 63.2% of PCR tests came back positive. The 7-day average of daily cases increased by 694 to 7,575 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population is up by 390 to 3,982. Hospitalisations were down by ten to 566 Covid-19 patients today, 151 of whom require intensive care, which is four fewer than yesterday. Eight people with Covid-19 died.

China labels Janša's statements on Taiwan as dangerous

BEIJING, China - The Chinese Foreign Ministry described PM Janez Janša's statements about Taiwan as "dangerous", and expressed strong opposition, after Janša said that Slovenia and Taiwan were discussing setting up mutual representation offices. "Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China, and the one-China principle is the universally recognised norm of international relations," ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. Janša's statements were also criticised by two opposition parties, the SD and LMŠ, while the Slovenian-Chinese Business Council said that economic relations should remain "non-politicised".

Logar: EU integration of Western Balkans opportunity for Slovenian businesses

LJUBLJANA - The EU integration of Western Balkan countries is important for the bloc's strategic position in the world. It is also an opportunity for Slovenian businesses, Foreign Minister Anže Logar told an event on the Balkans, noting that Slovenian companies had a chance to take part in the implementation projects for which the European Commission set aside EUR 9 billion. The US plan to bring some large investors to the Western Balkans is also an excellent opportunity, he said.

New exceptions to quarantine, PCR testing rules kick in

LJUBLJANA - New quarantine rules kicked in for schools and staff at health care and social care institutions, who are now exempt from quarantine if they had a high-risk contact, although they will have to get tested every day for seven consecutive days with a rapid antigen test and use a FFP2 face mask at work. The rules for PCR testing also changed as labs are being overwhelmed with huge numbers of tests. From now on, persons who have no Covid-19 symptoms do a rapid test or self-test, and only if it is positive are they referred to a PCR test.

Committee backs penal code changes designed to shorten proceedings

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Justice Committed endorsed in a 7:6 vote a bill sponsored by the National Party (SNS) that seeks to shorten or limit "unreasonably long pre-trial and criminal proceedings in white-collar crime cases" and could result in ongoing cases becoming statute-barred. The amendments were confirmed by coalition MPs despite criticism from the parliament's legal service, upper chamber of parliament and even the Justice Ministry.

Parliamentary committee votes down full fracking ban

LJUBLJANA - The Infrastructure Committee voted down in a 10:9 vote an opposition-sponsored bill to fully ban hydraulic fracturing. This was the fifth attempt at banning fracking in Slovenia to prevent British company Ascent Resources to extract hydrocarbons in the north-eastern Prekmurje region. Nataša Sukič of the Left said after the repeated rejection of the motion that the initiators would not give up as there was enough overall support for the motion.

MP Tomić quits the Left

LJUBLJANA - MP Violeta Tomić resigned from the opposition Left party. The party's executive committee said it decided not to field Tomić in the Ljubljana-Center district, the Left's heartland, whereupon she declined an offer to run in another district. It also quoted a "partial loss of trust". Tomić said the Left was "far from the party we built at the beginning," noting that intergenerational differences regarding the party's conduct and thinking had gone "beyond the limit of my tolerance".

Initiative presents 138 demands to political parties

LJUBLJANA - The Voice of the People, an initiative of over 1,800 individuals and 100 civil society organisations, presented a list of 138 demands that they wish political parties take a position on in the run-up to election day. They see this as a contribution to political discourse and voter turnout. Tea Jarc from the Mladi Plus trade union said it was not expected that all parties would sign up to all the demands, but they hope to endorse at least some and then work to implement them.

National Council rejects higher language standard for bilingual schools

LJUBLJANA - The National Council vetoed amendments to the act on special rights for minorities in education which would set a higher Italian language standard for staff working in Slovenian-Italian bilingual kindergartens and schools. The near-unanimous vote came after councillors said it was wrong for administrative staff to be subjected to the same strict requirements regarding Italian language skills as teachers.

FinMin state secretary appointed bad bank executive director

LJUBLJANA - The non-executive directors of the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) appointed Finance Ministry State Secretary Kristina Šteblaj an executive director of the bad bank. She will join Matej Pirc and Andrej Lazar on 1 February, and will serve as a BAMC executive director until the end of the year, BAMC said in a press release.

Judges' association urges action after repeated assault on judge

LJUBLJANA . The Slovenian Association of Judges noted that a judge at the Ljutomer Local Court had once again the victim of an assault, as a known perpetrator vandalised his car, which was parked in front of the courthouse. The organisation said it was shocked and outraged by the news and called on the authorities to take action, noting that it was the second attack on judge Gorazd Tivadar in a relatively short period of time that is related to his job. Justice Minister Marjan Dikaučič and the Supreme Court joined the call.

Firefighters displeased with govt firefighting bill

LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Professional Firefighters criticised the government-proposed changes to the fire service act, as it said it was not involved in the drafting of the changes. Some of the proposals that had already been coordinated with the relevant ministry have been dropped from the latest version, it added. The government rejected the claim saying the bill had been harmonised over five years of talks.

Handball coach out after Euro Champs fail

LJUBLJANA - Ljubomir Vranješ wasdismissed as the head coach of the national handball team after Slovenia failed to make it past the preliminary round at the European Handball Championship. The National Handball Association said it was just as unsatisfied with the Swedish coach's performance as Slovenian spectators were.

STA, 19 January 2022 - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China labelled on Wednesday Prime Minister Janez Janša's statements about Taiwan as "dangerous", and expressed strong opposition. The reaction comes after Janša said in Monday's interview with an Indian TV station that Slovenia and Taiwan were discussing setting up mutual representation offices.

"Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China, and the one-China principle is the universally recognised norm of international relations and the universal consensus of the international community," ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told the press in Beijing.

"It's also the political basis of China-Slovenia and China-Europe relations," he said as quoted by the Chinese English-language web portal CGTN.

In the interview he gave to the Indian public service broadcaster Doordarshan, Janša said that Slovenia and Taiwan are "working on exchanging representatives".

He explained the representatives would not be at the level of embassies, but at the "same level that many EU countries already have".

Janša also said Slovenia would support any sovereign decision of the Taiwanese people, including independence, should that be their free decision.

He was very critical of China over its response to the decision by Lithuania to open a diplomatic representation office in Taipei.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry meanwhile expressed "gratitude" for Janša's "staunch support" on Twitter on Tuesday as it retweeted Janša's interview.

The STA has contacted the Chinese Embassy in Ljubljana, which has not commented on the matter yet.

STA, 19 January 2022 - New quarantine rules kicked in today for schools and staff at health care and social care institutions, and some changes apply to the protocol of PCR testing as daily numbers of coronavirus infections continue to break records.

The healthcare, social care and education staff are from now on exempt from quarantine if they had a high-risk contact, although they will have to get tested every day for seven consecutive days with a rapid antigen test and use a FFP2 face mask at work.

Similarly, kindergarten kids, primary and secondary school children and university students will have to get tested with rapid tests for seven days if they were in contact with an infected person at school.

Under the new rules, an entire class will be sent into quarantine only if the share of infected children in it reaches 30% in a two-week period.

The rules for the PCR protocol also changed today as labs are being overwhelmed with huge numbers of tests.

From now on, persons who have no Covid-19 symptoms do a rapid test or self-test, and if it is positive, they also undergo a PCR test.

Persons with a respiratory infection are meanwhile divided into two groups.

The first group - persons suffering from chronic diseases, those with a compromised immune system, pregnant women and children - must call their GP to refer them a PCR test.

The second group are all the other persons with symptoms of a respiratory infection. They will have to do a rapid test or self-test. If it is positive, they will also have to take a PCR test.

If the rapid test result is negative, the person with respiratory infection symptoms must nevertheless self-isolate up to three days.

If the symptoms persist beyond three days, they must call their GP to get an appointment for a PCR test. If the test is positive, they have to isolate for ten days. If the symptoms disappear in three days, the person is not considered to be infected.

STA, 18 January 2022 - Out of 126 persons who were vaccinated for Covid-19 in the Šentjur Community Health Centre last Friday, 36 were mistakenly given a shot of saline solution that had been put in empty vials.

All 36 persons were contacted, with 34 responding immediately, and the remaining two persons, who had not been reachable at first, being informed about the mistake later.

All of them have subsequently received shots of the Pfizer vaccine, except one person, who will be vaccinated next week.

The Šentjur Community Health Centre said on its website on Tuesday that 30 of these persons had received proper shots on the same day, four persons on Saturday and one on Monday.

The centre said that the correctness of the procedure was checked periodically during vaccination by comparing the number of used vials with the number of vaccinated persons.

It was established during a regular check that 36 people were vaccinated only with saline from a total of six vials, and a correction was immediately made in the central register of patients for those who did not respond to the call on Friday.

The error was also reported to the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), the centre said, adding that apologies were sent to all affected persons with an explanation of what had happened.

"We are very grateful to all persons involved for accepting this with understanding and immediately responding to repeated vaccination," said the community health centre from the town east of Celje.

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: 

Janša says talks under way on "exchanging representatives" with Taiwan

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Janez Janša revealed in an interview with the Indian broadcaster Doordarshan that Slovenia and Taiwan are working on "exchanging representatives". The exchange of representatives would not take place at the level of embassies but the "same level that many EU countries already have." He also called China to account over its handling of the Covid outbreak saying that it was necessary to "make the Chinese accountable" for "not acting in good faith" when it comes to notifying the rest of the world about the threat of the novel coronavirus in a timely manner.

Absolute daily record of 8,681 coronavirus cases on Monday

LJUBLJANA - An absolute daily record of 8,681 new coronavirus cases was confirmed in Slovenia on Monday as the positivity rate reached almost 63%. The weekly increase in new cases was nearly 17%. Government data show hospitalisations remain stable, but the head of the Institute for Microbiology and Immunology, Miroslav Petrovec, said labs could no longer cope with this quantity of samples.

Only vulnerable groups to be automatically tested with PCR method

LJUBLJANA - Due to an overwhelming number of coronavirus infections, labs in Slovenia are swamped so the country is switching to a new regime of Covid testing. As of tomorrow, only vulnerable groups with Covid symptoms will automatically be tested with the PCR method, while the rest will need to use rapid tests or self-tests first. PCR testing as a payable service for people without symptoms may still be available only with private providers.

Minister promises coal regions not to be left on their own

LJUBLJANA - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec reiterated his promise that the state would help the coal-mining regions through transition as he responded to misgivings aired by those dependent on the industry over the strategy to exit coal in 2033. Vrtovec said 2033 when Slovenia was to exit coal to generate power was an ambitious but also very realistic goal. "The Šalek region won't be left on its own, the state will help a lot through legislation," he said.

Treasury official nominated for central bank vice-governor

LJUBLJANA - Marjan Divjak, who has served as director general of the Finance Ministry's treasury directorate since 2013, has been put forward by President Borut Pahor to succeed Primož Dolenc as one of four vice-governors of the Slovenian central bank. The president submitted the nomination to the National Assembly today after examining the bids and consulting deputy factions, his office said.

Slovenian MEPs welcome Metsola's election

STRASBOURG, France - Roberta Metsola's election as European Parliament president was hailed by Slovenian MEPs from the ranks of her European family, the EPP, but also others as Renew and S&D members expressed the expectation for her to represent the Parliament's common position on issues such as the right to abortion. The Maltese, who was the candidate of the European People's Party (EPP), mustered 458 votes to win the election in the first round.

Slovenia's request for new recovery funds likely in spring

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenia is expected to submit a request to get further EU recovery funds in the spring, Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj said. It is not possible to talk about the amount of the new funds, he said, as it is not yet clear how many or which objectives will be achieved by the time the request is submitted.

Agriculture Minister Podgoršek to run on NSi slate in election

LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek announced he would run in the general election on the slate of the coalition New Slovenia (NSi), saying that the party provided political stability. NSi president Matej Tonin said the NSi was open to experts and people who want to implement its platform. Podgoršek had already cooperated with the NSi in the past, serving as a municipal councillor in Vodice, and participating in the party's campaign for the 2018 general election.

Left against holding tax referendum along with election

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left opposes the idea floated by PM Janez Janša to hold a referendum on amendments to the income tax act along with the general election in April and is considering withdrawing its petition for such a referendum. "We reject the initiative for a referendum on a single issue, that is the income tax, to obscure the weight of the future we will decide in this election," said Left leader Luka Mesec.

Electoral Commission seeks input on pandemic voting

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The National Electoral Commission discussed ways of making sure people can cast their ballots in an election even if they have to isolate or quarantine due to coronavirus. It plans to seek additional inputs from health authorities before proceeding with the debate. A meeting will be organised next week, National Electoral Commission director Dušan Vučko told the STA.

Committee rejects proposal to further raise minimum wage

LJUBLJANA - The Labour Committee rejected a proposal for an increase in minimum wage beyond the 4.9% rise set by the labour minister. The opposition Social Democrats (SD) and Left, which had requested the sessions, respectively, called for the higher increase, arguing that the 4.9% spike was by far insufficient in light of rising living costs, but were unsuccessful in their efforts.

Orthopaedist gets three years for accepting bribe

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana District Court has sentenced orthopaedic surgeon Gregor Kavčič of the Novo Mesto hospital to three years in prison, media report today. A three-member panel of judges agreed with the prosecution that he had accepted bribes from medical supplier Emporio Medical in exchange for having the company supply knee replacement products by Biomet to the Novo Mesto hospital. Kavčič has announced an appeal.

Separate university quota introduced for Slovenians from abroad

LJUBLJANA - The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport has introduced a separate quota for the enrolment of Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship in universities in Slovenia. The separate quota has been advocated by Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch, who has welcomed the change. The rules have so far stipulated a joint quota for Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship and for all other non-EU nationals.

GZS urges easing of quarantine rules in business

LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) called on the government to loosen quarantine rules along the lines of changes that will be put in place in some critical infrastructure sectors from Wednesday. This would mitigate the situation, as companies are facing problems with quarantine-related staff shortages. "We expect the same for all sectors of the economy," GZS director Aleš Cantarutti said.

36 people in Šentjur mistakenly given saline instead of Covid shot

ŠENTJUR - Out of 126 persons who were vaccinated for Covid-19 in the Šentjur Community Health Centre last Friday, 36 were mistakenly given a shot of saline solution that had been put in empty vials. All 36 persons were contacted, with 34 responding immediately, and the remaining two persons, who had not been reachable at first, being informed about the mistake later. All of them have subsequently received shots of the Pfizer vaccine, except one person, who will be vaccinated next week.

Over 40 athletes to represent Slovenia in Beijing

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will be fielding a total of 41 athletes at the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, a group featuring a number of established Olympians as well as some potential dark horses. Based on the season so far, the women's and men's ski jumping teams are seen as having the best chance of winning an Olympic medal. The athletes had been picked out of the 53 candidates by the Slovenian Ski Association, and the decision was cleared Slovenian Olympic Committee.