11 Jan 2022, 04:28 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Tuesday, 11 January 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:

New coronavirus cases more than double on Sunday to 2,515

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 2,515 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, an increase of 150% on the week before and the highest Sunday figure since the start of the pandemic. About 48% of all PCR tests were positive, the highest case positivity rate in the current wave of the pandemic. The 14-day case notification rate per 100,000 people was up by 85 to 1,719. The number of Covid patients in hospital rose by 35 to 572, whereas ICU cases dropped by four to 157.

New push for vaccination as Omicron prevails

LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Janez Poklukar announced a new vaccination campaign for later this week as the country braces for a surge in the Omicron-driven wave of infections and potential disruption. In a bid to get as many people as possible vaccinated with first, second and booster jabs, vaccination centres will be again open from 8am to 8pm between Thursday and Saturday with no prior appointments required. "Omicron has practically supplanted Delta in a good fortnight," Poklukar said.

Digital markets agreement among presidency top achievements

LJUBLJANA - Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek considers a political agreement on the digital markets act as the crowning achievement of the Slovenian EU presidency in areas under his purview. The legislation is a milestone in creating a more open, competitive and fair digital market in the EU, he said at a news conference. The proposal still needs to be endorsed by the European Parliament, and the agreement, reached last November, is a starting point for talks between EU member states and the European Parliament.

Improving working conditions seen as major achievement of EU presidency

LJUBLJANA - Contribution to improving working conditions in the EU was highlighted as Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj presented the achievements of Slovenia's EU presidency in his department. He noted that a final agreement had been reached on the protection of workers against carcinogens, and major steps taken on two directives on wages. "The Slovenian presidency put people at the centre when it comes to employment, social policy and equal opportunities," he said.

Inquiry urges resignations of interior minister, both state secretaries

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary commission investigating suspicion of political interference in the work of police adopted an interim report and a resolution proposing the National Assembly urge Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and both of his state secretaries, Franc Kangler and Božo Predalič, to resign, as it met behind closed doors. Over the past six months, the commission has interviewed 20 witnesses. Its chair Rudi Medved from the opposition LMŠ told the press after today's session the interviews and the documents the commission obtained had confirmed that in the Slovenian police, things are done under the dictate of politics.

Šarec denies previous govt was slow in responding to epidemic

LJUBLJANA - Former PM Marjan Šarec, now an opposition MP, denied the allegations about his government being slow to react to Covid-19 developments in early 2020, as he appeared before a coalition-led parliamentary inquiry looking into the Marjan šarec government's handling of the first stages of the coronavirus epidemic. Asked whether his government had declared epidemic too late , he said it had acted in line with the little information on the coronavirus available at the time. The epidemic was declared on 12 March 2020, a day after a new government was sworn in.

Slovenian ECA candidate assures MEPs of political independence

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Jorg Kristijan Petrovič, Slovenia's candidate for the European Court of Auditors (ECA), assured MEPs of his political independence and impartiality as his hearing before the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control focused on why his bid was turned down on a Slovenian parliamentary committee in October. Petrovič, who has served as first deputy president of the Slovenian Court of Audit since 2013, was nominated by the government for the post in October even though the parliamentary EU Affairs Committee voted against the proposal.

Mayors considering own party, not ruling out general election bid

ŠENTJUR - 57 of Slovenia's 212 mayors gathered in Šentjur, east of Celje, to form a Club of Independent Mayors upon the initiative of Kočevje Mayor Vladimir Prebilič. The idea is to form an alliance to make a mark in this year's super election year in Slovenia, but the club is yet to decide how to take part in each of the three elections. Hrastnik Mayor Marko Funkl said their ambition was to become the largest such group in Slovenia and a major factor in bringing together the three existing associations of local communities. They also intend to push to scrap the ban on mayors to serve as MPs.

NGO pushing for repeal of several recent laws

LJUBLJANA - The 8 March Institute, one of the NGOs that initiated a referendum on changes to the waters act last year, presented a proposal to "do away with harmful government measures" in education, police, environment protection and transport. The NGO will collect signatures in support of a bill repealing eleven pieces of legislation. Signatures of support will be collected in a six-week campaign, and the goal is to collect at least 60,000 signatures, said the NGO's head Nika Kovač.

Slovenian PEN centre expresses support to Assange

LJUBLJANA - The board of the Slovenian PEN centre unanimously elected Julian Assange an honorary member of the centre on 3 January, saying today that this step had been taken in the hope that its backing, alongside international support, will help Assange on his judicial journey. PEN Slovenia praised Assange as "the most courageous journalist and publicist of the last two decades, for which he is paying an extremely high personal and professional price".

Voter approval rating for govt at 14-month high in Delo poll

LJUBLJANA - The voter approval rating for the government has improved to the highest level since November 2020 in the latest Delo poll, which also shows a third of respondents undecided or unhappy about the given choice of parliamentary parties. Among the parties that won at least 1% in the previous election, the ruling Democrats (SDS) continue to be the preferred choice (18.4%, followed by the opposition Social Democrats (10.7%), the Left (7.6%), the Marjan Šarec List (6.1%), the Alenka Bratušek Party (5.2%) and the junior coalition New Slovenia (4.7%).

Slovenia one of safest countries in terms of murder rate

LJUBLJANA - A total of 32 murders or attempted murders were recorded in Slovenia last year, one of the lowest numbers in recent years. Statistics and surveys show that Slovenia remains one of the safest countries in Europe and globally in terms of murder. In the 1990s, criminal investigators dealt with up to 100 murders and attempted murders a year. After 2000, the number dropped to 60 to 80 cases, while it has been at around 40 cases per year since 2007.

Izola voters reject sweeping spatial plan

IZOLA - Voters in the coastal municipality of Izola rejected a spatial plan that would have opened up large swathes of the coastal municipality to development, including on prime agricultural land. Sunday's referendum vote was 72% against and 28% in favour. The key points of the plan were construction of housing and public space on the site of two former factories, expansion of the local hospital, and, most controversially, the development of about seven hectares of agricultural land just outside the city limits.

Slovenian researcher gets EUR 2.2 million ERC grant

LJUBLJANA - The European Research Council (ERC) has granted EUR 2.2 million in funding to a project in which Anna Dragoš from the Biotechnical Faculty at the University of Ljubljana will research the virus-bacteria interaction. The project PHAGECONTROL - Development of Host Manipulation by Bacteriophage will study how viruses can change the behaviour of bacteria, the molecular mechanisms responsible for these changes, and whether viruses change the behaviour of bacteria because they are cooperating or because they are manipulators.

Industrial output up in November

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's industrial output was up by 2.8% in November compared to October, by 10.1% compared to November 2020, and by 8.7% compared to the pre-pandemic November 2019. Output was up in mining and quarrying, and in manufacturing, the Statistics Office said.

Cross-Country World Cup events in Planica cancelled

LJUBLJANA - The organising committee for the FIS Cross-Country World Cup events scheduled to take place in the Planica Nordic Centre in Slovenia on 22 and 23 January cancelled the competition, citing the steep rise in coronavirus infections in the country as the reason. The venue in north-western Slovenia was scheduled to host the men's and women's classical sprint on 22 January and the men's 30km and women's 15km skiathlon on 23 January.

Pogačar to compete in France and Spain this year, eyeing Giro in 2023

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar, currently the best in the world, confirmed he will be defending his two consecutive Tour de France titles this year and compete in the Vuelta a Espana, and could perhaps appear in another Grand Tour race, the Giro d'Italia, next year. Speaking at a videoconference, the 23-year-old his UAE Team Emirates had filled up his competitive calendar to the "maximum". The first test for him this year will be the UAE Tour on 20-26 February.

10 Jan 2022, 18:37 PM

Cross-Country World Cup in Planica Cancelled Due to Covid, 22, 23 January

STA, 10 January 2022 - The organising committee for the FIS Cross-Country World Cup events scheduled to take place in the Planica Nordic Centre in Slovenia on 22 and 23 January has cancelled the competition, citing the steep rise in coronavirus infections in the country as the reason.

The venue in north-western Slovenia was scheduled to host the men's and women's classical sprint on 22 January and the men's 30km and women's 15km skiathlon on 23 January.

The Planica organising committee said on Monday that the decision to cancel the events had been made in cooperation with all partners as the number of infections with Covid-19 continues to rise steeply.

The decision comes as the snow conditions in the Planica Centre are ideal and the venue and accompanying infrastructure is undergoing final preparations.

With the dates for the events being close to the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, some of the foreign teams said that their appearance in Planica was questionable or decided to register members of their B teams for the events.

The organising committee noted the "critical epidemiological situation in Slovenia and Europe" and the "sharp rise in Covid-19 infections and projections of an additional increase in the coming days".

It added that this made it even more difficult to provide a safe environment for the competitors and staff and that, according to experts, it was not possible to provide sufficient protection at such a large event.

"The epidemiological situation is bad and we are trying to maintain the functioning of critical infrastructure, so we advise against events that pose additional risk," said epidemiologist Irena Grmek Košnik, the Covid-19 coordinator in the committee.

10 Jan 2022, 14:38 PM

Murder Statistics Show Slovenia Is One of the Safest Countries Globally

STA, 10 January 2022 - A total of 32 murders or attempted murders were recorded in Slovenia last year, one of the lowest numbers in recent years. Statistics and surveys show that Slovenia remains one of the safest countries in Europe and globally in terms of murder.

Damjan Miklič of the murder and sexual offences department of the General Police Administration has told the STA that this was also shown by a global survey of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime from 2019.

American and African countries are at the top of this list in terms of the number of murders, followed by Asian countries, while Europe accounted for less than 5%.

"On this list, Slovenia ranks 8th in the world in terms of the number of murders per 100,000 residents, which puts us among the safest countries in Europe," Miklič said, noting that the number of murders in Slovenia had been steadily declining.

In the 1990s, criminal investigators dealt with up to 100 murders and attempted murders a year. After 2000 the number dropped to 60 to 80 cases, and since 2007 it has been at around 40 cases per year.

There were some departures from this average in 2015, 2018 and 2020, when there were 45 or more such cases, while in 2016 there were only 26 such cases.

Although the general belief is that the vast majority of the bloodiest crimes occur within the family, Miklič notes that such cases represent 30-35% of all cases. Standing out were 2018 and 2021, when the share of such cases was 40%.

About one-fifth of such cases occur between spouses, former spouses or cohabitating partners, he said, adding that at least 40% of murders were committed out of revenge or hatred.

Around 15% of murders in Slovenia are committed for personal gain, about 15% are committed without any real motive, possibly due to mental illness, 10% due to jealousy, and about the same share as a consequence of other criminal acts.

A vast majority of severe criminal acts against life and limb has been successfully investigated, with slightly more than one percent of such cases in the last three decades remaining unresolved.

Nine murders or manslaughters committed after 2000 remain unresolved, while there are 14 such cases that happened earlier. The oldest unresolved case is murder with a firearm in the Ljubljana borough of Kodeljevo from December 1991.

10 Jan 2022, 11:49 AM

Voters in Izola Strongly Reject Land Development Plan

STA, 10 January - Voters in Izola have rejected a spatial plan that would have opened up large swathes of the coastal municipality to development, including on prime agricultural land. Sunday's referendum vote was 72% against and 28% in favour on a turnout of 31.6%, well above the 20% quorum.

The municipal council adopted the spatial plan in July as a foundation for the municipality's long-term spatial development.

Its key points were construction of housing and public space on the site of two former factories, expansion of the local hospital, and flood protection measures.

The most controversial part of the plan was the development of about seven hectares of agricultural land just outside the city limits. In exchange, farmers would get land further away from developed areas, plots that are currently overgrowing.

The referendum was initiated by a civil initiative called Movement for Izola, which argued the spatial plan was too heavy on development and did not consider the wishes of the local farmers.

A rival civil initiative called Together for the Benefit of Izola campaigned in favour. Their main argument was that there would be new rental housing for young families and more parking for locals.

10 Jan 2022, 11:43 AM

Changes to COVID Quarantine, Validity of Tests, Public Transport Start Today (10 Jan)

STA, 10 January 2022 - Several changes to the regulation on measures aimed at preventing the spread of Covid entered into force on Monday, cutting the duration of quarantine and validity of tests, and reducing the number of passengers in public transport in line with guidelines issued by the National Institute of Public Health.

From today, quarantine after a high risk contact or when entering the country without a Covid pass is cut from ten to seven days.

Under the new rules, to avoid quarantine when entering Slovenia, passengers who are vaccinated or recovered will need to present a negative PCR test no older than 48 hours or a rapid test no older than 24 hours.

The quarantine ordered at the border can be cut short with a negative PCR tests at least five days after arrival.

Buses will be allowed to accept only as many passengers as the vehicle has been registered for with the seats right of the driver and behind the driver empty.

Passengers will be allowed to stand in city buses if they stand at least one metre apart, except for persons from the same household. The standing spots must be clearly marked.

Passengers will only be allowed to enter at the front door, while other bus doors will only be used to exit.

Trains will be allowed to accept only as many passengers as they have seats, while the same rules as for buses are in place for standing room.

Special transport vehicles with up to eight seats will accept only six passengers, with the seat right of the driver free.

10 Jan 2022, 04:44 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Monday, 10 January 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:

Daily coronavirus cases spike week-on-week

LJUBLJANA - The number of new daily coronavirus cases in Slovenia on Saturday was four times higher than a week ago, at 3,349, data from the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ) show. The test positivity rate exceeded 45%. According to data provided by the government, 537 Covid-19 patients are currently in hospital, one fewer than the day before, including 161 in intensive care, five more than yesterday. Five patients have died.

Kučan warns of signs of Fascism revival

DRAŽGOŠE - A ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the WWII Battle of Dražgoše was held today, with former President Milan Kučan as the keynote speaker. He stressed the importance of resistance and warned of increasingly many signs of revival of Fascism. Despite the epidemiological situation, a large number of people gathered. Representatives of several political parties also attended along with parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič and President Borut Pahor, who laid a wreath to the nine Partisans and 41 locals who were killed in the Dražgoše battle. Yesterday, Pahor also laid a wreath at a memorial on the Pohorje Plateau dedicated to a Partisan unit slain by Nazi forces in 1943, the site of a major annual ceremony that was cancelled this year due to coronavirus.

Golden Fox Cup: Slovakia'S Vlhova wins slalom, Bucik fifth

KRANJSKA GORA - Petra Vlhova from Slovakia won the women's Alpine Ski World Cup slalom event in Kranjska Gora. Swiss Wendy Holdener, who was in the lead after the first run, was second, 0.23 seconds behind the winner. Anna Swenn Larsson from Sweden was third (+1.06 seconds). Slovenia's Ana Bucik was fifth, in what is her best result in slalom so far

Poll shows SDS followed by Robert Golob List

LJUBLJANA - A public opinion poll conducted by pollster Parsifal for commercial broadcaster Planet TV shows that the ruling Democrats (SDS) enjoy the support of 31.9% of decided voters, up 1.7 percentage point from last month. The Robert Golob List comes second on 12.6% support. Despite losing more than 7 percentage points, the SD ranks third on 12%. The opposition Left comes in fourth, with its support dropping from 9.2% to 9.1%. The coalition New Slovenia (NSi) follows with 8.8%, a significant rise from 4.8% last month.

Kočevje-based Intersocks posted record results last year despite epidemic

KOČEVJE - The Kočevje-based manufacturer of sport socks and footwear distributor Intersocks posted its best results in 2021 despite the epidemic. CEO Marjan Kočila is optimistic about the future despite uncertainty in business. The revenue of the company, employing 170 people in Kočevje, topped EUR 50 million last year, and profit is estimated at EUR 4 million, which exceeds the record year of 2019, when revenue exceeded EUR 45 million and profit reached EUR 2.4 million.

Covid caused work from home to increase more than 100-fold

LJUBLJANA - Covid-19 has had a major impact on work processes, as 217,428 people were registered to work from home in Slovenia last year, which is a hundred times more than in the pre-Covid year of 2019. With the new Omicron variant, this trend is expected to continue, while major legislative changes are not yet in sight.

09 Jan 2022, 16:09 PM

Golden Fox Cup: Vlhova Wins Slalom (Video)

STA, 9 January STA - Petra Vlhova from Slovakia won the women's Alpine Ski World Cup slalom event in Kranjska Gora on Sunday. Swiss Wendy Holdener, who was in the lead after the first run, was second, 0.23 seconds behind the winner. Anna Swenn Larsson from Sweden was third (+1.06 seconds). Slovenia's Ana Bucik was fifth, in what is her best result in slalom so far.

Vlhova was faster in the second run, beating her main rival Holdener, who was 0.08 seconds ahead of her in the first run.

Swenn Larsson made it to the podium after finishing seventh in the first run.

Mikaela Shiffrin from the US, who tops the overall Word Cup rankings, hit a pole and finished the race, after being third in the first run.

The only Slovenian representative in the finals, Bucik gained three spots in the second run, finishing 1.65 seconds behind the winner, recording her second best result in World Cup so far and her best in slalom.

So far, her best result in slalom was sixth place in Jasna, Slovakia, in March 2021.

"I'm really happy. The first run was quite good ... And in the second run I managed to add exactly what I wanted. I'm really happy; now all that's missing in this season for me is a podium result," the 28-year-old Bucik said.

Her only podium finish in World Cup was a third place in Alpine skiing in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, in January 2018.

Being in top form is also important for the Winter Olympics in China next month. "Definitely. I have been stressing since the start of the season I'm taking it one race at a time. The Olympic Games will be the peak and I hope I get there prepared."

Vlhova is the overall winner of the Golden Fox Cup, Sara Hector from Sweden, who won the giant slalom race on Saturday is second, and Holdener is third. Bucik, who was 12th in giant slalom yesterday, is fourth overall.

Vlhova was also the overall winner of the Golden Fox Cup two years ago, when she also won in slalom but was second in giant slalom.

The next slalom event for women will be held in Schladming, Austria, on Tuesday.

* Results of the Kranjska Gora slalom:

1 Petra Vlhova (SVK) 1:44.29 51.57 52.72

2 Wendy Holdener (SUI) 1:44.52 +0.23 51.49 53.03

3 Anna Swenn Larsson (SWE) 1:45.35 +1.06 52.40 52.95

4 Lenna Dürr (GER) 1:45.58 +1.29 52.02 53.56

5 Ana Bucik (SLO) 1:45.94 +1.65 52.87 53.07

6 Ali Nullmeyer (CAN) 1:46.44 +2.15 52.90 53.54

7 Katharina Truppe (AUT) 1:46.75 +2.46 52.90 53.85

8 Katharina Gallhuber (AUT) 1:46.79 +2.50 53.16 53.63

9 Erin Mielzynski (Can) 1:46.92 +2.63 53.41 53.51

10 Sara Hector (SWE) 1:46.96 +2.67 53.01 53.95

* Overall World Cup standings (19/37):

1 Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) 866 points

2 Petra Vlhova (SVK) 831

3 Sofia Goggia (ITA) 657

4 Sara Hector (SWE) 568

5 Wendy Holdener (SUI) 408

6 Federica Brignone (ITA) 407

7 Michelle Gisin (SUI) 385

8 Ramona Siebenhofer (AUT) 353

9 Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) 343

10 Ragnhild Mowinckel (NOR) 336

...

19 Andreja Slokar (SLO) 233

20 Ana Bucik (SLO) 228

34 Meta Hrovat (SLO) 116

51 Tina Robnik (SLO) 73

53 Ilka Štuhec (SLO) 71

66 Neja Dvornik (SLO) 46

86 Maruša Ferk Saioni (SLO) 22

...

- slalom (6/9):

1 Petra Vlhova (SVK) 580

2 Mikaela Shiffrin (US) 340

3 Wendy Holdener (SUI) 321

4 Katharina Liensberger (AUT) 262

5 Lenna Düerr (GER) 252

6 Michele Gisin (SUI) 187

7 Anna Swenn Larsson (SWE) 182

8 Ana Bucik (SLO) 169

9 Sara Hector (ŠWE) 161

10 Katharina Truppe (AUT) 157

...

14 Andreja Slokar (SLO) 99

28 Neja Dvornik (SLO) 40

35 Meta Hrovat (SLO) 21

09 Jan 2022, 13:45 PM

Only 18 Hours of Sunshine in Ljubljana Last December, Despite Record Temperatures Around Slovenia (Feature)

STA, 8 January 2022 - 2021 made for a quite dry, sunny and warm year in Slovenia but the month of December in Ljubljana was one of the dullest on record with only 18 hours of sunshine. New Year's Day hit a new temperature high.

Over the past 50 years Slovenia warmed up by just over 2 degrees Celsius and it now has about 200 more hours of sunshine a year than half a century ago.

Last year was the 17th warmest in 60 years with temperatures roughly 0.7 degrees above the average for 1981-2010, Gregor Vertačnik, a climatologist at the Environment Agency (ARSO), has told the STA.

2021 was also the 12th driest and the 7th sunniest over the past 60 years with about 11% more sunshine than in an average year.

Ljubljana residents may well disagree with that as the months of November and December in particular saw the Slovenian capital shrouded in fog or low cloud.

The city had 48 hours of sunshine in November, which compares to the average of 66 hours for that month. December was even worse with only 18 hours of sunshine, compared to the average of 55 hours in 1981-2010.

Otherwise, February and June were one of the warmest on record in the country with temperatures exceeding the long-term average by more than 3 degrees Celsius.

By contrast, the month of May was 2 degrees below the long-term average. Temperatures were also below average in April and October.

Some of the freakiest weather events include a record high of 25 Celsius measured in the western Vipava Valley in February and 20.6 degrees below zero in the Bloke area in south central Slovenia in April.

Several metrological stations recorded all-time highs for the period around New Year's Day with temperatures above 15 degrees.

The record high temperature for 1 January was recorded in Godnje near Sežana in Kras where the mercury hit 19.1 Celsius this 1 January, said Vertačnik, noting the record for January is just over 21 degrees.

Only a week later, temperatures dropped to below -20 on Saturday morning. Data from Neurje.si and ARSO shows the lows falling to -5.6 Celsius in Ljubljana, -3.4 at the seaside airport of Portorož, -21.4 in Bloke and the cold spot called Mrzla Komna measured 36.8 Celsius below zero.

One peculiar feature of 2021 was the record amount of snow in spring. The thickest blanket at Kredarica, Slovenia's highest mountain weather station, measured 510 centimetres on 26 May 2021.

09 Jan 2022, 04:30 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Sunday, 9 January 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:

Daily Covid case count up to 4,469

LJUBLJANA - A total of 4,469 people tested positive for coronavirus in Slovenia on Friday, the highest daily figure in the latest wave of the epidemic. The latest cases, a 169% increase on the week before, pushed the 14-day incidence per 100,000 people to 1,508, up 160 from the day before and the 7-day average of new daily cases rose by 401 to 3,068. Six more Covid-19 patients died, while the total number of those hospitalised fell to 538, with 156 in intensive care, official data shows.

Protest figurehead sued over policing costs

LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Dnevnik and news portal N1 reported that Jaša Jenull, one of the figureheads of Friday's bicycle protests, faces a lawsuit in which the Interior Ministry alleges his responsibility for the costs of policing a 2020 anti-government rally amounting to EUR 2,255. Jenull described the lawsuit as a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful protest, denying he organised the protests, which he said were spontaneous.

Sweden's Hector wins Kranjska Gora giant slalom

KRANJSKA GORA - Sara Hector of Sweden won the women's Alpine Ski World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora ahead of France's Tessa Worley in second (+0.96s) and Italian Marta Bassino in third (+1.32). The best Slovenian was Tina Robnik in 8th (+2.06). The 58th Golden Fox Cup, which has been moved from its original Pohorje venue due to a lack of snow for the third year running, will wrap up tomorrow with a slalom. For the second year the meet is being held without spectators due to Covid-19 protocols.

December in Ljubljana one of dreariest on record

LJUBLJANA - 2021 made for a quite dry, sunny and warm year in Slovenia but the month of December in Ljubljana was one of the dullest on record with only 18 hours of sunshine. Last year was the 17th warmest in 60 years with temperatures roughly 0.7 degrees above the average for 1981-2010. It was also the 12th driest and the 7th sunniest with about 11% more sunshine than in an average year, Gregor Vertačnik, a climatologist at the Environment Agency, told the STA.

Austrian firm acquires almost a third of Melamin

KOČEVJE - Panta Rhei Beratungs- und Beteiligungs, an Austrian firm in majority Slovenian ownership, has recently acquired just over 30% of Melamin to become the biggest single owner of the Kočevje-based chemical company. A filing with the Ljubljana Stock Exchange shows Panta Rhei recently bought a 30.62% stake in Melamin from the Bank Assets Management Company, which gives it 33.29% of voting rights. Speaking for the firm, Martin Wodak said they did not plan to increase the stake bid for a takeover.

Over 60 cruise ships expected at Koper this year

KOPER - Some 65 cruise ships are expected to bring 80,000 passengers to the Koper port this year. The season is to open on 27 March with the arrival of the Viking Sky. Compared to pre-Covid 2019, a major decline has been recorded as ships cannot fill all the beds due to coronavirus restrictions. Given the current bookings, 10% fewer cruise ships and 30% fewer passengers are to arrive at the port compared to 2019, the operator Luka Koper told the STA.

Crocheters making coat of arms in Guinness record bid

SLOVENJ GRADEC - A group of crochet enthusiasts launched an attempt to get their craft immortalised in the Guinness World Records bible of achievements and curiosities. They are trying to set a record of making 1,000 crochet items, including crocheted coats of arms of Slovenia's 212 municipalities, the image of the traditional potica cake and portraits of poets, to honour the 30th anniversary of the country's independence.

08 Jan 2022, 13:35 PM

Last Week in Slovenia: 31 Dec to 6 Jan, 2022

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

FRIDAY, 31 December
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia/BRUSSELS, Belgium - PM Janez Janša assessed Slovenia's six-month stint at the helm of the EU as a success, saying it had been both a great challenge and tremendous opportunity. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel congratulated the country on its EU presidency job.
LJUBNO OB SAVINJI - Women ski jumpers gathered at Slovenia's Ljubno ob Savinji for two World Cup events as part of the newly introduced New Year's series modelled on a similar one for men. On the occasion, it was announced that the new tournament will be expanded to be co-hosted by Austria's Villach in the 2022/23 season.

SATURDAY, 1 January
LJUBLJANA - Damijan Dolinar, a banker with almost 20 years of experience, took over as chairman at SID Bank, Slovenia's development and export bank.
LJUBLJANA - The first newborn in Slovenia in the new year was a baby girl named Lila, who was delivered a minute after midnight at the Ljubljana maternity ward.

SUNDAY, 2 January
KRANJ - Zoran Stevanović, head of the non-parliamentary Resni.ca party, was cleared of suspicion of incitement to resistance for having urged people to go to protests against coronavirus measures in Ljubljana last year. The party said the prosecution dismissed in late December a criminal complaint police filed against Stevanović, who was detained during the 5 October protest which turned violent.

MONDAY, 3 January
        LJUBLJANA - Health Minister Janez Poklukar took stock of the achievements of the Slovenian EU presidency in his brief, identifying the political agreement on the new European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) as one of the biggest achievements.
        LJUBLJANA - The state budget recorded revenue of EUR 1.1 billion in December 2021, the highest since general government revenue started to be recorded, show preliminary estimates by the Finance Ministry. Expenditure amounted to EUR 1.67 billion, with deficit standing at EUR 572 million.
        LJUBLJANA - Four prominent long-serving employees of RTV Slovenija drew up a bill in which they propose transforming the public broadcaster into a fully independent public broadcasting service overseen by a board of trustees.
        LJUBLJANA - Vanja Lombar, ex-director of fuel retailer OMV Slovenija, took over as general manager of Geoplin, Slovenia's No.1 natural gas trader.

TUESDAY, 4 January
        LJUBLJANA - The National Medical Ethics Committee joined a growing chorus of medical associations calling for Slovenia to consider introducing mandatory vaccination for vulnerable and high-risk groups of population, and, given new strains of the virus, possibly a general vaccination mandate.
        LJUBLJANA - The PSS, the bigger of Slovenia's two police trade unions, announced its plan to take Police Commissioner Anton Olaj to court over alleged violations of trade union rights and the right to participation in management. It accuses Olaj of attempts to censor internal documents of the trade union, which he denies.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia exported EUR 3.7 billion worth of goods last November, while imports reached EUR 4.2 billion, up 24.1% and 25.6%, respectively, in a year, the Statistics Office said. In the first eleven months of 2021, exports rose by 19.3% to EUR 36.3 billion and imports 30% to EUR 38.1 billion.
        LJUBLJANA - A total of 63,675 new cars and vans were registered in Slovenia in 2021, a 3% rise over 2020, when car sales plummeted by 27% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, show the figures released by the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce (TZS).
        LJUBLJANA - Kočevje Mayor Vladimir Prebilič launched an initiative to form a club of independent mayors in a bid to increase their influence on local government policy. He sent the initiative to all mayors who were elected as independents at the last local elections in 2018, which is 64% of the country's 212 mayors.
        BRNIK - The Slovenian capital Ljubljana will have no air route to Brussels as Brussels Airlines is suspending flights at the end of Slovenia's six-month EU presidency between 10 January and 28 February, and Wizz Air suspends the route between 7 January and 11 March, according to web portal Ex-Yu Aviation.
        KRANJ - Plays written by Ivan Cankar, considered to be Slovenia's greatest playwright, have been translated into English for the first time to allow a broad population to discover a literary genius from the turn of the 20th century. The project Cankar Goes West is a collaboration of the Prešeren Theatre of Kranj and the Crane Creations Theatre Company from Canada.

WEDNESDAY, 5 January
        LJUBLJANA - Doctor Mateja Logar, the government's chief Covid-19 adviser, told Planet TV that once 230-250 Covid patients are in intensive care, her group would start talking about a potential lockdown. The number of ICU patients this week was around 160. Health Minister Janez Poklukar urged those in charge of critical infrastructure, companies and the rest of society to organise work and other processes so as to minimise contacts to prevent certain activities from grounding to a halt due to Omicron infections and quarantines. He announced the quarantine to be cut from 10 to 7 days on epidemiologists' guidance, while Education Minister Simona Kustec said that no general lockdown for schools was planned.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia issued EUR 1.25 billion in four-year bonds and half a billion euro worth of 40-year bonds. The yield on the 4-year bond is negative at -0.241%, which the Finance Ministry said would bring EUR 12.3 million to the budget. The yield on the 40-year bond is 1.183%.
        LJUBLJANA - Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj decided the statutory minimum wage in Slovenia will increase by 4.9% to EUR 1,074 gross as of 2022, matching last year's inflation. Trade unions deemed the rise too low and employers said it was too high.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia had 65,969 unemployed persons in December, down nearly 25% year-on-year and the lowest since before the 2008 economic crisis, the Employment Service said.
        LJUBLJANA - Education Minister Simona Kustec and Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti presented the key achievements of the Slovenian EU presidency in their fields; Kustec praised decisions regarding the European Research Area and the European model of sport as milestones, and Simoniti emphasised support for the European audiovisual sector and New European Bauhaus.
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor said he would not attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing next month due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

THURSDAY, 6 January
        LJUBLJANA - The latest daily number of coronavirus infections reached 3,829, an increase of 124% on the week ago, while hospital data remained broadly stable. The National Institute of Public Health estimated 25,752 people are actively infected, a daily increase of more than 2,700.
        LJUBLJANA - Defence Ministry State Secretary Uroš Lampret said the government saw the first draft of the Strategic Compass, a new concept of EU security and defence, as the largest achievement of the Slovenian EU presidency in defence policy alongside efforts to bolster cooperation between the EU and NATO.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Institute of Public Health issued new quarantine guidance to allow the healthcare system cope with staff shortages amid the Omicron-driven spread of infections. Given shortages, the personnel who have been in contact with an infected person are not required to self-isolate if they do not show symptoms.
        LJUBLJANA - The government added new exceptions to the quarantine rules after a high-risk contact with a person infected with Covid-19 to persons who have gotten a booster shot, who got Covid fewer than 45 days ago or who have recovered from Covid and have been fully vaccinated. Quarantine has meanwhile been shortened from ten to seven days as of next Monday.
        LJUBLJANA - GEN, the energy group which also owns Slovenia's half of the Krško Nuclear Plant (NEK), is estimated to have generated a record net profit of EUR 80 million last year, up around 25% on 2020, with turnover up 36% to EUR 3 billion.
        LJUBLJANA - The Justice Ministry prepared at the end of last year a working draft of a courts bill to abolish local courts and establish two district courts in Ljubljana by 2024. The proposal also envisages a specialised criminal court and a different method of appointing the president of the Supreme Court.
        LJUBLJANA - The government adopted a strategy for digital transformation of the economy for the 2021-2030 period, which is one of the reform measures under the recovery and resilience plan. The basic goal is to be among the top three countries in the use of advanced digital technologies according to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) of the European Commission.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian scientist and engineer Marija Strojnik has been elected president of the Scientific Research Honor Society, Sigma Xi. She will start her three-year term on 1 July, says the website of Sigma Xi.
        LJUBLJANA - UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin was declared the newspaper Delo's Person of the Year for 2021 for "suppressing in a swift action the plan of the richest clubs to establish a super-league and thus destroy the European model of sport".

News

Editorial

Gourmet

Photo of the Month

Photo galleries and videos

Real Estate in Slovenia