STA, 7 December - One should wait for a more detailed analysis of the situation in Slovenia regarding the prosecution of crimes against the EU's financial interests, the bloc's chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi has told the STA. However, given the statistics so far, she has zero doubts that the country's European delegated prosecutors (EDP) will be "very busy".

Slovenia's two delegated prosecutors Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir assumed their offices on 1 December, hence the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has been launched in the country after a months-long delay in the appointment procedure.

It is too early to give any assessment of the current situation, but the EU's chief prosecutor told the STA on Monday that she had no doubts the office will launch investigations in Slovenia.

As concrete investigations get under way, it will become clear how the police and other law enforcement authorities work and how ready they are to cooperate with the EPPO.

The EU's recovery fund will bring more money, "more flexibility, less rules", meaning higher risks to see more crimes against the EU's budget, she said, noting that the level of detection of such crimes should be stepped up. Slovenia is not alone when it comes to having a detection system that should be improved.

Slovenia's State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa told Monday's joint press conference with Kovesi that there are 20-30 investigations currently open in the country. The cases will now be transferred to the EPPO office in Ljubljana.

On top of these investigations, delegated prosecutors Frank Eler and Oštir will also help out their colleagues in other EPPO member states in cross-border investigations involving Slovenia. "They will be very busy," Kovesi said.

Commenting on the delay in appointing the Slovenian delegated prosecutors, the EPPO head said: "It was a huge problem because we couldn't investigate cases from Slovenia." This also affected the cross-border investigations, she added.

"This was a big problem in the entire architecture put in place by the EU to protect the European money because it was a gap in the EPPO zone."

Kovesi reiterated what she already said at the online press conference on the occasion of her visit to Slovenia - that the appointment of Frank Eler and Oštir is final.

"According to the EPPO regulation, no member state can dismiss European delegated prosecutors because they would like to appoint different ones. They are appointed for five years. This is the end of the story."

Commenting on the government-sponsored changes to the public prosecution legislation that would enable the government to recall delegated prosecutors and give it a greater say in their appointment procedure, Kovesi insisted that "no national legislation can contradict the EPPO regulation".

"The EPPO regulation and EU legislation have priority over any national law; this is the rule." If there is a provision that is in breach of the regulation, the EPPO informs the European Commission of this. They already did this in relation to some provisions in other member states, she said.

The terms of delegated prosecutors are renewable and the EPPO college can appoint them for another five years, she added.

The regulation does not set down how the EPPO members should nominate their EDP candidates, and the methods vary according to the participating countries, but all their justice ministers were urged to make sure the procedures are transparent and based on an open call, including Slovenia's former Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič.

So far, Kovesi has not had an official meeting with the country's current Justice Minister Marjan Dikaučič.

Asked about reasons for not meeting him today, she said: "I did not ask for a meeting, I came here to talk with the prosecutors about the problems we have in the EPPO and challenges. I don't have anything to discuss with the minister of justice at this moment. Maybe in the future we will have something to discuss."

She also highlighted the points made at the news conference about the importance of judicial independence, noting that any attempts against judiciary are an attempt against the rule of law.

If there are attempts to undermine the independence of prosecutors, they should stand up, she said, adding that "they are not alone" as the EPPO is also an independent body. "If you are not independent, you cannot be efficient," she said.

An earlier version of this story used the incorrect figure of 13.5% of GDP - the correct figure is 7.5%

STA, 6 December 2021 - Some estimates suggest that Slovenia could be losing up to EUR 3.5 billion a year due to corruption, Robert Šumi, the head of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (Komisija za preprečevanje korupcije - KPK), said ahead of International Anti-Corruption Day. If these funds were allocated to help the poor, nobody in Slovenia would live in poverty, he illustrated.

If corruption were successfully prevented, everyone could enjoy a higher quality of life, have better access to medical and social services, quality education and jobs, and the country would develop faster at all levels, Šumi told the press on Monday.

The estimated EUR 3.5 billion annually lost to corruption in Slovenia amounts to 7.5% of the country's GDP.

If there were no corruption, each individual could annually receive an additional EUR 1,660 from the state, or every pensioner could receive an additional EUR 460 a month.

More than 20,000 non-profit apartments could be built or the state could subsidise warm meals for primary and secondary students in the next 24 years, Šumi said, stressing that this was why it was important for every individual to be active in preventing corruption.

He said the commission's main goal was to prevent corruption, while many people wrongly believe it should also prosecute perpetrators and punish them. The country has law enforcement for that, he explained.

"Our job is to create the conditions where corruption will no longer pay, where the danger of being reported will be bigger that the gain from corruption," he said.

However, without the support of a wide range of stakeholders, the commission cannot hope for a breakthrough.

Šumi underlined the importance of integrity of top state officials and their closest associates, as well as all public sector employees.

In the face of the upcoming triple election next year, he urged everyone who wishes to be active in politics to start implementing the existing rules, which Šumi believes are exemplary.

The commission also called for the transposing of the EU directive protecting whistleblowers to Slovenian legislation as soon as possible to help create an environment where reporting corruption and other irregularities would be easier and safer.

This year's International Anti-Corruption Day under the auspices of the UN is being held under the motto Your Right, Your Role, Say No to Corruption.

STA, 6 December 2021 - Paying a visit to Ljubljana, European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi said on Monday that no one could dismiss European delegated prosecutors without the consent of the EU's chief prosecutor. She drew attention to pressure on Slovenian prosecutors, telling them: "Stay vigilant, speak up, you are not alone." 

Slovenia's two delegated prosecutors Tanja Frank Eler and Matej Oštir have been appointed for fully-fledged five-year terms, starting with 1 December, she highlighted at an online news conference.

She said that for the first six months since the European Public Prosecutor's Office's (EPPO) launch, "Slovenia was a member of the EPPO zone only on paper". "This delay did not only affect possible criminal investigations in Slovenia, but also all the cross-border investigations the EPPO initiated in other participating member states involving Slovenia."

The EPPO head warned about pressure on Slovenia's judiciary, stressing the importance of an independent judicial branch. "Only an independent judiciary can enforce the law equally for everybody," she said.

"I was very impressed by the courage and determination of Slovenian judges and prosecutors, including our new colleagues, to safeguard judicial independence." She also urged her colleagues in Slovenia to "stay vigilant, speak up", telling them they were not alone in these efforts.

"I was not born yesterday. I have experienced all sorts of attacks, intimidation and tricks to reduce the independence of judiciary," Kovesi said, noting that judicial independence can be chipped away through small steps such as funding cuts and legislative changes.

EPPO prosecutors are "independent from any national authorities, but they are in the same boat as national prosecutors". Whatever affects the latter also has an impact on the former, she added, referring to such changes or cuts.

The Slovenian government has recently proposed changes to public prosecution legislation that would enable it to recall delegated prosecutors and give it a greater say in their appointment procedure.

Kovesi said that any changes in the national legislation that affect the EPPO would be monitored by the office and the European Commission would be notified if the changes go against the EPPO regulations. A procedure may then be launched against the country in question.

She underlined, however, that EPPO prosecutors are appointed by the EPPO college, and without the consent of the EU's chief prosecutor no one can dismiss them.

The national authorities have started to transfer to the EPPO all the on-going investigations falling under its remit. So far, some 2,500 criminal reports have been processed and more than 500 criminal investigations have been launched for an estimated damage of some EUR 5 billion to the EU budget, she told the press.

According to Slovenia's State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa, there are 20-30 investigations currently open in the country.

Kovesi is happy that the EPPO office in Ljubljana has been finally launched, noting that the office is not a foreign institution. Delegated prosecutors have the same powers as their national counterparts and they bring their cases to trial in front of national courts, she added.

Šketa also welcomed the fact that the EPPO is now operational in Slovenia. "I'm convinced that the work of this new European institution will have extremely positive effects in the long term. State borders should not be a bigger obstacle for prosecution authorities than for offenders," he told the press conference.

Responding to the government's public prosecution bill, State Prosecutorial Council head Tamara Gregorčič again stressed the importance of prosecutors' independence.

The council strongly opposes the proposed changes which would interfere with the constitutionally guaranteed independence of public prosecutors and allow pressure to be exerted on their appointments or work, she reiterated.

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: 

STA, 6 December 2021 - The Constitutional Court has found the government's regulation imposing Covid-19 recovery or vaccination mandate (PC) on state administration employees at workplace in contravention with the constitution for not being aligned with the relevant law. The court already stayed the regulation in late September.

STA, 6 December 2021 - A 31-year-old national of Bangladesh has been found dead in the Dragonja valley in the border area between Slovenia and Croatia with initial information indicating hypothermia as the cause of death, the Koper Police Department has reported.

The police release said there had been no indications of foul play involved, but a post-mortem had been ordered and the Embassy of Bangladesh has been notified.

The Koper-based newspaper Primorske Novice reports online that the migrant's body had been found lying in the grass on the Slovenian side of the border by a local on Saturday morning. Next to the body, lying by the road linking the Dragonja and Sečovlje border crossings, was the dead man's ID.

The report said the man likely died when crossing the border a day or two before his body was found.

STA, 5 December  - Fraport Slovenija's new managing director Babett Stapel, who took over at the helm of the company operating Ljubljana's international airport in October, is optimistic about the airline industry and airport's future. She sees the industry's recovery, providing connectivity, and increasing staff numbers as key challenges post-pandemic. 

The pandemic has hit the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport quite hard. It had 339,000 passengers in the first ten months, up from 282,000 in the same period 2020. The figure is expected to rise to 407,000 by the end of the year, which is 40% more than in 2020 but still 75% below 2019.

Growth has been partly fuelled by Slovenia's EU presidency, with Stapel telling the STA in an interview it was a nice surprise that despite the pandemic, a number of events were held in-person. The presidency has thus brought some 20,000 passengers.

The airport plans some 900,000 passengers in 2022, which is still 44% fewer than the 1.6 million it set itself as the basis, so Stapel expects full recovery only in 2025.

Although the new reality makes forecasts very hard to make, she remains optimistic for 2022, wishing the EU would unify measures and rules as soon as possible to make travel easier, which would benefit the entire air travel industry.

Cargo transport at Ljubljana airport has meanwhile increased by 12% this year compared to 2019 and by 21% compared to 2020. Since growth is expected to continue at one-dight rates until 2030, Fraport Slovenija is planning new investments in cargo infrastructure.

Stapel says that apart from the EUR 23 million invested in the new passenger terminal, which opened on 1 July, the company has invested another EUR 39.5 million in the infrastructure, equipment and IT since it started managing the airport in 2015.

She says it was strict cost cutting and strong ties with business partners to have enabled Fraport Slovenija to relatively successfully weather the coronacrisis.

Also thanks to EUR 5 million in state aid in compensation for the airport's closure for passenger transport in 2020, the company expects a positive EBITDA, while the bottom line will still be negative this year.

Further recovery of passenger air transport and ensuing connectivity is what she sees as the company's a key challenge for the future. She says close cooperation between the airport, air carriers, tourist industry and the state is of utmost importance.

In this respect, she expects the state subsidy scheme for airlines to ensure Slovenia's connectivity to be extended to this winter season and the next summer season.

As passenger numbers are expected to further grow, Fraport is also planning new hirings after having to lay off some staff last year. Around a fifth of those laid off will be hired, Stapel says, while new staff will also be sought, which she expects to be quite hard given the current situation in the labour market.

STA, 5 December 2021 - Six Italian military doctors and nurses arrived in Slovenia on Sunday to help the medical teams of the Slovenian Armed Force helping at Covid-19 hospitals. Another nine could not arrive due to the bad weather but will join them on Monday.

The Italians were welcomed at the barracks in the city of Kranj by Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin and Health Minister Janez Poklukar this afternoon.

That up to 30 Italian military staff would help Slovenia cope with the tense situation at hospitals was agreed by Tonin and his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Guerini in Rome last month.

Today, two doctors and four male nurses, members of the Italian navy and air forces arrived, to be joined tomorrow by the nine police medical staff (carabinieri) whose flight was cancelled due to bad weather.

The 15 Italian medical professionals, of whom five doctors, are to help the Slovenian military teams at UKC Ljubljana, the country's largest hospital.

Mixed teams are expected to feature one Italian doctor, two Italian nurses, one Slovenian nurse and two Slovenian military paramedics.

The military teams at another thee Slovenian hospitals, in Celje, Novo Mesto and Maribor, will remain unchanged.

In Celje and Novo Mesto, five members of the Slovenian Armed Forces are helping out, ten in Maribor and 15 at UKC Ljubljana.

One of them, nurse Alen Oderlap said they were doing their best to helo the civilian teams and patients. "There is a lot of work and every helping hand is welcome," he said.

Italian doctors Claudia Dedalo and Sandro Pricone said they already had some experience from Covid wards, while they see their Slovenian campaign as valuable experience and as an exchange of experience that could be valuable in other crises.

Minister Tonin is confident that the Italian team's know-how and experience will contribute to the mixed military teams to be effective and meet the expectations.

Minister Poklukar said the situation at Slovenian hospitals was still very difficult for medical staff, while response to any major natural disaster or accident would be impaired, which is why the help from Italy was so valuable.

Under the current agreement with Italy, the Italian medical staff will help in Slovenia until the end of the year.

Whether they continue into next year depends on the situation at hospitals and the epidemiological situation in Slovenia and neighbouring countries, Poklukar said.

Italian Ambassador to Slovenia Carlo Campanile said: "When Italy needed medical support, Slovenia was ready to help, and we have not forgotten it."

STA, 5 December 2021 - Slovenia's integration in international trade measured by the indicator of trade integration of goods was among the highest in the EU, placing the country third. Measured by the indicator of trade integration of services, Slovenia was roughly in the middle of EU member states, the Slovenian Statistics Office said this week.

Slovenia placed among the top eight in exports and nine in imports in terms of the share of exports and imports of goods and services in the GDP last year.

The countries with higher shares were Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland, Slovakia, Belgium, Hungary and the Netherlands.

The country's share of exports of goods and services amounted to 77.9% of GDP and the share of imports of goods and services to 68.7% of GDP.

Thus, as a result of the pandemic, the country's international trade and GDP were down as the values of exports and imports were 7.2% and 8.8% lower than in 2019.

As regards the share of direct investment, Slovenia continued to be at the bottom of EU member states.

FDI at the end of last year reached EUR 16.6 billion, up 2.4% compared to the end of 2019, amounting to 35.3% of the GDP value, which is 1.9% more than in 2019.

Slovenia's direct investment abroad reached EUR 7 billion, up 1.7%, amounting to 14.8% of the GDP value, which is 0.7% more than in 2019.

OECD data shows that as regards the share of inward FDI stock in GDP and the share of outward FDI stock in GDP, Slovenia continued to position itself among the last six EU member states, the statistics office added.

More on these statistics

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: 

Part of Italian military medical team arrives in Slovenia

KRANJ - Six Italian military doctors and nurses arrived in Slovenia to help the medical teams of the Slovenian Armed Force helping at Covid-19 hospitals. Another nine could not arrive due to the bad weather but will join them on Monday. The 15 Italian medical professionals, of whom five doctors, are to help at UKC Ljubljana, the country's largest hospital. The Italians were welcomed at the barracks in Kranj by Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin and Health Minister Janez Poklukar. Under the current agreement, the Italian medical staff will help in Slovenia until the end of the year.

1,116 new infections recorded on Saturday, as epidemic gradually eases

LJUBLJANA - 1,116 new coronavirus infections were recorded in Slovenia on Saturday, down 24% from a week ago. The 7-day average of new cases dropped by 51 to 1,800 in a day and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population by 53 to 1,390. There are now 1,034 Covid-19 patients in hospitals, of whom 271 in intensive care, up 5 and 12 in a day, respectively. An estimated 29,311 people are said to be infected in the country. Thirteen patients died on Saturday, up 5 from Friday.