Latest News from Slovenia
IMF commends Slovenia’s response to Covid, says consolidation must follow
Washington – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended Slovenia’s “swift, substantial, and well-coordinated policy responses” to the pandemic following consultations with the authorities earlier in May, as it stressed that once the recovery is entrenched, the focus should shift toward consolidation.
Janša counting on close cooperation with EU Parliament during presidency
Brussels/Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša highlighted the EU’s resilience and post-pandemic recovery as key topics of Slovenia’s upcoming EU presidency at today’s virtual meeting with the European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents. Slovenia will cooperate closely with the Parliament, Janša said.
Janša dismisses impeachment motion, says optimistic times ahead
Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša told the National Assembly on Wednesday as it debated an impeachment motion against him that Slovenia was not in for a disaster as claimed by the opposition, but very optimistic times. He believes that Slovenia could be back to the pre-crisis level in record time and faster than the EU on average.
Govt could annul procedure to pick delegated prosecutors
Ljubljana/Brdo pri Kranju – The government could vote on a proposal to annul the procedure to appoint Slovenia’s two European delegated prosecutors on Thursday and then publish a new call for applications, media have reported. PM Janez Janša said the government would check the appointment procedure Thursday to decide whether to proceed with it or repeat it.
Vaccine supply expected to improve as of next week
Ljubljana – After Slovenia’s vaccination centres reported they had been receiving fewer Covid-19 vaccines this week than they have ordered, the national vaccination logistics coordinator said on Wednesday that more doses would be available in June, and that a major shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine was expected this Friday.
Covid-19: 7-day average drops below 300
Ljubljana – Slovenia reported 388 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as the 7-day average of daily coronavirus cases dropped below 300, under the threshold to move to the green tier, fresh government data show. Another five Covid-19 patients died.
Fortenova publishes takeover bid for remaining Mercator shares
Ljubljana – Fortenova, a group based in Croatia’s Zagreb, published on Wednesday a takeover bid for the remaining 724,764 shares of Slovenian retail group Mercator it does not already own. It is offering to pay EUR 36 per share in cash.
The bid is open for 29 days, that is until 23 June, unless it is extended, the group said in the Slovenian newspaper Delo on Wednesday.
European Shooting Championship: Romania wins bronze in 10m air rifle
Romania won the bronze medals in women's 10m air rifle on Tuesday at the European Shooting Championship in Osijek, Croatia. Laura-Georgeta Ilie (626.7 points), Roxana Sidi (626 points) and Eliza Alexandra Molnar (618.8 points) reached the final of eight following Monday's contests, totaling 1,871.5 points.
Slovenia, Serbia agree to recognise vaccination certificates
Ljubljana – Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selaković agreed on a mutual recognition of vaccination certificates as they held talks on Tuesday that focused on bilateral relations and Slovenia’s forthcoming presidency of the Council of the EU.
SDS defends resolution as opposition condemns talk about civil war
Ljubljana – The ruling Democrats (SDS) have defended a draft resolution they plan to adopt at the upcoming congress and which warns about the possibility of civil war and leftist extremism, as the opposition stepped up criticism of a document they claim constitutes scaremongering.
Covid-19: 7-day average drops to 309, hospitalisations below 300
Ljubljana – Slovenia’s rolling average of daily coronavirus cases has dropped to 309, just above the threshold to move to the green tier, as Covid-19 hospitalisations have fallen under 300, fresh government data show.
Out of 3,558 PCR tests performed yesterday, 326 new cases were confirmed for a positivity rate of 9.2%. A total of 44,113 people were screened with rapid antigen tests.
Record workload for Information Commissioner in 2020
Ljubljana – The Office of the Information Commissioner received a record number of applications, complaints and queries last year, according to the annual report submitted to the National Assembly.
A total of 565 complaints were received, and the number of requests for opinion rose by almost a third due to high demand for information about spending on public health measures.
Vaccines in short supply to meet vaccination centres’ demand
Ljubljana/Maribor – Slovenia’s vaccination centres are receiving fewer anti-Covid vaccines this week than they have ordered because there are not enough at the moment, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) has told the STA. This is because supplies by produces other than Pfizer are still rather unreliable.
European journalism organisations on virtual mission to Slovenia
Ljubljana – The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), an initiative funded by the European Commission that monitors violations of press and media freedom, will be on a virtual mission to Slovenia over the next two weeks to examine alleged deterioration in media freedom in the country. The findings are to be released in July.
Slovenian women shooters win silver at European championships
Osijek – Slovenian shooters Urška Kuharič, Živa Dvoršak and Klavdija Jerovšek won silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event at the 2021 European Shooting Championships in Osijek, Croatia on Tuesday. The Slovenian team had to concede a 2:16 defeat against Russia in the final.