Branko Meh

Ljubljana – The Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) endorsed their election manifesto and platform on Saturday, setting out solutions which they say should restore a normality in Slovenia and pave the way for a development breakthrough. Marjan Šarec, the former PM, said the next government would have its work cut out fixing the consequences of the incumbent one.

Ljubljana – Employees and users of services in nearly all sectors will have to comply with the vaccinated-recovered-tested rule from Wednesday, a decision that government officials say is designed to offer the best possible protection while keeping the economy and society open.

Ljubljana – A chamber representing small businesses has called on the government to scrap the requirement of frequent testing of staff who have not been vaccinated or have not recovered from Covid-19, saying in any event the cost of testing should be covered by the state. Meanwhile, an exec of the chamber representing large companies favours the PCT rule.

Ljubljana – The government has passed an emergency law to help the embattled tourism sector. The package is worth EUR 243.5 million, with new tourist vouchers accounting for the bulk of new spending. Businesses think the aid falls short.

Ljubljana – The Constitutional Court has stayed the implementation of provisions of the seventh economic stimulus law under which employers may unilaterally and without grounds terminate the employment contract when a worker meets old-age retirement criteria. The constitutional review was initiated by trade unions.

Ljubljana – Mastercard has launched an initiative with which it aims to encourage as many small businesses in Slovenia as possible to make a transition to digital payment methods. A total of one million euro will be available to selected participants in the next three years.

Ljubljana – Many stores in Slovenia opened on Saturday following several months of being closed for in-person shopping, after the government last night gave the go-ahead for the nation-wide reopening of a large segment of services businesses. There is some concern about testing since staff in many types of shops will have to be tested for coronavirus weekly.

Podlehnik – Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek announced additional relaxations of Covid restrictions in business on the sidelines of his visit to Podlehnik in the north-east on Friday. Stores and repair shops up to 400 square metres will reopen next week, provided that staff get tested for coronavirus weekly, he said.

Ljubljana – The parliamentary Labour Committee is discussing the eighth economic stimulus bill, worth around EUR 320 million. Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said that with the bill, the government wanted to find the middle ground with social partners by taking into account their proposals as much as possible.

Ljubljana – A new political movement called Povežimo Slovenijo (Unite Slovenia) has emerged. The initiative is wants to bring together a number of smaller, non-parliamentary parties, groups, local initiatives and individuals of various values and political stances to form a joint slate for the next general elections.