Morning addresses for Slovenia: Friday, October 22, 2021
Check the date at the top of the page and you’ll find all the stories about “morning headlines”. here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.
This summary provides STA:
Slovenia joins the EU Rapid Reaction Force initiative
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia and four other EU countries have prepared a proposal to transform existing EU battle groups into rapid reaction forces at the initiative of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, where the EU had to rely on the US, the German press reports. The concept proposed by Slovenia, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and Portugal is to create effective forces that will be able to respond to crises in the short term. In addition to special forces and air traffic, they would also include space and cyber capabilities. The Ministry of Defense confirmed to STA that Slovenia had participated in the preparation of a proposal in the field of crisis management.
Pahor Mattarelli presents the highest Slovenian award
NOVA GORICA / GORIZIJA, Italy – President Borut Pahor presented his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarelli with the Order of Merit, the highest Slovenian decoration, at a ceremony on the European Square connecting Nova Gorica and Gorizia, a town on each side of the Slovenian sea. Italian border. Pahor and Mattarella were also there, welcoming their title of European Capital of Culture 2025. Pahor first received his Italian colleague with full military honors in Nova Gorica, and they also visited the new footbridge over the border river Soča and the exhibition in Gorizia at 140. anniversary of the Trieste newspaper Il Piccolo. In Gorizia, Mattarel Pahor was officially received with an honor guard.
The increase in the number of Covid cases from week to week continues
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia recorded 1,845 new cases of coronavirus infection on Wednesday, which continues to increase from week to week. The test positivity rate was 27.8%. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 population increased by 42 to 706. Data on hospitals remain broadly the same. There were 421 Covid-19 patients in the hospital this morning, 120 of them in intensive care. Seven Covid-19 patients died, official figures show.
With the meeting of defense ministers, Slovenia’s goals regarding NATO capabilities have changed
BRUSSELS, Belgium – NATO defense ministers, including Slovenia’s Matej Tonin, have confirmed the alliance’s capability targets, with the most demanding capability targets for Slovenia from now on including only one battalion battle group instead of two. “After one year of coordination, the goals of Slovenia’s capabilities have been confirmed and bring two key news,” the Slovenian Ministry of Defense noted, adding that the country was in charge of establishing a medium-sized reconnaissance team in addition to the battalion battle group. battalion.
The Minister hopes that energy vouchers will not be needed
RAVNE NA KOROŠKEM – Minister of the Economy Zdravko Počivalšek confirmed that the government is considering the introduction of energy vouchers to help the most vulnerable groups in the face of rising prices, but expressed hope that such measures would not be necessary. The Minister commented on possible measures during a visit to the steel company SIJ Metal Ravne, after the government introduced a temporary restriction on margins for heating oil yesterday. Počivalšek pointed out that the issue of rising energy prices is complex and therefore not easy to solve. “We can’t influence gas prices because we rely entirely on imports.”
The National Assembly passed a new law on energy supply
LJUBLJANA – On Wednesday, the National Assembly passed the Energy Supply Act, a law that defines relations between energy companies and end customers, introduces the right to conclude contracts with dynamic prices, provides a legal basis for energy communities and defines the concept. energy poverty. The Energy Supply Act is one of six laws into which the government has divided the Energy Act.
Novartis will fill the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Ljubljana
LJUBLJANA – Novartis has signed an original contract for the use of its production plant in Ljubljana for the filling of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19. Novartis’ Technical Operations location in Ljubljana will fill at least 24 million doses in its sterile production facilities in 2022, according to the Swiss pharmaceutical company. Novartis intends to take the active bulk mRNA component from BioNTech and fill it into vials under sterile conditions for shipment back to BioNTech for distribution.
United Media takes over the publisher Adria Media
LJUBLJANA – United Media, the media division of United Group, reported to the Agency for the Protection of Competition (AVK) on the takeover of the Slovenian publishing company Adria Media. Adria Media publishes magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle and Avtomagazin and the Motropolitan.si portal. United Media already has several companies in Slovenia – the telecommunications company Telemach, the online retailer Shoppster, the sports TV channels Sport Klub and the news portal N1, which was launched in June last year.
Petrol and OMV will respect the regulation of heating oil prices
LJUBLJANA – Energy companies Petrol and OMV Slovenija, the leading providers of petroleum products in Slovenia, have announced that they will comply with the new government decree on the reintroduction of regulated heating oil prices, which will enter into force on 9 November. Petrol and OMV Slovenia will thus have to limit the distributors’ margin to a maximum of six cents per liter of heating oil. Currently, the price is expected to be 15 cents per liter. Minister of the Economy Zdravko Počivalšek emphasized today that the price of heating oil has risen by 69 percent since 2016, among other things by 64 percent due to rising prices on the world market.
Slovenian and Russian agriculture ministers sign cooperation plan
LJUBLJANA – Slovenian Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek and Russian Minister Dmitry Patrushev discussed possible forms of cooperation in the field of agriculture and rural development and signed an action plan to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. The documents highlight cooperation in the fields of beekeeping, animal health, organic farming, family farming, young rural entrepreneurs and digitalisation in agriculture.
Energy company Gen-I promises not to raise prices until 2022
LJUBLJANA – Despite the situation on world markets, the largest Slovenian electricity supplier Gen-I will not increase the prices of electricity and natural gas for households, at least until the summer of 2022, said Gen-I CEO Robert Golob on Thursday. He also unveiled the company’s plans to set up a new “solar energy community” that connects small rooftop solar power plants with consumers across the country to make more households self-sufficient.
SIJ Metal Ravne launched a new ESR plant worth 6.8 million euros
RAVNE IN CARINTHIA – SIJ Metal Ravne, the second largest subsidiary of the Russian-owned steel group SIJ, has completed an investment in a new slag smelter worth 6.8 million euros. The investment officially began today and will help the company respond to increased demand from the world’s most intensive industries. Minister of the Economy Počivalšek said that this was a “bold step for the SIJ Group, which will contribute to further growth”, and emphasized that the group was one of the largest Slovenian exporters and one of the most important employers.
The author Svetlana Makarovič received the Ježek Award
LJUBLJANA – Svetlana Makarovič, a leading Slovenian poet and writer for children, is the winner of this year’s Ježek Award, an award for creative and witty radio and television works. Makarovič was described as the most representative contemporary author of fairy tales, who also made her mark in theater and chanson. Makarovič’s work is distinguished not only by its literary intertextuality, but also by its versatility, the jury assessed.
Pianist Alexander Gadjiev takes second place at the International Chopin Piano Competition
WARSAW, Poland – Alexander Gadjiev, representing Slovenia and Italy, won second place at the 18th Fryderyk Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, which he shared with Japanese Kyohei Sorito. Gadjiev also received the Krystian Zimmerman Award for Best Performance of a Chopin Sonata. This time Slovenia was represented in the final for the first time.
Labor costs per employee increased by 5% last year.
LJUBLJANA – The average monthly costs per person in paid employment in Slovenia increased by five percent last year to 2,498.73 euros, according to data from the Statistical Office. The average monthly labor costs were highest in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector, namely EUR 3,903.58 per employee, and in the financial and insurance activities EUR 3,683.87. According to Eurostat, labor costs in Slovenia were below the EU average.
A complaint has been filed against a man, a company, for a gas explosion in Celje
CELJE – Celje police officers have filed a criminal complaint against the 64-year-old and the company he worked for for a natural gas explosion that injured three people in January and caused significant damage to the main bus terminal in Celje. The cause of the explosion was an uncontrolled leakage of natural gas, a fire broke out on the ground floor of the terminal in a room with an electrical switchboard. The suspect worked in a gas supply company and was in charge of inspecting the gas network.