Morning addresses for Slovenia: Wednesday, December 1, 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’s GDP grew by 5% in the third quarter
LJUBLJANA – In the third quarter of 2021, Slovenia’s GDP grew at an annual rate of 5%. As in the previous quarter, it was largely contributed by household consumption, by 9.3%, and gross investment by 9.6%, the statistics office said. On the other hand, the foreign trade balance had a negative effect on growth, as imports increased more than exports, by 19.9% and 10.6%, respectively.
Annual inflation accelerated to 4.6% in November.
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia’s annual inflation rate rose to 4.6% in November from 3% a month earlier, the highest since the end of 2008, due to higher prices of petroleum products, which contributed 1.8 percentage points to the overall rise in consumer prices. . At the monthly level, prices rose by 0.7%, according to the latest data from the Statistical Office. The only groups where prices fell were telecommunications and health services.
Janša and Schallenberg talk about acceleration hours as Omicron expands
LJUBLJANA – Prime Minister Janez Janša talked to his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg via video conference about the Covid-19 pandemic, including a new strain of the coronavirus Omicron, and pointed out the importance of the recovery vaccine. They assessed the epidemiological situation and exchanged information on measures to control Covid-19 and their effects. The Austrian Chancellor wrote on Twitter that he and Janša had agreed on the importance of vaccination with a booster dose for the Omicoron coronavirus strain. They also discussed developments on the Belarusian-Polish border and the Western Balkans.
It has been confirmed that the death of the young woman is linked to the Janssen vaccine
LJUBLJANA – The commission appointed to investigate the death of a 20-year-old after the Janssen vaccine in September published a unanimous assessment that the death was “certainly related” to vaccination. The investigation confirmed that the vaccination caused thrombotic thrombocytopenia in the woman. When the vaccine was discontinued, the government made it available only at the special request of a person with written consent, which Health Minister Janez Poklukar said would become a new, permanent rule.
Nearly 2,500 new cases have been confirmed as infections continue to recede
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia recorded 2,482 new cases of new coronavirus infection on Monday, as the number of infections continued to decline, the daily number of newly confirmed infections decreased by more than 900 compared to the same week last week, while the PCR positivity rate decreased. test remained high at 46.2%. The number of hospitalized patients with Covid-19 fell by 28 to 1128, according to data released by the government. The number of people treated in intensive care was 280 this morning, one less than yesterday. Covid-19 claimed another 16 lives.
The Minister of Economy calls for work from home
LJUBLJANA – Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek called on companies to organize work from home wherever possible and strictly adhere to the Covid pass rules and other precautionary measures, which he said was the only way to avoid possible new restrictions. In his appeal, Počivalšek said that Slovenia could not afford to stop or new strict restrictions on economic activities. “We need to do everything in our power to avoid new activity restrictions or prisons,” he said.
Testing guidelines issued for revenues from South Africa
LJUBLJANA – The Ministry of Health has issued guidelines on testing persons who, after returning to Slovenia from areas and countries with a new version of the coronavirus Omicron, received mandatory quarantine orders. The ministry urged all test providers to test these individuals with PCR tests and mark their samples as arriving from the areas. The latest guidelines also call on all persons in quarantine due to the risk of importing a new strain to undergo a PCR test immediately after the introduction of quarantine, and then again on the fifth and tenth day.
Only one MP is in favor of a referendum on the development of the SAF on the commission
LJUBLJANA – The initiative of the opposition Left to call a consultative referendum on the long-term development program of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) was rejected by the Defense Committee with eight votes to one. While the Left opposes this key defense resolution, which covers the period up to 2035, and claims that it has no social consensus and is wrong, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defense Uroš Lampret said that the purpose of the referendum is contrary to national defense interests and international Slovenia’s commitments and contrary to its strategic defense and security documents. The vote shall not be binding on the plenary.
The president warns against politicizing the police
LJUBLJANA – President Borut Pahor addressed a ceremony commemorating Operation 1989 in 1989, a police operation that prevented a rally of Serbian nationalists in Ljubljana and is understood as one of Slovenia’s first steps towards declaring independence. In his speech, Pahor warned against the politicization of the police and pointed out that the depoliticization of the police began during Operation North and that this was one of the milestones on the path to Slovenia’s independence.
EU culture ministers are calling for support from the media sector
BRUSSELS, Belgium – A meeting of EU culture ministers chaired by Vasco Simoniti highlighted the role of cultural heritage in sustainable development and the fight against climate change, in particular its contribution to social cohesion and jobs. They also called for measures to support the audiovisual and media sectors, as Simoniti expressed concern about the continued impact of the pandemic on the European audiovisual and media industry.
Kustec calls adoption of European sport model “historic”
BRUSSELS, Belgium – EU sports ministers have backed a European model of sport that calls for solidarity, open competition and the accessibility of sport for all. Slovenian Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec said that the adoption of the resolution was “a historic day for sport and the European Union”. Ministers pledged to defend the European model of sport, especially its values such as “openness, solidarity, equality, transparency and human rights”, she added.
A large fire broke out in a warehouse in Šentvid
LJUBLJANA – A fire broke out in a large warehouse in Vižmar in the northwestern Ljubljana settlement of Šentvid at night. The fire spread from pallets that had accumulated next to the building inside the warehouse of several companies, including tires, the Protection and Rescue Administration said. The fire was mostly extinguished, but some parts are difficult to access, so extensive efforts will continue for some time, the Ljubljana Fire Brigade announced. According to police, no one was in the building at the time of the fire.
Deep loss 2020 for the Slovenian energy sector
LJUBLJANA – At the end of last year, Slovenska energetika generated a net loss of 277.5 million euros, compared to 303.6 million euros the year before. This is the worst result since 2015, the report of the Energy Chamber showed. The main cause of the loss was the operations of Termoelektrarna Šoštanj (TEŠ) and its parent company, HSE. The year was also strongly marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, which mainly affected the sale of petroleum products.
The government will help the pig farmers with almost 1.9 million euros
LJUBLJANA – The government will help Slovenian pig farmers with 1.87 million euros in financial aid, which will be paid on December 23, to cope with falling pork and pig prices and rising feed prices, the Government Communication Office (UKOM) announced. The goal is to help more than 580 farms whose main or only source of income is pig farming maintain their economic capacity to continue pig farming, UKOM said. The government has decided to provide aid in the framework of national development projects 2021-2024 for aid, after the purchase prices of pork and pigs began to fall in the EU and Slovenia in June.
The number of households and families in Slovenia is growing
LJUBLJANA – In the decade between 2011 and 2021, the number of inhabitants in Slovenia increased by 59,000, the number of households by 46,000 and the number of families by 20,000. Households have an average of 2.41 members and families with children an average of 1.56 children, according to the statistical office. On 1 January 2021, the population of Slovenia was 2,108,977. The largest number of single-family households, a total of 462,744 (54%), and single-member households 292,301 (34%).