Morning headlines for Slovenia: Thursday, December 2, 2021
Check out 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:
Logar calls for addressing the risks of withdrawing from Afghanistan
BRUSSELS, Belgium / RIGA, Latvia – Foreign Minister Anže Logar said after a two-day NATO ministerial meeting that the aftermath of the withdrawal from Afghanistan was a surprise and raised a number of risks that need to be addressed. Targets should be set in advance when planning future missions, he noted. When it comes to the Western Balkans, the current situation there shows that progress is not self-evident, he warned.
Hoys denies the allegations of denial
LJUBLJANA – In an interview with the Delo newspaper, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs rejected accusations by non-governmental organizations that Slovenian police officers were pushing at the Slovenian border, while criticizing Croatian police for instructing migrants to seek international protection in Slovenia. Hojs said that applications for international protection in Slovenia had increased by almost 60 percent this year, while the number of intercepted illegal migrants had decreased by about 40 percent.
The Italian parliament has confirmed the return of the National Hall to the minority
ROME, Italy – The Italian Chamber of Deputies has adopted a government decree on the transfer of the National Hall in Trieste, thus giving impetus to the beginning of the process of returning to the Slovenian community there. According to the Trieste-based Slovenian newspaper Primorski Dnevnik, the government of Mario Draghi linked the adoption of the multi-purpose decree to a vote of confidence, which it won by a large majority. The return was agreed at last year’s ceremony marking the centenary of the burning of the building by the fascists.
The daily number of coronavirus infections is still declining, 15 deaths
LJUBLJANA – The number of new daily coronavirus infections dropped to 2,257 in both weekly and daily comparisons on Tuesday, as almost a third of PCR tests were positive. Another 15 people died from covid-19. Covid Ministry of Health Coordinator Robert Carotta told reporters that hospitalizations had apparently reached a plan that is likely to continue until mid-December, noting that the health system is still operating at full capacity.
Multiple testing introduced for arrivals from South Africa
LJUBLJANA – Due to the spread of the Omicron coronavirus version, the government has ordered passengers arriving in Slovenia from seven South African countries to undergo three PCR tests during the mandatory 10-day quarantine. In the last 14 days before Saturday’s entry into Slovenia, the government introduced mandatory self-isolation for people residing or visiting South Africa, Botswana, Esvatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe, and now testing 1, 5 and 10. and.
The OECD is greatly upgrading Slovenia’s growth prospects
PARIS, France – The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has significantly improved its forecast for Slovenia’s economic growth. It predicts that the economy will grow by 5.9% this year, compared to the May forecast of 3.5%, while the outlook for 2022 has improved by 0.8 percentage points to 5.4%. In 2023, growth is expected to slow to 3.2%.
The Finance Committee approves higher general tax breaks
LJUBLJANA – The Finance Committee approved amendments to the Personal Income Tax Act, which would raise the general tax relief and thus take payment for all and reduce the tax on capital gains. Opposition lawmakers expressed concern about the impact on fiscal sustainability, but Finance Minister Andrej Sircelj said this would be offset by rising tax revenues due to economic recovery. If the changes are adopted at the plenary session later this month, the changes will take effect on January 1, 2022. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry says that economic growth would increase by 0.5-0.75 percentage points.
The government should provide more funds for agriculture
LJUBLJANA – The government will allocate additional 210 million euros to agriculture in 2023-2027 in addition to the 100 million euros promised in the summer under an agreement reached at a meeting of agricultural organizations with Prime Minister Janez Janša and Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek. “This will be the first time since Slovenia’s accession to the EU that more money will be spent on agriculture than required by EU rules,” the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry said.
The Committee on Internal Affairs adopted a bill on debureaucratization
LJUBLJANA – The parliamentary committee for internal affairs, public administration and local self-government approved a bill on debureaucratization. The proposal aims to facilitate access to public services and reduce bureaucracy. However, legal experts have expressed concern about many of its aspects that they find problematic. The first part of the omnibus bill amends 14 laws from various fields in a major reduction in bureaucracy, and the second part repeals 207 laws and all bylaws based on them, including the repeal of 18 Yugoslav federal laws.
Prosecutors oppose changes to the appointment of members of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office
LJUBLJANA – The State Prosecutor’s Council expressed strong opposition to the proposed changes, which would give the government a greater role in appointing Slovenian prosecutors delegated to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and assessed that this enabled “inadmissible political staffing”. The council delivered its opinion after discussing amendments prepared by the Ministry of Justice last week at yesterday’s meeting.
Transparency concerned about the gambling process
LJUBLJANA – Transparency International Slovenia drew attention to the dubious transparency of the adoption of amendments to the Gambling Act, which are in the parliamentary procedure. He pointed out that the impact on individual changes must be clearly identified and recorded. The comments come before today’s second reading of the amendments of the Parliamentary Finance Committee. The organization notes that criticism and doubts have been expressed in the media about the transparency of their preparation.
Ski resorts are hoping for a better season
LJUBLJANA – As the new ski season begins this weekend, the lifts hope that it will not be like the previous one, when the ski resorts were on the brink of survival due to Covid-19 measures and many of them would be in serious trouble without state aid. Manuela Božič Badalič, head of the Cable Car Association, said that the managers had managed to agree with the health authorities before the new season on some improvements regarding the Covid-19 restrictions.
The event industry is calling for emergency assistance
LJUBLJANA – The Slovenian congress industry has called on the government to provide emergency aid in the amount of 50 million euros. Half of the companies in this business are in danger of collapsing next year, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced. Large segments of the industry have been closed for more than a year. Concerts and other non-seated events are currently banned with strict restrictions on events that can still take place. The sector recorded a 61% drop in revenue in 2020, and similar results are expected this year.
The Department of Defense opposes plans for a school to train officers
LJUBLJANA – The Department of Defense Studies of the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences is surprised by the recent proposal of the NSi-SDS coalition to establish a school for the training of officers. Experts from the ministry oppose the plan, saying that such a step would significantly change the structure of military education in Slovenia. They also note that the Ministry of Defense and Education and other experts did not participate in the preparation of the bill.
Slovenia is represented at the Venice Biennale by painter Marko Jakše
VENICE, Italy – Slovenia will be represented at the 59th Venice Biennale, which will take place between April 23 and November 27, 2022, by Marko Jakše, a painter best known for his surrealist dahlia paintings. The exhibition of Jakš’s works will feature paintings from different periods, according to the Modern Gallery.
Clug’s ballet at the exhibition in Bolshoi
MOSCOW, Russia – A ballet based on the Russian classic Master and Margarita by Slovenian Romanian choreographer Edward Clug will open tonight at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, with four reruns scheduled for December 5th. Clug, artistic director for ballet at the Slovenian National Theater SNG Maribor, designed the play together with a team with which he has worked for many years.
Bogataj’s book of Slavic cuisines received a culinary award
LJUBLJANA – The book on Slavic cuisines by Slovenian ethnologist Janez Bogataj has been declared one of the best books in the 25-year history of the Gourmand world cookbooks. The book was published in 2015 by the Forum of Slavic Cultures in Slovene and English. The award for the best in 25 years was presented to Bogataj and the director of the forum, Andreja Richter, in Paris by Edouard Cointreau, the founder of the gourmet awards, which were first published in 1995.
Disabled progress is making progress, but so are the challenges ahead
BRDO PRI KRANJU – As Slovenia’s top officials hosted a reception before December 3, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, representatives of the disabled have seen a number of improvements this year, including the “historic achievement” of sign language and typewriting. . However, Borut Sever, head of the National Council of Disability Organizations, also drew attention to issues such as discrimination and poor access to public buildings, mobility, information and communication.
A call to end the stigmatization of people living with HIV
LJUBLJANA – There are about a thousand people living with HIV in Slovenia, most of them being treated. Although there has been remarkable progress in the fight against AIDS in recent years, people with HIV are still stigmatized, Janez Tomažič from the Ljubljana Infectious Diseases Clinic told STA before the World AIDS Day. “People who are being treated have a virus that cannot be detected, so they are not dangerous. You will not become infected even if you have unprotected sex without a condom with them,” he said.
E-toll stickers for cars are available
LJUBLJANA – Electronic vignettes are available today, which will eventually completely replace toll stickers. Annual e-vignettes for cars and semi-annual e-vignettes for motorcycles became available today, and weekly and monthly e-vignettes will follow in February 2022. Prices remain unchanged and the annual vignette is no longer tied to a calendar year.
It is 40 years since the worst plane crash in Slovenian history
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia today remembers the worst plane crash in its history. On the morning of December 1, 1981, a plane of the former Slovenian flag Inex-Adria crashed on the Corsican Mont San-Pietro, killing all 180 passengers and crew on board. It was the worst plane crash in the world that year. In honor of the victims, President Borut Pahor laid a wreath at the cemetery in Žale, Ljubljana.
Nearly 160 money mules caught in the last bite
LJUBLJANA – As part of the latest efforts to suppress money mule schemes in Europe, the Slovenian police investigated 126 cases in order to identify a total of 156 money mules. This prevented a total damage of legal and natural persons in the amount of 1.4 million euros, the General Police Administration announced. The seventh European Money Mule campaign has identified more than 18,000 mules and helped prevent € 70 million in damage in 27 countries. It was conducted between September 15 and November 30.