Morning headlines for Slovenia: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
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This summary provides STA:
Pahor and Rebelo de Sousa call for a peaceful solution in Ukraine
LISBON, Portugal – President Borut Pahor and his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis and called for faster EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, as they met at the beginning of Pahor’s two-day official. visit to Portugal. The visit is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Pahor also met with Prime Minister Antonio Costa and Prime Minister Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues.
Janša talked with the President of the European Council about Ukraine
LJUBLJANA – Prime Minister Janez Janša joined European Council President Charles Michel and many EU colleagues in a video call to discuss the tense security situation in Eastern Europe, aid to Ukraine and the consequences of a possible Russian invasion. Michel emphasized the EU’s unity, solidarity and determination regarding the situation in Ukraine. On Saturday, Jansa spoke by phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Denis Shmigal, expressing support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and each country’s right to choose an alliance.
Pahor congratulates Steinmeier on his re-election as German president
LJUBLJANA – President Borut Pahor congratulated Frank-Walter Steinmeier on his re-election as President of Germany. In his congratulatory message, Pahor emphasized their friendship and expressed his desire to deepen relations between the two countries in the European spirit and on the basis of mutual respect. Pahor also wished Steinmeier success in his role as German president.
The opposition accuses political appointments of diplomats
LJUBLJANA – When seven candidates for ambassadors presented themselves behind closed doors of the parliamentary committee for foreign policy, the opposition Marjan Šarc List (LMŠ) announced that the candidates are connected with the coalition Democrats (SDS) and Nova Slovenija (NSi). The party called on President Borut Pahor, who is signing the appointments, to prevent political appointments just before the elections. The process of selecting the ambassador takes place in secret until the host country confirms the candidate.
Count down the Sunday case for the third week of the week
LJUBLJANA – On Sunday, Slovenia recorded 3,601 new cases of coronavirus infection, which is more than a third less than in a week and is the lowest daily figure since the beginning of January. The weekly number of cases exceeded just over 51,000, compared to nearly 89,000 the week before. The NIJZ estimates that there are currently just over 140,000 active cases in the country, 5,000 less than yesterday. Hospitalizations remained stable, with a total of 18 patients dying, according to government figures.
SocDems proposes abandoning most of Covid’s measures
LJUBLJANA – The opposition Social Democrats (SD) proposed the abolition of the cured, vaccinated, tested rule in all activities, except health and social care, and the abolition of mandatory quarantine for contacts with the infected. They believe that people should be free to decide whether to wear masks and get tested or not. “The time has come for concessions, for a normal life,” said MP Dejan Židan, adding that people will have to learn to live with Covid-19.
Golob’s party in front of the SDS in a Labor poll
LJUBLJANA – The New Free Movement led by Robert Golob is leading according to the latest opinion poll conducted for the Delo newspaper, with 19.9% ahead of the ruling Democrats (SDS) with 15%. The opposition Social Democrats (SD) are third with 7%, followed by the opposition Left and the Nova Slovenija (NSi) coalition with 5% each. The opposition party LMŠ and the Alliance Connecting Slovenia are 3.7 percent behind.
SAB’s platform focusing on solidarity, the green transition
LJUBLJANA – The opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) set its platform for the April 24 elections with solidarity and a green transition as one of the foundations with priorities such as stabilizing public finances, restoring the rule of law and improving the state’s status. retirees. SAB leader Alenka Bratusek said that they were “aware that without a strong economy there is no welfare state and higher pensions”.
Ten parties support the electoral demands of the civil initiative
LJUBLJANA – 138 political parties, including several opposition parties but none of the ruling coalition, responded to the 138 demands made to the parties before the general elections by the People’s Voice, an initiative uniting more than 100 NGOs and 1,800 individuals. The group said the two sides supported 77 demands, including a commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, the independence of public service broadcasting and the legal protection of whistleblowers.
Slovenian food processing industry presented at the Expo
DUBAI, UAE – The Slovenian pavilion at the Dubai Expo hosted a business forum of the domestic food processing industry, where we heard about the sustainable attitude of the country and the high quality of food. It was attended by the Minister of Agriculture Jože Podgoršek, who said that his visit to the United Arab Emirates was also about finding new business partners. On Tuesday, he will sign a major memorandum with his UAE counterparts as a new step in co-operation in the field of sustainable food production.
More than 70% of EU cohesion funding for 2014-2020 has been disbursed
LJUBLJANA – By the end of 2021, 2.23 billion euros were paid to Slovenia within the framework of EU cohesion policy 2014-2020, which is 73 percent of the total available amount – more than 3 billion euros, the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy announced. . For the new period between 2021 and 2027, Slovenia will have 3.214 billion euros at its disposal, divided into four funds – the Cohesion Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Fair Transition Fund.
Počivalšek calls for progress in WTO reform
MARSEILLE, France – Minister of the Economy Zdravko Počivalšek called on the WTO to contribute more to controlling the Covida pandemic at an informal meeting of EU trade ministers in Marseilles, and called for progress in reforming the organization to make it more effective. In addition to the situation in the WTO, the meeting also discussed trade with Africa ahead of the forthcoming EU-Africa summit and trade relations with the United States.
Slovenia submits UN resolution on early prevention of drug abuse
VIENNA, Austria – Slovenia, a new member of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), has tabled a draft resolution calling on the international community to step up efforts to prevent illicit drug use, especially among children and adolescents. The CND will discuss the resolution at its 65th session in mid-March. The EU supported the initiative for the resolution, while Slovenia joined Slovenia in its role, followed soon by Japan, Mexico and Nigeria, the Ministry of Health announced.
Slovenia’s gross external debt in 2021 EUR 50.8 billion
LJUBLJANA – At the end of December 2021, Slovenia’s gross external debt amounted to EUR 50.8 billion, which is 108.3 percent of GDP in current prices, while gross external receivables amounted to EUR 51.2 billion, according to central bank data. Gross external debt was EUR 3 billion higher than in the same period last year, mainly due to higher central bank borrowing. External receivables increased by € 3.2 billion.
SIJ signed a new loan agreement in the amount of EUR 230 million
LJUBLJANA – The SIJ Steel Group signed a seven-year seven-year syndicated loan agreement with a consortium of banks led by the NLB to refinance existing loans, provide additional liquidity reserves for its long-term development and finance investments in the environment. efficiency. In accordance with the new strategy, SIJ’s investments are focused on greater production efficiency and sustainable development, especially in the environment and energy efficiency.
Salus reports revenue and profit growth
LJUBLJANA – Ljubljana-based pharmaceutical wholesaler Salus increased its sales revenues by 14 percent to 458.28 million euros last year, as net profit increased by 28 percent to 13 million euros. In a regulatory role on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, the company stated that operating profit increased from EUR 12.26 million in 2020 to EUR 15.28 million in 2021, and EBITDA from EUR 16.16 million to EUR 19.67 million. .
Slovenia won Olympic silver in team ski jumping
BEIJING, China – The Slovenian men’s jumping team, consisting of Lovro Kos, Cene Prevc, Timi Zajc and Peter Prevc, won silver at the Olympic Games for Slovenia’s seventh medal at the Beijing Games. This is the fourth medal of Slovenia in ski jumping at the Games, after the mixed team won gold, Urša Bogataj gold and Nika Križnar bronze individually. Slovenia was in the lead after the first round, but Austria won gold by 8.3 points. Bron went to Germany.
The founder of the non-governmental organization was named Slovenian Woman of the Year
LJUBLJANA – Anthropologist and sociologist Nika Kovač, founder and head of the NGO March 8, was declared a Slovene in 2021 on Sunday evening by the women’s magazine Jana and her readers. On March 8, the institute draws attention to the inequalities and problems of the most vulnerable, they wrote in a press release in the magazine, adding: “She (Kovač) is aware that there is power in the community, and she is constantly proving it.”
Climbing star Garnbret in two films at the Mountain Film Festival
RADOVLJICA – The British documentary The Wall – Climb for Gold has opened the 16th Mountain Film Festival, which will feature 29 films from 13 countries, from mountaineering and climbing to mountain nature and culture, until 19 February, when the best films will be awarded. The introductory documentary follows the stories of four Olympic athletes, including Slovenian Janja Garnbret, from qualifying to performing on the big stage.
Cyber fraud is on the rise in Slovenia, and false representation prevails
LJUBLJANA – At a press conference on online fraud, it was heard that such crimes are on the rise in Slovenia, as the National Computer Emergency Team (SI-CERT) recorded 3,197 reports of online fraud last year, of which 30% were reported cases of fraud . . At a virtual press conference hosted by NKBM, Maruša Maligoj from SI-CERT said that the actual number was much higher, as many attempted frauds remained unreported.