Golob’s plans to form a government upset the SDS

LJUBLJANA – The Democrats (SDS) have submitted a proposal to call a referendum on changes to the government law proposed by the new ruling coalition in order to adapt to the changes planned in the government. The move is expected to delay the formation of a new government, but future Prime Minister Robert Golob said he would stick to the plan to form a government by June 3rd. Ministerial posts will be redeployed in accordance with an existing government act, and candidates left without portfolios will be appointed secretaries of state. According to Golob’s original plan, the cabinet will be changed later.

Pigeon is committed to involving employees in responding to criticism

LJUBLJANA – Robert Golob, leader of the Freedom Movement and the most likely new prime minister, said the upcoming coalition was working to ensure employee involvement, as he responded to criticism that the coalition agreement would push the company into a corner. “A system in which the employer is the master to which the worker must obey unconditionally, and in which the worker has no say, is a system of subordinates; we do not want to be a state of subordinates and we will not,” Golob said. .

Slovenia supports the decision of Sweden and Finland to join NATO

LJUBLJANA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Slovenia’s full support for Sweden’s and Finland’s decision to join NATO and described both countries as the Alliance’s closest partners. “NATO’s door must remain open to European countries wishing to join and meet the criteria for membership,” it said. The move was also welcomed by President Borut Pahor and Social Democrat (SD) leader Tanja Fajon, who is set to become Slovenia’s next foreign minister. Luka Mesec, the leader of the left, has announced that his party will vote against the membership of Finland and Sweden when there is a vote on the new government, but will abstain from voting on the same matter in parliament.

The government is proposing additional recalls of ambassadors

LJUBLJANA – The outgoing government has proposed the recall of Slovenian ambassadors to Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, Australia, Japan and Poland, which is still a series of replacements at some of the highest diplomatic posts in the country. The proposal will now be discussed by President Borut Pahor. According to the proposal, the mandates of Slovenian ambassadors in these countries would end on 31 July. Proposals are usually stamped by the president.

A new military strategy in the making

LJUBLJANA – Slovenia will be given a new military strategy for flexible deterrence, integrated response and persistent resilience. The outgoing government was acquainted with the document, which, according to the Ministry of Defense, will define the implementation of military defense and thus fill the gap between strategic documents. The strategy identifies Russia and China as rival great powers, which is broadly in line with related EU and NATO strategy papers.

The SDS is seeking a referendum on its own law on RTV Slovenia

LJUBLJANA – The Democrats (SDS) submitted a proposal for calling a consultative referendum on changes to the law on RTV Slovenia, which the party itself submitted on Friday. The proposal will postpone the final decision on the amendments, as parliament cannot vote on the referendum proposal in less than 30 days. This also means that the competing bill proposed by the emerging coalition led by the Freedom Movement will have to wait for the SDS-backed bill to be removed from the agenda. The SDS’s proposal is that subscriptions to public service broadcasting be voluntary, with citizens deciding how much to pay.

The new Speaker of the National Assembly wants to raise the level of communication

LJUBLJANA – Parliament Speaker Urška Klakočar Zupančič told STA that she knew how to “leave her political beliefs at the door” and pledged to be the first among all to listen to all deputies. She is convinced that MEPs should be aware that they are in parliament to serve the people, not to “prepare reality shows”. The new president hopes that the coalition and the opposition will find a common language in the new parliamentary term, but he is aware that this is a long process.

Farmers welcome the election of Irena Šinko as Minister of Agriculture

LJUBLJANA – Representatives of farmers welcomed the election of Irena Šinko as a candidate for Minister of Agriculture. The Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry said it was a “positive surprise” as it has the expertise. The head of the Farmers’ Union, Anton Medved, said that Šinko, as the director of the Agricultural Land and Forest Fund, was very principled and was expected to do the same as the minister. Agrarian economist Emil Erjavec said that Šinko was “the best thing that could have happened to Slovenian agriculture.” However, they mentioned that much will depend on the new government’s broader agricultural policy and its political influence.

SocDem members support joining the coalition

LJUBLJANA – Social Democrat (SD) deputies supported the party’s decision to join a coalition led by Robert Golob with 99.9 percent of the vote, according to the party, which will have four ministries in the new government. The party’s president, Tanja Fajon, said the party had managed to include key priorities in the coalition agreement. “We have achieved a clear breakthrough with the work of the current government,” she said in a press release Tuesday.

The vice-president of SD Nemec confirmed that he will replace Fajonova

LJUBLJANA – The National Assembly confirmed the appointment of Social Democrat (SD) Vice President Matjaž Nemec as a member of the European Parliament. He will take the seat left by SD president Tanja Fajon when she was elected to the National Assembly in the April 24 elections. The German was the third SD candidate in the 2019 European Parliament elections.

Red shoes in parliament in abundance after attacks on the speaker

LJUBLJANA – Red pumps, red sandals and red sneakers could be seen in the National Assembly today, as members of the future coalition parties showed solidarity with President Urška Klakočar Zupančič, who was the target of insults on social media on Friday over her dress. Parliament. It was Klakočar’s choice of Zupančič’s Red High Fridays, which she wore on Friday, that provoked insulting, sexist and vulgar comments on social networks. Colleagues supported her today with red shoes.

Slovenian real estate market with a record year 2021

LJUBLJANA – The Slovenian real estate market recorded a record year in 2021 in terms of rising prices and the number of land transactions for residential buildings, while the commercial real estate market was also reviving. The Surveying and Mapping Authority reported more than 37,000 transactions totaling € 2.9 billion. The number of transactions with flats and houses increased by about 20% last year compared to 2020 and was higher than in the pre-epidemic year 2019.

The Consumers Association will sue the bank above zero

LJUBLJANA – The Consumers’ Association of Slovenia intends to file a class action lawsuit against Sparkasse Bank, because they find it unacceptable that the bank believes that the interest rate on the loan is zero if Euribor is negative. The organization invites borrowers from other banks that paid floating rate loans in 2015-2022 to join the case. In its second class action lawsuit against Sparkasse, the organization successfully defended the rights of Sparkasse borrowers after the bank failed to take into account the actual negative Euribor interest rates.

Entrepreneurs show great resilience at an early stage

MARIBOR – The latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research shows that early entrepreneurs in Slovenia showed great resilience during the crisis, as the total early entrepreneurial activity increased. Every second Slovene is convinced that good business opportunities will appear in the next six months. More than 68% of Slovenian respondents believe that an entrepreneurial career is desirable, and almost 86% of them believe that successful entrepreneurs are respected in society, which places Slovenia at the top of Europe.

DEM obtains a building permit for a geothermal power plant

MARIBOR – DEM, a company for the management of power plants on the Drava River, has received a building permit for a geothermal power plant on a well in Čentiba in Prekmurje, the only Slovenian region with some gas and oil. The plant will serve as a demonstration project to promote geothermal energy production. The project is the first of its kind in Slovenia, which aims to exploit the geothermal energy potential of a 3,000-meter dry, unproductive well near the town of Lendava, northeast.

Information Commissioner concerned about transparency, access to public information in 2021

LJUBLJANA – In 2021, the Information Commissioner received 639 complaints regarding access to public information, which is 74 more than the year before, according to a report sent by the National Assembly. The number of complaints about the implementation of coronavirus restrictions, public health and public spending has increased significantly. The number of media complaints is also worrying, the commissioner said, stressing that this shows that the media’s demands are not being answered.

The number of covids continues to decline

LJUBLJANA – The number of new cases of covid decreased by 125 per week compared to 541 on Tuesday. The number of people hospitalized due to Covid-19 has also dropped by four in the last day, and another patient has died, according to data from the Ministry of Health. The 14-day notification rate decreased by 52 to 382.

A convicted sex offender has been caught in Cambodia

LJUBLJANA – Slovenian citizen Jani Kokot, convicted of child sexual abuse, was arrested and arrested in Cambodia last weekend and deported to Slovenia after years of fleeing, police said on Facebook. Kokota was found guilty by a court in Nova Gorica of sexually harassing a person under the age of 15 several times between 2008 and 2021, while also making pornographic photos and videos.