The following is a weekly review of events in Slovenia, prepared by STA.

To keep up to date with daily addresses, follow these hereor enter all our stories your Facebook feed.

FRIDAY, May 20th
LJUBLJANA – The government passed a bill to regulate the situation of displaced Ukrainians and to help the Slovenian economy cope with the consequences of the war in Ukraine with soft loans. It is designed to strengthen existing temporary protection mechanisms and relieve state institutions that are overburdened with displaced Ukrainians.
TURIN, Italy – Foreign Minister Anže Logar attended a meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and expressed solidarity with Ukraine in a debate on the Council of Europe’s response to Russian aggression. He emphasized that Slovenia strongly condemned the aggression.
LJUBLJANA – It was reported that the Slovenian gas distributor Geoplin was left empty-handed in a public tender for an application to increase the capacity of the liquefied natural gas terminal on the Croatian island of Krk. Minister of Infrastructure Jernej Vrtovec downplayed the weight of development and said that one Slovenian distributor was now in talks with the company that won the deal.
LJUBLJANA – The government has decided that the public interest in renewable energy production prevails over the public interest in nature conservation in the planned Mokrice na Savi hydroelectric power plant, after its first proposal from December 2020 was rejected in court at the end of 2021. decision in accordance with the instructions of the court.
LJUBLJANA – The European Commission has approved an additional 277 million euros in React-EU funds, which will be used for numerous investments in the care of the elderly, health care, tourism and education.
CELJE – The Silver Thread Association, which advocates for a dignified old age, presented a bill on voluntary death, which ensures that no one will have to fear suffering before death. They plan to submit it to parliament with the required 5,000 signatures of voters to start the legislative process.
LJUBLJANA – The Petrol energy group announced that its sales revenues more than doubled to 1.94 billion euros in the first quarter of this year, and its net profit by 17 percent to 32.4 million euros. The increase is largely due to the inclusion of the Croatian fuel trader Crodux in the group.
LJUBLJANA – Matej Kavčič, a reporter for the Slovenian independent Radio Študent, who was arrested and imprisoned in Iraq a month ago, has been released. In January, Kavčič went to Iraq as a freelancer to report on the Yazidi minority group.
NOVA GORICA – The foundation stone for a new 500-seat open-air amphitheater has been laid in Nova Gorica. It is expected to be ready for the city’s appearance as the European Capital of Culture in 2025. completed by next year.
LJUBLJANA – Beekeeper Boštjan Noč, head of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, received the Golden Bee, an international award for efforts to protect bees, which Slovenia awarded for the second time on this year’s World Bee Day.
LJUBLJANA – Comic book artist Izar Lunaček received the French Order of Arts and Literature, which received recognition for his contribution to the promotion of comics, popularization of French culture in Slovenia and strengthening ties between France and Slovenia in this field.

SATURDAY, May 21st
LJUBLJANA – The Fitch rating agency has confirmed Slovenia’s credit rating at A with a stable outlook, based on Slovenia’s many strengths, including EU and eurozone membership, strong economic growth and strong fiscal support during the covid pandemic.
OSWIECIM, Poland – On the last day of his visit to Poland, President Borut Pahor visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau National Museum, where he learned about the renovation of Block 17, where a permanent exhibition on Slovenian internees will be set up. .

SUNDAY, May 22nd
LJUBLJANA – President Borut Pahor hosted a ceremony marking the presentation of state decorations to five deserving individuals on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s membership in the UN. Pahor said that it was surprising how quickly Slovenia managed to democratize, declare independence, defend its territory and become internationally recognized.
MURSKA SOBOTA – Maribor defeated the defending champion Muro 3: 1 and won the 16th title of national champion in football. In the last round, they overturned and skipped Koper, who played a draw with Bravo. Maribor will now play in the first round of qualifications for the UEFA Champions League.
RAČICE, Czech Republic – Slovenian kayaker Anja Osterman won the World Cup in the 200-meter sprint after taking second place in the 500-meter run yesterday. The third was another Slovenian, Špela Ponomarenko Janić. Slovenia’s success was rounded off by kayaker Jošt Zakrajšek with a bronze medal in the 5 km race.

MONDAY, May 23
LJUBLJANA – President Borut Pahor announced that he would nominate Robert Golob, the leader of the Freedom Movement, who won the elections, after consulting with parliamentary groups.
BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Commission has recommended Slovenia and all other EU countries to diversify fossil fuel imports and reduce dependence by increasing the use of renewable energy sources and strengthening distribution networks.
LJUBLJANA – The Slovenian business sector recorded a strong recovery in 2021, as total revenues increased by 24 percent to 120.3 billion euros, and net profit amounted to 5.7 billion euros, which is almost twice as much as the year before. Total net profit reached 4.7%, which is the highest level since the beginning of these records in 2008, measured as a share of total revenues, according to AJPES data.
LJUBLJANA – With an hour-long strike, employees of RTV Slovenia repeated their demands for journalistic and editorial autonomy and an end to the politicization of public service broadcasting. They also demanded decent working conditions, a clear personnel policy and democratic social dialogue.
LJUBLJANA – The Program Council of RTV Slovenia did not support the proposal to appoint Natalija Gorščak as the director of TV Slovenia, which is the television branch of the broadcaster, after it was proposed by director general Andrej Grah Whatmough, who dismissed Gorščak in August. last year.
LJUBLJANA – Historian Peter Vodopivec received the Austrian Order of Merit for his contribution to strengthening Slovene-Austrian relations and cooperation between Slovene and Austrian historians. In 2010 he received the Austrian Cross of Honor for First Class Science and Art.
CANNES, France – A short film by Slovenian art student Matej Rimanić Love in an Airplane received one of the two main awards of the Tik Tok competition, which was organized for the first time this year at the Cannes Film Festival.
VALENCIA, Spain – Cukrarna, a new gallery in Ljubljana, transformed from a dilapidated 19th-century sugar factory, has won the Baumit Life Challenge international architectural competition. The project was selected as the best architectural solution and facade for 2022.

TUESDAY, May 24th
LJUBLJANA – Leaders of the Freedom Movement, the Social Democrats and the Left signed a coalition agreement exactly one month after the general elections.
LJUBLJANA – The first case of monkey goats in a man who arrived from the Canary Islands has been confirmed in Slovenia. The second case was confirmed the next day. LJUBLJANA – The High Court in Celje confirmed a three-month suspended sentence with a one-year probation period against the outgoing Prime Minister Janez Janša, because in 2016 he described two journalists as “washed prostitutes” in a tweet.
LJUBLJANA – President Borut Pahor signed the recall of five ambassadors and the appointment of three new ambassadors at the suggestion of the government just before the end of his term.
MARIBOR – Police have informed Maribor Mayor Sašo Arsenovič that he caused minor bodily injury to a 13-year-old boy due to alleged vandalism, due to which the mayor does not intend to resign. The prosecution will most likely wait for an expert opinion before deciding whether to tackle the matter.
MARIBOR – Zdravko Kačič was re-elected Rector of the University of Maribor for a second four-year term, as he was the only candidate for the post.

WEDNESDAY, May 25th
LJUBLJANA – The National Assembly elected Robert Golob Prime Minister at 54:30, a good month after his Liberation Movement convincingly won the general election with a commitment to thoroughly reform the way politics is conducted. After the swearing-in, Golob submitted his cabinet to parliament, with the goal of the government ruling by early June.
MOSCOW, Russia – In a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed disappointment at “the unjustified unfriendly steps taken by the Slovenian government in recent months”. These steps are aimed at “destroying bilateral ties contrary to the historical logic of their development,” they wrote.
STRASBOURG, France – Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic has called for an end to all proceedings against civil society activists who took part in peaceful protests in Slovenia, and called for the abolition of sentences.
LJUBLJANA – The government has decided to include more projects in the existing plan of development programs of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) for the period 2022-2025 in order to make the units more operational. Several new training aircraft and a drone pilot training simulator will be purchased to replace obsolete equipment.
LJUBLJANA – The outgoing government has adopted a decree on determining the methodology for calculating the prices of medical devices and equipment, which stipulates that the competent state office includes data on purchase prices from healthcare providers from at least three EU member states.

THURSDAY, May 26th
LJUBLJANA – Ivo Barišič, a member of the SNG Nova Gorica theater who retired in 2014, is the recipient of this year’s Borštnik Ring, the highest award for theater actors in Slovenia. “Complete commitment to acting” is how Barišič’s career was described by the Maribor Theater Festival.
LJUBLJANA – Author Mateja Gomboc received the Desetnica award for the best children’s or youth novel of the Slovenian Writers’ Association (DSP) for the novel Balada o drevesu (Ballad of a Tree), “a moving story of love and loss”.
LJUBLJANA – In his report for 2021, the Slovenian Anti-Bribery Supervisor identified the issues of integrity, conflicts of interest and incompatibility of dual functions as the most problematic, noting that officials often violate or deliberately ignore the law.
LJUBLJANA – Before the band’s concert in Ljubljana, the Slovenian police briefly detained a Turkmen activist who was traveling with the Russian feminist protest punk rock band Pussy Riot, and then released her. Singer Maria Alyokhina said her friend was arrested on the basis of a 20-year-old Interpol warrant on false charges.