Morning news for Slovenia: Thursday, July 7, 2022
Check the date at the top of the page and you’ll find all the “Morning Headlines” news. here. You can also follow us at Facebook and get all the news in your feed.
This summary was prepared by STA:
Slovenia and Croatia will start solving the border issue on an informal level
ZAGREB – At a meeting in the Croatian capital, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon and her Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman confirmed the readiness of both countries to resolve open issues in mutual dialogue. Fajonova said that the border issue will also be discussed in this spirit, starting at the informal level and with lighter matters. Grlić Radman said that Croatia had decided to resolve all open issues in a bilateral dialogue, and thanked Slovenia for its support for Croatia’s membership in the Schengen and Eurozone and in the OECD. Fajonova also met with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Zoran Milanović. In addition to bilateral relations, in their conversation with Milanović, they also touched on the situation in Southeastern Europe, especially Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Upper House legislation introducing provinces
LITIA – The National Assembly will have to consider a package of three bills on the establishment of 15 provinces in Slovenia, after the State Council today decided to officially submit the laws, which it has been working through for almost three years in various stages of consultations and consultations. According to the proposal, Slovenia would have 15 provinces as an intermediate level of governance between the 212 municipalities and the national government, with a special status for the capital Ljubljana.
The insurance sector is recording almost 40% profit growth for 2021
LJUBLJANA – In 2021, Slovenian insurance companies made a total of 210 million euros in net profit, which is 38 percent more than the year before, and the Agency for Insurance Supervision assessed it as a very successful year. Last year, according to the share of insurance premiums in GDP, which is five percent, Slovenia ranked 16th among the countries for which the OECD publishes data, which, according to Čibej, places it in the middle in terms of the development of the insurance market. Gross written premiums for non-life and life insurance increased by 1.6% to EUR 2.4 billion from 2020 (EUR 1.9 billion were non-life insurance and EUR 528 million were life insurance).
Šketa tells the deputies that there is a severe shortage of prosecutors
LJUBLJANA – When considering reports on the work of state prosecutors in 2021, including that of the Specialized State Prosecutor’s Office, State Prosecutor General Drago Šketa highlighted the severe shortage of prosecutors in Slovenia. “According to the regulation on the number of state prosecutors, there should be 268 state prosecutors in Slovenia, but currently there are 200, or 25 percent less,” he said. The shortage will be even worse in the coming years, and Šketa says that “the situation will be extremely critical, as the number of cases will increase.”
The Hungarians unloaded their stake in NovaTV24
LJUBLJANA – Following a change in ownership in the company that publishes the right-wing weekly Demokracia, according to the Necenzurirano portal, three Hungarian owners have sold their stake in NovaTV24.si, the NovaTV24 company, in a move that has already been approved by the Ministry of Culture. The report states that the trio sold their 45% stake to Boris Tomašič, director of NovaTV24 and a long-time member of the Democrats (SDS), now the opposition party, for an undisclosed sum.
The court identifies possible abuses when deciding on the legitimacy of the referendum
LJUBLJANA – After two referendum initiatives, one on the composition of the government and one on the legislation on infectious diseases, legal experts note that the constitutional court takes into account the doctrine of abuse of the legislative referendum when deciding on the legitimacy of the referendum. referendum. Indicators of abuse are a petition to call a referendum on delaying the implementation of the law. Referendums on certain issues, including the elimination of unconstitutionality, are prohibited.
The head of the anti-bribery commission says integrity is still not an integral part
LJUBLJANA – The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption presented a report for 2021 to the parliamentary committee for justice, and its president Robert Šumi expressed regret that strengthening integrity is still a “higher standard” for most public officials. He pointed out that some issues, such as integrity, conflict of interest and incompatibility of functions, are not yet standardized, and both society and public office holders do not pay adequate attention to them.
A group has been established to coordinate hospital admissions for covid
LJUBLJANA – Minister of Health Danijel Bešič Loredan announced that he has appointed a national working group for the coordination of hospital beds and the reception of covid patients. The group will prepare clear guidelines on how to approach patients infected with the coronavirus and patients with Covid symptoms. The group is led by doctor Matjaž Jereb, head of the intensive care unit at the infectious disease clinic of the UKC Ljubljana. Tomorrow he will give the first instructions to the medical organizations.
The number of Covid cases continues to rise
LJUBLJANA – On Tuesday, 1,470 cases of covid were confirmed in Slovenia in 619 PCR and 4,547 rapid antigen tests. No patients with the coronavirus died, but 32 of them were hospitalized due to covid, of which nine were in intensive care units. The seven-day average of cases reached 994, up 62 from Monday. The number of cases in 14 days per 100,000 was 564, which is 38 more than the day before, according to data from the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).
The Ombudsman for Equality identifies ten cases of discrimination in 2021
LJUBLJANA – The Parliamentary Committee on Labor discussed the annual report of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman for 2021, which notes that discrimination occurred in ten reported cases. Defender of the principle of equality, Miha Lobnik, said that last year he managed a total of 119 administrative procedures, of which 65 were completed. He drew attention to the example of civil servants who were given a lower annual performance rating just because she was on maternity leave, and the case where gay men were denied the opportunity to donate blood, among other things.
The court overturned the fine for the 2020 maskless gala with the minister
LJUBLJANA – The Ljubljana District Court stopped the misdemeanor proceedings due to violations of the rules of wearing masks at the charity event of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia in September 2020, in which the then education minister Simona Kustec also participated. The health inspectorate ordered the payment of a fine of one hundred euros, and the court has now ruled that the decree on the mandatory wearing of masks is legally unfounded, the law firm representing the defendants told STA.
Former Prime Minister Cerar will not enter the presidential race
LJUBLJANA – Miro Cerar, a lawyer and former prime minister, will not run for president of Slovenia, even though several people from civil society encouraged him to run, he wrote on social networks. Cerar has received several “serious initiatives from responsible citizens” over the past months to consider running for office, but after careful consideration has decided not to. Cerar will focus on teaching and research at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana and on his family.
The minority is protesting against the planned abolition of Slavic studies
CELOVEC, Austria – The National Council of Carinthian Slovenes (NSKS) strongly protested against the University of Klagenfurt’s plan to cancel its master’s degree in Slavic Studies. The step was not agreed in advance with the Slovenian minority in Carinthia, the organization announced. It emphasized that it is a violation of Article 8 of the Austrian Federal Constitution, which prohibits worsening the situation of the Slovenian community, and that it is “illogical, contrary to modern trends and clearly contrary to the interests of the national community”.
The musician Gregor Bezenšek will join the presidential race
LJUBLJANA – Gregor Bezenšek, a musician who together with his wife founded a charitable organization to help children with rare diseases after they lost their son to a rare incurable disease, has announced his candidacy for the autumn presidential elections. He will run as an independent candidate, promising to go “to heaven” for the good of the people. He promised that, if elected, he would strive to overcome divisions and strengthen Slovenian national identity through music. Like most other candidates, he plans to support his candidacy with voter signatures.