Morning news for Slovenia: Tuesday, July 12, 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:
The Energy Agency is launching Phase 1 of its gas emergency plan
LJUBLJANA – The Energy Agency has preventively called on Slovenian gas consumers to use natural gas cautiously, as it has announced an early warning level to inform the public about possible supply disruptions in the future in the event of a reduced supply of natural gas from Russia. The Minister of Infrastructure, Bojan Kumer, commented on the measure as an “early warning or awareness phase”, while the gas supply is running smoothly. Last year’s total consumption of natural gas in Slovenia increased by 6 percent to 10,163 GWh, which is the highest total consumption since 2010, according to the agency’s data.
In a new report, Brussels will call on Slovenia to improve press freedom
BRUSSELS, Belgium – On Wednesday, when publishing the third annual report on the rule of law in EU countries, the European Commission is expected to announce that there is no progress in the field of press freedom in Slovenia, according to the draft report obtained by STA. . Since the 2021 Rule of Law Report, the situation of media freedom and pluralism has not improved, notes the draft report and points to the challenges of political influence on RTV Slovenia. One of the recommendations is also reference to rules and mechanisms for strengthening the independent management and editorial policy of public media.
Slovenia has not yet detected any security threats due to the Ukrainian war
PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Interior Minister Tanja Bobnar attended an informal EU ministerial meeting in Prague and told her colleagues that the Slovenian police have not yet detected major security threats due to the war in Ukraine. However, the police are also very vigilant about possible human trafficking. She also drew attention to the large quantities of weapons circulating in Ukraine and said that this is very worrying, as they can be smuggled into the EU, the Ministry of the Interior announced.
The Ombudsman for Equality calls for changes to the asylum legislation
LJUBLJANA – The defender of the principle of equality found possible discrimination in the law on international protection in the provisions on unaccompanied minors, applicants for international protection, more specifically in the request that the legal representative of an unaccompanied minor applying for international protection can be dismissed if he does not intervene information to the authorities about the minor. The Ministry of the Interior, which has been asked to draft legislative changes, has said it is ready to work closely with supervisory institutions, including the Equality Ombudsman.
The Committee for Culture approved the amendments to the act of RTV Slovenia
LJUBLJANA – The Parliamentary Committee for Culture has approved the government’s amendments to the law on RTV Slovenia, which renovate the management and supervisory structures of the public institution with the aim of reducing political interference. Culture Minister Asta Vrečko said that irreparable damage had been caused to the publisher. Meanwhile, RTV Slovenija General Manager Andrej Grah Whatmough believes that the accelerated implementation of far-reaching changes is against the constitution. The opposition Democrats (SDS) believe the same, whose initiative to challenge the accelerated process of adopting the law was rejected, but the party did not rule out the possibility of a referendum.
The RTV poll shows that Pirc Musarjeva is leading in the presidential race
LJUBLJANA – Lawyer Nataša Pirc Musar is leading in the presidential race, according to a poll conducted by Mediana for RTV Slovenia. She is supported by 23.9 percent of respondents, followed by former foreign minister Anže Logar (16.6 percent) and vice president of the Svoboda movement Marta Kos (14.4 percent). The Mediana poll included 14 potential candidates, some of whom are unlikely to make it to the fray.
The candidate of the ruling party rejects Kučan’s arguments against her candidacy
LJUBLJANA – Former diplomat Marta Kos, who will stand as a candidate of the ruling Svobodnjaki movement in this year’s presidential elections, rejected former Slovenian President Milan Kučan’s claim that it would be “systemically unacceptable” for members of the same party to be in the country. the three highest offices – President, Prime Minister and President. He also believes that Kučan’s argument is an abuse of some other presidential candidates in order to disqualify her from the presidential race.
More than half give the government a negative rating in the Labor survey
LJUBLJANA – In the latest public opinion survey by the newspaper Delo, both the government and the parliament were negatively evaluated by more than half of the respondents. The median rating of the government is 2.35, with Delo noting that the previous government was worse only in November 2021, when almost 60 percent were dissatisfied with its work. Meanwhile, the ruling Freedom Movement continues to lead the party rankings with around 30%, followed by the opposition Democrats (SDS; 19%) and the coalition Social Democrats (SD; 7%).
Slovenia is commemorating the 27th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia marked the 27th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica during the war in BiH, and high-ranking representatives warned that the massacre must never be forgotten, that it could serve as a warning. The importance of justice and reconciliation was also highlighted by the President of the Republic, Borut Pahor, who, at the invitation of Mufti Nevzet Porić, head of the Muslim community in Slovenia, visited the Muslim Cultural Center in Ljubljana for the anniversary ceremony.
Slovenian-Israeli Friendship Day was celebrated in Metlika
METLIKA – At the Slovenian-Israeli Friendship Day event in Metlika, President Borut Pahor highlighted Israel’s support for Slovenia at the time of independence 30 years ago and warned of the fragility of peace during the war in Ukraine. On Pahor’s initiative, the day was marked for the second year, this time also on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Slovenia and Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed those present remotely, thanking Pahor for his leadership, which strengthened the strong bilateral Israeli-Slovenian relationship.
Matriculation results slightly worse than last year
LJUBLJANA – 5,194 final year students, or 95 percent, successfully passed the state matura or matura, which is close to last year’s 97 percent. 302 students passed the Matura with honors, which is the same as last year, while the number of candidates who collected all points, namely 18, is three more than last year, according to the results of the National Examination Center.
More than 900 new cases of Covid over the weekend
LJUBLJANA – 941 new cases of coronavirus infection were confirmed in Slovenia over the weekend, which is more than a 40% increase compared to the previous weekend. One patient with covid-19 died. Currently, 45 patients are hospitalized with covid as a primary condition in regular wards, and eight of them are in intensive care. That’s up from 23 and nine a week ago, respectively.
Opponents of Covid restriction changes to gather signatures in the fall
LJUBLJANA – Proponents of two referendum initiatives to challenge the amendments to the Act on Infectious Diseases, which regulate epidemic restrictions, adopted on June 29, will start collecting signatures for voting on September 1, if the referendum on the bill is allowed. This is because the constitution does not allow referendum voting on bills that eliminate unconstitutional provisions. The legal service of the National Assembly has until July 19 to decide whether or not to allow the referendum.
VonPharma is planning a production facility in Velenje
VELENJE – VonPharma, a manufacturer of nutritional supplements, plans to open a production plant in Velenje and has signed a contract with the city for the purchase of 14,580 square meters of land in the business zone. In the first phase of the project, a new administrative building and a new production complex will be built by 2023. The two-phase project, which includes an administrative center, a manufacturing facility and a logistics center, could create 1,000 new jobs, according to CEO Tade Von. Horvath.
Industrial production grew in May
LJUBLJANA – In May, the value of industrial production increased by 0.8% and 3%, respectively, in both monthly and annual comparisons, according to data from the statistical office. The supply of electricity, gas and steam and manufacturing activity contributed to the monthly growth, which grew by 5.1% and 0.2%, respectively. A 7.7% drop was recorded in mining.
In 2021, domestic production covered 83% of Slovenia’s electricity needs
LJUBLJANA – In 2021, electricity production in Slovenia decreased by more than 8%, while consumption increased by 3%. The country’s production met 83% of its needs, which is almost 10 percentage points less than in 2020, but at the same level as in the years before the pandemic, according to a report by the Energy Agency. The production to consumption rate fell from 92.6% in 2020 to 82.9% last year. Production units connected to the transmission or distribution system produced a total of 14,423 gigawatt hours (GWh), which is 1,325 GWh or 8.4% less than in 2020.
Natural gas consumption in Slovenia in 2021 with more than 10,150 GWh, the highest in a decade
MARIBOR – Last year, the consumption of natural gas in Slovenia increased by six percent compared to the previous year to a record 10,163 GWh since 2010, according to data from the Energy Agency. Total consumption increased for all gas consumers. While household consumption, which accounts for about a third of total consumption, increased by 12%, non-household users used just over 9% more gas than in 2020. The increase is attributable to an increase in the number of users, from 908 to 137,192. , and in cooler weather.
Companies can count on 670 million euros in incentives
LJUBLJANA – Companies in Slovenia can count on 670.6 million euros in development incentives this year, after the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology increased funds for development-oriented projects of Slovenian companies and their supporting environment by 29.9 million euros from the planned amount. beginning of 2022. “I am very happy that we will allocate almost 30 million euros of additional development incentives to the economy, which companies really need in these unpredictable and challenging times,” said Minister Matjaž Han in a press release.
Climbing: Garnbret makes three in a row
CHAMONIX, France – Top Slovenian climber Janja Garnbret claimed her third consecutive victory in the leading race of the World Cup on Sunday in Chamonix, France, confirming her role as the favorite for the upcoming world championship. Already the most successful female climber of all time, she now has 35 World Cup victories, including 21 in the leading discipline and 14 in bouldering.
Pogačar hopes to lead the Tour until the end
PARIS, France – Slovenian cycling star Tadej Pogačar, winner of the past two Tour de France races, looks on track to qualify for three more in a row. Speaking to reporters today, a day off from the grueling three-week Grand Tour that began 10 days ago, he said he loved wearing the yellow shirt and hoped to keep it until the end. He praised his Emirates (UAE) team, saying that every member is great at what they do. They are hardworking, experienced and highly motivated, he said.