Morning headlines for Slovenia: Saturday, July 16, 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 Hungarian president notes that unity is needed to deal with the challenges
LJUBLJANA/LENDAVA – Slovenian and Hungarian presidents Borut Pahor and Katalin Novak praised bilateral relations and warned that the war in Ukraine and its consequences represent a major challenge for the region and Europe, which requires joint and unified solutions. They met in Novak’s office. visit. Pahor assessed the “brilliant continuation of relations between Slovenia and Hungary”, which symbolizes the fact that Novakova chose Slovenia for her first official visit after assuming her position. Novak also emphasized trust and good relations, and he also emphasized concern for the rights of the Hungarian and Slovenian national minorities. In the afternoon, the two presidents attended the opening of the new Home of the Hungarian Community in Lendava.
Michel responds to Pahor’s letter about the statues of BiH’s candidate for EU membership
LJUBLJANA – President Borut Pahor received the response of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, to his letter of June 14, in which Pahor advocates granting BiH candidate status for EU membership and only then demands that it fulfill the accession criteria. Michel says that the EU is fully and unwaveringly committed to the European perspective of the countries of the Western Balkans and supports the accelerated process of their rapprochement with the EU. He also points out that the summit on June 23 emphasized its readiness to grant candidate status and called on all political leaders in Bosnia to keep their commitments and quickly implement the necessary reforms.
Brussels welcomes measures for media independence
BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Commission welcomed Slovenia’s action regarding media independence after the National Assembly adopted an amendment to the law on RTV Slovenia, which removes the role of parliament in appointing members of management and control bodies. “In the past, we have expressed concern about attempts to undermine the independence of the public media in Slovenia, so it is good that the government wants to take action with the aim of adopting more protective measures to protect this independence,” said commission spokesman Christian Wigand.
The minister promises that security will be ensured after the removal of the border fence
METLIKA – Slovenian soldiers, together with Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar and Acting Police Commissioner Boštjan Lindav, began removing 51 kilometers of razor wire along the southern border with Croatia, starting at the border crossing at Metlika in the SE. Bobnar said that the wire fence is a completely disproportionate measure, which is why the government decided to get rid of it and provide security in other ways. Once the razor wire is removed, the panel fence will also be removed in cooperation with local communities when a contractor is selected through a public tender. The barbed wire and panel fence were erected following the 2015 migrant crisis.
Social partners find a common language at the first meeting after more than a year
LJUBLJANA – The Economic and Social Council (ESS) met for the first time in 14 months in order to find that there were no major disagreements and that a common position was found in the essential points of the discussion, while commitments were made to revive the social dialogue after its stalled under the previous government. Lidija Jerkič, president of the ZSSS trade union confederation, said that the first meeting of the central forum for relations with employers and employees in the country under the new government showed that “the meeting was positive and that we are satisfied with the response of the entire ministerial team present”.
Prime Minister calls meeting on cost of living crisis for Wednesday
LJUBLJANA – Prime Minister Robert Golob convened a high-level working meeting for Wednesday to discuss the challenges of high energy and food prices in order to ensure political unity in adopting measures to solve the cost of living crisis. The presidents of all parliamentary parties, all heads of parliamentary groups, finance, infrastructure and economic ministers, the director of the Office of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development of the Republic of Slovenia, several economists and several representatives of energy companies are invited. Golob said yesterday that both opposition leaders, Janez Janša and Matej Tonin, expressed their willingness to cooperate.
Urbanija will become the head of TV Slovenija
LJUBLJANA – General director of RTV Slovenia, Andrej Grah Whatmough, will on Monday appoint Uroš Urbanija, who served as head of the government’s communications office (UKOM) in the previous government, to the position of director of TV Slovenija, RTV Slovenija announced. The news comes after a conversation with Grah Whatmough today, after he already received the nod from the house’s programming council last week. The trade unions once again expressed their opposition to Urbanija, as they expect that his appointment will lead to a further deterioration of relations in the RTV house, given his past way of acting.
Two new members were appointed to the program board of RTV Slovenia
LJUBLJANA – On Thursday, the National Assembly appointed journalists Alenko Sivka and Branimir Pian as members of the program board of RTV Slovenia, instead of two members who resigned. Piano is a cultural writer and critic, while Sivka is a journalist and magazine editor who ran unsuccessfully on the ballot of the Movement for Freedom.
The government will build “giant solar farms” for households
LJUBLJANA – The government is preparing to increase the capacity of electricity production from solar energy, and Prime Minister Golob announced on Thursday a plan to set up “giant solar power plants” that will be available to households in the next three years. The Ministry of Infrastructure confirmed to STA today that they are intensively working on a plan to increase the production capacity of solar energy. On Thursday, the government tasked the Minister of Infrastructure to prepare a plan to increase this capacity by 1,000 megawatts by 2025 in appropriate locations in cooperation with the national grid operator ELES and the distribution system operator SODO.
The Catholic Church regrets the legalization of same-sex marriage, adoption
LJUBLJANA – The bishops’ conference accepts with regret the constitutional judicial legalization of same-sex marriages and adoptions and notes in a statement that the goal is the rejection of human nature and the construction of a new social order in which every person will be able to shape himself according to his wishes. and regardless of their natural characteristics. The bishops said that adoption is not a human right, so it is all the more important to give priority to children’s rights and optimal circumstances for their growth and development.
Former state officials paid out 230,000 euros for unused annual leave
LJUBLJANA – Revija Mladina reported that the government of Janez Janša distributed EUR 230,000 in compensation for unused annual leave to its members. This was on June 1, just a day before the new government was sworn in. The biggest recipients were Zdravko Počivalšek, Simona Kustec and Andrej Šircelj, former ministers of economy, education and finance. Former officials are entitled to 80% of their salary for one year after termination of service, provided they do not perform other work than it is.
The number of covid continues to rise
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia recorded 1,592 new cases of coronavirus infection on Thursday, which is 20 percent more than on the same day a week ago, as the number of hospitalizations increased after the increase in infections in the last two weeks. Figures released by the Ministry of Health showed that the number of patients hospitalized with covid-19 as the main condition rose to 78, up 12 from the previous day, as the number of intensive care cases increased by three to ten. One patient with covid-19 died yesterday.
The first part of the large solar power plant has been completed in Zlatolič
PTUJ – In the complex of Slovenia’s largest hydroelectric plant, a solar power plant with a power of 2.5 megawatt peak (MWp) was included in the network as part of the final solar power plant with a power of 30 MWp, which will be able to produce more than 37,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of green electricity annually. The solar power plant was built on the left bank of the relief channel of HE Zlatoličje-Formin near Ptuj in a project worth a little over two million euros. The investor was the hydroelectric power plant operator DEM.
The coast, hit by the worst drought in 35 years, is struggling with severe water shortages
KOPER – The Riga Waterworks, which supplies drinking water to the entire Slovenian coast, announced that the current drought is the worst in the last 35 years. After a number of restrictions have been in place for some time, the company imposed an additional restriction today, saying that water shortages are unavoidable this summer. “When it comes to every liter of water, cars can remain dirty and wait for the next rain,” said director of Riga Waterworks Martin Pregelj, noting that the situation is getting worse by the hour. He said there would be water every day, but not 24 hours a day, and warned that tap water would not be potable.
* Lightning in the Alps injures 18 people
KRANJ – A lightning strike in the area of Triglav in the Julian Alps injured 18 mountaineers, two of them seriously. The couple was taken to a Ljubljana hospital, but their lives are not in danger. The rescue was hindered by fog, the State Administration for Protection and Rescue announced. The accident happened around 15:00 CET in the area of Mali Triglav, 2,725 meters high, when the two mountaineers were on their way from Triglav, the highest mountain in the country, to Kredarica, 2,515 meters high, the Kranj Police Administration announced.
Composer Nina Šenk received the Austrian Johann Joseph Fux Prize
GRADEC, Austria – Slovenian composer Nina Šenk received this year’s Johann Joseph Fux Award, awarded by the government of the Austrian state of Styria, for her new opera piece Platno according to the libretto by Slovenian writer Simone Semenič. The evaluation committee praised Šenk for her technical competence and maturity and said that they were greatly impressed by her work. She is the second Slovenian to win the award after Tomaž Svetet, who received it in 2000 for the chamber opera Kriton.