Morning news for Slovenia: Friday, July 29, 2022
Fajonova announces additional aid to Ukraine
LJUBLJANA – After yesterday’s visit to Kyiv, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon briefed the government on the situation in Ukraine. She said Ukrainians were exhausted and scared after five months of war, and announced a discussion in the coming days at government level on an additional aid package for the country. Including the help of non-governmental organizations, Slovenia has so far allocated almost 9 million euros in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
The UN adopted an environmental resolution of which Slovenia is a co-sponsor
NEW YORK, UN – The UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment a universal human right. The resolution was proposed by a group of countries, in which Slovenia played an important role. “The resolution is a key milestone for the entire international community in connecting the environment and human rights, thereby strengthening hope for new generations,” said Slovenian ambassador to the UN Boštjan Malovrh.
VAT on energy products reduced from September 1
LJUBLJANA – The government has adopted a bill on the reduction of VAT on energy products for all customers from 22% to 9.5%. The lower rate will apply to the heating season, from September 1 to May 31 next year. VAT will be reduced for the supply of electricity, natural gas, firewood and district heating. Due to the lower VAT, around 130 million euros will be lost in the state budget, approximately 40 million euros less this year, and 90 million euros less next year, said Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič.
Solkan hydroelectric power station stopped due to drought
NOVA GORICA – Due to the extremely low flow of the Soča River, which is the result of a long-term drought, the Solkan Hydroelectric Power Station was temporarily shut down. The last time this happened was in 2003. The operator of the plant, SENG, said the average flow of the river was so low that it did not allow the turbines to operate safely. The parent company HSE announced that SENG realized only 54 percent of planned production in the first half of the year. The same applies to the power plants on the Drava and Sava rivers.
Slovenia will ask for solidarity aid from the EU due to the fire
LJUBLJANA – Due to the fires that ravaged the western Karst, Slovenia will apply for aid from the EU Solidarity Fund. The government tasked the Ministry of Defense with preparing a report on the damage assessment, which, according to State Secretary Damir Črnčec, will be ready by mid-September. The country can apply for EU aid if the damage amounts to at least 279 million euros. The ministry will also prepare legislative changes to ensure payments to firefighters and measures to improve fire safety.
Fires in the Karst under control, firefighters on standby
KOMEN – The fires in the western Karst were brought under control at night. However, since the embers on the Italian side of the border are still a threat, Slovenian firefighters are now helping there. There is a risk that the wind will change in the afternoon and the fire will spread to the Slovenian side, just like last week. “Somehow, the story from the first days, when the fire jumped to the Slovenian side and threatened, is repeating itself,” said civil protection representative Ervin Čurlič.
Unexploded ordnance remains a major risk after a fire
KOSTANJEVICA NA KRAS – The fire that raged across the Karst for the past two weeks proved to be an extraordinary challenge, as the area is littered with thousands of explosive devices from the First World War that can explode in extreme heat. More than 500 devices were set off during the fire, which has since been extinguished, but the area remains dangerous. The UXO unit has just started the work of removing unexploded ordnance and found over 250 devices with a total weight of 1.4 tons.
A minority in Italy fears losing a representative in parliament
LJUBLJANA – Representatives of the Slovenian minority in Italy will meet on Friday with representatives of the government’s office for Slovenians abroad and around the world to discuss the danger that the minority will not have a representative in the Italian parliament for the first time in 60 years after September 25. elections in Italy. The early elections will be held under a new law that reduces the total number of deputies and senators, including from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, where the minority lives.
SDS proposes another referendum
LJUBLJANA – After filing referendum challenges to the new laws on the government and RTV, the opposition Democrats (SDS) initiated procedures for a referendum on the law that delays the implementation of the law on long-term care, which was adopted by the previous government. The SDS claims that a delay of one year would affect the elderly, while the Ministry of Labor says that this is necessary to arrange financing. The opposition Nova Slovenija (NSi) has not yet decided to support the referendum candidacy.
Changes to the protection of officials
LJUBLJANA – By amending the regulation on police protection, the government adopted a special regulation on the protection of the Prime Minister, without changing the level of his protection. The level of security protection of the Deputy Prime Ministers has been reduced by a level to level 4, except when the risk assessment dictates otherwise. The Ombudsman has also been added to the list of officials enjoying Level 4 security. The Prime Minister and the President enjoy level 2 security protection.
Three out of four highway police units were disbanded due to staff shortages
LJUBLJANA – Employees of the newly established highway police units in Koper, Celje and Maribor will be temporarily assigned to individual road police stations on August 1 due to severe staff shortages, the General Police Administration announced. This means that one highway police unit in Ljubljana remains operational. Road traffic police stations had a personnel crisis even before the establishment of the highway police in early 2021.
Almost 2,000 cases of coronavirus were recorded on Wednesday
LJUBLJANA – On Wednesday, 1,973 cases of coronavirus were recorded in Slovenia, about 145 more than a week ago, and three infected people died, according to data from the Ministry of Health. The number of patients hospitalized with covid-19 as their primary condition is just under 100. Data from the National Institute of Public Health shows that the 7-day average of new daily cases is 1,663, up 18 per day from the 14-per-100,000 incidence population increased by 11 to 1,081.
Slovenia fares better in the digital economy and society index
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia improved its ranking on the EU Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and ranked eleventh, which is the best result ever. It is above the EU average. “That the work of Slovenian experts in this field has borne fruit in recent years is also revealed by the latest data from the DESI index – Digital Economy and Society Index 2022,” said Minister for Digital Transformation Emilija Stojmenova Duh. She said that the country’s biggest challenge is human capital, or digital skills, which her department will work on.
Equinox triples first-half net profit year-on-year
LJUBLJANA – The Slovenian real estate fund Equinox generated 933,000 euros in net profit in the first half of the year, which is more than 309,000 euros in the first six months of 2021. Net sales revenue more than doubled to 3.2 million euros. During this period, the fund signed long-term leases for three of its hotels. The company, which was created by separating the real estate arm of the Union Hoteli group, generates the vast majority of its income from rents.
Slovenia praised for strategy against hepatitis C
LJUBLJANA – The World Health Organization declared Slovenia an example of best practice in the fight against hepatitis C, infectious disease specialist Mojca Matičič said on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day. While in many countries only part of the cases are treated, the majority of patients in Slovenia are diagnosed and treated. “Doctors are actively looking for those infected and providing immediate treatment to prevent outcomes such as liver cancer and cirrhosis,” she said. More than 80% of infections were detected and two-thirds of patients were cured. There are currently more than 1,000 undiagnosed hepatitis C patients in Slovenia.
Laboratory analysis does not determine the cause of death of Ljubljana fish
LJUBLJANA – At the Jožef Stefan Institute, which performed a chemical analysis of water samples taken after the death of fish in Mali Graben, the Gradaščice canal in Ljubljana, they could not confirm the presence of toxic substances in the water, although they believe that it happened, TV Slovenia reported. Contaminated water may have drained away by the time the dead fish were observed and samples taken. As many as 1.5 tons of fish died in the Mali Graben channel on Saturday.
Around 50 kg of fish die in Homska Mlinščica
DOMŽALE – Dnevnik reported on the death of fish again, this time in Homška Mlinščica, a tributary of Kamniška Bistrica. About 50 kg of fish died, mainly brook trout and grayling, among them many juveniles. The cause of the incident remains unknown, although fishermen suspect that the water is contaminated. Around a ton and a half of fish died in Mali Graben last week.