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

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FRIDAY, July 29
LJUBLJANA – The annual inflation rate in Slovenia accelerated to 11 percent in July, which is 0.6 percentage points more than a month earlier, mainly due to high prices of oil derivatives, the statistical office announced. This is the highest annual inflation rate since August 1995.
LJUBLJANA – The Administrative Court has decided that the planned Mokrice hydroelectric power plant on the Sava River cannot get a construction permit until it decides on the lawsuit filed against the project by the Society for Native Fish of Slovenia.
LJUBLJANA – Prime Minister Robert Golob and Minister of Public Administration Sanja Ajanović Hovnik met for the second time with representatives of a dozen non-governmental organizations, with whom they discussed current topics. The government wants the inclusion of non-governmental organizations in the decision-making process, said Golob after the meeting.
LJUBLJANA – Minister of Justice Dominika Švarc Pipan said in an interview with STA that she will not undertake changes in the judiciary randomly, but wants to see well-thought-out solutions in a broad consensus, warning that it is high time to stop playing politics . role in the procedures for appointing judges.
LJUBNO OB SAVINJA – Concerned that the Slovenian minority in Italy could be left without its representative in the Italian parliament, the representatives of the Slovenian minority pledged to work to secure a permanent seat for the minority in the Italian parliament. The Italian Parliament after early elections on September 25.
LJUBLJANA – The government has included the national ombudsman among the officials who are under police protection, after his office proposed this some time ago, as the ombudsman Peter Svetina was often the target of threats in the last two years.

SATURDAY, July 30
LJUBLJANA – Minister of Defense Marjan Šarec announced systemic changes in the field of civil protection and disaster relief after the large-scale fire in the western Karst. He told Dnevnik that in case of natural disasters, the army must be activated immediately.

SUNDAY, July 31
LJUBLJANA – Minister of Justice Dominika Švarc Pipan promised that she will closely monitor the government’s work if new restrictive measures need to be introduced due to the increase in coronavirus infections. In an interview with STA, she also said that she is in favor of stopping the unconstitutional procedures that were introduced against individuals in the previous government.
KRANJSKA GORA – At the Russian chapel under Vršič, a less resounding memorial event was held in memory of Russian prisoners who fell during the construction of the pass during the First World War. Due to the war in Ukraine, only members and friends of the Slovenia-Russia Association gathered at this year’s event.

MONDAY, August 1st
NEW YORK, USA – Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon told the Review Conference of the Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in New York that the war in Ukraine has caused the biggest deterioration in security in Europe and called on Russia to end hostilities and withdraw from Ukraine. She emphasized that Slovenia will continue to support Ukraine.
LJUBLJANA – Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič has announced that the government will partially repeal the income tax reform introduced by the previous government in 2023 because it has a strong impact on budget revenues.
LJUBLJANA – The internal police audit revealed major irregularities in the contracts concluded by the Highway Police Administration, established in the previous government, including the contract with the state highway operator DARS, which was handed over to the Ombudsman and other authorities due to suspicion. criminal acts.
LJUBLJANA – The police have initiated a dismissal and disciplinary procedure against the employee due to the suspicion of committing a crime. According to media reports, it is Tomislav Habulin, a former assistant to the previous police commissioner Anton Olaj. According to the tabloid Slovenske Novica, he is suspected of manipulating data.
LJUBLJANA – In the first seven months, the Slovenian police dealt with slightly more than 8,200 foreigners who entered the country illegally, which is 80 percent more than in the same period last year. However, Tomaž Pavček from the Border Police Department said that this is only one tenth more than in the same period of 2019 and 2020.
LJUBLJANA – Lawyer Nataša Pirc Musar, who is supposed to run in the presidential elections on October 23, raised dust with a statement for the portal Siol.net about the fact that “the media are paid to attack dissenters”. The former information officer specifically mentioned Požareport, Nova24TV, Reporter and Necenzuirano.
LJUBLJANA – July was the hottest month in Ljubljana, with an average monthly temperature of 24.4 degrees Celsius, the Environment Agency announced. Record temperatures for July were also recorded in many other places in Slovenia.

TUESDAY, August 2
NEW YORK, USA – At the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon discussed Slovenia’s candidacy for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council in 2024-2025. it is not a project of the previous government, but a project of Slovenia.
LJUBLJANA – Minister of Health Daniel Bešič Loredan estimated that the share of EU funds that Slovenia has so far drawn for health projects is quite low, and they will focus on getting as much money as possible in the available time frame.
LJUBLJANA – Renovation work worth more than 70 million euros on the main building of UKC Ljubljana is expected to begin shortly, but the media reports that the tender for the selection of a contractor for the energy renovation work was flawed. Although the hospital denied the accusations, the Ministry of Health announced that if the accusations turned out to be true, they would stop the withdrawal of European funds.
LJUBLJANA – According to initial estimates, the damage caused by the severe drought to crops will be large. So far, corn and grass have been the most affected, where, according to data from the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry, the yield is expected to decrease by 50%.
LJUBLJANA – Gasoline and diesel at petrol stations outside the motorway network in Slovenia fell in price by 8.6 cents and 2.3 cents, respectively. A liter of gasoline costs 1,534 euros, and diesel costs 1,676 euros. Due to the holidays, the new prices will be valid one day more than usual, 15 days.
BRNO, Czech Republic/ŠENČUR – After purchasing SAOP in 2016, Solitea, a Czech group for ICT solutions, bought another Slovenian company Vasco. Solitea did not disclose the price of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, but the business newspaper Finance said it was in the range of EUR 30 million.
SOLKAN – After a one-week stoppage due to the low water level of the Soča River, the Solkan hydroelectric power plant started working again for the first time since 2003, after rainfall in the area of ​​Bovec, upstream from the power plant.

WEDNESDAY, August 3
LJUBLJANA – The director of the Ljubljana administrative unit, Bojan Babič, confirmed for Dela that the Minister of Public Administration, Sanja Ajanović Hovnik, informed him that he would be dismissed at the end of August. The unit has been the target of a lot of criticism since the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic.
MARIBOR – Časnik Večer reported that the Maribor prosecutor’s office filed an indictment against five former border police officers who were arrested in February 2020 on suspicion of stamping the passports of citizens of third countries and thus enabling them to illegally extend their stay in the Schengen area. beyond the permitted 90-day period.
LJUBLJANA – Ludvik Poljanec, who as a layman successfully represented Slovenian citizens before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), has announced that he will run in the presidential elections on October 23. He plans to collect 5,000 voter signatures in support of his candidacy.
LJUBLJANA – The number of registered unemployed persons increased slightly in July compared to the previous month, namely by 0.9 percent to 54,341, which is a 23.1 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, the employment office announced.
KOSTANJEVICA NA KRAS – In the part of the Karst south of Nova Gorica, the campaign to remove the wood biomass left behind by the devastating fire that raged in the area in the second half of July has begun. By August 20, around 5,000 cubic meters of wood biomass must be removed, which could serve as fuel and fuel for new fires.

THURSDAY, August 4
LJUBLJANA – Compared to the same period last year, Slovenian exports increased by 32.1 percent and imports by 47 percent in the first six months, and the deficit in foreign trade amounted to 2.2 billion euros. In June, Slovenia exported goods worth a record EUR 5.3 billion (57.2% growth on an annual basis), and imported goods worth a record EUR 4.8 billion (40% growth).
LJUBLJANA – Gaming company Elektronček Group, owned by entrepreneur Joco Pečečnik, has announced the acquisition of Costella, whose highest value is a concession for pumping water until 2035. According to unofficial information from the business newspaper Finance, Elektronček is said to be paying less than 5 million euros for the company.
LJUBLJANA – Minister of Public Administration Sanja Ajanović Hovnik said that her dismissal of Bojan Babič from the position of director of the Ljubljana administrative unit was not a politically motivated decision, as she announced a wider restructuring of administrative units. Babič agreed with the assessment and will not appeal, the deputy manager has already been appointed.