News roundup - Wednesday, 5 April, until 3pm

Doctors present their own healthcare reform proposal

LJUBLJANA - The Medical Chamber presented its own proposal for legislative changes to improve the accessibility of healthcare services. It wants healthcare institutions to become public companies owned by the state or municipalities, which it believes would improve competition. They propose that the existing concessions system be abolished and a more flexible funding of services introduced under which any doctor with a licence would be able to provide services in the public network. Another novelty would be freelance doctors, which chamber president Bojana Beović said would increase the aggregate supply of services.

Stakeholders up in arms about proposal on dismissals in institutions

LJUBLJANA - Trade unions, municipalities and a democracy advocacy NGO have raised objections to government-proposed changes to the Institutes Act under which it would be much easier to dismiss the directors of entities incorporated as public institutes, including the public health insurer and schools. They said the amendments, confirmed last week, are an attempt to politicise dismissals or appointments of the heads of public institutes.

Aleksander Čeferin re-elected UEFA boss

LISBON, Portugal - Aleksander Čeferin was re-elected president of the Union of European Football Associations at the UEFA congress. The 55-year-old Slovenian lawyer, who has been serving as the boss of the European governing body of football since 2016 and ran unopposed, will lead UEFA for another four-year term. In his presentation, Čeferin highlighted the growing disparities between the the rich and the poor in football, a situation that he sees as a broader social challenge.

Akrapovič does not expect combustion engine ban to affect business

IVANČNA GORICA - Exhaust maker Akrapovič does not expect the coming EU ban on internal combustion engines to affect its business and forecasts that revenue and profit will continue growing, this year by over 15%. The company said the ban does not apply to motorcycles, its core business and a segment where electrification is negligent. Its exhaust production for cars is a niche business for high-performance cars which are not mass produced and are exempt from the directive.

Jobless total hits record low in March

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's registered jobless total dropped by 5.8% in March compared to the month before and by 16.9% year-on-year to hit 50,327, an all-time low, the Employment Service said. In March, 4,321 unemployed persons registered with the Employment Service anew, which is 1.6% fewer than in February. Out of 7,398 unemployed who were struck from the service's records, 5,230 persons found a new job or got self-employed, 14% more than in February but 10% fewer year-on-year.