News roundup - Wednesday, 19 July, until 3pm

Another wave of storms hits practically entire country

LJUBLJANA - A wave of storms with rain, lightning strikes and gale-force winds moved across Slovenia on Tuesday evening, ripping roofs off buildings, and knocking down trees and power lines. Tens of thousands were left without power, said the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration. Strong winds were the main problem across the country, with some parts getting local downpours and hail. Firefighters evacuated 253 people who were camping outdoors in three municipalities in different parts of the country. They also helped remove a large number of uprooted trees from roads, railways, buildings, vehicles and telecommunication lines. The regions of Dolenjska and Bela Krajina, south-east, are said to have been hit the worst.

National Security Council discusses Slovenia's role in UN Security Council

LJUBLJANA - The National Security Council got acquainted with the crisis situations on the agenda of the UN Security Council and to be addressed by Slovenia during its non-permanent membership. It proposed Slovenia focus in particular on climate change and the water crisis, conflict prevention and the protection of civilians and the most vulnerable. The council moreover called for Slovenia to use its membership to help strengthen the role of women and the honouring of international law, said Andrej Benedejčič, the state secretary for national and international security in the prime minister's office.

Red alert issued as storms are to hit western and central Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - The Environment Agency issued a red alert - the highest alert - for western and central Slovenia for a period until 4pm CET as a strong storm system has covered western Slovenia and is gaining strength. The storm system is moving very fast, bringing very strong winds and possibly hail, said the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration. More storms across the country are forecast for late afternoon and the evening as well as during the night.

First EU support funds for transition of coal regions available soon

LJUBLJANA - The Cohesion and Regional Development Ministry will roll out on Friday the first call for applications for EU-provided support in the climate transition of the Slovenian coal regions of Savinjsko-Šaleška and Zasavje. The first call, worth EUR 7.6 million in what is a EUR 258 million support scheme under the Just Transition Fund (JTF), is meant for the municipalities of Zagorje, Trbovlje and Hrastnik, all located in the Zasavje region, where coal mining was abandoned a few years ago. The municipalities will be able to receive support for the development of economic and business infrastructure.

Slovenia to get not only damages but also electricity from Bosnia

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian electricity system will not get only EUR 67 million from Bosnian coal mine and power station Ugljevik in compensation for failure to supply power, as it is also eligible to buy around 500 gigawatts of electricity from Ugljevik a year, which is 4% of the country's annual needs, Dnevnik reported. The Slovenian power utility HSE could not say when it will actually get the electricity, because no agreement has yet been reached with the Bosnian side. Slovenia consumes around 14,000 gigawatts of electricity a year, which means the power from Ugljevik would cover 4% of its needs.

National Council to discuss veto of long-term care bill

LJUBLJANA - The National Council will discuss on Thursday the proposal for a suspensive veto on the long-term care bill on the proposal of the councillors representing employers, local interests, farmers, tradespersons and sole proprietors, as the discontent with the bill, passed on Monday, is not dying out. The interest group in the upper chamber believes fast-tracking the bill was not justified for legislation that addresses such complex and sensitive topics. The Pensioners' Association also spoke up in opposition to the bill, labelling it as was discriminatory towards pensioners who will pay the 1% contribution out of their net pensions.

Equality ombudsman makes recommendations for changes to mental health act

LJUBLJANA - The Advocate of the Principle of Equality presented to the National Assembly recommendations on how to amend the Mental Health Act so that its provisions would be in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with regards to the right of self-determination of those with mental disabilities. In the recommendations, Miha Lobnik said that people with mental or intellectual disabilities have the right to self-determination and pointed out that the proposed changes to the act, which are currently in the parliamentary procedure, do not sufficiently take this fact into account.

Slovenian police helping Croatian officers during tourist season

LJUBLJANA - As numerous Slovenians spend their summer holidays on the Croatian coast, the Slovenian police has sent three officers to Croatia to help their counterparts for a month in procedures with Slovenian tourists in the city of Pula and on the islands of Krk and Pag. Such cooperation improves communication with Slovenian tourists, shortens police procedures and keeps Slovenian tourists safer, the Slovenian police said. Slovenia is one of a total of 19 countries taking part in the Safe Tourist Destination 2023 project.

Prešeren Prize laureate Gvardjančič with new exhibition in Škofja Loka

LJUBLJANA - A new exhibition by the latest Prešeren Prize laureate Herman Gvardjančič is opening at the Ivan Grohar Gallery in Škofja Loka in the evening. Titled Slovenae 22: Kras, the drawings shed light on last year's devastating wildfires in the southwest of the country. In his new cycle of drawings, Gvardjančič, one of the most important representative of abstract expressionist art in Slovenia, continues the Slovenae art project he started in the 1980s. Topic-wise its more closely related to a cycle he created several years ago when wildfires broke out in Australia, the Škofja Loka Museum said.