News roundup - Thursday, 18 January

Minister Švarc Pipan not considering resignation for now

LJUBLJANA - Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan, who has come under fire over an allegedly severely overpaid acquisition of a building meant to house several courts, said that she was not thinking of resigning for the moment and that she enjoyed the support of Prime Minister Robert Golob for now. She however proposed the dismissal of the ministry's secretary general Uroš Gojkovič, who was in charge of the building purchase, and the reassignment of two other senior officials.

SDS wants consultative referendum on new nuclear plant

LJUBLJANA - The deputy group of Democrats (SDS) filed a proposal to call a consultative referendum on whether to construct a new reactor at the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK) and smaller modular reactors. The largest opposition party supports the project, but it believes that Krško 2 is not a "project of one company, but of the whole of Slovenia, which urgently needs a strong and stable source of energy". Neither the government nor the largest coalition parties commented on the move.

Govt setting up migrant processing facilities at Obrežje border crossing

LJUBLJANA - The government decided to set up temporary facilities for processing migrants at the Obrežje border crossing with Croatia. The facilities are to be used for a maximum of three years. In the first phase, a fence, two accommodation containers, three tents and two sanitary containers will be set up. Two more tents each will be set up in the second and third phases.

Two Slovenian MEPs vote against Hungary resolution, one abstains

STRASBOURG, France - Five of Slovenia's eight MEPs voted for the resolution with which the European Parliament called on the Council to take further steps against Hungary for its violations of the rule of law. Of the remaining three MEPs - all of them members of the European People's Party (EPP), two voted against, both of them members of the Democrats (SDS) and one abstained. Prior to the vote the Slovenian government called for dialogue both on this issue and on aid for Ukraine.

State prosecutors announce strike for 31 January

LJUBLJANA - The Association of State Prosecutors announced that they would go on strike on 31 January because of the government's failure to implement a Constitutional Court ruling on judges' salaries. If an agreement does not avert the strike, only urgent and priority matters or cases that are soon to become statute-barred will be dealt with on that day, the association's head Boštjan Valenčič told the STA. State prosecutors' pay is tied to judges' pay.

Temporary protection for Ukrainians extended

LJUBLJANA - The government extended temporary protection for Ukrainians living in Slovenia by another year, until 4 March 2025, as the situation in Ukraine is still unstable due to the Russian invasion. Several thousand Ukrainians have found refuge here since the start of the war in February 2022 and temporary protection grants them a temporary residence permit, access to the labour market, accommodation, education, social care and healthcare.

Government names negotiators for public sector pay talks

LJUBLJANA - The government named Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič as the chief negotiator for pay talks in the public sector and negotiators for the multiple pillars that are supposed to emerge in the heretofore unified pay system. The talks will be not just about wages but also about work standards and performance. "We want the central and the sectoral negotiations to start immediately," Boštjančič said.

Govt and unions sign annex to collective bargaining agreement for education

LJUBLJANA - The government and five education trade unions signed an annex to the collective bargaining agreement for education. Among the main changes are the right to a sabbatical for higher education staff, and systemic pay for primary and secondary school teachers who accompany kids on multi-day school trips. The annex partly implements the strike agreements the government concluded with SVIZ last March and with the Higher Education Trade Union last July to avert strikes.

Janša says migration is social, economic and security problem

KOPER - Opposition Democrats (SDS) head Janez Janša discussed migration at a public debate yesterday to underscore that this will be the main topic ahead of the European election. He noted the difference between refugees and economic migrants, labelling those who are neither of the two as the biggest problem. Janša said that migration was a social, economic and security problem.

Ex-state secretary Leben found guilty of integrity breach

LJUBLJANA - The Administrative Court has upheld the decision by the anti-graft commission that Jure Leben violated integrity rules in June 2018 when the government was looking for the operator of Maribor airport in a public-private partnership after he appealed the commission's decision. At the time, Leben served as state secretary at the Infrastructure Ministry in the Miro Cerar government. Leben said he would contest the findings with all legal means available.

Two dozen cattle returning to home farm after contentious seizure

LJUBLJANA - The authorities have started returning the two dozen cattle that had been seized from a farm near Krško in a highly-publicised case as the second instance authority upheld the appeal by the farmer, Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry head Roman Žveglič told the press, adding that the farmer had informed him of the relevant decision of the authorities. The farmer's son claims that the animals are in a worse condition now than at the time of the seizure.

Exhibition on Sarajevo Olympics opens in Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA - An exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the Sarajevo Olympic Games and the role Slovenians played there opened at the National Museum of Contemporary History. The exhibition showcases 300 original items, while the spirit of the games is presented through photos and videos, including recollections of athletes, support teams, experts and sports officials.

First prison sentence handed in sludge dumping scandal

MARIBOR - A man who pleaded guilty to assisting in the dumping of nearly 200 tonnes of sewage sludge in the village of Pivola in 2021 was handed a prison sentence of two years and four months by a court in Maribor. The remaining suspects in what was one of many such cases discovered after Hungary ended sludge imports from Slovenia still face trial.