News roundup - Monday, 15 July

MPs pass fishermen compensation changes

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed legislative changes that will provide legal aid to fishermen fined by Croatia and compensation to those who report loss of income due to their inability to fish beyond the middle of the Piran Bay because Croatia does not recognise the 2017 border arbitration award. The largest opposition party, the Democrats (SDS) abstained.

MPs endorse changes to post-flood reconstruction law

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed changes to the law on emergency measures regarding the August 2023 floods under which the state-owned company DSU will be partly in charge of tearing down unsafe buildings and providing substitute construction. The opposition was against the plan to involve DSU in the post-flood reconstruction effort.

Bill optimising work of administrative units passed

LJUBLJANA - MPs passed an emergency bill that looks to optimise certain procedures at the administrative units to address some of the issues raised during a months-long strike that recently ended. The legislation is designed to help the administrative units faced with the biggest backlog of cases. The bill was opposed by the coalition Left and the two opposition parties.

Emergency bill passed to secure more staff for care facilities

LJUBLJANA - MPs passed an emergency bill with which the government is addressing the shortage of staff and improving working conditions at care facilities for the elderly. The bill brings eight measures worth nearly EUR 10 million which will be in place in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The opposition stressed the need for higher wages.

National Assembly passes parliamentary inquiry law changes

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed changes to parliamentary inquiry legislation under which a request for an inquiry must be reviewed by the Constitutional Court if there are objections regarding its constitutionality. It comes after a failed consultative referendum motion by the opposition, which now mentions the possibility of legislative referendum.

Report: Municipalities investigated over post-flood reconstruction costs

MEŽICA/PREVALJE - Celje police have opened two preliminary investigations into alleged irregularities in reconstruction in the wake of August 2023 floods in northern Slovenia, according to the news site Necenzurirano. While the Celje Police Department has not named any municipalities under investigation, the portal unofficially names Mežica and Prevalje.

NLB raises takeover bid for Addiko by 10% to EUR 22 per share

LJUBLJANA - NLB, Slovenia's leading bank, announced it has raised its voluntary takeover bid for the Austrian Addiko Bank from EUR 20 to EUR 22 per share, reduced by the amount of any dividend between the announcement of the bid and settlement. This values the bank at EUR 429 million.

Ascent Resources's partner ordered to drop mining activity

LENDAVA - The public learned that the Inspectorate for Natural Resources and Mining has ordered the energy company Geoenergo to phase out mining activity, as the decision was filed to the Murska Sobota District Court. The company, which is in receivership, has appealed the decision. Geoenergo was founded several years ago to extract gas in northeastern Slovenia together with the UK's Ascent Resources by means of fracking, which has since been banned in Slovenia.

Freedom Movement funding inquiry discord continues

LJUBLJANA - The disagreement between the opposition Democrats (SDS) and the senior coalition Freedom Movement about the key positions in a parliamentary inquiry commission looking into the latter's funding continues. The SDS said it had filed a criminal complaint against commission chair Tomaž Lah for violating the parliamentary inquiry act and rules of procedure, while he dismissed the accusations.

Outgoing MEP Brglez appointed Justice Ministry state secretary

LJUBLJANA - The government appointed at a correspondence session outgoing MEP Milan Brglez (S&D/SD) as a state secretary at the Justice Ministry on the proposal of Justice Minister Andreja Katič. Brglez will assume the post on Wednesday, the Justice Ministry said. He ran in this year's EU election, but failed to be re-elected.

Repair shops protest against insurance company pricing

LJUBLJANA - Some auto repair shops have decided to stop accepting customers insured by Generali, claiming the insurance company has not been covering the full cost of repairs and has not been paying their full hourly rates. Over a hundred shops have decided to join the action, the Association of Auto Repair Shops told the newspaper Delo. Generali dismissed the accusations.

Damage of Portorož fire estimated at around EUR 3m

PORTOROŽ - Damage caused by a major fire that destroyed a building with several shops and bars on the main city beach in Portorož on Sunday is estimated by its owner at at least EUR 3 million. It took some 100 firefighters hours to put out the fire, which started at a storage facility of popular Alaya lounge bar and quickly spread to the rest of the building.

Slovenska Bistrica struggling to deal with hailstorm damage

SLOVENSKA BISTRICA - The municipality of Slovenska Bistrica in the east is still struggling to eliminate the damage a severe hailstorm caused recently. The mayor estimates the damage to go into millions of euros. At least 420 buildings have been damaged, mostly roofs, and many cars and crops. One family had to be moved out of their home.

Kavač Clan members indicted for murder and attempted murder, Večer reports

LJUBLJANA - An indictment has been filed against eight persons, including alleged members of the Kavač Clan drug cartel, for the 2019 murder of Danijel Božić and the attempted murder and kidnapping of Žarko Tešanović after EUR 1.5 million worth of cocaine went missing from a Kavač Clan storage facility in Gorenjska, the newspaper Večer said.

Four men sentenced to prison for series of Maribor arsons in 2023

MARIBOR - The Maribor District Court sentenced on Friday four young men to prison sentences after they had pleaded guilty to over 20 car, lorry and bus arsons in and around Maribor last year. They caused a minimum of half a million euro in damage. All four men were sent to an open prison ward, so as to be able to get jobs and start repaying the damages.

Net migration positive as immigration from Bosnia continues

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded positive migration flows last year, mostly as a result of continued strong migration from Bosnia and Herzegovina, fresh Statistics Office data show. A total of 4,031 Slovenian citizens and 29,908 foreign citizens moved to Slovenia last year, whereas 5,627 Slovenians and 16,784 foreigners left. The number of immigrants decreased by 5% compared to the year before, and the number of emigrants increased by 7%.

Two years after wildfire, restoration still under way

MIREN-KOSTANJEVICA - Two years after a major forest fire hit the Kras region, south-west, efforts to rehabilitate the forests are still under way. Firefighters have meanwhile received new gear and Slovenia now has its own firefighting aircraft. The disastrous fire, which broke out in July 2022, destroyed 3,700 hectares of land in Kras in 17 days, including 2,900 hectares of forests.