News roundup - Thursday, 16 January
Ljubljana, 16 January - Below is a roundup of major events on Thursday, 16 January:
Govt adopts bill banning dual practice in healthcare
LJUBLJANA - The government adopted changes to the Health Services Act which prohibit healthcare staff employed at public organisations from also working for private providers, with very narrow exemptions. Such staff will however be able to work for private providers who have a concession. The bill is the linchpin of the government's health reform drive and signals an end to the now common practice of health staff working in the public healthcare system also working for private providers in their spare time. The Medical Chamber and the doctors' trade union Fides said the legislation is misguided and does not address key problems in healthcare but would only accelerate the demise of the public system.
Dismissal of Energy Agency council deferred
LJUBLJANA - Contrary to last week's announcement, the government decided against proposing that the National Assembly dismiss members of the Energy Agency council over the body's insistence on a new grid charge system. The decision was delayed after the European Commission threatened with an infringement procedure should the regulator's independence be impaired. "We are taking more time," chief government spokesman and Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon told the press. The agency said it was pleased that "the government did not interfere with the autonomy of the independent regulator through potentially unlawful measures."
Slovenia focused on meeting 2% of GDP defence spending target
LJUBLJANA - Following indications from NATO that allies will have to increase the defence spending benchmark from the current 2% of GDP to over 3%, a Defence Ministry State Secretary Damir Črnčec told the STA said Slovenia will focus on honouring its commitment of increasing spending to 2% of GDP by 2030. Črnčec would not want to prejudge "any future increases". He said the Defence Ministry was currently not working on any documents in that direction and was focused on meeting the commitments to spend a good 1.5% of GDP on defence this year and 1.6% in 2026.
Slovenia saw record high average temperatures in 2024
LJUBLJANA - Last year was a landmark year for climate globally, breaking records for average temperatures and marking the warmest year since systematic measurements began in the mid-19th century. Slovenia mirrored this global trend, experiencing its warmest year on record, with unusually high rainfall and limited snowfall. The average temperature in the country was 11.3 degrees Celsius, 1.8 degrees above the 1991-2020 average, with February, July, and August setting monthly temperature records.
New acting police commissioner seeks full term
LJUBLJANA - After taking up the job of acting police commissioner following the resignation of embattled Commissioner Senad Jušić, Damjan Petrič told the press that he would like to stay a full term at the helm of the police. One of his priorities will be to lead the force to "calm seas" and boost public trust in their work. Petrič is aware of the challenges the police are facing right now. "First, this boat, which is sailing through choppy waters, will have to be led to calm seas so that she can unfurl her sails and go full sail towards her destination," he said.
Slovenia welcomes Gaza ceasefire
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's top state representatives welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached between Hamas and Israel. Prime Minister Robert Golob said the deal was a long awaited and positive step, which, I hope, paves the way to peace and stability in Gaza. President Nataša Pirc Musar hopes that the peace process, in which the Palestinians will finally have their own state and the people will regain their dignity, continues. Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon the deal marked a new beginning for Palestine and Israel and paved the way for a two-state solution.
Slovenia endorses resolution against Houthi attacks in Red Sea
LJUBLJANA - As the UN Security Council on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding that the Houthi movement in Yemen cease attacks on ships in the Red Sea and calling for regular reporting of those attacks, Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Žbogar once again condemned the attacks and demanded that they stop immediately. Welcoming the resolution Žbogar, said that "we continue to condemn the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which undermine international maritime security and threaten the key flows of food, fuel and humanitarian aid."
Analyst says international protectorate best solution for Gaza, West Bank
LJUBLJANA - The best solution for Gaza and the West Bank now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire would be an international protectorate, political analyst Klemen Grošelj said as he commented on the deal to end hostilities and release the hostages taken by Hamas on October 2023. The defence studies professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana told Radio Slovenija that the deal is a result of the fatigue of all the players in the conflict, Iran's desire for the pressure on it to be eased, as well as Donald Trump soon taking over as the US president.
Govt simplifies temporary protection procedures
LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed a bill on temporary protection of displaced persons. Under the proposal, Slovenia will no longer need to adopt a special decision to introduce temporary protection, but instead the decision of the Council of the EU introducing temporary protection to displaced persons in all member states will apply. The aim is to lift the burden off the state bodies involved in the temporary protection procedures and give persons with temporary protection quicker access to their rights in Slovenia.
Minority condemns Styrian govt's anthem plan
KLAGENFURT, Austria - The National Council of Carinthian Slovenians (NSKS), a key organisation of the Slovenian minority, condemned the plan of the new government of Styria to enshrine the federal state's anthem in its constitution. Written in 1844, the song talks about Styrian territory stretching well beyond the borders of modern-day Austria. "Governor Mario Kunasek has embarrassed himself several times over the past few days with his comments about the Styrian anthem," NSKS said.
Govt proposes scrapping distribution of free laptops
LJUBLJANA - The government endorsed amendments to the Digital Inclusion Act which will terminate a controversial programme for the distribution of free laptops. The intention was good, but the mechanism has turned out to be too cumbersome and slow, it said. The distribution of laptops on loan to vulnerable groups of the population will be terminated after more than 20,000 requests for laptops arrived last year and just over 8,000 were approved.
Kumer dismisses criminal charges against him as populism
LJUBLJANA - Environment, Climate and Energy Minister Bojan Kumer said that a criminal complaint filed against him by the Pirate Party in relation to the cancellation of a referendum on nuclear expansion last October was "pure populism intended to divide people". He stressed he had acted lawfully the entire time and that the official referendum campaign had not started by the time the referendum was cancelled.
Report: Melania Trump invites seven Slovenian friends to inauguration
LJUBLJANA - The future US First Lady Melania Trump and her father Viktor Knavs have invited seven friends from Slovenia to Donald Trump's inauguration, Delo reported. The list includes prominent aircraft designer and entrepreneur Ivo Boscarol, Ljubljana Bishop Anton Jamnik, four members of the prominent family of medical businessmen Plesković, and former owner of the arms company Arex, Ivan Kralj and his son Gregor.
Ljubljana Airport passenger numbers up 13% in 2024
BRNIK - Ljubljana Airport welcomed 1.4 million passengers in 2024, up 13.3% year-on-year, shows data from Fraport, the airport's operator. According to the portal EX-YU Aviation, the airport has achieved 83.6% of the numbers recorded during the pre-pandemic year of 2019 when flag carrier Adria Airways declared bankruptcy, and 79% of 2018 figures, the last full year of the airline's operations.
Strong wind destroys Basovizza monument to victims of fascism
BASOVIZZA, Italy - The strong bora wind that has swept across the western region of Primorska in recent days has not spared the monument to the Basovizza heroes near Trieste. Erected in memory of four Slovenian victims of fascism executed in 1930, the monument suffered extensive damage when gusts of wind toppled a nearby tree, causing it to fall on the structure. While the financial estimate of the damage to the monument, which was desecrated by Italian neo-fascists multiple times, is still pending, the Primorski Dnevnik paper has suggested it will be significant.
Inspection finds several violations at poultry farm
LJUBLJANA - An inspection at a poultry farm where alarming footage was shot by an animal rights group and released by the public broadcaster last week, has shown several violations of the rules on animal breeding, including overcrowding of cages, mite infestation and other animal welfare failures. However, none were grave that emergency measures would be required, the Food Safety Administration said.
Animated feature involving Slovenian producer and director to premiere at Berlinale
BERLIN, Germany - Tales from the Magic Garden, a feature-length puppet animation film involving a Slovenian producer and director, will be shown in the Generation Kplus competition programme of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in February. The stop-animation film, an adaptation of Unwanted Things and People by Czech author Arnošt Goldflam, has been created by directors and producers from four countries - Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and France.
Gaming industry developer named Woman Engineer of the Year
LJUBLJANA - The Woman Engineer of the Year title for 2024 went to Rebeka Kropivšek Leskovar, a development engineer working for Interblock, a developer and supplier of electronic table gaming products. Kropivšek Leskovar says she has been interested in technology since childhood. She completed mechatronics studies at the Ljubljana Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and then went on to obtain a master's degree in information and communication technologies at the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School.
Slovenia in miniature at Šenčur museum
ŠENČUR - Slovenia's landmarks, icons and historical milestones have been recreated in scale models and dioramas in a museum in Šenčur, a town near the northwestern city of Kranj. The Slovenia in Miniature Museum, arguably the first such in the country, will open to the general public on 25 January, but is already open for school groups. The models have been made by Igor Grabnar, who put some 50,000 hours of work into them with the help of assistants. He has been making scale models of historic milestones since 2012.