Jernej Vrtovec

Ljubljana – The opposition New Slovenia (NSi) has urged the government not to reverse the tax reform introduced by the previous government, while also noting that it should prepare a package of targeted measures to help vulnerable groups as well as measures to help business cope with the growing energy prices.

Ljubljana – The new infrastructure minister, Bojan Kumer, announced on Thursday that he and Economy Minister Matjaž Han would appoint a task force on Monday to deal with energy price hikes. “The energy price hikes need to be addressed immediately,” Kumer said as he took over from his predecessor Jernej Vrtovec, adding that the new task force would be in charge of that.

Ljubljana – The coalition New Slovenia (NSi) is looking at an improved result in Sunday’s general election compared to the 2018 vote, which party president Matej Tonin likened to “winning a medal”. He noted that the NSi would likely be in the opposition in the next term, where it would be constructive as Slovenia is facing many challenges.

Kamnik – Matej Tonin, the defence minister, praised his Christian democratic party for its efficiency in delivering on its promises as he addressed the annual get-together of New Slovenia (NSi) in his home town Kamnik on Saturday.

Ljubljana – The National Assembly overwhelmingly approved on Tuesday the government package to mitigate the impact of high energy prices. As the coalition praised the bill and the wide range of beneficiaries during the debate, most of the opposition MPs also supported the bill, although they argued that the aid would come too late.

Ljubljana – The parliamentary Commission for Oversight of Public Finances debated on Monday staffing at state-owned energy companies. The centre-left opposition reiterated its allegation of politically-motivated dismissals of managers, while Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec yet again denied having anything to do with them.

Ljubljana – Slovenia is counting on nuclear in its energy transition since renewable sources alone will not suffice to cover the production shortfall once coal is phased out given that the country has missed many opportunities already, Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said on Tuesday. “There is potential for more photovoltaic plants and four hydro power plants.

Ljubljana – Robert Golob, the long-serving CEO of the indirectly state-owned energy company Gen-I, has said the reason he failed to get endorsed for another term was that the “politics” turned down a decarbonisation plan drawn up by Gen-I and other players.

Ljubljana – Following his dismissal as the chairman of the country’s largest electricity distributor Elektro Ljubljana, Andrej Ribič announced on Monday that he will challenge the decision of the supervisory board in court. He believes Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec is behind the dismissal, which Vrtovec denied.

Brdo pri Kranju – Government ministers and energy sector representatives discussed key frameworks and guidelines on climate change, the decarbonisation of society and the importance of energy in different sectors at Wednesday’s consultation on energy called by Prime Minister Janez Janša.