News roundup - Sunday, 5 February

PM Golob renounces annual bonus at GEN-I

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob has signed an agreement with his former energy company GEN-I renouncing an annual bonus for the company's successful performance in 2021, GEN-I told the STA on Saturday. The agreement says that in line with GEN-I's decision in December, board members are not entitled to the annual bonus, one of the variable components of their pay, for 2021. Golob's term as GEN-I director general expired in November 2021 as the state-owned electricity trader's supervisors failed to approve another term. He said in January 2022 when he announced his plan to enter politics that he would give the bonus to charity organisations. According to Delo, he would be entitled to around EUR 1.5 million gross if GEN-I was to pay out the bonus.

Heavy cargo lifted after January accident

ZIDANI MOST - A heavy power transformer that fell off a freight wagon at a train station in Zidani Most, some 70km east of Ljubljana, in early January was lifted to the area of the train station on Saturday. On 18 February, it will be taken to Etra Kolektor, a Ljubljana-based transformer producer, to be checked before it is delivered to Austria. The cargo weighs 380 tonnes together with the freight wagon. Investigation into the cause of the accident in Austria, as an Austrian company was in charge of transport, is in its final stage, but there is no indication so far that the fault was with the Slovenian national rail operator SŽ.

Joker Out to represent Slovenia at Eurosong with Carpe Diem

LJUBLJANA - Carpe Diem, the song with which Joker Out will represent Slovenia at this year's Eurovision song contest in Liverpool, premiered on public broadcaster TV Slovenija on Saturday evening. The immensely popular five-member Joker Out made the song in a studio in Hamburg, Germany, with Slovenian producer Žare Pak and shot a video in Ljubljana. They will sing Carpe Diem, a dance tune, in Slovenian in the semi-final on 11 May, hoping to make it to the 13 May final.

Ljubljana airport passengers offset 600 tons of CO2

BRNIK - Ljubljana airport passengers have offset 600 tonnes of carbon dioxide by making contributions to environmental projects in the year and a half since the carbon footprint offset project was launched. Passengers have flown more than five million carbon neutral kilometres, according to the airport operator Fraport Slovenija.