The Maribor municipality deems the location as well as decrepit facilities of the migrant workers' home inappropriate for an asylum centre. The local authorities are willing to help accommodate asylum seekers provided the government's plans are made clear and are agreed with the local community, argues the municipality.

"We're in constant contact with the representatives of local authorities, including individual mayors," emphasized Boštjan Šefic, state secretary at the Ministry of the Interior. However, the cooperation with the mayor of Maribor, Andrej Fištravec, does not seem to be very close. According to the mayor, Šefic paid him a visit in the previous week and informed him that the ministry "is considering something" but that "it is no clear how and what that is".

Confirmation that the interior ministry had in fact inspected the workers' home at Studenci, came from its tenant Albin Hauptman. The municipality as well as the borough consider the location to be unsuitable for an asylum home. "I'm against this idea if it hasn't been worked out in detail. It hasn't been for now, which is why I'm against the idea," argued mayor Fištravec.

The workers' facilities could accommodate 64 people in 32 rooms. A few foreign workers currently live in the residence. In Thursday's statement for the Večer newspaper, PM Cerar said that the location was among potential options but not on the priority list.

J. G. TV Slovenija; translated by K. Z.