Prime Minister Janez Janša today held a video conference call with Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg. The two interlocutors assessed the state of the Covid-19 epidemic and exchanged information and experiences with anti-pandemic measures and their effects.

At the meeting of ministers responsible for culture, audiovisual and media in Brussels, which was chaired by the Slovenian culture minister, Vasko Simoniti, the Slovenian Presidency's commitment to a better tomorrow – for a green, sustainable, culturally diverse and resilient European Union – was reaffirmed with the approval of conclusions and discussions.

This statement has been co-signed by Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EUR 627,000 from the Cohesion Fund for the project Deep energy renovation of Building 14 in the Baron Andrej Čehovin Barracks. The project is the latest in a series of projects aiming to improve energy efficiency in the public sector with the help of EU funding. In the current programming period, over EUR 107 million have been dedicated to energy renovation of public buildings.

The Prime Minister Janez Janša and the Minister of Health Janez Poklukar today met with representatives of young doctors; The State Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, Jelka Godec, also attended the meeting. The discussion with the young doctors was followed by a meeting with Konrad Kuštrin, president of the FIDES healthcare trade union. The meetings were devoted to discussions on the situation in the healthcare sector and the functioning of healthcare given the COVID-19 situation.

All UK citizens and their family members residing in the Republic of Slovenia are invited to apply in due time for a new biometric temporary residence permit or for an exchange with a new biometric permanent residence permit.

The Minister of Culture Vasko Simoniti will chair a meeting of ministers of culture, audiovisual affairs and the media in Brussels on 30 November. Agenda of the meeting includes adoptions of the decisions on high-quality architecture and the New European Bauhaus initiative, as well as European audiovisual and media content. Several other discussions and presentations are also on the agenda.

The Retrospective of Slovenian Film opens on Thursday, 2 December, at 19:00 in Brussels. Between 2 and 22 December 2021, ten feature-length classics from the Slovenian film treasury – from the silent beginnings to present day productions – will be shown on the big screen of the Royal Belgian Film Archive in Brussels. The retrospective will open with a showing of the first Slovenian silent feature-length film In the Kingdom of Goldenhorn (V kraljestvu Zlatoroga) accompanied by live original music.

On this day, on 28 November, we are celebrating the first Mediterranean Day, which was declared in 2020 at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean. “It is my wish that the Mediterranean becomes a region of security and stability, progress and prosperity that will ensure a bright future for all of its young people,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar on Mediterranean Day.

The Slovenian Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak, chaired the virtual informal meeting of ministers responsible for urban development. With the adoption of the Ljubljana Agreement, the ministers supported further implementation of the Urban Agenda for the EU. Slovenia's initiative to involve small and medium-sized cities more in cooperation and the policy-making processes, alongside large cities was therefore successful.

On 25 and 26 November 2021, the thirteenth Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit was held in virtual form. The key theme of this summit of the leaders of European and Asian member states was the promotion of effective multilateralism for common growth and a collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Prime Minister attended the event in his capacity as President of the EU Council and Coordinator for the European Group.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan met with Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, with whom he exchanged views on the forthcoming Eastern Partnership Summit and discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today held a long telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the situation in the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood, the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, the EU's united stance on migrant pressure and the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine.

From 23 to 25 November, Minister Anže Logar attended the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg as Slovenia's high representative for relations between the Council and the Parliament.

State Secretary Kirbiš Rojs today participated in the Vanguard Initiative Annual Political Meeting. The Vanguard Initiative is a network of over 30 European regions that made a political commitment to use their smart specialisation strategies to advance technological developments and stimulate industrial modernisation through interregional collaboration.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EUR 11 million from European Regional Development Fund for the project Drafting documents for the construction of the highway for section 2 of Third Development Axis – North from junction Velenje South to junction Slovenj Gradec South. The investment is the latest in a series of investments supported by EU funding that aim to connect Slovenia.

Slovenian Minister for Education, Science and Sport, Simona Kustec, will present the Ljubljana Declaration on Gender Equality in Research and Innovation at the Competitiveness Council meeting in Brussels on Friday, 26 November.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EUR 1.67 million from European Regional Development Fund for the project Arrangement of the city centre – the Rozmanova ulica Street and the Prešernov trg Square. The project is the latest in a series of projects which use EU funding for promoting efficient use of space in urban areas.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the show "Pogovor o" (Talk about) on Radio Ognjišče, moderated by Marta Jerebič and Tanja Dominko. The interview focused on the COVID-19 epidemic, the current work of the Government, relations within the coalition and the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The press conference on the current situation with COVID-19 was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, mag. Franc Vindišar, and Martina Gašperlin, acting director of the Market Inspectorate.