News

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan, on behalf of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, led the fourteenth meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro at ministerial level today in Brussels. As the current holder of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Slovenia is striving to speed up the enlargement process.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels headed by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The ministers focused on EU-Africa relations and Central Asia – with a special emphasis on Afghanistan – and Venezuela.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a videoconference discussion with Téte António, President of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy approved EU funding for three cycle projects between mid-November and mid-December 2021; new bikeways in Kranj, Ptuj and Murska Sobota will be developed with the help of EU funding. The three investments are the latest in a series of projects that aim to foster sustainable mobility and provide safe and comfortable cycling routes. Over the past seven years, a total of EUR 115 million has been invested in cycling infrastructure, which resulted in the development of some 490 kilometers of bikeways across Slovenia.

"Human resource management needs to focus on a multi-generational workforce and take into account the participation of all generations. This would help to shape younger and older workers not as separate commodities but as two sides of the same coin. Today, more than ever, it is important to make this natural diversity an asset in a rapidly changing work environment," stressed Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik in his opening address at the EUPAN Directors-General Meeting, which took place online on Monday 13 December 2021.

At today's meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the ministers discussed the state of play of the revision of the Union fisheries control system. The Council Chair Jože Podgoršek briefed the ministers on important achievements of the Slovenian Presidency regarding the revision. Today, the ministers primarily focussed on the agreement on fishing quotas for 2022.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan passed the presidency baton in the field of development cooperation to his counterpart French State Secretary Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.

Today’s press conference about the current COVID-19 situation was attended by Martina Gašperlin, Acting Chief Inspector of the Market Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia, and Marjan Maček, Head of the Financial Control Sector at the Financial Administration of Republic of Slovenia.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project COVID-19 – Arrangement of premises for Intermediate Care Department – renovation of the old department of internal medicine at the Novo mesto General Hospital. The EUR 6 million project that will be implemented by the Ministry of Health will receive a substantial contribution from the European Regional Development Fund under the React-EU initiative in the amount of. EUR 3.8 million.

As part of the government visit to the region, the Minister for Development and European Cohesion Policy today met with the officials from the municipalities of Kranjska Gora, Žirovnica and Cerklje na Gorenjskem and with the CEOs of the Public Utility Company Tabre and the NGEN company to discuss EU funding opportunities.

"Every citizen should have the possibility to actively, continuously and responsibly participate at all levels of the community, both in person and online. A progressive and inclusive approach can also help public administrations to develop better digital services that bring more added value to end users. However, the use of advanced digital technologies is only possible if citizens support digital solutions, know how to use them and recognise their value. That is why we are working to offer citizens secure, trustworthy, freely accessible and user-friendly digital services," said the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik, in the opening session of the conference.

Yesterday, Minister Jože Podgoršek in his capacity as Chair of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council took part in a high level stakeholder conference entitled "EU animal welfare today and tomorrow". The conference organised by the European Commission presented an opportunity for stakeholders to express their views on the Commission’s main ideas regarding the revision of the EU’s animal welfare legislation in the context of the public consultation launched by the Commission in October.

On Human Rights Day, State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan addressed the participants of a hybrid round table on the importance and promotion of women’s participation in peace and security through an EU and NATO external approach.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan conducted virtual political consultations with Reenat Sandhu, Secretary (West) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India. The two high officials confirmed the good relations between the two countries, expressing a mutual interest in strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

On Friday, December 10, 2021, at 1 pm, after more than fifty years, Slovenia finally welcomed back thirteen Slovenian feature films (picture and tone negatives), which had been on February 15, 1968 deposited for storage at the Yugoslav Cinematheque in Belgrade by the production company Triglav Film. This deposit was based on the contract signed between the Yugoslav Cinematheque and the Republic Committee for Culture of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia.

The 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its Protocols took place in Antalya, Turkey. The most important achievement of the meeting is the designation of the entire Mediterranean Sea as an emission control area for sulphur oxides. In addition to adopting the Medium-Term Strategy of the United Nations Environment Programme, the Mediterranean Action Plan for 2022–2027 and the Post-2020 Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biological Diversity, the parties also designated new marine protected areas and adopted the Antalya Ministerial Declaration.

EU ministers of the interior have unanimously concluded that Croatia has fulfilled the necessary conditions for the application of all parts of the Schengen acquis.

Minister dr. Jože Podgoršek assumed the presidency role at the Council for Agriculture and Fisheries at the French assembly for the rural areas yesterday, an interest grouping that unites representatives of local authorities, parliament members, academics and researchers. The central focus of the meeting was on the development of the rural areas for the further development of the common European agricultural policy. It was on this occasion that he gave Joël Giraud, minister of rural affairs, the beehive as the symbol of the Slovenian countryside.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has made voluntary contributions to the Council of Europe to support three important areas of their work.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša together with the ministers of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia signed the book of condolence in memory of the late Prof. Dr Lovro Šturm, former president of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia and minister of justice and of education and sports.

"Digital technologies offer huge opportunities for the improvement of service provision, participatory processes and cooperation with citizens. However, we need to ensure that these technologies are trustworthy, human-centred and focused on the fundamental rights and values of the EU," said the Slovenian Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik at the start of the informal meeting of EU State Chief Information Officers (EU CIO meeting). The meeting was attended by 54 participants from 30 countries, five Western Balkans.

Prime Minister Janez Janša and the Minister of Digital Transformation Mark Boris Andrijanič today met with the representatives of Google.

Slovenia will formally announce its candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2024–2025 term in New York today. The decision on the candidature put forth on the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia after having been considered by the Committee on Foreign Policy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.

A photo exhibition entitled Personae is on display in the lobby of the Ministry of Culture. Mexican-American portrait photographer Carlos David explores the complex relationship between how we see ourselves and the way we present ourselves to others. The exhibition is on display until February 22, 2022.

During the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the 41st session of the Executive Body for the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution took place in Geneva in a hybrid format from 6 to 8 December 2021. At a time when some of the capital cities across the world have once again decided to shut down all activities, this time because of excessive air pollution, the parties are adopting new provisions for cleaner air.

As part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the international conference "Semantic Interoperability Community – SEMIC 2021", a key European event in the field of semantic interoperability, organised by the Ministry of Public Administration in collaboration with the European Commission, took place on Wednesday 8 December 2021. The title of the conference was "Human Centric Data Spaces – Powered by Interoperability".

Today, the Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, attended the seventh ministerial meeting of the EU Internet Forum, organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the internet industry.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved over EUR 1.1 million from the European Regional Development Fund to support the project Restoration of the Rafutski Park and design of park entrances. The project is the latest in a series of similar EU-funded redevelopment projects that foster efficient use of space in urban areas. Over the past seven years, the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has dedicated EUR 77.3 million in EU funding to investments that foster town revitalisation.

The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia is responding to the report by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on the state of democracy in Slovenia.

At this year’s Amazon Academy event, Minister Mark Boris Andrijanič stressed the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for Europe’s success, since they create many jobs and bring great added value to the economy.

Today, Director-General Barbara Sušnik hosted consultations of the Trio Presidency of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia. Its 18-month term, which was strongly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the adoption of measures for post-pandemic economic and sustainable recovery, concludes at the end of this year.

On 7th December, Minister of Defence Matej Tonin and the European Commissioner Janez Lenarčič attended the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network Day/ video conference.

On 7th December, Minister of Defence Matej Tonin attended the annual conference of the European Defence Agency where innovations in European defence were at the forefront of the talks. Minister Tonin participated in the panel Defence Innovation - A Strategic Imperative for the EU?

In an interview with the Demokracija magazine, the Slovenian Prime Minister – currently Chair of the Council of the European Union and President of the Slovenian Democratic Party – Janez Janša spoke about Slovenia's 30th birthday, the work of the Government, the Presidency of the Council of the EU, the epidemic, and the destructive behaviour of the left-wing opposition and its puppet masters hidden behind the scenes.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan, acting as Minister for Development Cooperation, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the representative of the country holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, attended the 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial held in a virtual format. In his address, he presented Slovenia’s peacebuilding efforts.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan attended a high-level event on “Water and Displacement” via audio-video conference.
He asserted that water is at the heart of many global, regional and local challenges ranging from health to the effects of climate change. This is also one of the reasons why Slovenia chose water as a key priority of its Council Presidency in development cooperation.

The EU Network of National Rapporteurs and Equivalent Mechanisms against Trafficking in Human Beings (NREM) met today by videoconference, in the context of the Slovenian Presidency of the European Union. The Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs gave an opening speech.

We would like to inform our esteemed clients that the official hours of the Consular Department remain suspended until further notice. Our clients are kindly advised that prior appointment via phone (+20 2 37498171) or email (sloembassy.cairo@gov.si) is requested to perform any consular service. In particular cases, scans of the documentation may also be requested in advance before allocating a time slot for approaching the Consular Department.

The head of the advisory group at the Ministry for Health, Mateja Logar, took part in the press conference on COVID 19.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EUR 764.5 thousand of European Regional Development Fund contribution for a project, implemented under the Agreement on the Development of the Region, for setting up electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Kranj. This is the first project supported by the ESI funds focusing entirely on EV charging stations; thus far EV charging stations were supported under Park and Ride projects resulting in around one hundred parking units offering EV charging.

The last meeting of the Working Group of the Public Procurement Council, chaired by Director General Sašo Matas and his colleagues, took place today at the Directorate for Public Procurement of the Ministry of Public Administration in the framework of the Presidency.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the Rome MED 2021 – Mediterranean Dialogues international conference, which is taking place in the Italian capital under this year's title “Leveraging Transitions”. Minister Logar together with the Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno and Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman took part in the panel on Mediterranean common goods, stating “we are proud that Slovenia has joined the EUMED, an excellent platform for cooperation also for its Foreign Ministers. It is important that countries on both sides of the Mediterranean strive for common values and goals, even if at different paces, for a better future.”

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan attended the virtual event "Inclusive and Resilient Digital Transition: A New Chapter for the AU-EU Relations?" at which he stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the African Union and the European Union in this field.

At today's meeting of the Telecommunications Council, chaired by the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik, the EU ministers unanimously endorsed a general approach on the NIS2 directive, which will make a major contribution to improving the EU’s resilience and cyber incident response capacities. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Digital Transformation, Mark Boris Andrijanič, who chaired the Council's policy debate on "Digital rights and principles" in the context of Europe's Digital Decade 2030.

Today, the Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the Central European Initiative (CEI) summit in Budva via an audio-video link, hosted by the Prime Minister of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapić.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the 28th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Stockholm, at which the foreign ministers discussed conflicts and current crises in the region, stressing the importance of an effective OSCE approach in implementing the concept of comprehensive security.

From 1 to 3 December 2021, the Congress Centre Brdo pri Kranju is hosting the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs.

At the last meeting of the Working Party on Staff Regulations under the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, delegates discussed two regular annual reports, namely on the budget and financial expenditure for employees of the EU institutions and the employment of contract staff in the EU institutions. The working party was led by Peter Pogačar, Director General of the Public Sector Directorate, and his colleagues.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs and State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture dr. Ignacija Fridl Jarc today attended the conference of the Center for Creativity as special guests to deliver introductory remarks on the occasion of the launch of the call for proposals Promotion of cultural and creative industries – Centre for Creativity 2022. The call for proposals will receive ERDF co-financing.

On 30 November 2021, more than 150 experts and entrepreneurs participated in a webinar titled SMEs & Defence Initiatives: Unlocking Opportunities & Overcoming Challenges (SMEs), organized under the auspices of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the Slovenian Business & Research Association (SBRA) and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia.