News

The representatives of the ministries responsible for higher education from Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Croatia and Slovenia, a representative of the Union for the Mediterranean and a representative of the European Commission attended a ministerial meeting at Brdo pri Kranju. This was the first event since Slovenia assumed the one-year Presidency of MED9, a group of EU Member States in the Mediterranean.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today received Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu for a brief meeting.

Minister Tanja Fajon's first stop on her visit to the South Caucasus region was Armenia, where she encouraged her interlocutors to continue advancing efforts towards the normalisation of relations with neighbouring Azerbaijan. Minister Fajon and her Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, discussed the strengthening of economic cooperation in the fields of pharmaceuticals, sports infrastructure, energy, cancer treatment technologies and tourism.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Slovenians Abroad, Matej Arčon, visited Trieste, where he met with the leaders and representatives of societies from the two umbrella organisations, the Slovenian Cultural and Economic Union and the Council of Slovenian Organisations. He also visited several Slovenian institutions. He was accompanied by Gregor Šuc, the Consul-General of the Republic of Slovenia in Trieste.

At the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Minister Tanja Fajon called for more decisive action to bring about a ceasefire and a lasting and just peace in Ukraine, and for the return of more than 19,000 abducted Ukrainian children: “These are war crimes and clear violations of international law. This must remain a humanitarian priority and part of the peace negotiations.”

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia will be closed on the following dates:

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project ITI Urban Municipality of Kranj Brioni.

Yesterday, Moody's Ratings (Moody's) affirmed Slovenia's credit rating of A3 with a positive outlook. Slovenia thus continues to enjoy the confidence of the rating agencies, which is particularly important in the current uncertain environment.

Minister Matjaž Han hosted Swiss Federal Councillor and Minister of Economic Affairs Guy Parmelin in Ljubljana to discuss ways to enhance economic cooperation between Slovenia and Switzerland. The talks focused on deepening collaboration in key sectors, particularly the pharmaceutical industry and the space sector. During the meeting, they also signed the Support Measure Agreement under the second Swiss Contribution.

In Antalya, State Secretary Melita Gabrič attended the extended format meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation-League of Arab States Gaza Contact Group. The meeting hosted by Türkiye was a follow-up to the meetings of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution and is also attended by representatives of Norway, Ireland, Spain and the EU.

Ministers Kumer and Jevšek signed a Support Measure Implementation Agreement under the Swiss-Slovenian Cooperation Programme. The Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy will direct funding towards agri-photovoltaic pilot projects, the digitalisation of local energy concepts, investments in energy communities and the replacement of fossil fuels with shallow geothermal energy in the heating sector.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project ITI Urban Municipality of Kranj Digital. The municipality will receive over €900,000 from the European Regional Development Fund to deploy digital solutions for traffic optimisation and promotion of sustainable mobility.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and Minister of Health Valentina Prevolnik Rupel paid a working visit to the Oncology Institute in Ljubljana today.

Minister Jevšek met with the chairs of regional development councils and signed the first annex to the agreements on the development of region for all 12 development regions. The annex includes 98 projects worth altogether 347 million euros. The projects will receive 210 million euros in co-financing.

At today's session, the Government adopted the proposed Psychotherapeutic Services Act and the proposed Information Security Act. The debate on giving approval to the appointment of the Director General of the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute was adjourned. A decision is scheduled to be taken tomorrow at a correspondence session.

During political consultations at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, State Secretary Marko Štucin met with Wael Hamed, Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Abu Bakr Hefny, Deputy Foreign Minister for African and Regional Affairs, and Nabil Habashi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates.

Ljubljana, 10 April 2025 – The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the call for proposals Incentives for the digital transformation of SMEs (P4D 2025). The call will come with a total budget of EUR 17.8 million; the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund will stand at EUR 15 million.

Warsaw hosted an informal meeting of directors-general responsible for development cooperation and humanitarian aid in EU Member States, which was attended by Ambassador Edvin Skrt, Director-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The future global role of the EU as a major donor of ODA was at the centre of the debate.

Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, concluded a three-day visit to Benin and Togo on behalf of the EU High Representative. In the Togolese capital, she assured the country’s senior officials that the EU’s partnership with this West African coastal state remains crucial for ensuring regional security and stability.

The Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration hosted the Spring plenary meeting of the Western European Nuclear Regulatory Association (WENRA) in Bled, Slovenia, on 8 and 9 April.

Today, State Secretary Marko Štucin attended the Second Ministerial Conference of the Khartoum Process in Cairo. Egypt currently holds the chairmanship of the Process, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia visited Benin on behalf the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, and held a series of talks with the country’s top officials and representatives of civil society. She confirmed EU’s interest in deepening its partnership with Benin and visited some of the project sites with which the EU is engaged in the country.

The slogan of this year's World Health Day, "Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures", reminds us that investing in the health of women and children lays the foundations for a healthier, fairer and more resilient society. Health during pregnancy, childbirth and early childhood has a significant impact on health in adulthood and is therefore a cornerstone of population health.

On this World Health Day conducted under the title ‘Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures’, the international community is urged to reflect on ways to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and to prioritize women’s longer-term health and well-being. The health of women and mothers and the well-being of children have always been at the forefront of Slovenia's international efforts.

The rating agency Fitch yesterday affirmed Slovenia's A-rating, upgrading the outlook from stable to positive. This marks an important sign of confidence in Slovenia and sends a strong message at a time of global economic uncertainty.

The 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council concluded in Geneva, with Slovenia as one of the key co-creators of initiatives that contribute significantly to the strengthening of international human rights standards.

Due to planned maintenance on the central communication network of the state administration, occasional difficulties may occur in the operation of the online service Virtual Archive Reading Room on Sunday, April 6, 2025.

At today's session, the Government adopted a proposal for the Higher Education Act, which aims to reform the higher education system. It also approved a draft Act Amending the Matura Examination Act, aligning with the expert guidelines and objectives of the public education system, as well as a draft Act Amending the Provision of Foster Care Act, designed to improve the quality of foster care provision.

Today, at a correspondence meeting, the Government adopted a decision to deploy an expert to the EU Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team, as requested by the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) through the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism, in view of the massive earthquake in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the Call for proposals for business infrastructure development (business incubators) projects in the Savinjsko-Šaleška (SAŠA) coal region under the Just Transition Fund 2025-2027.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development informs municipalities that the funding available for 2025 under the first call for proposals for co-financing basic community infrastructure projects in Roma settlements in 2025 and 2026 has already been used, leaving 1,000,000 euros available for 2026.

The National Assembly adopted the Act Amending the Health Services Act (ZZDej-N). It is one of the fundamental healthcare acts, as it regulates health services as a whole, public health services, health service providers, healthcare workers and co-workers and other key issues related to the provision of health services.

"Strengthening public healthcare has been and remains one of the key priorities of this Government. This is the promise we made to the people, and today we have taken an important step towards its fulfilment.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the Integrated Territorial Investment project in the Urban Municipality Murska Sobota called Noršinska (ITI MO MS Noršinska).

Prime Minister Robert Golob attended today's signing of the Social Partners' Agreement on the proposed Act Amending the Pension and Disability Insurance Act and addressed the participants on this occasion.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the Call for proposals for the co-financing of projects of youth career centres+.

Minister of Cohesion and Regional Development, Dr Aleksander Jevšek, participated in the Regional policy dialogue on good governance and women leadership in Southeast Europe. The Minister emphasised that the gender gap in decision-making and leadership positions points to the urgent need for effective strategies and measures to enhance women’s participation across all sectors of society.

Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, accompanies President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar on her official visit to Kazakhstan with a strong business delegation. Minister Fajon met separately with Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu.

In March, Denmark – the first among the new UNSC members – took over the presidency of the Security Council from China. The programme of work included discussions on the Middle East, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Sudan and South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Improving the quality and accessibility of the green urban infrastructure in the Bonifica SRC area.

The new issue of the News from Nuclear Slovenia is published.

The Archivalia of the Month April 2025 with the title Documentary Film Nepal – »Lost« and Found Again.

At the invitation of British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar attended the Border Security Summit: Organised Immigration Crime in London.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar hosted the Brdo Process Ministerial Meeting. Alongside Minister Poklukar, the meeting was opened by Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, and Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today received the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, in Ljubljana.

State Secretary Marko Štucin hosted the new Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Family, Claudia Plakolm, for consultations. They discussed the most topical issues currently being addressed in the EU and agreed that Slovenia and Austria share similar views on several EU policies.

At today’s meeting in Brussels, which focused on the soon-to-be-published new Cohesion Policy legislative framework, EU Ministers responsible for Cohesion agreed that Cohesion Policy should adapt to better respond to current and future challenges.

Yesterday, Piotr Serafin, European Commissioner for Budget, visited Slovenia as part of the preparations for the European Union’s next long-term budget. During his visit, he was briefed on the protection and rescue system and the reforms underway in this area.

“Interreg GO! is an opportunity to reflect on the future of European territorial cooperation beyond 2027,” underlined State Secretary Marko Koprivc in his opening address on the second day of the biggest Interreg event. The second day of the event was dedicated to parallel thematic panels on topical issues related to the current Interreg 2021-2027 programmes, as well as visiting the projects on both sides of the border.

At the proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning, Jože Novak, the Environment Council yesterday in Brussels discussed, among other things, the activities and achievements of Slovenia's Presidency of the Barcelona Convention, particularly in the context of the current and upcoming global negotiations on the protection of oceans and waters.