News

Tomorrow, the EU ministers responsible for the environment and climate change will meet in Luxembourg. This will be their first meeting chaired by the Slovenian Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak.

Prime Minister Janez Janša responded to a letter from Zoran Stevanović, president of the Resni.ca party. In the letter, Zoran Stevanović calls for the immediate abolition of the recovered/vaccinated/tested rule and immediate resignation of the Government.

Today is the final day of the three-day Pre-COP meeting hosted by Italy, as the UK's partner country in the organisation of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), with a view to approximating the positions of the parties ahead of the COP meeting in Glasgow in November. Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning Andrej Vizjak and his delegation also attended the meeting.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today had a meeting with European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica. They discussed the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today met with senior representatives of the Identity and Democracy Group in the European Parliament, which is on a study visit to Slovenia.

The second and third days of the 9th session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Water Convention were held in Geneva.

Within the framework of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food co-organises an international event called “Smart Villages for a Green, Digital and Resilient Europe” together with the office of MEP Franc Bogovič. In the debate, which was attended also by the Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, and the Director-General of the FAO, Qu Dongyu, the participants highlighted the importance of coherent and integrated rural development, which is an issue that extends way beyond just agriculture.

The meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the European Territorial Cooperation Programme (URBACT) was organised as part the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. It was attended by representatives of the EU member states, the European Commission, the Managing Authority and the Secretariat of the Programme.

The International Day of Older Persons is celebrated on 1 October and this year, it is dedicated to digital equality for all ages, pointing to the need for accessibility and inclusion of older people in the digital world.

The Slovenian legal conference is a great opportunity to hold an open dialogue on trends and challenges in the European legal environment in order to better understand different systems in the EU Member States.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša paid a working visit to London at the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar attended the regular meeting of EU member states’ ambassadors accredited to Slovenia. He presented Slovenia’s work as Chair of the Council of the EU to date and plans for the second half of the Presidency. “Despite the uncertain epidemiological situation, Slovenia has carried out all planned events and is successfully pursuing the objectives of its priorities,” said Minister Logar.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today participated in the 8th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum in Skopje, dedicated to EU enlargement. “The Western Balkans is part of Europe and the challenges of the region are also those of the European Union. It is therefore vital to involve the Western Balkan region in the debates on the future of Europe," said State Secretary Dovžan in his address.

From 12 to 13 October 2021, an international expert conference "Increasing the accessibility and competitiveness of European audiovisual and media content" will take place in Cankarjev dom congress center in Ljubljana as well as online. The participants will be addressed by dr. Vasko Simoniti, Slovenian Minister of Culture and President of the Council of the European Union for Culture and Giuseppe Abbamonte, Director of Media Policy at the European Commission.

At the meeting of the Competitiveness Council held on 29 September 2021, the ministers responsible for industry and the internal market discussed the impact of the “Fit for 55” package on the competitiveness of EU industry, and the importance of better regulation for the competitiveness of the European Union and the functioning of the single market.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan participated at the opening session of the Geneva Dialogue on responsible behaviour in cyberspace along with Livia Leu, State Secretary at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and Gaurav Keerthi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Cyber Security Agency of Singapore. This edition of the virtual event centred around the security of digital products and its regulatory framework.

In its capacity as Chair of the Council of the European Union, Slovenia hosted an informal consultation of the non-proliferation and disarmament directors. This is an annual traditional meeting for EU member states to exchange views on current strategic issues and challenges of the global arms of mass destruction control regime. The meeting was chaired by the Slovenian Ambassador for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Andrej Benedejčič.

A press conference to provide a COVID-19 update was attended by the Minister of Health, Janez Poklukar, and the head of the vaccination advisory group, Bojana Beović.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today paid a working visit to Klagenfurt to co-chair the 6th session of the Slovenia-Carinthia Joint Committee, together with Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser. The meeting set out the course for future cooperation between Slovenia and the Austrian state of Carinthia in a number of areas of common interest. Minister Logar also held a separate meeting with Governor Kaiser.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with representatives of the Slovenian minority in Carinthia prior to the Slovenia-Carinthia Committee session. The Minister assured Slovenia's ongoing support for the minority's efforts towards long-term and systemic solutions regarding the implementation of their rights.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan held talks with Sergei Cheryomin, Moscow Government Minister and Head of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity and International Relations. The officials confirmed good relations between the two countries and wide-ranging cooperation in the economic, cultural, scientific, educational and other sectors.

In Ljubljana, Prime Minister Janša today met with Latvian President Egils Levits, who is on an official visit to Slovenia at the invitation of Slovenian President Borut Pahor.

The government finished its visit to the Zasavje Region with a public forum in which it discussed the challenges and opportunities in the region with representatives of business interests and local communities.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan met with a delegation of the European Parliament Former Members Association (FMA), headed by its Chairman Hans-Gert Pöttering.

In the frame the Government visit to the Zasavje region Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač visited the municipality Litija and Trbovlje. State Secretary at the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs visited municipality Zagorje ob Savi.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the annual CEPA Forum organised by the Washington-based think-tank Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) as one of the keynote speakers. The event, entitled “Renewing the Transatlantic Alliance in a Contested World”, is being held in a virtual form.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan met with the Chair of the 10th NPT Review Conference, Ambassador Gustavo Rodolfo Zlauvinen. They discussed preparations for the high-level conference scheduled to be held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York at the beginning of next year.

A meeting of the Working Group for Urban Development, chaired by Deputy Director-General of the Spatial Planning, Construction and Housing Directorate at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning Aša Rogelj, took place in Ptuj as a part of the Slovenian Presidency.

European Blockchain Week 2021(EBCW 2021) was one of the soundest events in the framework of Slovenian Presidency of the Council of EU. Co-organized by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, in collaboration with Digital Innovation Hub Blockchain for Trusted Data Ecosystems, Digital Innovation Hub Slovenia, Slovenian Digial Centre, BTC City, together with European Commission, EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, INATBA - International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications, Blockchain Alliance Europe, Blockchain for Europe and many other partners, it achieved great success, backed by more than 100 panelists, more than 25 panels, workshops and roundtables and more than 1200 participants from 86 countries worldwide.

A Slovenian Government delegation visited the Zasavje region today. The Zasavje statistical region is Slovenia’s smallest in terms of surface area and comprises the municipalities of Hrastnik, Litija, Trbovlje and Zagorje ob Savi.

At the invitation of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE), State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended the opening of the 17th Europe Summit held in Salzburg this year under the title ‘Europe and Peace’. He appeared at the opening panel titled ‘Democracy and Freedom in Europe after Corona’.

As part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the town of Ptuj hosted a meeting of the national members of the Network of Territorial Cohesion Contact Points (NTCCP), chaired by Mr Tomaž Miklavčič from the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar addressed the participants of the Western Balkans Speakers' Meeting at Brdo pri Kranju as part of the parliamentary dimension of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. “The enlargement policy has a transforming power and is a prerequisite for a stable, secure and democratic Europe,” declared Minister Logar in his introductory speech.

A press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Dr Irena Grmek Košnik, epidemiologist of the National Institute of Public Health’s Kranj Regional Unit.

Throughout his life, Alfred Brežnik - Fredi, an electrical engineer, a businessman and a long-term Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Slovenia in New South Wales, Australia, has been promoting Slovenianness and his home country with dedication and sacrifice. He moved to Australia in 1959. Together with other compatriots in Australia, Brežnik was particularly active during Slovenia’s independence process. Prior to that, he held intensive discussions with Australian politicians regarding the recognition of Slovenian independence. And also thanks to him, Australia was the first overseas country to acknowledge Slovenia as an independent state in January 1992.

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Minister Zdravko Počivalšek expresses optimism about the recovery of Slovenian and world tourism as well. As he says, tourism is an extremely flexible ecosystem and it will react and transform in line with the current situation. He also believes that Slovenia has everything it takes to become one of the most desirable tourist destinations.

In his opening address via video-conference, Mark Boris Andrijanič opened the virtual conference of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, entitled "2021 OECD Business and Finance Outlook on AI". The conference took place on Friday, 24 September 2021.

On Thursday, Minister Andrijanič delivered an opening address at the conference "Leaders’ Dialogue: How Can We Create a Region of Mavericks, Unicorns, and Global Winners?", which was held as part of the sixth Slovenia Business Bridge Investment and Development Conference.

At an informal meeting held on 24 September 2021 at Brdo pri Kranju, ministers responsible for consumer protection discussed how to enhance consumer protection for future generations in the age of digitalisation and tourism.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar accompanied Slovenian President Borut Pahor as he addressed the General Assembly on behalf of the Republic of Slovenia at the general discussion. He also attended President Pahor’s meeting with António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).

A delegation of the Republic of Slovenia headed by Marko Rakovec, Chief Legal Adviser and Director-General for International Law and Protection of Interests, took part at the 61st meeting of the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public international Law (CAHDI) in Strasbourg on 23 and 24 September.

“Democracy, values, rights, responsibilities, and the rule of law are the foundations of the European Union, the base on which it stands,” said Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary and Co-Chair of the Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe, ahead of the beginning of the second European Citizens' Panel in Strasbourg today.

Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today participated in the High-Level Forum on Regional Recovery and Resilience which was jointly organised by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU in Lipica, Slovenia. The Forum put spotlight on ways to ensure synergies between EU Cohesion Policy and Recovery and Resilience Facility by strengthening partnerships between EU, national, regional and local authorities. It was organised in a hybrid format as part of the programme of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs addressed the participants of the event Meeting of a supportive environment for entrepreneurship from the Koroška region that took place in Slovenj Gradec.

Barbara Sušnik, Director-General for European Union Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, welcomed Patric Franzen, Deputy State Secretary at the Swiss Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan attended the opening of the Balkan Forum, organised by Greece as part of the one-year Presidency of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) via video conference. The debate focused on the sustainable development of the countries of the region in the post-COVID period.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar participated in the ministerial breakfast of the Informal Ministerial Network for the International Criminal Court, attended the Conference on Article XIV of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and held bilateral talks with the Foreign Ministers of Algeria and Jordan on the margins of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Strengthening cybersecurity in the EU and its Member States is one the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Activities, collectively designated ‘Ghostwriter’, threaten our security and democratic principles of the EU, and run counter the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace endorsed by all UN member states.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended the 2nd regular session of the Commission of Inquiry for determining the possible political responsibility of holders of public office for financially inappropriate measures and the allegedly unjustified restriction of rights in the implementation of measures related to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Interior Minister Aleš Hojs hosted the Interior Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Hamáček for a two-day official visit. The key focus of their talks was the current situation in security and migration and the progress regarding the priorities of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.

State Secretary Dr Raščan took part in the celebrations and a press conference marking the launch of a new flight connection of the flydubai airline between Dubai International Airport and Ljubljana Airport.

Following the reception of Slovenian Olympic and Paralympic athletes, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with the Czech Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček.

Following the state ceremony to mark the Day of Slovenian Sport, Prime Minister Janša hosts a reception for Slovenian Olympic and Paralympic athletes at Vila Bled.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the Budapest Demographic Summit. The summit is an annual event hosting top-level speakers, members of the EU and national parliaments, former ministers, senior religious leaders, civil society representatives, academics and journalists.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs addressed the participants of the on-line event, organised by the European Committee of the Regions, Cohesion as a value – benefits and costs for young people of transitioning to a post Covid-19 world.

On Thursday, 23 September 2021, a meeting of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) was held as part of the events of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The meeting was organized by the Office together with Slovenia as the presiding country.

A declaration was signed in Brussels today, which declares 23 September as EU Organic Day. The declaration was signed by the Chair of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the Slovenian Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek, together with the European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski and Benoit Lutgen, Member of the European Parliament.

On the fringes of the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Minister Anže Logar attended the hybrid ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism entitled “Shaping our Common Agenda”.

Today in Bled, Prime Minister Janes Janša attended the state ceremony on the occasion of the Day of Slovenian Sport and the opening event of the European Week of Sport, where he was the keynote speaker.

Amsterdam, 22 September - Ambassador Štiglic launched the Slovenian Presidency's flagship cultural and promotional project Europe Readr in the Netherlands, together with Daria Bouwman, the President of EUNIC Netherlands, in OBA Amsterdam.

On the margins of the General Debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Minister Anže Logar held talks with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Moldova and Pakistan and the Deputy Secretary of State of the United States. He also participated in a round table on the situation in Afghanistan and lessons learned over two decades of international intervention in the country.

Jernej Müller, Director-General for Common Foreign and Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended this year’s meeting of the informal Global Governance Group (3G) that is taking place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan participated in a high-level humanitarian crisis response event in Yemen, organised by the EU, Sweden and Switzerland on the margins of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The 48th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) is taking place in Geneva between 13 September and 8 October 2021. At the meeting, Slovenia has been advocating a global proclamation of the right to a healthy environment. In its first substantive resolution on the subject of the elderly, Slovenia addresses the challenges of oldism and age discrimination. Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec will also attend the event and draw attention to the importance of young people and education for human rights.

EU grants to improve flood preparedness and response capacity of civil protection teams at all levels, including of volunteer and professional fire departments, Mountain Rescue Service, Cave Rescue Service and other relevant teams

The European Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN Office and other international organisations in Geneva in capacity as Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the Geneva Internet Platform invite you to a series of dialogues - From Geneva: Reflections on digital future. The first event will be taking place on Wednesday, 22 September 2021.

Ljubljana – The Ministry of Health of Republic of Slovenia organised National Drugs Coordinators Meeting on the importance of early prevention and socio-emotional learning skills. The meeting was part of the agenda of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar today attended the opening of the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly and the reception for the Slovenian community in New York. He also held a series of bilateral meetings.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended the first regular session of the General Affairs Council of the European Union (GAC) as chair.

The State Secretary attended the annual Business and Construction Industry Trends Conference. This year's edition of the event revolved around the issue of ‘’Ways to make best use of the rising investment for sustainable growth’’. At the panel ‘’Investments in green and sustainable building – European Commission guidelines and good practices’’, the State Secretary talked about the investment areas under the Cohesion Policy and Recovery and Resilience Facility.

On the margins of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on 20 September 2021, Foreign Minister Anže Logar attended the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers. He also held a series of bilateral meetings.

At today’s 25th session of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister Janez Janša answered parliamentary questions raised by Robert Pavšič (LMŠ), Marko Koprivc (SD), Luka Mesec (The Left) and Jožef Horvat (NSi). He explained to deputies the circumstances of his contacts with lobbyists and suppliers of medical equipment, and also answered questions about the consequences of bank rehabilitation and the lack of public rental housing.

State Secretary Kirbiš Rojs took part in the roundtable on European Union in the 21st century which was held in the scope of the Autumn School at the European Faculty of Law of New University. She underlined the importance of EU funds for the achievement of strategic objectives of the European Union.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan was invited to speak at the regular ministerial meeting on the Responsibility to Protect principle (R2P) that was held in virtual form on the margins of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, and the Commander of the Civil Protection Service of the Notranjska Region, Sandi Curk.

As part of Slovenia's Presidency of the Council of the EU, a meeting of senior EU-US officials from the field of justice and home affairs took place today in Ljubljana. The meeting was chaired by Jože Senica, Assistant Director General of the Police and Chair of the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation in the Field of Internal Security (COSI), and Dr Katja Rejec Longar, Director of the Office for International Cooperation and International Legal Assistance at the Ministry of Justice and Chair of the Coordinating Committee in the area of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (CATS), representing the field of justice. The meeting served as a preparation for the ministerial meeting to be held later during the Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.

An exhibition on Slovenian author Vladimir Bartol and his novel Alamut was held at the Slovenian Embassy in Tehran; the original manuscript and opera were also presented. On this occasion, the embassy also officially opened a library for Alamut in Slovene and translations to 17 languages (French, Spanish, Croatian, Arabic, Korean, Portuguese, Turkish, Finnish, Bulgarian, Serbian, Slovak, German, Czech, Hungarian, English, Italian and Farsi).

For the tenth year in a row, events are held under the auspices of the European Commission across Europe to mark the European Cooperation Day. The events aim to highlight the achievements and benefits of cross-border cooperation between EU regions and member states. On Saturday, visitors at the ‘’Picnic of Projects’’ event had the opportunity to see first-hand the results of five cross-border projects that were implemented under the Cooperation Programme Interreg V-A Slovenia-Hungary 2014-2020.

Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik engaged in consultations with Director-General for European Affairs Rui Vinhas at the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lisbon. The consultations were held in the context of excellent cooperation in the Trio Presidency of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, with a special focus on reviewing bilateral relations and exchanging views on the current European and international issues.

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the 8th MED7 Summit of the Mediterranean States in Athens, into which the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia were admitted.

A webinar on negotiating techniques and women’s empowerment for representatives of Venezuelan democratic forces, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was held between 14 and 17 September 2021 by the Centre for European Perspective (CEP) and the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). The seminar participants were first addressed by Bogdan Batič, Deputy-Director for Common Foreign and Security Policy.

On Wednesday, 15 September 2021, over fifty senior representatives of EU ministries of defence, general staffs and education institutions attended the high-level Sectoral Qualification Framework for Military Officer Profession (SQF-MILOF). The conference was conducted as a hybrid event at the Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the EU following the covid-19-related protocol. Some participants attended the conference vie teleconferencing.

Under the financing agreement for the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Slovenia has today received an advance payment of 13% of the grants allocated under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, amounting to €231 million. The first funding under the RRP will be provided for the areas of sustainable mobility, digital transformation and healthcare.

The press conference on COVID 19 updates was attended by the Minister of Health, Janez Poklukar, the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik, and the Director of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Milan Krek.

Minister of the Interior and President of the Home Affairs Council, Aleš Hojs, delivered a welcome address and opened a two-day meeting of the Management Board of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in Portorož, which Slovenia is hosting as part of the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the European Parliament Plenary Session from 13 to 16 September 2021 as the high representative of the Council of the EU in relations with the Parliament during the Slovenian Presidency. On behalf of the Council of the European Union, he assured commitment to protecting European democracies, respecting the rule of law in the EU, and making progress in the legislative process for the Fit for 55 package.

Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia and the Egmont Institute organized an expert seminar entitled "A Strategic Compass for Military Interventions" in Brussels as part of the Strategic Compass drafting process, which is intensively taking place during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The opening speech was delivered by State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Uroš Lampret.

An informal meeting of EU hunting directors-general took place in Postojna on 14 and 15 September. Director-General of the Forestry and Hunting Directorate Robert Režonja attended the meeting on behalf of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, while the European Commission was represented by Žilvinas Ilevičius from the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety. State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Anton Harej attended the opening of the meeting.

Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač gave opening remarks at the 9th Conference on the Evaluation of EU Cohesion Policy which was organised in Porto, Portugal. Minister Černač joined the conference via an online platform at the invitation of the European Commission in his capacity as current chair of the council consisting of EU ministers responsible for Cohesion Policy.

As part of the European Cooperation Day, Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy presented the impacts of projects implemented in the framework of the Interreg Slovenia-Croatia Cooperation Programme 2014-2020.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar met with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić in Strasbourg. He presented priorities of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU – topics that are also at the heart of Council of Europe's activities. During the meeting, they discussed accession of EU to the European Convention of Human Rights that was envisaged in the Lisbon treaty. They also reviewed other current political and strategic directions of the Council of Europe, the oldest pan-European international organization especially in the light of Covid-19. At the same time, the meeting was excellent opportunity to assess cooperation between Council of Europe and Slovenia.

Accompanied by a delegation, Ambassador Jožef Drofenik, Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the authorised representative of the Republic of Slovenia for succession issues, attended the 20th meeting of the Joint Committee for the Distribution of Diplomatic and Consular Properties of the Former SFRY, in compliance with Annex B to the Agreement on Succession Issues, convened in Sarajevo on 13 and 14 September. At the meeting, the immovable property of the former SFRY in Rome was allocated to Slovenia.

At a press conference following a joint meeting of the governments of Slovenia and Hungary and the signing of intergovernmental agreements, the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, and the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjárto, presented specific cooperation projects and the positions of Slovenia and Hungary.

Prime Minister Janša and his ministerial delegation met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ministerial team in Celje today.

Before the joint meeting of the Governments of the Republic of Slovenia and Hungary, the Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended a ceremony marking the opening of the 53rd International Trade Fair in Celje and addressed the participants.

Yesterday, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia visited the Savinjska region to learn about the projects and challenges of the region, and to discuss challenges and opportunities with the main actors of development in the region.

At today’s session in Abuja, Nigeria, the International Co-ordinating Council of the UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (UNESCO MAB-ICC) designated the Mura-Drava-Danube Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (TBR MDD) as the world’s first 5-country biosphere reserve. Stretching across Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia, the reserve covers a total area of 930,000 hectares extending along 700km of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers, which makes it the largest riverine biosphere reserve in Europe.

An informal meeting of directors-general and attachés for fisheries of EU member states was held yesterday in Portorož. Director-General of the Food and Fisheries Directorate Ana Le Marechal Kolar attended the meeting on behalf of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Director-General of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Charlina Vitcheva participated in the informal meeting on behalf of the European Commission.

Published below is the address of Prime Minister Janša to mark the occasion of the Day of Restoration of the Primorska Region to the Motherland, celebrated today.