News

Protecting consumers and maintaining their confidence are key to ensuring the long-term viability of the beekeeping sector, but measures must be taken immediately. This is one of the conclusions reached on the second day of the International Forum for Action on Sustainable Beekeeping and Pollination held in Maribor.

The sixth Golden Bee Award was presented in celebration of World Bee Day. This year's winners are the Bee-etal Lab research group from Spain which, among other things, develop advanced methods for controlling invasive species. Their most notable achievement to date is the successful eradication of the invasive Asian hornet in Mallorca. The golden statue was presented to them by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar.

On the occasion of World Bee Day, Slovenia is hosting the third International Forum for Action on Sustainable Beekeeping and Pollination today and tomorrow. The event was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the support of the International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations, Apimondia.

Today we celebrate the first Lipizzaner Day, which was proclaimed by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia earlier this year. For Slovenia, 19 May holds special historical and cultural significance, as it marks the founding of the Lipica Stud Farm in 1580.

This year, the sixth Golden Bee Award will be presented, thus concluding the second cycle of fields in which the awards are presented. The award committee received 12 nominations from nine countries for achievements in the field of research on bees and other pollinators.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food today presented details on the use of the Slovenian flag on agricultural products and food introduced by the new Food Act. In a world of crowded shelves and unclear labels, the use of the Slovenian flag will mark the distinction between what is merely packaged in Slovenia and what is truly created, reared, grown and processed in Slovenia.

2026 marks the final year of implementing the measures under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). Many of the measures which have been introduced in Slovenia with the support of European Recovery and Resilience Facility – NextGenerationEU funds have already been successfully completed. In this ongoing publication series entitled Together Towards the Goal, we are presenting today the results of measures to make Slovenia's forests stronger and more diverse.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food has issued an open call for citizens, legal persons, and other organisations to propose candidates for the 2026 Golden Bee Award.

Slovenia welcomes the signing of the Partnership Agreement (EMPA) and the Interim Trade Agreement (ITA) between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur. These agreements are the result of over 25 years of negotiations. The two legally distinct instruments run in parallel and together establish a comprehensive framework for enhanced political, economic and sectoral cooperation between the EU and Mercosur countries.

The Government has adopted a decision declaring 19 May as Lipizzan Day in the Republic of Slovenia. The date holds special historical and cultural significance for Slovenia, as it was on 19 May 1580 that the document establishing the Lipica Stud Farm was signed – one of the most recognisable symbols of Slovenia's heritage.

At today’s meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper I), the Member States were asked to approve the final compromise text based on the agreement in principle reached at the beginning of the month following trilateral negotiations on the proposal for a regulation on forest reproductive material (FRM). As the Republic of Slovenia is critical of some of the agreed solutions, it abstained from voting.

At today’s meeting of the Deputy Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper I), the Member States were asked to approve the final compromise text based on the agreement in principle reached at the beginning of the month following trilateral negotiations on the proposal for a regulation on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed. The Republic of Slovenia is not in favour of the agreed solutions.

At an expert consultation on the opportunities and challenges of Natura 2000, organised by the Slovenian Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning in cooperation with the Slovenian Business and Research Association (SBRA) in Brussels, experts from Slovenia, Croatia and the European Commission presented the latest findings, best practices and key challenges shaping biodiversity conservation in this part of Europe.

Between 5 and 7 October 2025 in Portorož, Slovenia is hosting an informal meeting of MED ministers of agriculture. Today’s conference focused on strengthening the agriculture’s resilience, promoting innovations and implementing measures at the EU level, also from the perspective of the proposals for a Common Agricultural Policy for the period after 2027. The ministers adopted a joint declaration containing key guidelines for the sustainable development of agriculture in the region.

State Secretary Maša Žagar attended the second EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting under the Danish Presidency. At the meeting, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall proposed postponing the implementation of the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) until the end of 2026, an initiative also supported by Slovenia.

The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in June 2022, entered into force. The Agreement entered into force after it was ratified by a two-thirds majority of WTO members and the instrument of acceptance was deposited. This milestone was reached at the ceremony on 15 September 2025 at the special meeting of the WTO General Council.

The traditional informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for agriculture concludes today in the Danish capital, with State Secretary Maša Žagar also in attendance. This session, held at the invitation of the Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Jacob Jansen, was dedicated to improving competitiveness and accelerating the green transition of the EU Agrifood Sector.

Mateja Čalušić, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, is hosting a meeting in Maribor of representatives of the member states of the extended Forest Group +, which is chaired by Slovenia this year. At the meeting, Italy and Latvia formally joined the group consisting of the founding members – Austria, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia – and France by officially signing the guidelines.

On 16 July 2025, the European Commission published a proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2028–2034, amounting to 1.26% of the EU27's GNI, or €1,985 billion. The proposal forms the basis for the start of complex negotiations among Member States

On the margins of the meeting of the EU Agricultural and Fisheries Council, a meeting of agriculture ministers of the member states of the informal MED9 Group was held and organised on the initiative of Slovenia last night. The discussion focused on sustainable risk management in agriculture. The meeting provided important guidance for the continued discussion at the informal meeting of agriculture ministers to be held in Slovenia in early October.