News

The Minister of economy, tourism and sport, Matjaž Han, is visiting Salzburg today, one of the world’s most renowned tourist destinations. During his visit, he met with representatives from the tourism and business sectors and visited one of the leading companies in the region. The main goal of the visit is to strengthen economic cooperation between Slovenia and Austria and to exchange best practices in tourism and industry.

The Government has proclaimed 2026 the year of the poet Srečko Kosovel to mark the 100th anniversary of his death. The proclamation was proposed by the Sežana Municipality. The proposal was supported by the Slovenian Writers' Association, while the Ministry of Culture included it among the important national cultural projects.

Paris is this week hosting the world's most influential leaders, visionaries and experts for a crucial meeting on the future of artificial intelligence (AI). The AI Action Summit is shaping the key guidelines for AI development, with the active involvement of the Minister of Digital Transformation, Ksenija Klampfer.

On this year's Safer Internet Day on 11 February 2025, attention is again drawn to the growing issue of digital addiction and excessive screen use, particularly among children and young people. Together, a friendlier – and most importantly, safer – digital environment can be created for all.

Slovenia has reached an important milestone in international energy diplomacy. Presiding at the 15th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly, Slovenia will for the first time take on the role of a global advocate for renewable energy, as well as the presidency of an international energy organisation.

Librarians first celebrated the Day of Public Libraries in 2002. Each year, it is accompanied by Public Library Week, which this year is being celebrated in libraries from November 18 to 22. The slogan for this year's celebration is "(Let's) Gather in the Library."

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Slovenians Abroad, Matej Arčon, visited the Slovenian community in Vienna. He met with Slovenian societies at the Korotan Student Residence and Hotel, where the main focus was on the establishment’s operation after Slovenia’s recent capital increase aimed at securing the future of this symbol of Slovenian identity in Vienna.

At today’s session, the Government adopted three decrees seeking to cut the high electricity bills in the upcoming winter season and thus ease the transition to the new system of calculating network charges. The measures are aimed at enabling people to get through the winter calmly, without high electricity bills.

The European Commission's fifth annual Rule of Law Report for 2024 shows that Slovenia has made progress in almost all areas, including in implementing last year's recommendations. Slovenia remains committed to the common fundamental values of the Union, in particular the rule of law, and will actively continue its efforts to further strengthen it.

On 18 July 2024, Slovenia became a member of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC), marking an important milestone in its commitment to upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those online, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By joining the Coalition, Slovenia affirms its commitment to promoting and protecting digital rights and freedoms.

Prime Minister Robert Golob, accompanied by Minister of the Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han, along with representatives of Renault and Revoz, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development and production of Renault Twingo E-Tech electric cars in Novo mesto.

Minister Tanja Fajon attended a regular meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, where ministers discussed the Russian aggression against Ukraine, with a focus on peace efforts, as well as the situation in the Middle East and Gaza. Minister Fajon stressed that respect for international law and the protection of civilians must always be prioritized when discussing peace plans and initiatives.

Slovenia's colours will be represented at the Olympic Games in Paris by its largest-ever Olympic delegation, consisting of 197 members, including 90 athletes. In addition to its outstanding sports team, Slovenia will also be making its presences felt at the largest version of the Slovenia House so far.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar attended the informal meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Budapest, Hungary. The ministers discussed the future of cooperation on home affairs, in particular migration, but also the fight against organised crime.

It is the third year since the Council of the European Union endorsed the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan. Since then, Ministries have launched more than 40 calls for tenders to select projects for the planned investments, and carried out a number of activities to implement these reforms. Slovenia has submitted three payment requests to date, and the Plan underwent its first transformation last autumn.

In its Advisory opinion the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory breach some of the most elementary rules and principles of international law, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful.

The Ministry of a Solidarity-Based Future produced a package of measures to stimulate employment in social care institutions. The measures were adopted by a broad social and political consensus. The Act was enacted at the National Assembly’s 77th extraordinary session.

Language schools across Slovenia are bustling hubs these days. The language institute Didaktum (Jezikovni inštitut Didaktum) is running a Slovenian language programme at survival level in 40 locations across Slovenia. The programme has been available to eligible persons since the entry into force of the 2023 amendment to the Foreigners Act, on the basis of which a decree providing assistance for the integration of foreigners who are not citizens of the European Union was adopted.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held political consultations in Lisbon with the Secretary of State for European Affairs at the Portuguese Foreign Ministry, Inês Domingos. The two officials confirmed the positive and friendly bilateral relations between Slovenia and Portugal, exchanging views on further support for Ukraine, institutional reforms, EU enlargement and the situation in the Western Balkans.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon visited the Triglav Slovenian House in Sao Paulo and met with members of the Association of Slovenians in Brazil. She also attended an event organised by the Slovenian-Brazilian and Slovenian-Argentine chambers of commerce. As a guest of the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI), she gave a lecture on the geostrategic situation in the world and Slovenia's foreign policy.