On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's EU membership and Europe Day, Minister Fajon hosted a debate with Slovenians who were active in the pre-accession process and later worked in the EU institutions. In a relaxed discussion, the Minister and her guests exchanged views on Slovenia and the Union underscoring the importance of citizens casting their votes in the upcoming European elections.

Prime Minister Robert Golob attended today's state ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's accession to the European Union, which was held in Nova Gorica. The ceremony took place on Europe Day, which commemorates the signing of the Schuman Declaration and the beginning of European integration.

In Celje, young people celebrated the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's accession to the European Union (EU). Ahead of Europe Day, children from kindergartens and schools in the Celje region, as part of the European Village project, presented EU member states and countries on the path to EU membership at stands on the Main Square. Additionally, awards were presented at the Celje Cultural Center for the best works by students who participated in the Europe in School competition.

On May 4, before the Europe Day, the European institutions opened their doors to visitors, who were able to visit long and complex corridors of the institutions and learn about everything the EU does for its citizens. The member states also presented themselves: Slovenia presented to around 10,000 visitors with its potica pastry and excellent athletes, who are true ambassadors of the Slovenian way of life.

In late April, Brdo pri Kranju hosted a gathering of communications professionals from various EU member states, candidate countries, and European institutions. The event was organized jointly by the Government Communication Office and the Club of Venice. Participants delved into two key themes: tackling disinformation and the communication challenges posed by the EU's expansion into the Western Balkans.

In the first half of 2004, the Presidency of the Council of the EU was held by Ireland, which organised the Day of Welcomes on 1 May 2004 in Phoenix Park, Dublin, for the new Member States. The late Irish Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney wrote a poem for the occasion, entitled Beacons at Bealtaine, which he also read at the event.

Twenty years have passed since Slovenia became a member of the European Union. The significant enlargement on May 1, 2004, was the result of our longstanding desire for positive change and the determination to become part of an advanced Europe.

Twenty years ago today, the European Union witnessed its largest enlargement in history, a process that demanded extensive preparations from both the Union and the ten countries of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe. In the subsequent years, three more new Member States joined. From today's perspective, this wave of enlargement seems like a small miracle, as it is difficult to maintain the same pace of enlargement in the face of numerous global and domestic challenges.

Twenty years on, the largest EU enlargement presents an opportunity to draw lessons from past communication efforts and to prepare for the upcoming EU enlargement, which is once again high on the EU political agenda. For this reason, together with the Club of Venice, we decided to organise a conference in Slovenia, 26 April 2024, and invited Government representatives and communication experts to discuss and share knowledge and experiences on the subject, with a special focus on disinformation.

On 1 May 2004, Slovenia became a member of the European Union, along with nine other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Although there were some uncertainties before accession, from today's perspective we can see that membership has helped our country on the path to economic development and international recognition, and has opened up many new opportunities for people to study, work and do business in other Member States.

The topic of the new podcast show is migration. Zorana Potič's guest is the executive director of the European Asylum Agency, Nina Gregori, who has been working in this field for her entire career.

From 12 to 19 April 2024, the European Youth Week (EYW) will be organised by the European Commission. This event is organised biannually with aim to promote youth engagement, participation and active citizenship of young people all over Europe and beyond. Many activities will take place within this week and a lot of them will focus also on opportunities and achievements of the implementation of the European programmes in the field of youth.

Since independence, Slovenia has been successfully involved in various international communities, especially at the regional level in Europe.

As the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's accession to the EU approaches, in a new episode of the podcast, we hosted agricultural economist Dr Emil Erjavec. During the negotiations for EU accession, he was a member of the core negotiating team for agriculture and fisheries, the "expert engine" of the negotiations for agriculture. He is a highly popular professor at the Biotechnical Faculty and above all, a great expert in agricultural policy.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Nato and the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's accession to the military organisation, an exhibition and a roundtable discussion on the importance and future of Nato were opened at the Military History Park in Pivka on 27 March. The panellists agreed that the Alliance has played an important role in maintaining peace in Europe and will continue to do so in the future.

Twenty years ago, Slovenians convincingly decided to join the European Union. The referendum took place on March 23, 2003, with nearly 90 percent of voters in favor of accession. Voter turnout was just under 60 percent, and the outcome of the referendum was binding and irrevocable for the national parliament.

If we know the rights and options that we have when shopping or travelling within the EU, we can better utilise the advantages of the European single market while avoiding various problems, risks and unnecessary expenses. Even more – with our awareness, we contribute to a higher quality of goods and services offered and to limiting unfair providers on the domestic or foreign market.

Since independence in 1991, Slovenia's key foreign policy objective was to become a member of the European Union. The National Assembly played an important role in achieving this goal. At the time of accession, its most important "European" tasks were to adapt the Slovenian legal order to European legislation and to approve Slovenia's negotiating positions for the negotiations with the European Commission.

This is the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). It was established in March 2011 by the Third Energy Package legislation and is one of the EU decentralised agencies.

The guest of the 2nd episode of the GOVSI government podcast is Dr Janez Potočnik: during the preparations for Slovenia's accession to the EU, he was the head of the EU Accession Negotiating Group, then European Commissioner for two terms, and today he is a member and co-chair of the UN's International Panel on Resources. The discussion was moderated by Petra Bezjak Cirman, Director of the Government Communications Office.