News

State Secretary Tina Heferle attended the MED9 meeting of interior ministers from Mediterranean EU member states, held on 18-19 May 2026, in Rovinj, Croatia. Discussions focused on preventing irregular migration, protecting the European Union’s external borders to ensure a safer Mediterranean, and combating maritime drug trafficking.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon participated in the MED9 Informal Ministerial Meeting in Split to discuss security and cooperation in the Mediterranean. “The situation in the Middle East affects us all. We must insist on diplomacy and respect for the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, which must apply to everyone,” said Minister Fajon.

Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob welcomed to Portorož the leaders of the MED9 Group of Mediterranean EU Member States, together with two distinguished guests – King Abdullah II of Jordan and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The Italian Republic was represented by its Deputy Prime Minister, who had also attended the previous MED9 Summit held in Alicante, Spain, in 2022.

State Secretary Neva Grašič hosted a meeting of the MED9 group’s State Secretaries for EU Affairs in Portorož. The participants discussed current foreign policy issues, competitiveness and the EU budget. The MED9 group, which brings together nine Mediterranean EU member states, has been chaired by Slovenia for the first time this year. With nine voices being stronger than one, this is an important forum for coordination and the exchange of views.

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.

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 attended a summit of the Mediterranean EU countries, MED9, in Paphos, Cyprus. The summit was also attended by the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Marko Štucin, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, participated in the Meeting of Ministers and State Secretaries for EU Affairs of the nine Mediterranean countries of the European Union, known as the MED9, held in Nicosia, Cyprus.

State Secretary Marko Štucin hosted the Deputy Minister for European Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, Marilena Raouna, for consultations. They reviewed bilateral relations and talked about Slovenia's experience in preparing for the EU Council Presidency in 2021, as well as topical European issues such as EU enlargement, the Western Balkans, EU institutional reforms and EU-Türkiye relations, including the Cyprus issue and migration.

Minister Tanja Fajon hosted Dr Constantinos Kombos, Foreign Minister of Cyprus, during his official visit to Slovenia. As like-minded, Mediterranean and economically comparable countries, Slovenia and Cyprus are natural allies and members of the Union for the Mediterranean and the MED-9, an informal group of nine Mediterranean countries. The two ministers addressed the settlement of the Cyprus issue and the current situation in the Middle East and Yemen.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held consultations in Nicosia with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyriacós Kouros.

The purpose of the two-day visit is to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, with an emphasis on establishing concrete forms of cooperation in the field of defence. In the light of the latter, the two ministers signed an Agreement on cooperation in the field of defence, which will serve as the basis for the preparation of a further programme.

Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob attended the ninth summit of national leaders of the EU-MED9 grouping, held in Alicante, Spain, on Friday, 9 December.

Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs met with Nicos Nouris, Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Cyprus, in Ljubljana today. The main topics of the discussion were the war in Ukraine and its consequences and the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

Before the launch of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Director-General Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations with the Secretary General for European Union Affairs at the Cypriot Foreign Ministry, Philippa Karsera, via an audio-video link.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, via videoconference today. The meeting was convened at Slovenia’s initiative and focused on the presentation of the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar paid a working visit to the Republic of Cyprus, where he met with the political heads of Cyprus, discussing cooperation between the two countries and the situation in the EU and in the Mediterranean. The visit was aimed at maintaining good relations with one of Slovenia's natural partners and strengthening cooperation with the Mediterranean countries.

At the invitation of his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides, Foreign Minister Dr Cerar paid an official visit to the Republic of Cyprus on 17 and 18 October. He was accompanied by a group of Slovenian business representatives, who attended a business forum held in parallel with the visit.

Minister Dr Miro Cerar attended the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg focusing on the situation in Syria, Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, Afghanistan and Ukraine. During a working lunch, heads of Member States’ diplomacies were joined by their Ukrainian counterpart Vadym Prystaiko.