News, Notices

Acting Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation Igor Jukič took part in a meeting of EU Directors-General for development cooperation via a videoconference. The participants discussed the Team Europe initiatives, the European financial architecture for development, the assistance offered to partner countries in the fight against COVID-19, the Gender Action Plan, and the current situation in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Jože Podgoršek has attended a ministerial meeting on the new EU forest strategy at the invitation of the Austrian minister responsible for forestry Elisabeth Köstinger. At the meeting, the ministers from forest rich member states discussed the future of forests at EU level.

Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs attended a meeting of the interior ministers of the Visegrad Group, the Republic of Austria and the Republic of Slovenia in Budapest. The meeting focused on the current challenges in migration and topical issues concerning the management of Europe's borders.

On the occasion of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD DAC), State Secretary Stanislav Raščan added his congratulations to those of the high-level representatives responsible for international development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

Minister Jože Podgoršek has attended a meeting of chief veterinary officers of the Working Party on Animals and Veterinary Questions. The event is traditionally organised in the framework of the presidency of the Council of the EU. The highest representatives of veterinary services meet to work, exchange views and socialise.

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.