News, Notices

Throughout his life, Alfred Brežnik - Fredi, an electrical engineer, a businessman and a long-term Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Slovenia in New South Wales, Australia, has been promoting Slovenianness and his home country with dedication and sacrifice. He moved to Australia in 1959. Together with other compatriots in Australia, Brežnik was particularly active during Slovenia’s independence process. Prior to that, he held intensive discussions with Australian politicians regarding the recognition of Slovenian independence. And also thanks to him, Australia was the first overseas country to acknowledge Slovenia as an independent state in January 1992.

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Minister Zdravko Počivalšek expresses optimism about the recovery of Slovenian and world tourism as well. As he says, tourism is an extremely flexible ecosystem and it will react and transform in line with the current situation. He also believes that Slovenia has everything it takes to become one of the most desirable tourist destinations.

In his opening address via video-conference, Mark Boris Andrijanič opened the virtual conference of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, entitled "2021 OECD Business and Finance Outlook on AI". The conference took place on Friday, 24 September 2021.

On Thursday, Minister Andrijanič delivered an opening address at the conference "Leaders’ Dialogue: How Can We Create a Region of Mavericks, Unicorns, and Global Winners?", which was held as part of the sixth Slovenia Business Bridge Investment and Development Conference.

At an informal meeting held on 24 September 2021 at Brdo pri Kranju, ministers responsible for consumer protection discussed how to enhance consumer protection for future generations in the age of digitalisation and tourism.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar accompanied Slovenian President Borut Pahor as he addressed the General Assembly on behalf of the Republic of Slovenia at the general discussion. He also attended President Pahor’s meeting with António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).

A delegation of the Republic of Slovenia headed by Marko Rakovec, Chief Legal Adviser and Director-General for International Law and Protection of Interests, took part at the 61st meeting of the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public international Law (CAHDI) in Strasbourg on 23 and 24 September.

“Democracy, values, rights, responsibilities, and the rule of law are the foundations of the European Union, the base on which it stands,” said Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary and Co-Chair of the Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe, ahead of the beginning of the second European Citizens' Panel in Strasbourg today.

Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today participated in the High-Level Forum on Regional Recovery and Resilience which was jointly organised by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU in Lipica, Slovenia. The Forum put spotlight on ways to ensure synergies between EU Cohesion Policy and Recovery and Resilience Facility by strengthening partnerships between EU, national, regional and local authorities. It was organised in a hybrid format as part of the programme of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs addressed the participants of the event Meeting of a supportive environment for entrepreneurship from the Koroška region that took place in Slovenj Gradec.

Barbara Sušnik, Director-General for European Union Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, welcomed Patric Franzen, Deputy State Secretary at the Swiss Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan attended the opening of the Balkan Forum, organised by Greece as part of the one-year Presidency of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) via video conference. The debate focused on the sustainable development of the countries of the region in the post-COVID period.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar participated in the ministerial breakfast of the Informal Ministerial Network for the International Criminal Court, attended the Conference on Article XIV of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and held bilateral talks with the Foreign Ministers of Algeria and Jordan on the margins of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Strengthening cybersecurity in the EU and its Member States is one the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Activities, collectively designated ‘Ghostwriter’, threaten our security and democratic principles of the EU, and run counter the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace endorsed by all UN member states.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended the 2nd regular session of the Commission of Inquiry for determining the possible political responsibility of holders of public office for financially inappropriate measures and the allegedly unjustified restriction of rights in the implementation of measures related to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Interior Minister Aleš Hojs hosted the Interior Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Hamáček for a two-day official visit. The key focus of their talks was the current situation in security and migration and the progress regarding the priorities of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.

State Secretary Dr Raščan took part in the celebrations and a press conference marking the launch of a new flight connection of the flydubai airline between Dubai International Airport and Ljubljana Airport.

Following the reception of Slovenian Olympic and Paralympic athletes, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with the Czech Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček.

Following the state ceremony to mark the Day of Slovenian Sport, Prime Minister Janša hosts a reception for Slovenian Olympic and Paralympic athletes at Vila Bled.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the Budapest Demographic Summit. The summit is an annual event hosting top-level speakers, members of the EU and national parliaments, former ministers, senior religious leaders, civil society representatives, academics and journalists.