News

The Slovenian pavilion at the Expo is hosting in its exhibition area a gigantic Carniolian grey bee, one of the biggest attractions at this year’s World Expo in Dubai. The three-dimensional 100:1 model of the bee has already been seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors.

The public agency Spirit Slovenija conferred this year’s prizes for top foreign investors who generated exceptional results in the past 12 months and contributed to the development of the Slovenian economy.

On Friday, the German Crediterform Rating agency confirmed its credit rating for Slovenia's national debt. The Slovenia's credit rating thus remains at AA- and the prospects are stable. The rating has already been confirmed by Fitch and S&P Global and DBRS Morningstar.

The company Bird Buddy, the winner of last year's competition for the Slovenian start-up of the year and the creator of the bird feeder of the same name, is reaching new heights. After receiving an additional financial injection worth US$8.5 million from the US company General Catalyst in December, it was recently featured on the platforms of the television network CNN.

According to Minister of Infrastructure Jernej Vrtovec, the need for digitalisation, including of the logistics sector, has further increased during the epidemic. "Transport and logistics are important factors in our economy and today's business forum is the right step towards Slovenia becoming a green hub of the whole of Europe," he said at the Expo in Dubai.

The Toli project, the journey of a piece of the Triglav Glacier to the venue of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, has been upgraded, with a green aspect added today in Slovenia. A tree will be planted for every kilometre travelled, and there will be a total of at least 13,000, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia (OKS) announced.

Read how Slovenia is seen through the lens of the world-renowned media, such as CNN, Euronews, The Guardian, The Irish Times, Virtuoso Life, Men's Journal and others, and which bucket lists it appears on.

Slovenia ranked second among the 23 selected members of the Organization for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD), according to the ranking prepared by The Economist on how well countries have been dealing with the economic aspects of the pandemic. According to five criteria chosen by The Economist, Slovenia was second only to Denmark.

The second Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU is coming to a close.

The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU is a project that included many different services both in Slovenia and in Brussels. Translators, chauffeurs, chefs, security guards, negotiators and spokespersons. These are probably not the first people who come to mind when you think of the presidency, but they are crucial for its success. We asked them to share their experiences with us.

One of the things that have marked the Slovenian Presidency are the handmade Slovenian ethnographic ornaments that adorned several Christmas trees – from the Vatican to Brussels and Strasbourg.

During the Slovenian Presidency, the Council has played an important role in ensuring security in the EU in relation to the situation in Afghanistan and at the Belarus border. Significant progress has also been made on the common EU migration and asylum policy, on Croatia joining the Schengen area, and on reaffirming the European perspective for the Western Balkans partners.

The work of the European Citizens' Panels is moving on to the next stage. On 10-12 December, some 200 European citizens from all Member States, of different ages and backgrounds, will meet for the third time, to draft their recommendations for the future of Europe in the fields of "European democracy /values, rights, rule of law, security".

11 December, the International Mountain Day, was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003 to highlight the importance of mountains for life, and the conservation and protection of biodiversity in terms of sustainable development of mountain areas.

The contribution of culture as a share of value added in GDP was 1.0% in 2020, 0.1 p.p. less than in 2019. Each inhabitant spent on average 177 EUR on culture.

Ministry of the Interior held a virtual ministerial conference on the prevention and investigation of child sexual abuse in the framework of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs, who is currently presiding the EU Home Affairs Council, chaired the ministerial conference.

From 12 to 14 November, the second European Citizens’ Panel will meet again, this time online, to discuss how to strengthen rights and non-discrimination, protect democracy and the rule of law, reform the EU, build European identity and strengthen citizens’ participation.

On Thursday, 11 November 2021, a regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council comprising trade ministers took place in Brussels.

Ljubljana has been ranked number one among the 20 Best Green Capitals in Europe. The title awarded by European Best Destinations comes as great recognition for Ljubljana's vision of sustainable tourism development.

Use of renewable energy sources is increasing. In 2020, 33% of electricity in Slovenia was produced from renewable sources. According to provisional data, electricity production from renewable energy sources in the EU-27 in 2020 exceeded production from fossil fuels for the first time.