News

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.

The long-awaited Expo 2020, hosted for the first time by one of the Arab countries, starts on 30 September with a ceremony and a number of recognisable attendees. The eyes of the domestic and world public are on Dubai, where Slovenia will also be presenting itself between 1 October and 31 March of next year. With a pavilion in the sustainable segment of the exhibition, it tells the world the story of a green and smart country in the heart of Europe.

The first half of the Slovenian Presidency has been marked by a wide range of events in Europe and beyond. After three months of work, the first results are already visible, in particular in the areas of strengthening the EU’s resilience, recovery and strategic autonomy, making the EU more secure and engaged in the world, and the EU’s contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe.

The 2021 edition of The Michelin Guide in Slovenia has finally been unveiled. In a year, when Slovenia holds the European Region of Gastronomy title, the family of Michelin Starred restaurants has received one new member. The restaurant Gostišče Grič joins the list of MICHELIN Star restaurants. In total, 2021 edition has 53 restaurants.

A declaration was signed in Brussels today, which declares 23 September as EU Organic Day. The declaration was signed by the Chair of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the Slovenian Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek, together with the European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski and Benoit Lutgen, Member of the European Parliament.

Today, the Connecting Europe Express, which was launched as part of the European Year of Rail, arrived at Ljubljana railway station, after departing from the Lisbon train station earlier this month. In the presence of the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, the Minister of Infrastructure, Jernej Vrtovec, addressed the passengers and all those gathered.

The Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Simona Kustec, and the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, Youth and Sport, Mariya Gabriel, symbolically launched the European Week of Sport in Tivoli Park in Ljubljana today, accompanied by 1200 children.

Between 12 and 15 September, Ljubljana and Izola hosted an international high-level conference Future Unlocked.

Under the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Ministry of Public Administration and the European Commission are organising a high-level conference on artificial intelligence as a hybrid event on 14 and 15 September 2021 at Brdo pri Kranju. Via an online platform, all interested stakeholders worldwide striving to better understand how to live with AI and how to manage it in the future can participate in the conference.

Defence ministers brought the situation in Afghanistan to the forefront of the discussions at the informal meeting.

"To date, we have already adopted 16 national recovery and resilience plans. I am pleased that we will continue to address the Czech and Irish plans on 6 September. I am convinced that discussions on the remaining plans will follow soon," said Minister Andrej Šircelj.