News

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.

The Europe Readr digital platform, the Slovenian Presidency's flagship cultural and promotional project, is enjoying a lot of attention over summer months. This virtual library offers free access to a selection of books, which can be read anywhere – while traveling, on the beach, you name it. It brings current social issues to readers, encouraging them to reflect on the world we want to live in.

The Slovenian Digital Centre is the main economic event of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will run until the end of the year, covering a variety of topics relevant to the continued sustainable and green development of Slovenia and the European Union.

In 2020, fewer births, more deaths, more immigrants, more emigrants, fewer marriages and fewer divorces

The selected works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The final act in preparing the nomination "The works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana – Human-Centred Urban Design" took place today, 28 July 2021, as the inscription on the World Heritage List was confirmed during the two-week session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The nomination was prepared by a working group of experts in the fields of protection, conservation and management of cultural heritage in cooperation with the owners and managers of Plečnik's works. The process was led by the Ministry of Culture and coordinated by the Museum for Architecture and Design.

At an informal meeting on 22 July 2021 in Brdo pri Kranju, competitiveness ministers (industry) discussed how to create a circular, creative and smart future using textile and energy-intensive industries in the European Union as a template.

The epidemiological picture is worsening across Europe and Slovenia. The government is gradually taking measures to help contain infections.

Slovenia hosted an informal meeting of environment and climate change ministers.

The European Commission unveiled the 'Fit for 55' package of climate and energy laws this week. The Slovenian Presidency welcomes the unveiled project, which is also a priority of the Presidency in the field of the environment and climate change.

At the meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels on Tuesday, chaired by Minister of Finance Andrej Šircelj, the ministers of finance approved the first 12 national recovery and resilience plans. These will speed up the recovery process in EU Member States.

Last week, the Slovenian Minister of Culture, Vasko Simoniti, opened two exhibitions to mark the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council.