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A press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by Director of the National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food Tjaša Žohar Čretnik and Ada Hočevar Grom of the National Institute of Public Health.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan today held a video conference with the State Secretary for Global Affairs and Diplomatic strategies of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Romania, Cornel Feruţa.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the “Call for proposals for co-financing district heating using renewable energy sources (code: JR DO OVE 2021)”. The total funding available under the call for proposals is fully contributed by the Cohesion Fund and amounts to EUR 16 million.

The Office of Prime Minister Janez Janša has communicated to all leaders of parliamentary parties (List of Marjan Šarec, Social Democrats, Party of Modern Centre, The Left, New Slovenia – Christian Democrats, Party of Alenka Bratušek, Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia, Slovenian National Party) and to the deputies of the national communities a proposal for an agreement between all political parties and the representatives of the national communities in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for cooperation in formulating responses to the fundamental development challenges in the 2021–2022 period.

At today's 62th extraordinary session, the National Assembly considered the proposal of the candidacy of Janez Poklukar for the post of Minister of Health. He was proposed for this function by Prime Minister Janša pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 112 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, and Articles 229 and 234 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in a videoconference meeting of members of the General Affairs Council today. Ministers and state secretaries responsible for European affairs focused on the preparations for the European Council meeting, the European Democracy Action Plan, the state of play of preparations for the Conference on the Future of Europe, and EU-UK relations.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the “Call for proposals for co-financing the purchase of mobile units (cars) used to perform the tasks of the coordinator for community mental health care and the tasks of the coordinator for the provision of protection of people with disabilities”. The available funding under the call for proposals amounts to EUR 400,000 of which the European Regional Development Fund contribution stands at EUR 320,000.

Today, the EU Ministers competent for fisheries met on the second current year’s meeting of the EU Council under the Portuguese Presidency, which took place in the audio-visual form. This time, the Agenda included topics on fisheries. On exit of the United Kingdom from the EU, the Ministers familiarised themselves with the state of play of bilateral consultations between the EU and the UK on fishing opportunities for 2021 and on deep-sea fish stocks for 2021 and 2022. Slovenia was represented by the acting Directress General of the MAFF Food and Fisheries Directorate, Ms Ana Le Marechal Kolar.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in the regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels. The ministers focused their discussions on EU-Russia relations and the situation in Hong Kong. The Council also held a video conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on future cooperation with the new US administration regarding the common foreign and security policy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today took part in the High-Level Segment of the 46th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, which is being held in as a virtual event this year. In his address, the Minister expressed his concern over the consequences brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that it is imperative that the post-pandemic recovery include measures aimed at achieving greater equality, solidarity, and social protection.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan delivered a video address today at the High-Level Segment of the Conference on Disarmament. He also raised the issue of membership expansion, which has remained unresolved for too long, and called for progress in this matter with a view to enhancing universality, transparency, and multilateralism.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Economic Zone Turnišče”. The project worth a little under EUR 420,000 and implemented by the Municipality Turnišče will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of over EUR 225,000.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Alenka Forte and Mojca Kirbiš, Headteacher at Rado Robič Limbuš Primary School.

The Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) is taking place in Nairobi, which, as the highest global environmental body, sets priorities for global environmental policy and international environmental law. Due to the pandemic, the assembly will be held in two parts. The first part will be held in the form of a virtual meeting on 22 and 23 February 2021 and the second part is expected to take place as a physical meeting in February 2022 in Kenya. Andrej Vizjak, Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, delivered a video address at the assembly.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology Simon Zajc, Commander of the Slovenian Civil Protection Force Srečko Šestan and Natalija Bevc, a Slovene who lives in Germany, who spoke about experiences during the epidemic in Germany.

The approval of the investment for the relocation of the Department of Pulmonary Diseases to University Medical Centre Maribor marks the beginning of a large investment cycle in the field of strengthening public health. Over the next few years over half a billion euros in EU grants will be allocated to healthcare system enhancement.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan today held an audio-video conference with the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Paweł Jabłoński.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was held by Bojana Beović, head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health, Slavko Krištofelc, head of the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection Service at the Labour Inspectorate, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

At today’s regular session, the Slovenian Government adopted amendments to the Ordinance on temporary restrictions on sports programmes. Those amendments relate primarily to testing. Amendments to the Ordinance determining the conditions for entry into the Republic of Slovenia for the purpose of containment and control of the infectious disease COVID-19 stipulate that printed confirmation is sufficient for entry without quarantine for those who have recovered from COVID-19.

Today, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a video call with Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden Anna Hallberg.

Current epidemiological conditions and an update on the progress of vaccinations were presented at today’s press conference by National Institute of Public Health director Milan Krek.

Prime Minister Janez Janša had a working meeting today with Anton Obreht, the president of school directors’ and head teachers’ union SINDIR. The meeting was also attended by Simona Kustec, Minister of Education, Science and Sport.

The directors-general for European affairs of Slovenia and Switzerland, Ambassador Barbara Sušnik and Ambassador Pietro Piffaretti, held video consultations today.

Today, Minister Andrej Šircelj attended the informal video conference of economic and finance ministers (ECOFIN Council). The most important topic of the session was the economic recovery in the European Union.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion policy has issued a funding decision for the project Construction of footpath and Cerknica-Dolenje Jezero cycling path. Total project budget is estimated at EUR 835,000. The project will be implemented by the Municipality Cerkno and will receive contribution from the European Regional Development Fund amounting to EUR 87,000.

Today’s press conference on the latest situation with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic was held by Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj, State Secretary for Education and Sport Marjan Dolinšek, and Principal of the Škofljica primary school Roman Brunšek.

Today, Politico publishes an article on the media situation in Slovenia. Despite the fact that the Government Communication Office provided extensive answers to Politco's questions, the answers were not summarized when reporting on the situation in Slovenia. Therefore, we publish all the answers the questions and materials that were provided to Politico.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar today addressed the participants of the virtual launch of the Declaration against the Use of Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations with a national statement. The event was organised by Canada, the initiator of the Declaration.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended the 61st extraordinary session of the National Assembly, at which deputies are deliberating over the election of a new prime minister. At the session, Janša presented an overview of the work of the Government to date.

Today’s press conference on the latest situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was attended by Alenka Forte, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Simon Podnar, technical director of the Neurological Clinic at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, and Darko Černe, head of the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Marija Magajne and Chairman of the Slovenian Economic Association in Austrian Carinthia Benjamin Wakounig, who spoke about experiences with preventive measures during the epidemic in Austria.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today submitted to the National Assembly a nomination of the new Minister of Health; his proposed candidate is Janez Poklukar.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan hosted János Bóka, State Secretary in charge of EU Affairs at the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office and the new Hungarian Sherpa for EU affairs.

Every day, consular representations of the Republic of Slovenia receive numerous enquiries from Slovenian citizens concerning crossing the state border during the holidays and the winter school break. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises again that tourist travel is not a legally permitted reason for entering most of Slovenia's neighbouring countries.

Members of the 12th Slovenian contingent of the Resolute Support Mission are concluding their six-month deployment in Afghanistan.
Within the Train Advise Assist Command - West, they were in charge of human resources and planning tasks at Camp Arena in Herat. In addition, they underwent tactical procedures training, and conducted patrols and reconnaissance in the area of responsibility.
Members of the 12th Slovenian contingent received special acknowledgements for their work, performance and esprit-de-corps showed in cooperation with members of other armed forces.

The Government has decided that from Monday the restriction of movement between municipalities will be lifted and gatherings of up to ten people will be permitted. All primary school students (except those on holiday) will return to school. Also from Monday, all commercial activities will be permitted without restriction.

On Thursday, 11 February 2021, the second meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative (AII) took place under the Slovenian chairmanship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held via video conference.

This afternoon’s press conference on the latest situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was attended by Aleš Hojs (Minister of the Interior), Jernej Vrtovec (Minister of Infrastructure), Ajda Cuderman (State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology) and Damir Orehovec (State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport).

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was held by Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

The Acting Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation, Anita Pipan, attended an informal meeting of EU directors-general for development cooperation. This time, the focus was on the “Team Europe” initiatives, financing for development, the Southern Neighbourhood, and COVID-19 in terms of support for public health.

Celebrated around the world on 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.

In the early morning hours of 11 February, the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) delivered a member of the Slovenian UNIFIL contingent with a severe course of the COVID-19 disease from Lebanon to Slovenia. During the flight, the SAF member was accompanied by the SAF chief physician.
The flight with the Falcon aircraft was smooth. After landing at Brnik airport, the Military Medical Unit ambulance transported the infected SAF member to the Dr Peter Držaj hospital in Ljubljana for further treatment. Two members of the SAF Veterinary Unit disinfected the aircraft all the equipment at the airport.
The United Nations operation UNIFIL in Lebanon includes six members the Slovenian Armed Forces. The other five contingent members tested negative for coronavirus infection. They are healthy and continue to perform tasks in the area of operations in southern Lebanon.

A number of media outlets today summed up the untrue statements of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) in connection with the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). STA citing unofficial information reported that according to the European Commission Slovenia’s RRP is among the least prepared.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was held by Nuška Čakš Jager, Deputy Director of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Marta Grgič Vitek, National Vaccination Programme Coordinator at the NIJZ, and Maja Ravnikar, Director of the National Institute of Biology.

Today's press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Marija Magajne, the Director of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, a paediatrician at the Division of Paediatrics of the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, Tadej Avčin, and Mojca Juriševič from the Department of fundamental pedagogical studies at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana.

Minister without portfolio, responsible for Development and Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today gave opening remarks at the online conference Zlati kamen (Golden Stone). This year's conference took place amid intense preparations for the next programming period and drafting of the national recovery and resilience plan. The minister underlined that the outcome of MFF negotiations was ''best possible so far'', bringing extensive additional funding to the table to help the country get back on its feet after COVID-19 crisis.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion policy has issued a funding decision for the Call for proposals for demonstration projects of smart cities and communities creation - JR PMIS. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 8 million available, of which EUR 6.4 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund.

Slovenia today celebrates one of its most important holidays, Prešeren Day. To mark the occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar donated the book I Saw Her That Night by Drago Jančar, one of the most renowned and most widely translated contemporary Slovenian authors, to the Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps in Slovenia, the Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia, Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich, at Strmol Castle.

Today, a special Etihad Airways aircraft from the United Arab Emirates landed in Slovenia, carrying seven tons of protective equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Raščan, and Deputy Director-General of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, Stanislav Lotrič, thanked the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Salim Mohamed Al Musharrakh, for the generous donation.

Due to the epidemiological situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrates this year’s Day of Culture in virtual format. In the year of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in Trio with Germany and Portugal, this day is dedicated to Slovenian culture in the wider European area. On the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s gaining independence, special attention is drawn to the role culture played in the formation of our state, its international engagement and recognition.

Message by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša on Prešeren Day

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses solidarity with, and support for, Belarusian citizens who have insisted on peaceful anti-government protests since the presidential elections held in August last year, demanding respect for democratic standards and fundamental human rights. The Belarusian authorities responded with disproportionate violence, illegal deprivation of liberty, and systematic disrespect and violation of fundamental human rights, which is unacceptable.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar paid a working visit to the Republic of Cyprus, where he met with the political heads of Cyprus, discussing cooperation between the two countries and the situation in the EU and in the Mediterranean. The visit was aimed at maintaining good relations with one of Slovenia's natural partners and strengthening cooperation with the Mediterranean countries.

At its meeting by correspondence, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia has adopted the Ordinance temporarily prohibiting the offering and sale of goods and services to consumers in the Republic of Slovenia and the Ordinance amending the Ordinance determining the conditions of entry into the Republic of Slovenia to contain and control the COVID-19 communicable disease.

On Friday, 5 February, members of the 45th Tracked Combat Vehicles Centre left for the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Germany.
The multinational military exercise Combined Resolve XV will take place in Hohenfels and Grafenwoher until Wednesday, 3 March. It will include some 4,500 members from seven allied and partner armed forces. The Slovenian Armed Forces will participate with a tank platoon (four M-84 tanks) and the associated logistical support. The aim of the exercise is to upgrade the competence of the Slovenian Armed Forces armoured unit to operate across the spectrum of combat operations and to strengthen its international cooperation.
In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, the participants were self-isolated for 14 days before traveling to the exercise venue, and all appropriate measures will also be apply in the training area.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today gave his annual address to the diplomatic corps. Owing to the current epidemiological conditions, this year’s event took place in virtual form. The diplomatic corps was also addressed by President Borut Pahor and the Most Reverend Jean-Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia and Doyen of the diplomatic corps accredited in Slovenia.

Today’s press conference on the current Covid-19 situation was hosted by chief inspector at the Slovenian Education and Sport Inspectorate Simon Slokan and member of the Slovenian minority in Italy Damijan Terpin, who spoke about experiences with educating children during the time of the epidemic in Italy.

During a working visit to Malta today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with his host, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo. Slovenia and Malta are EU member states sharing similar views on several European topics. They are also Mediterranean countries, which makes it imperative that they develop closer cooperation and work together on key issues in the Mediterranean region.

Today Prime Minister Janša called for a consultation to be held at Brdo pri Kranju before the final discussion of consent to the content of the invitation for enrolment into undergraduate and integrated master’s study programmes in the 2021/2022 academic year. He believes that the determination of the number of places available for enrolment at public schools and faculties that are financed by taxpayers is one of the most crucial strategic decisions of any country. Prior to the final adoption of the document by the Government the Prime Minister thus wanted to also consult the representatives of universities, independent higher education institutions, chambers of commerce and associations.

At today's press conference at Brdo pri Kranju, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Deputy Prime Ministers Matej Tonin and Zdravko Počivalšek, talked about the situation concerning the coronavirus.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Road K5-K8 in the Business and Industry Zone Tezno (expansion EPC)”. The project worth a little under EUR 1.6 million, implemented by the Urban Municipality of Maribor, will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of EUR 984,000.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by representative of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) Mario Fafangel, head of the Consulate Sector at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrej Šter, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food (MAFF) is intensively preparing the 2023–2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan. The preliminary draft of the Strategic Plan was prepared in last December and includes the needs identified, proposals for interventions, defined funds, and the output and result indicators.

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a mourning session in the Great Hall of the National Assembly honouring the deceased National Assembly Deputy Franc Kramar.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the call for proposals Financial incentives for innovation startups in 2021. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 2.16 million available, of which over EUR 1.56 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund. The Slovene Enterprise Fund will publish the call for proposals next week.

Today, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a telephone conversation with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Qin Gang. They reaffirmed the positive bilateral relations and advocated for closer cooperation during the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2021.

Based on the decision of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, members of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) have been cooperating with the Police in the broad protection of the national border since 18 February 2016.
Around 150 of SAF members are currently involved in the aforementioned tasks daily, and in almost five years, the SAF has assigned members to these tasks on 150,000 occasions. In addition to members working in mixed patrols with the Police, the SAF also provides independent observation posts, a helicopter, and drones to observe the border area, as well as engineers arranging patrol routes and maintaining temporary technical barriers.
SAF members have been participating in the above-mentioned efforts based on the operations and tactical plan regulating the cooperation between the Slovenian Armed Forces and the Police in broad protection of the national border. Its purpose is to ensure the stability and national security of all inhabitants of Slovenia, and it determines the forms of work of police officers and soldiers in protecting the border and preventing illegal migration. In line with the basic guidelines from the operations and tactical plan, the protection of the national border is led, directed and supervised by the Police. Police procedures are conducted by police officers, while soldiers who take part in border-protection activities in accordance with military tactics, techniques and procedures, are commanded by military commanders.
Based on the decision of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, the SAF has continuously been supporting the Ministry of the Interior in resolving the illegal-migration situation since 19 October 2015.

Today’s daily press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Neda Hudopisk, Head of the National Institute of Public Health Ravne na Koroškem unit, Aleš Rozman Director of the Golnik University Clinic for Lung Diseases and Allergy and Borut Štrukelj, full professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ljubljana.

On the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as part of the preparations for Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU, State Secretary Dovžan today held a virtual meeting with Slovenian members of the European Economic and Social Committee. In his introductory address, he outlined the envisaged priority tasks of the Slovenian presidency in the second half of this year.

This afternoon, Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek held a remote meeting with Mr Janusz Wojciechowski, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. They primarily discussed topics to be in the forefront during Slovenia’s EU Council Presidency in the field of agriculture and forestry. The interlocutors discussed the difficult situation in the pig meat sector, also within the context of Slovenia’s call for action launched at the January videoconference of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers. The Minister informed the Commissioner of the progress made in preparing the National Strategic Plan.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by Matej Lahovnik, coordinator of the expert advisory group, which is preparing the package of anti-corona relief, director of DSO Vojnik Breda Božnik, and psychologist Eva Kovač.

A press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by state secretary at the Ministry of Health Marija Magajne and Director of the National Institute of Public Health Milan Krek.

Prime Minister Janez Janša nominated the missionary Pedro Opeka and his humanitarian organisation, Akamasoa, which operates on the outskirts of Antananarivo in Madagascar, for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

Prime Minister Janez Janša published a message on his Facebook page regarding the number of enrolment places in public schools and faculties financed by taxpayers’ money. It is one of the most important strategic decisions in every country.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today spoke with his Hungarian, Slovakian, and Israeli colleagues on the phone.

“The Slovenian Government had already adopted a roadmap to ease or tighten measures at the beginning of December, given that we were already in the second wave of infections, and this plan was revised at the beginning of January according to the situation that developed.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan hosted Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution at the Federal Chancellery. Slovenia and Austria share similar views on EU issues and are partners in regional initiatives. Minister Edtstadler was also received by Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar.

A working level meeting for senior officials of the Slovenian, Croatian, and Italian foreign ministries took place today. It focused on cooperation on economic development, connectivity, and comprehensive protection of the northern Adriatic region prior to the declaration of the exclusive economic zones by both Croatia and Italy.

The new Executive Director of the European Labour Authority (ELA), Cosmin Boiangiu, paid a visit to Slovenia on 29 January 2021 as part of his tour of EU Member States. He was received by State Secretary Gašper Dovžan when he paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to the promotion of the European Labour Authority, the visit is also aimed at establishing sound foundations for cooperation and at enhancing relations with the competent labour authorities in Slovenia, with which the ELA would like to cooperate more closely in the future. The Executive Director also met with the Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs.

Prime Minister Janez Janša participated at the January session of the Managers’ Association of Slovenia. The broad event represents a symbolic start to the new economic year, which is why it is full of optimism, new ideas, drive, and expectations. Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke with the executive director of the Association on aiding the economy with anti-corona packages, on the national recovery and resilience plan, and on other topics which are significant for the Slovenian economy.

Today the Slovenian Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, and his delegation attended an informal video conference of the EU Home Affairs Ministers. The Portuguese Presidency included three discussion topics on the conference agenda: the next steps in the EU migration and asylum policy, the current state and future of the Schengen area, and the future of Europol.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has extended the reopening of kindergartens and schools for students of the first three grades of primary school in the following red regions: the Gorenjska, Koroška, Osrednjeslovenska, Podravska, Pomurska and Savinjska regions. In these regions, from Tuesday, 2 February 2021, childcare for pre-school children and classes for students of the first three grades of primary school will continue to take place on school premises, said Minister Simona Kustec, presenting the Government's decision.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by Bojana Beović, head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

As a response to the article posted by the New York Times on 27th of January, titled ''A populist leader kicks off a culture war in museums'', we are posting the full correspondence between the Ministry of Culture and the New York Times reporter, Mr. Alex Marshall.

Today, the EU Ministers competent for agriculture, and fisheries met on the first EU Council meeting this year under the Portuguese Presidency, which took place in the audio-visual form. On behalf of Slovenia, the meeting was attended by the Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek. In the introduction, Portugal presented the work programme in agriculture and fisheries in the following half year.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar addressed the participants of the 5th Forum of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR), which this year is being held under the slogan “Strengthening the resilience of the Adriatic and Ionian Region through cooperation”. At the virtual forum taking place during Slovenia's presidency of EUSAIR, the Minister underlined that Europe’s green and digital recovery can only be achieved through effective cooperation and coordination on both the regional and global scale.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Collection and treatment in the Savinja River basin – the municipalities of Braslovče, Polzela and Žalec”. The project worth over EUR 2.1 million will be implemented by the municipalities of Braslovče, Polzela and Žalec and will receive nearly EUR 759,000 of European Regional Development Fund support.

On Wednesday, 27th January 2021, the Republic of Slovenia successfully entered the markets with a 60-year (Mar-81) benchmark issuance of EUR 500 mio. This landmark transaction constitutes the longest ever bond issue from the Republic of Slovenia on Debt Capital Markets. The success of the transaction, with more than EUR4.3bn of demand, is a strong testimony of the confidence institutional investors have into the Republic of Slovenia.

With its credit rating by S&P (AA-), Fitch (A), Moody’s (A3), and DBRS (AH) and the placement of a new 60-year Eurobond issue and the related extension of the reference market yield curve, the Republic of Slovenia has consolidated its position among the more advanced euro-area countries.

Minister Jože Podgoršek today attended the 13th Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference at the Global Forum For Food And Agriculture (GFFA). The GFFA, which began on Monday and concluded with today’s ministerial conference, features a series of political and professional events, discussions and meetings that take place every year on the fringes of the Green Week fair. The ministerial conference welcomed almost 100 agriculture ministers and their deputies from around the world along with the highest representatives of all major international institutions and international NGOs. The forum was hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture with the central topic of "How to Feed the World in Times of Pandemics and Climate Change?"

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Nuška Čakš Jager, Deputy Head of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health, and Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, Director of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food.

In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day has been marked by the international community for 16 years now, and in Slovenia since 2008.

State Secretary Raščan participated in the virtual Replenishment Conference for the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. This financial instrument of the Peacebuilding Commission was created by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council in 2005 to support peace efforts in post-conflict countries. Thus far, the Peacebuilding Fund has supported peacebuilding programmes in more than 40 countries around the world, including the Western Balkans.

The Republic of Slovenia, rated A3 (stable) / AA-(stable) / A (stable), has mandated BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE and HSBC to lead manage a new 60-year SLOREP benchmark due March 2081. The transaction will be Regulation S in dematerialized registered form. The deal is expected to be launched in the near future, subject to market conditions. Relevant stabilization regulations apply.

Attending today’s press conference on the latest situation regarding COVID-19 were the Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec, Gregor Pečan, president of the Association of Head Teachers and psychologist Andreja Poljanec.

Today, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs participated in a video conference meeting of Ministers for Home Affairs of the Germany-Portugal-Slovenia Trio Presidency, hosted by his Portuguese counterpart Eduardo Cabrita, currently presiding over the Justice and Home Affairs Council.

Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs attended a virtual meeting of the EU Internet Forum, convened by the European Commission.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Alenka Forte, Director of the National Education Institute Vinko Logaj, clinical psychologist Mateja Hudoklin, Director of the Counselling Centre for Children, Adolescents and Parents, and Maja Drobnič Radobuljac, Head of the Intensive Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at the Ljubljana University Psychiatric Clinic.

After attending the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Foreign Minister Anže Logar met with his host Sophie Wilmès, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions, for a bilateral visit to the Kingdom of Belgium. The ministers welcomed the development of Slovenian-Belgian relations and confirmed their mutual interest in further consolidating them at the bilateral, European, and multilateral levels.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the regular meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). The discussion focused on three key topics – challenges and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, the security situation in Asia, climate and energy diplomacy, and possibilities for cooperation between the EU and the UK in common foreign and security policy.