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Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke about the UK coronavirus variant in Slovenia at today’s press conference, and the related measures which need to be adopted.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Municipal infrastructure of the Sevnica Business Zone”. The project worth EUR 1.4 million will be implemented by the Municipality Sevnica and will receive EUR 831,000 of European Regional Development Fund support.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar was on a working visit to Croatia and made his first stop in the town of Petrinja, which was hit by a devastating earthquake on 29 December last year. Together with his host, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Goran Grlić Radman, he went to see for himself the current situation on the ground and took note of the activities to help those affected by the earthquake. Minister Logar also paid a visit to one of the families living in mobile homes donated by the Republic of Slovenia.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding Covid-19 will be attended by Director-General of the Public Health Directorate Vesna Kerstin Petrič and Anton Gradišek of the Jožef Stefan Institute.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a video conference of the members of the European Council. European heads of state exchanged best practices related to the measures adopted to contain the coronavirus, and discussed prospects for the coming weeks.

Slovenian Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Sabina R. Stadler handed over today a high-tech disinfection system, to the World Health Organization in Geneva. The device will be used at the WHO Geneva headquarters, where it will provide additional protection to its employees and visitors.

This afternoon’s press conference on the latest situation with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic was attended by Janez Cigler Kralj, Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate and Tomaž Pečjak, Deputy Director General of the Police.

The press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec, Minister of Infrastructure Jernej Vrtovec and State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology Simon Zajc.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in a virtual high-level Arria-formula meeting of the United Nations Security Council on media freedom in Belarus, held under the auspices of the Estonian presidency of the UN Security Council. Among the keynote speakers was Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarusian opposition leader and human rights activist.

Prime Minister Janez Janša stressed in today's statement to the media following the 50th regular session of the government that, on the basis of prior consultation with the management of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) and the Government Advisory Group, some decisions were made stemming from the current epidemiological situation and the plan for relaxation of measures.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended the video conference Trends in Sustainable Financing, hosted by the Centre for Energy Efficient Solutions and the Representation of the European Commission. She presented the process of developing Slovenia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan and the planned measures in the field of green and sustainable development.

The year 2021 is an anniversary for Slovenia and for Slovenes at home and abroad who will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the declaration and defence of the independent Republic of Slovenia.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by Director of the Maribor Unit of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) Zoran Simonovič and Marta Grgič Vitek, National Vaccination Programme Coordinator at the NIJZ.

Prime Minister Janez Janša and Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj, held a press conference today in Brdo pri Kranju to provide an update on vaccination against COVID-19 and present the eighth Anti-Corona Package to mitigate the consequences of the epidemic.

Prime Minister Janez Janša and Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Minister Janez Cigler Kralj held a press conference today in Brdo pri Kranju to provide an update on vaccination against COVID-19 and present the eighth coronavirus relief package designed to mitigate the consequences of the epidemic.

Minister Andrej Šircelj today attended an informal video conference of economics and finance ministers (the ECOFIN Council). The meeting started with the presentation of the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency Programme. In the continuation, ministers discussed the state of play and implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the 2021 European Semester, and the Action Plan for Non-Performing Loans.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in an informal video conference of the General Affairs Council. The ministers responsible for European affairs discussed the preparations for the virtual meeting of the European Council to be held on 21 January, exchanged views and information on the current epidemiological situation in the EU and the vaccine roll-out, and took stock of the vaccination process.

Today marked the opening of the online conference entitled “Water and Beyond: EU transformative approaches for international partnerships”, hosted by the European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships and the Government of Slovenia, with the support of Portugal, which is currently holding the EU Council presidency. At the introductory panel, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan stressed that water needs to be systematically and fully integrated into all aspects and facets of the Union's external action. During its Council presidency in the second half of this year, Slovenia will continue efforts aimed at strengthening EU water diplomacy.

A press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by state secretary in charge of vaccinations Jelko Kacin and state secretary at the Ministry of Health Marija Magajne.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was invited to the Nova24TV show. In the interview, the Prime Minister talked about vaccination, the epidemic and the economic recovery after the epidemic, and the observance of containment measures in Slovenia. He also touched upon the current political situation, the crisis of the opposition and how the unstable political environment affects the fight against the epidemic. The Prime Minister also responded to the threats that the deputies of the coalition parties and the DeSUS party are exposed to.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the Planet 18 show on Planet TV where the coronavirus epidemic and current domestic policy topics were discussed.

The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) continues to take part in the regional association of countries - the European Union Battle Group (EUBG), led by the Italian Julia Brigade, which in addition to the Slovenian Armed Forces, also incorporates the forces of Austria, Croatia and Hungary.
The Slovenian Armed Forces is planning to take part in the EUBG from July to December 2021 with an infantry company and its support elements. The SAF capabilities are provided by the 1st Brigade, which will also man positions at all levels of the EUBG command structure.
Slovenian contingent, which will operate under the auspices of Italy and will include up to 190 members, is led by the SAF 10th Infantry Regiment. The preparations of the regiment for the assigned tasks is already underway, since SAF capabilities assigned to the EUBG forces are to be ready for possible operation within the battle group in the first half of this year.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the call for proposals “Mobile rehabilitation teams” which will be published by the Ministry of Health. The total funding made available under the call for proposals and contributed by the European Social Fund amounts to EUR 1 million.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by Robert Carotta, COVID beds coordinator at the Ministry of Health, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, Tomaž Pečjak, Deputy Director General of the Police, and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

Today the Prime Minister Janez Janša and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Jože Podgoršek, held a meeting in Ljubljana with representatives of the Slovenian Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar is paying a working visit to Helsinki today. He met with his host, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavistö, the Minister for European Affairs, Tytti Tuppurainen, and was also received by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. He outlined the main highlights of the programme of the Slovenian six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year, focusing on measures to mitigate the economic and social effects of the crisis caused by the epidemic and to strengthen the resilience of the Union to a variety of challenges.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended 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, Sašo Rebolj, Director of Kamnik Medical Centre, and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

In his capacity as health minister, today Prime Minister Janez Janša attended an informal video conference of EU health ministers. The aim of this conference was to exchange experiences with the various vaccination monitoring systems used, the lessons learned from the first days of administering the vaccine, and views on the current and planned contracts for additional vaccine doses.

The press conference on the latest situation regarding the Covid-19 disease was attended by Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, Head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology and Head of the Laboratory for the Diagnosis of Viral Infections, Miroslav Petrovec and Government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

Prime Minister Janez Janša, who is also the acting Minister of Health, and National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) director Milan Krek gave a detailed presentation of the public vaccination programme planned for the first half of the year at a press conference today.

On Twitter, Prime Minister Janez Janša announced that the Government will “exempt the operational part of the police from the uniform salary system and make the regulation of relations fairer.”

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest of today's “Pogovor o” talk show on Radio Ognjišče. In the show he spoke about the plebiscite and Slovenia’s attainment of independence thirty years ago, the fight against the epidemic, the vaccination strategy, current political situation, the formation of a new coalition, the role of the opposition during the epidemic, moves made by the Constitutional Court, the police strike, media and Slovenian foreign policy.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Construction of the cycling path from the town of Litija to the settlement of Pogonik”. The project worth EUR 3 million will be implemented by the Munucipality of Litija and will receive approximately EUR 981,000 of European Regional Development Fund support.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on current affairs show Odmevi [“Echoes”] on Tuesday, where he talked about the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations, the joint European strategy for the purchase of vaccines, ongoing measures by the government to contain the epidemic and the current political situation.

At today's press conference the Director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek, and the government's spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan took part in a handover workshop of the trio Presidency of the EU Foreign Affairs Council attended by development cooperation ministers. The workshop took place in the form of an audio-video conference with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Francisco André, and the German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Martin Jäger.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Deputy Prime Ministers Zdravko Počivalšek and Matej Tonin, took part in a press conference on the Government’s measures and plans to contain the epidemic in the coming weeks and months and information regarding the current ongoing vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Deputy Prime Ministers Zdravko Počivalšek and Matej Tonin, took part in a press conference on the Government’s measures and plans to contain the epidemic in the coming weeks and months and information regarding the current ongoing vaccination campaign against COVID-19. "As anticipated in December, when we received the European forecasts for the first half of this year, we entered the most difficult period of the epidemic, but we have not yet reached the peak. Most of the northern hemisphere, including the EU, has found itself in a similar situation. Even countries that have a much more robust, modern and capable system than ourselves are facing problems unlike any they had to deal with before," stated the Prime Minister at the outset.

At today’s session, the Government adopted several ordinances to contain the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Speakers at the afternoon press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 included Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs, Minister of Infrastructure Jernej Vrtovec and Government Spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs closely follows the developments in the United States. The shocking scenes of violence at U.S. Capitol in Washington DC were an inadmissible attack on the pillar of American democracy, its institutions and the rule of law.

At a press conference, Borut Štrukelj, a professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Ljubljana, and Jelko Kacin, the government spokesperson, provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

Prime Minister Janez Janša met with representatives of educational institutions today. The participants of the meeting, which included Simona Kustec, the minister responsible for education, Alenka Forte, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Marjan Dolinšek, the State Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, Damir Orehovec, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and Vinko Logaj, the Director of the National Education Institute Slovenia, discussed the potential reopening and safe operation of at least a part of educational institutions during the coronavirus epidemic.

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, Marta Grgič Vitek, National Vaccination Coordinator at the National Institute of Public Health, and Government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

In his capacity as the Minister of Health, Prime Minister Janez Janša today held an audio/video conference with Chen Shih-chung, Taiwanese Minister of Health and Welfare.

On Tuesday 5th January 2021, the Republic of Slovenia successfully entered the markets with a dual-tranche transaction, consisting of a new EUR 1.75bn 10-year (Feb-31) benchmark issuance and of a EUR 250m tap of its 0.4875% Oct-50 line.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Janez Cigler Kralj, Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Tomaž Pečjak, Deputy Director General of the Police, and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

The Republic of Slovenia new EUR 10-year benchmark due January 2031 and a reopening of the EUR 30-year benchmark due October 2050.

Marija Magajne, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, presented the vaccination process and a new system of rapid testing in the country.

Yesterday, on 30 December 2020, the UK Parliament passed by a large majority the EU (Future Relationship) Bill, the primary implementing legislation for the future UK-EU relationship agreement. Slovenia welcomes the approval of the agreement which is the result of several months of intensive negotiations and provides a comprehensive framework for future EU-UK relations. Slovenia appreciates all the efforts invested by the two negotiating parties to reach an agreement.

Prime Minister Janez Janša: Let’s close our ranks in the fight against the harmful disease which is an equal threat to all of us

Yesterday in the evening the Krško NPP completed a detailed inspection after the reactor trip due to the earthquake. The inspection showed that the earthquake did not cause any damage to the systems and equipment.

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 shook the wider area of Zagreb at around 12.20 today, the epicentre of which was near the Croatian town of Petrinja, which is reported to have suffered significant material damage. Based on the known information, the earthquake killed at least one person, and at least 20 are injured, report the Croatian media. The earthquake was also felt in the whole of Slovenia.

Today's earthquake, which was 40 km from Zagreb at 12:19, caused the automatic shutdown of the Krško NPP.

Prime Minister Janez Janša, who is also acting as the minister of health, participated at the working meeting with the management of UKC Ljubljana today, together with the state secretary at the Ministry of Health, Alenka Forte, and the Head of Cabinet of the Ministry of Health, Tina Bregant.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Marija Magajne reacted to the successful first day of vaccinations, which took place across the country. Vaccination went smoothly and according to plan, the vaccine was well tolerated among the patients, there were no reports of adverse reactions, and there was a lot of optimism among the elderly.

Today's earthquake, which was around half past six in the vicinity of Zagreb, was also detected in the Krško NPP, but it did not have any impact on its operation.

Today, when the first COVID-19 vaccinations for the groups of the population most at risk started to be administered, Prime Minister Janša visited the University Medical Centre Maribor, where the first healthcare workers were vaccinated. The Slovenian Prime Minister also visited the COVID-19 hospital wards to gain insight into the work of the doctors and medical staff.

The first shipment of a vaccine against COVID-19 arrived in Slovenia yesterday, and today the first vaccinations of the most critical groups began across the country. Prime Minister Janez Janša today visited the Danica Vogrinec Home for the Elderly in Maribor, where they are at the moment still facing an aggravated epidemiological situation and where the first married couple was vaccinated.

The first batch of the coronavirus vaccine arrived at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana on Saturday and was delivered to the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

Below is the Christmas address of the Prime Minister Janez Janša.

The Ministry welcomes the deal on EU-UK future partnership, which was reached after extremely intensive negotiations led by the EU’s negotiator Michel Barnier and on the UK side, David Frost.

Below is a transcript of the address by Prime Minister Janez Janša at the state ceremony on Independence and Unity Day; due to the epidemiological situation, it was only broadcast on television.

Government of the Republic of Slovenia took note of the activities regarding the draft national Recovery and Resilience Plan which was approved on 8 October 2020 and instructed the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy to submit the said proposal to the Government for approval after the European Parliament adopts the EU Regulation establishing a Recovery and Resilience Facility in February 2021.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, the state secretary at the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology, Simon Zajc, the deputy head of the Centre for Infectious Diseases at the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ), Nuška Čakš Jager, and the government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2021.

Today, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food published an open competition for selection of an innovative, creative design and plan for a symbolic object – the ‘Zlata čebela’ / ‘Golden Honeybee’ award model. This open and anonymous competition is addressed to all the interested citizens of the Republic of Slovenia with the required skills in the realms of authorship, technical know-how and organisational competencies.

Prime Minister Janez Janša participated at the meeting of four presidents at the presidential palace today, which is traditionally organised by the President of the Republic, Borut Pahor. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Janez Janša, President of the Republic, Borut Pahor, President of the National Assembly, Igor Zorčič, and the President of the National Council, Alojz Kovšca.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by Marija Magajne from the Ministry of Health, Prof. Dr Borut Štrukelj, psychologist Dr Andreja Poljanec, and the government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

At the invitation of Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, the first meeting of foreign ministers of the three countries was held today in Trieste, and focused on the joint management of the Adriatic Sea. Bordering the same sea, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia share a vision of the Adriatic Sea as a bridge uniting the people of the region and as a source of prosperity for all.

At a session, the Government issued the Ordinance on the declaration of the COVID-19 epidemic in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and published it in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. By this ordinance and on the basis of the Communicable Diseases Act, an epidemic of the COVID-19 communicable disease was declared in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia. The ordinance shall enter into force on 18 December 2020 and remain in force for 30 days.

On Thursday, 17 December, in the Presidential Palace, the President of the Republic of Slovenia and Commander-in-Chief of the Slovenian Armed Forces Borut Pahor promoted Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Robert Glavaš, to the rank of Major General.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today addressed the participants of the 15th Slovenian Economy Summit via video. He said, among other things, that the victors of tomorrow are those who are flexible, creative, curious, and dare to think outside the established frameworks. In order to succeed, we need the know-how that is connected with digitalisation and innovation. Skills in artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, and quantum computers are necessary.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended an event that was part of the Zlati pogovori cycle, which takes place on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Zlati kamen event. In the virtual conversation “How to get funds for municipalities after 2020?”, State Secretary underlined that municipalities and development regions are important partners in the process of planning the use of European Cohesion Policy funds for the period 2021-2027 as well as the funds available under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The EU Environment Council, attended by the State Secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Metka Gorišek, reached an agreement on the EU Climate Act, which sets out the long-term goal of EU's carbon neutrality until 2050 at the EU level.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today held a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla. The ministers reviewed bilateral cooperation, especially on the economy, which has an important place in bilateral relations. They also discussed measures to stem the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its consequences and went on to discuss current regional themes.

At its 44th regular session, the Government adopted many acts related to the COVID-19 epidemic. It therefore extended the epidemic by one month, kept the measures at border crossings, and adopted some changes on the green and red lists of countries.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today presided over the session of the Government Council for Slovenians Abroad. The Council is a consultative body of the Government, and participates in the formation and implementation of policies and strategies of the Republic of Slovenia for Slovenians abroad. The session participants thanked the Prime Minister for the meeting and for the expressed concern and interest of the Government for Slovenians abroad.

Today, the European Court of Human Rights published its ruling on Slovenia's inter-State application against Croatia with respect to the Ljubljanska banka claims against Croatian companies. The Court decided it had no jurisdiction to examine the inter-State application under Article 33 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms since Ljubljanska banka, in view of the Court, was not a "non-governmental organisation" for the purposes of Article 34 of the Convention.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 will be attended by the head of the Clinic for infectious diseases and fever conditions, Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, deputy head of the Centre for Infectious Diseases at the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ), Nuška Čakš Jager, and the government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

The EU Ministers responible for agriculture and fisheries met yesterday and today at the last session of the EU Council of the year under the presidency of Germany. State secretary mag. Miran Mihelič attended the session for Slovenia. As is traditional for the end of the year, negotiations on fishing opportunities for the next year were at the forefront of the meeting, which are faced with additional challenges due to United Kingdom’s exit from the EU. Discussion on the proposal of a uniform voluntary marking of nutritional values on the front of packaging was also at the forefront, which resulted in the adoption of resolutions of the presidency, as well as the discussion about an all-European marking on animal well-being on foods of animal origin. During lunch, the German presidency presented to the Ministers the advancements in negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy after 2021, which, following the adoption of the General Approach of the Council, are now continuing with the European Parliament in the form of so-called trialogues.

During today's working visit to The Hague, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met his host, Stef Blok, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The two ministers confirmed the excellent and friendly relations between their respective countries, advocating for the further strengthening of cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Prime Minister Janez Janša presided over the session of the Government Council for Slovenians in Neighbouring Countries today. He initially assessed the future of Slovenians in neighbouring countries, and continued to talk about the preservation of the Slovenian language and identity, reinforced cooperation of cultural institutions on both sides of the state border, about young people who must be a priority in all activities, and on the strategic relationship of the Republic of Slovenia in this area.

During today’s visit to The Hague, Foreign Minister Anže Logar held a meeting with the President of the International Criminal Court Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji. They highlighted the importance of constructive cooperation in fighting impunity and the crucial role of an independent judiciary.

NIJZ provided some more up-to-date information for the press conference. There are currently 20,970 confirmed coronavirus cases in Slovenia, said Ms Bratuša, the 14 day incidence is 1,006 positive cases, and the 7 day incidence is 1,477 such cases.

Prime Minister Janez Janša participated at the meeting with ambassadors of the EU member states today at Brdo pri Kranju, which was organised as an event in the framework of the German presidency of the EU Council. The Prime Minister answered the questions of the ambassadors, and talked about the recent meeting of the European Council, the challenges that await us in the following year, and the preparations for Slovenia’s presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2021.

Today in The Hague, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Anže Logar met with Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Fernando Arias. This is the first visit of a Slovenian foreign minister to the seat of the Organisation. The talks mainly focused on an assessment of global progress in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and a review of cooperation between Slovenia and the OPCW, particularly in the light of Slovenia’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2021.

Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik today held virtual consultations with Andreas Riecken, Director General for the European Union and Economic Affairs at the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. They discussed bilateral cooperation, exchanging information on the state of play in their respective countries in relation to curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and on topical issues within the EU.

The Minister of Health Tomaž Gantar, Director General of the Employment Service of Slovenia Mitja Bobnar, and government spokesman Jelko Kacin, took part in today's press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 epidemic.

Slovenian minister of the interior Aleš Hojs has participated at Council meeting of the EU Home Affairs ministers held via videoconference that was also the final meeting under the German presidency.

Stanka Vauh, Director of Prevalje Retirement Home, psychologist Peter Markič and Maja Bratuša, Deputy Government Spokesperson, attended today’s afternoon press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša addressed the attendees of a virtual event marking the 60th anniversary of the signing of the OECD Convention (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The state of the global economy, long-term trends, and the OECD's special contribution to "Better Policies for a Better Life" were presented at the event, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in the general debate held during the nineteenth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). He expressed support for the independent and impartial work of the Court, commending the efforts of the international community to put an end to impunity for international crimes. He went on to underline the importance of promoting mutual trust and dialogue between all stakeholders to strengthen international peace and security.

At today’s 53rd extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Janez Janša responded to deputies’ questions. He replied to questions regarding the suitability of social dialogue, importance of the media, dealing with the current crisis and the plans for economic recovery after the epidemic.

We are publishing the response to the petition of foreign academics, who express their concern over the state of autonomy of Slovenian academia.

On 18 November 2020, Slovenia, Israel and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) organized a virtual event “Water and Cyber security - Protection of critical water-related infrastructure”, with 22 panelists and 150 participants.

As part of Slovenian delegation, the Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek visited the Republic of Italy and the Vatican City State on Thursday and Friday. The visit to Rome included the Minister’s activities and meetings with the leading representatives of the World Food Programme of the United Nations (UN) and of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies of the Republic of Italy. On Friday, the Minister Dr Podgoršek heard Holy Mass for the Fatherland, attended the Audience with the Holy Father, and met with the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson. On conclusion of visit of the Slovenian delegation, a ceremony of lighting candles on a pine tree presented by Slovenia took place in the St. Peter’s Square.

Following the conclusion of the European Council meeting, Prime Minister Janez Janša today addressed the following items in detail in a press statement: on coordination concerning COVID-19, climate changes, fight against terrorism, EU-US relations, Turkey and the Southern Neighbourhood