News

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a meeting of the highest representatives of all three branches of government on the topic of "The principle of the separation of powers: (self)restriction, mutual supervision and mutual cooperation" at the Presidential Palace in Ljubljana.

Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today met with mayors from the Obsotelje, Kozjansko and Haloze regions to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of 2014-2020 projects and discuss the preparations for the 2021-2027 programming period.

A Update on the Republic of Slovenia Tender Offer and a potential launch of a new 30 year Republic of Slovenia bond

Mateja Logar, infectologist from the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, and Jelko Kacin, the Government spokesperson, provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

Today marks 100 years of the Carinthian referendum, after which the southern part of Carinthia and the Slovenian population living there became part of the Republic of Austria. On this anniversary, the two countries are drawing attention to the elements of their shared history and, inevitably, also to the current situation and expectations of the Slovenian ethnic minority in the provinces of Carinthia and Styria about improving their regulatory and material position in accordance with the obligations of the Republic of Austria under international law. These obligations are set out in Article 7 of the 1955 State Treaty on the Establishment of an Independent and Democratic Austria, which guarantees the Slovenian ethnic minority the right to education in its mother tongue, the right to use Slovenian as an official language, and the right to Slovenian or bilingual topographical inscriptions in administrative and judicial districts with Slovenian and mixed populations. It also guarantees the Slovenian ethnic minority the right to participate in cultural, administrative and judicial institutions on equal terms with other Austrian nationals. In 2011, considerable progress was made with the agreement on the erection of 168 bilingual inscriptions. The atmosphere in Carinthia has improved and the majority and the minority groups have coexisted side by side. Nevertheless, certain commitments remain unfulfilled.

Today marks 100 years of the Carinthian plebiscite by which the southern part of Carinthia, together with the Slovenian population living there, was to become an integral part of the Republic of Austria. This anniversary opens up an opportunity for both nations to reflect upon the past and lift the historical burdens.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša gave an opening speech at the third Skills Summit entitled Skills Strategies for a World in Recovery. This years' summit, organised by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is held virtually and hosted by Slovenia. The Prime Minister greeted the participants in a video address. In addition to Mr Janša, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, also spoke at the opening of the event, which was attended by the Minister of Education, Simona Kustec, the Minister of Labour, Janez Cigler Kralj, the Minister of Health, Tomaž Gantar, and the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik.

Ministers and senior officials of international organizations responsible for skills, including education, employment, the economy, technology, innovation and other, met at the Skills Summit 2020, this time hosted by Slovenia and held in Brdo pri Kranju. The 2020 Skills Summit was held as a virtual event.

Deana Potza from the Health Inspectorate and government spokesman Jelko Kacin provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

At today’s correspondence session, the Slovenian government adopted an Ordinance on the temporary limitation or prohibition of public gatherings in the Republic of Slovenia, and the prohibition on the transport of certain types of goods and products during public gatherings. At the same session, the government also confirmed the draft national recovery and resilience plan.

Today, 8 October 2020, Slovenian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Tone Kajzer held talks with Virginia Gamba, United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

At today’s session Government of the Republic of Slovenia took note of and approved draft National Recovery and Resilience Plan that shall serve as the basis for drawing on the funding available under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Slovenia is eligible to EUR 5.2 billion of which EUR 1.6 billion is available as grants and EUR 3.6 billion as loans.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its pleasure on the news of the appointment of Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Canada Dr Melita Gabrič as the new Head of the European Union Delegation in Ottawa. The appointment will be formally confirmed once the receiving state issues an agrément. It is the most prominent appointment of a Slovenian official in the European diplomacy during the sixteen years of Slovenian EU membership.

Minister Hojs has participated in the videoconference summit of the Council of Ministers of the interior.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia concluded its first visit to the Carinthia region with a talk with the mayors and actors of development in the region.

Today, 7 October 2020, State Secretary Tone Kajzer represented Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar on a visit of the Slovenian Government to the Koroška region.

In the framework of the Government visit to the Koroška region Zvone Černač, Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy, met with the representatives of the Koroška region municipalities, namely the municipality of Vuzenica, Ravne na Koroškem Prevalje, Črna na Koroškem and Mežica. In Mežica Minister Černač and Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, opened the access road the Museum Peca Underground. At the end of the regional visit Minister Černač attended the public Government gathering.

Today, the Government started visiting Slovenian regions to learn first-hand about the problems and challenges encountered by these regions and so draft suitable measures and solutions. The Government first visited the Koroška region.

The Director of the University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Aleš Rozman, and the Government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, shed light on the current epidemiological situation in Slovenia – a record-breaking 356 positive cases were recorded yesterday.

Today, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia is visiting Carinthia. Following the visit to Gašper trženje d.o.o. in Radlje ob Dravi, Prime Minister Janez Janša gave a brief statement for Carinthia television, highlighting the importance of the government's visits to individual regions. "It's one thing just to be stationed in Ljubljana studying documentation and papers, and another when you experience the subject of decision-making in the real lives of people - this way, you are making the right decisions."

Yesterday, the European Commission published the Enlargement Package for the Western Balkan countries and Turkey, which provides an overview and assessment of the situation across key areas of the necessary reform progress, with recommendations for further rapprochement with the EU.

At today’s press conference, Prime Minister Janez Janša made an in-depth presentation of the coronavirus situation in Europe and Slovenia and the Government plant for measures in the second wave of the coronavirus.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer held an online call with Dr Kirsten Dunlop, Chief Executive Officer of the Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (EIT Climate-KIC) supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology funded by the European Commission.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer attended the annual high-level meeting of the OECD Development Centre Governing Board held in a virtual format. The aim of the meeting was to share experience between member countries and international organisations of the steps taken to mitigate the COVID-19 impact. During the discussion, the participants outlined the Centre’s programme for the following two years.

On Monday, 5 October 2020, at 14:00, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the 45th extraordinary session of the National Assembly where he presented the 2021–2022 Budget Memorandum, the Draft Amending Budget for 2021 and the Draft Budget for 2022.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met the leadership of the Slovenian Federation of Pensioners’ Associations (ZDUS), i.e. its President Janez Sušnik and Vice-Presidents Vera Pečnik and Jožica Puhar.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the call for proposals “Research and development projects to remedy the consequences of COVID-19”. The funding available under the said call for proposals amounts to EUR 5 million of which EUR 4 million is European Regional Development Fund contribution.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša presented a proposed act on the National Demographic Fund to the members of the Economic and Social Council.

The Republic of Slovenia (the Issuer), rated A3 (stable) / AA- (stable) / A (stable), has mandated Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Goldman Sachs International Bank, J.P. Morgan and UniCredit as Joint Dealer Managers for a Tender Offer for the Issuer’s outstanding January 2021 and April 2021 EUR securities. Additionally, the Republic will consider a Euro-denominated Reg S transaction in dematerialised registered form, subject to market conditions and the results of the concurrent Tender Offer. Relevant stabilisation (including FCA/ICMA) applies. Target Market: Manufacturer target market (MIFID II product governance) are eligible counterparties and professional investors (all distribution channels) and also retail investors (all distribution channels).

The Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin presented the epidemiological situation in the country, and Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, spoke about the situation at the Department.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended a round table entitled Responsible Citizen – Successful Nation. The round table, co-organised by the Civil Initiative Prebudimo Slovenijo (Wake up, Slovenia) and the Social Academy, was held at St Stanislav's Institution in Šentvid, Ljubljana.

On 2 October 2020, Moody's Investors Service, a global rating agency, upgraded the credit rating of the Republic of Slovenia by one notch to a A3 and ascribed to it a stable outlook.

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended an extraordinary meeting of the European Council in Brussels, at which they discussed the single market, digital transformation, issues relating to Belarus and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The epidemiological situation in the country was presented by Jelko Kacin, Government spokesman for COVID-19, while the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Ciglar Kralj, summed up the conditions in homes for the elderly.

On the first day of the summit in Brussels, EU Member State leaders reached an agreement on defining relations with Turkey and sanctions against the Belarus regime. At the press conference, the president of the European Council Charles Michel announced that the leaders agreed on a “double strategy,” “a two-tier approach” which opens a possibility for dialogue, but at the same time firmly protects European values and solidarity.

Today and tomorrow, Prime Minister Janez Janša is attending an extraordinary European Council meeting in Brussels. On the agenda for this meeting is a discussion on the single market, industrial policy and digital transformation, as well as external relations, especially with Turkey and China. The summit will also provide an opportunity to review the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Assembly today received the Prime Minister's proposal for the dismissal of Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Aleksandra Pivec.

In the European Commission's report on Rule of Law, Slovenia ranks among the most developed members of the OECD countries in terms of transparency, as it has introduced several measures to prevent corruption in the field of public procurement.

On September 30, 2020 the »2019 Annual Report on Radiation and Nuclear Safety in the Republic of Slovenia« was presented to the Slovenian National Assembly. That was the last stage of its consideration. The report was approved by the Government of Slovenia in July and discussed in the National Council (the upper chamber of the Slovenian Parliament) in September of the same year.

The Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

Slovenia welcomes the activities of the European Commission related to the launch of the rule of law mechanism as a prevention tool aimed at strengthening the common understanding of the fundamental values and promoting the culture of the rule of law thereby consolidating the application of this principle throughout the EU as a whole.

During the REHA meeting in Portorož on September 29, 2020, the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia received an award for its good practice and policy in employing people with disabilities in 2019. The Archives also received the title Disability-Friendly Employer.

In the afternoon, Prime Minister Janez Janša met Slovenian President Borut Pahor, President of the National Assembly Igor Zorčič and President of the National Council Alojz Kovšca.

Members of the Monitoring Committee (MC) of the Operational Programme for the Implementation of the European Cohesion Policy in the Period 2014-2020 (OP 2014-2020) met for the 7th regular meeting in Brdo pri Kranju. Most of them participated in the meeting via video conferencing. The meeting was opened by Zvone Černač, minister for Development and Cohesion Policy who updated the participants on the progress concerning the preparation of the national recovery and resilience plan and the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy programmes.

This morning, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the AmCham Business Breakfast, which was held in Union Hall at Grand Hotel Union in Ljubljana.

At the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal Augusto Santos Silva, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar paid an official visit to the Portuguese Republic today. Slovenia and Portugal maintain close and friendly ties and are partner EU Member States as well as NATO allies. In 2021, the countries will be holding successive presidencies of the Council of the EU for the second time, for which intensive preparations are already under way.

Today, on 29 September, State Secretary Tone Kajzer participated in an informal video conference of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in the format of development ministers, focusing on relations with Africa, the state of play of EU-ACP Post-Cotonou negotiations and the situation in Belarus.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on A Talk with the Prime Minister broadcast on Nova24TV. He talked about the epidemiological situation in the country and the measures taken to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the fifth anti-corona legislative package, the Government's international activities, the EU funding secured by Slovenia, the Demographic Fund and current political topics.

Minister without portfolio, responsible for Strategic Projects and Cohesion Zvone Černač has participated in a high-level videoconference on Implementation and strategic orientations of future Cohesion Policy instruments. The videoconference was held under the auspices of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, spoke about two ordinances adopted by the Government over the weekend. The Government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, presented the epidemiological data.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan received the State Department’s Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Ambassador Nathan A. Sales. During their discussions, the State Secretary underlined Slovenia’s commitment to counter-terrorism within the scope of the European Union, with particular focus on the challenges posed by the misuse of new technologies.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of amendments XCVI, XCVII and XCVIII to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. The keynote speakers at the ceremony, which took place at the Crystal Hall of the Presidential Palace in Ljubljana, were Dr Ludvik Toplak, President of the Socio-political Chamber of the Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia at the time, and Borut Pahor, President of the Republic of Slovenia.

At the invitation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, Mr Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski, the Minister, Dr Aleksandra Pivec, participated in the meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Visegrád Group, extended to include Slovenia, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania (hereinafter referred to as V4+7 VG) that took place in Poznań, Poland.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the project Wastewater collection and treatment in the Kolpa River basin – Municipality of Metlika. The project with a total budget of EUR 952,000 will receive a contribution from the Cohesion Fund in the amount of nearly EUR 336,000. The project will be implemented by the Municipality of Metlika.

On 25 September 2020 at the 27th Days of Slovenian Public Administration organised by the Faculty of Administration of the University of Ljubljana, the winner of the competition for best improvement in public administration entitled »The Shift Forward 2020« was announced. The title went to the Government Communication Office for their Model of the central call centre for public information and raising awareness in the event of an epidemic.

Today, Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Arancha González Laya received Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar on an official visit to the Kingdom of Spain. Slovenia and Spain are two friendly countries and allies, sharing similar views within the EU and NATO but also concern over numerous international issues.

The Government has been briefed on the Assessment of the epidemiological situation in the EU Member States, the Schengen Area countries, the Balkan countries and the selected third countries, the Assessment of the epidemiological situation in countries and the European Commission's recommendation Re-open EU, and the definition of the criterion for a worsening epidemiological situation and the epidemiological trends in the cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 people prepared by the National Institute of Public Health. The Government has assessed the expert justification of the restrictions laid down in the Ordinance on imposing and implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the external border crossings and at control points at the internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia and decided that these restrictions will continue to apply.

At today's meeting by correspondence, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia issued the Ordinance on imposing and implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the external border crossings and at control points at the internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia, which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

Metoda Dodič Fikfak, Director of the Institute of Occupational, Traffic and Sports Medicine, and the Government spokesperson, Ambassador Jelko Kacin spoke about the current situation regarding COVID-19 at a press conference.

On Thursday, 24 September 2020, Germany, Portugal and Slovenia organized a joint Trio event, currently presiding the Council of the EU, as a side event of the 75th United Nations General Assembly: “Digital Societies: towards a human-centred, trustworthy and value-based digital transition”.

New York, 24 September 2020 – On the margins of the Climate Week taking place during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), members of the Green Group (Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Iceland, Singapore, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates) call for action in combating climate change in their joint statement.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar took part in the virtual ministerial meeting of the Central European Initiative (CEI) Member States. He apprised the participants of Slovenia’s successful response to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing out that the general and special measures adopted by the Slovenian government to curb the epidemic remain in effect.

The press conference on the latest situation regarding the Covid-19 disease was attended by the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, the deputy head of the Centre for Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health, Nuška Čakš Jager, and Government spokesman Jelko Kacin.

At it's session, the Government discussed the proposal for the Act Determining the Intervention Measures to Mitigate and Remedy the Consequences of the COVID-19 Epidemic for Citizens and the Economy, took note of the Autumn Forecast 2020, and discussed the proposal for the National Demographic Fund Act.

The European Commission has published the latest results of the regular comparative analysis of the development of e-government services in the European Union 2020 ("e-Government Benchmark"), measurements were carried out in 2019. Compared to other European countries, Slovenia still ranks around the European average in terms of development of e-government services. An example of good practice is the IT solution of electronic sick leave, which was established with the cooperation of the Health Insurance Institute and the Ministry of Public Administration.

A two-day workshop on internationalization as an important part of smart specialization strategies in the countries of the Adriatic-Ionian Macro-region is being held today and tomorrow as part of the fifth consecutive Mediterranean Coast and Macro-regional Strategies Week.

For the first time in the history of independent Slovenia, a broad-ranging Diplomatic Academy programme was launched at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Academy will provide education for future Slovenian diplomats and permanent training for experienced diplomats. At the beginning of its operation, Minister Dr Anže Logar pointed out the importance of the Academy’s role in Slovenian diplomacy, which must “keep up with the times and be constantly updated”, adding that Slovenia remains a staunch advocate of a stronger, more cohesive, efficient and transparent Union. This ability to keep pace was reaffirmed during the recent pandemic crisis when Slovenian diplomacy performed outstandingly, especially in providing assistance to our citizens, responding quickly and reporting on measures taken in other countries, thus demonstrating perseverance, flexibility and hard work.

Today, on 23 September, State Secretary Tone Kajzer participated in a ministerial meeting of the Global Governance Group held on the margins of the UN General Assembly General Debate. The meeting focused on key global issues, including the post COVID-19 recovery.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended the General Affairs Council meeting, held in person for the first time since the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Council members focused primarily on the preparations for the special European Council meeting (later postponed to 1 and 2 October) and on the coordination of measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic at the EU level.

Today, Ambassador Milan Predan presented his credentials to the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Steve Pendarovski. The ambassador said that the relations between the two countries have been sincere throughout the period of their independence, without hidden agendas and based on mutual trust and understanding of each other, so today they are excellent and practically without open issues.

Due to the deterioration of the epidemiological situation regarding COVID-19 the use of masks is mandatory on all premises of the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia from September 23th, 2020. When handling archival records the use of gloves is also mandatory. Visitors may enter the Archives only by prior appointment and after their date of arrival has been confirmed by the reading room staff.

The Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik met with the European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton in Brussels today. They talked about the digitalization process in Slovenia, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country's activities in the digital and telecommunications field, 5G technology, Slovenia's priorities during the EU Council presidency in the field of digitalization and data management and Slovenian activities in the field of artificial intelligence.

Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik is paying a working visit to Brussels today.

Prime Minister Janez Janša: If Slovenia has the capacity to draw European funds, this year’s drop in GDP will be just a brief episode in the country’s fiscal life.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar, as Head of the Slovenian Delegation, addressed in a video message the 64th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna.

For the ninth time in a row the European Cooperation Day is commemorated by a series of events taking place throughout Europe. Today we presented the results and importance of cross-border cooperation projects in the cross-border area of Slovenian and Austrian Carinthia. We marked the 30th anniversary of Interreg programmes by planting two trees on each side of the border in the spirit of sustainability and integration. The event was attended also by State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs who underlined the importance of cross-border cooperation programmes.

At today's session of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Janez Janša answered deputies’ questions. Questions concerning the health system and waiting times were addressed by Andrej Rajh (SAB – Party of Alenka Bratušek), and Lidija Divjak Mirnik (LMŠ – List of Marjan Šarec), Zmago Jelinčič (SMS – Slovenian National Party) asked about the status of immigrants from third countries and their eligibility for social transfers, and Jurij Lep (DeSUS - Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia) asked about measures concerning the status of pensioners. Mr Lep asked the Prime Minister to explain in what phase the Government's preparation of the Long-Term Care Act is, what is happening with the legislation on the Demographic Fund, and what the timeline for the adoption of these acts is.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in Brussels at which the foreign ministers focused on the situation in Libya and Belarus, and European Union-African Union relations. During the working lunch, the ministers discussed the relations with the Southern Neighbourhood, particularly against the backdrop of the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Janez Janša, accompanied by Simona Kustec, Minister of Education, Science and Sport, and Marjan Dolinšek, State Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister responsible for sport, met today with Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee.

At the press conference, Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

Today, the Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik met with Chargé d'Affaires of the British Embassy in Slovenia Paul Jancar. They talked about cooperation between the two countries in the field of digitalization and smart cities, facing the pandemic of the Covid-19 virus and Slovenia's preparations for the presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2021.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar hosted Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on an official visit to Slovenia. The ministers agreed on closer cooperation during the preparations for Slovenia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2021. Minister Dendias expressed gratitude to Slovenia for showing solidarity by providing material aid after the blaze that swept through the island of Lesbos. Today’s was the first official visit between Slovenian and Greek foreign ministers in the last ten years.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today addressed the participants of a consultation organised by the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia about the 2021–2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and the development of the West Slovenia cohesion region.

On the occasion of the European Cooperation Day Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, in cooperation with project partners of the project Mura Raba Tour, organised the event Following the path of privates of the guard. The event focused on the presentation of the projects implemented under the Interreg cooperation programme Slovenia-Hungary 2014-2020 which have a significant impact of the quality of life in the border area.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the project Wastewater collection and treatment in the Sotla River basin – Municipality of Rogaška Slatina. The 2.3 million euro infrastructure project will receive a contribution from the European Regional Development Fund amounting to over EUR 900,000.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for financial instruments for mitigating the effects of the economic crisis due to the COVID-19 epidemic for the period 2020-2023. The available European Regional Development Fund financing in the amount of EUR 65 million will be managed by SID Bank through the Fund of Funds.

Today, Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar received a farewell call from the Ambassador of Japan to Slovenia, Masaharu Yoshida, at the end of his two-year term of office.

The nature conservation centre has received funding from the European Regional Development Fund under the project Nature Ties. In his address, the minister underlined the importance of cross-border projects for tackling common challenges in border areas and of working across borders to find common solutions.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the project Business incubator network – Commercial building Aurea Gorica pri Slivnici which will be implemented as part of the agreement for the development of the Savinja region. The nearly 1.3 million euro project will receive a contribution from the European Regional Development Fund amounting to over EUR 500,000.

Ivan Simič, chair of the government’s strategic council for reducing bureaucracy, today unveiled the measures proposed in a number of areas.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended the 32nd session of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia. The prime minister outlined the government’s position on the EU’s 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and the recovery package.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her first State of the European Union speech at the European Parliament, in which she highlighted the current situation and laid out the concrete plans of the European Commission for the following 12 months. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the priorities and messages set out by the Head of the EU Commission in her address to the Plenary.

At the site of the old Frischauf Lodge at Okrešelj, a foundation stone was laid today for a new lodge. With a design based on local, natural materials, the basic construction work is scheduled for completion this year to make the building ready for winter, with completion of the new lodge expected by 2022. The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone was attended by Prime Minister Janez Janša, who also gave a speech.

A press conference on the current Covid-19 situation was held jointly by Robert Smrdelj, mayor of Pivka, Jelko Kacin, the government spokesperson, and Adolf Lukanovič, a retired doctor who spent two months in a coma on a ventilator at the Infection Clinic in Ljubljana with Covid-19.

Firms will have to adapt in a number of ways to the risks of infection. In today’s press conference about the current Covid-19 situation, Urška Blaznik, who is responsible for public health at work organisations at the National Institute of Public Health, emphasised that all the general preventive measures also apply at firms. These include the use of masks and hand sanitiser, social distancing, and also the highly recommended daily measurement of body temperature on arrival at work.

At Brdo pri Kranju, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar hosted today the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic Austria Alexander Schallenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Tomáš Petříček and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic Ivan Korčok. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjárto excused his absence, as he was to attend the signature of the agreement on the normalisation of relations between Israel and UAE at the White House. The unofficial Central 5 initiative of foreign ministers was launched during the new coronavirus disease outbreak in spring to better coordinate containment measures. The third meeting reaffirmed the commitment of ministers to deepen the cooperation and ties among neighbouring countries and in the Central European region, including in other areas of common interest.

The Day of the Return of Primorska to its Homeland is a holiday that unites not only the people of Primorska region, but also the entire Slovenian nation. We are celebrating the survival of a nation that has been put to many difficult tests throughout history. Today's holiday is a holiday of love of our homeland, or as the Slovenian cross-border writer Boris Pahor wrote: "Despite all the ascents of the human mind, despite the acquisitions of the human spirit with which we rise above ethnic boundaries, the national community is still the most noble homeland of the human heart".

The firth traditional Mediterranean Coast and Macro-regional Strategies Week, organised by Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy (GODC) together with Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Municipality of Izola and numerous other partners, will be marked by various events focusing on Slovenia’s international cooperation in three European macro-regional strategies, namely the Adriatic-Ionian, Alpine and Danube.

Today, 15 September, marks the International Day of Democracy, which recalls the importance of democratic values and fundamental elements of democratic governance. It also provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world, as the COVID-19 pandemic has put to the test the important acquisitions of our civilisation, which include democracy and its values.

A record 2758 tests were conducted yesterday, with 108 new infections confirmed, said official spokesman Jelko Kacin at the beginning of today’s press conference.