News

Health Minister Aleš Šabeder said in a press release that at 20:44 the Ministry had been informed of the first positive case of novel coronavirus infection in Slovenia.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a funding decision for the project Dom na Krasu. The EUR 2.2 million project will be co-funded by the ESF, with the contribution from the Fund standing at nearly EUR 1.8 million.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the agreements signed between the United States and Afghanistan and between the United States and the Taliban today on launching dialogue between the parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to achieve a lasting peace. A firm agreement leading to a lasting peace and stability for the people of Afghanistan may only be reached through the full engagement of both sides in an inclusive dialogue aimed at finding a compromise solution.

Slovenia is deeply concerned about the Israeli plans to expand their settlements in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, and to develop the E1 area. If implemented, this decision would seriously damage the prospect of resolving the issue through negotiation and establishing the state of Palestine, and Jerusalem as the capital of both states.

Today the OECD launched the AI Policy Observatory which will present an inclusive online platform for sharing and shaping AI policies. The OECD Observatory aims to help countries to enable and monitor the responsible development of trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for the benefit of the society.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Managing Authority for ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the project “Upgrading bus stops and overhanging roofs” in Maribor. The project worth over EUR 205,000 will receive Cohesion Fund support in the framework of the Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI) mechanism in the amount of EUR 80,000.

Slovenia has allocated a humanitarian contribution in the amount of EUR 50,000 to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The funds will be used to help meet the humanitarian needs of refugees and the internally displaced population in Syria. With this contribution, Slovenia fully honoured its commitment from the ministerial conference on supporting the future of Syria and the region held in Brussels in March 2019.

The Government has adopted the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan of the Republic of Slovenia (NEPN) in accordance with the European Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action.

The possibility of the occurrence of the virus in Slovenia is high, considering the limited outbreaks and confirmed cases of the coronavirus in neighbouring countries and elsewhere around the world.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a funding decision for the call for proposals for co-financing of investments in the infrastructure designed to provide senior day care programs and temporary housing for senior citizens. A total of EUR 21.5 million is made available for the call for proposals, of which EUR 17.2 million comes from the ERDF. Cohesion region Vzhodna Slovenija will receive EUR 11.6 million, whereas EUR 9.9 million is earmarked for cohesion region Zahodna Slovenija. The call for proposals will be published next week by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.

State Secretary Matej Marn is attending the high-level segment of today’s 43rd UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. In his address, he stated that a group of countries, led by Slovenia, intends to open a discussion to declare the right to a healthy environment at the global level. During his visit, he also addressed the Conference on Disarmament and met the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, the President of the Human Rights Council and the Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a funding decision for the project Nova Gorica community centre – phase II. The total project budget amounts to EUR 1.3 million with the ERDF contributing EUR 280,000.

Slovenia made a contribution in the amount of EUR 30,000 to the World Food Programme for emergency humanitarian aid to Yemen. Slovenia thus honoured its pledge for 2020 made at the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, which was held in Geneva on 26 February 2019.

Following the invitation of the Italian Minister of Health, a meeting was held of the ministers of Italy’s neighbouring countries: Slovenia, France, San Marino, Austria, Croatia, Switzerland and Germany. Italy and its neighbours presented their existing and planned measures for protection against the coronavirus. The measures presented by the individual countries are comparable.

In Brussels, State Secretary Matej Marn attended today’s General Affairs Council, which launched the March European Council preparations and discussed the topics of EU enlargement and legislative planning. At the meeting, the ministers and state secretaries also agreed to authorise the opening of negotiations on a new partnership with the United Kingdom and learnt about the new European Commission's plans for monitoring the development of the rule of law in the EU.

At its meeting today, the National Security Council (NSC) Secretariat took note of the current situation and activities concerning the coronavirus, which are managed by the Ministry of Health as the competent state authority according to the Infectious Diseases Act.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Managing Authority for ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for a call for proposals that will co-finance energy-saving renovation of buildings owned and used by municipalities in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The call will be published by Ministry of Infrastructure. The available funding under the call for proposals amounts to EUR 25 million of which the Cohesion Fund contribution stands at EUR 21.25 million.

In Thessaloniki, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Miroslav Cerar is attending the high-level conference ‘From Thessaloniki to Zagreb’, hosting foreign ministers of the Western Balkans, EU member states from the region (Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia), and EU representatives (EEAS, EC).

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Managing Authority for ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the project “Biotech Hub within the National Institute of Biology (BTS-NIB)”. The project worth EUR 20.8 million will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of EUR 16 million.

Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar is paying a working visit to Sweden; yesterday, he met Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Chair of the Committee Andreas Norlén. Today, at the general meeting of the Slovenian Association in Sweden, the Foreign Minister addressed Slovenian compatriots living in Sweden and thanked them for preserving the Slovenian identity and mother tongue.

Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar is paying an official visit to Sweden at the invitation of the Swedish Foreign Minister, Ann Linde. He met her and the Speaker of the Riksdag, Andreas Norlén, to discuss the importance of the European future for the Western Balkan countries, sustainable development and EU challenges around the world. At the round table held at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Minister Cerar touched on the challenges facing the EU and its relations with partners such as Russia, China, and the United States. He later visited the seat of the Smart City project in Stockholm.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a funding decision for the Call for tenders for co-financing of the construction of open next generation broadband networks GOŠO 4. The call for tenders will be published by the Ministry of Public Administration next week. The total amount of funding available for the call for tenders stands at EUR 29.5 million, of which EUR 18.9 million is available for the programme area cohesion region Vzhodna Slovenija, whereas EUR 10.6 million has been earmarked for cohesion region Zahodna Slovenija. The contribution from the ERDF amounts to nearly EUR 23.6 million.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Managing Authority for ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the project “Construction and reconstruction of community and road infrastructure in Ugar business zone” in Ribnica. The project worth EUR 2.4 million will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of nearly EUR 1.5 million.

The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology was intensively working on facilitating the operation of Slovenian companies through the Amazon Europe online Stores platform. The final solution and launch of the business was announced for November last year, but the setups for the best possible costumer experience resulted in short delay. From this week on Slovenian companies are enabled to launch their business through Amazon Europe.

Slovenia provided a humanitarian contribution of 40,000 euros to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for urgent humanitarian aid to Iraq, thus meeting its commitment made during the International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq in Kuwait in February 2018.

State Secretary Matej Marn attended the EU General Affairs Council discussing the negotiating framework on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) within the preparations for the European Council meeting. The compromise proposal presented by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is unfit for Slovenia as it fails to address the country's key negotiation priorities.

During today’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting, the Member States discussed strengthening relations between the EU and the African Union, the situation in Libya and closer relations between the EU and India. Before the meeting, the Italian Foreign Minister, Di Maio, hosted an unofficial breakfast with the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, while a working lunch was intended for talks about EU-India relations with the External Affairs Minister of India, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

At the 56th Munich Security Conference, Minister Dr Miro Cerar participated at the round tables on security in the Western Balkans and the Three Seas Initiative. On the margins of the conference, the Minister held bilateral meetings on current international topics with the foreign ministers of Iran, Egypt, Georgia and Croatia, as well as with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić. The Minister also attended the bilateral meeting of Prime Minister Marjan Šarec with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.

The Government took note of the corona virus situation in the People’s Republic of China and decided to send the People’s Republic of China, on the basis of a request submitted through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, material assistance in the form of protective masks, cover 25% of transport costs (to the maximum amount of 20,000 EUR), and grant a contribution of 60,000 EUR to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for emergency humanitarian aid.

Slovenia joins the efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus by sending assistance in kind (1.2 million facemasks) to the People’s Republic of China, thus being among the first countries to respond through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by providing the most generous donation per capita. In addition, Slovenia will also allocate a EUR 60,000 donation to the World Health Organisation.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a funding decision for the call for proposals Promotion of cultural and creative industries – Centre for Creativity 2020–2021 which will be published by the Ministry of Culture. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 2.21 million available for projects; EUR 1.63 million comes from the ERDF.

State Secretary Dobran Božič attended a meeting of the Slavkov format composed of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Bratislava today. For the first time, the Slovenian and Croatian state secretaries joined their counterparts in the Slavkov trilateral format for a meeting.

State Secretary Matej Marn held political consultations on current EU issues with the Hungarian Minister of State for EU Affairs, Attila Steiner, in Budapest today.

Elan Ski Day, an economic and promotional event co-organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Elan company, took place in Kranjska Gora today. Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Miro Cerar addressed the participants of the event, intended for foreign diplomats accredited in Slovenia.

During his working visit, State Secretary Dobran Božič held bilateral talks with representatives of the US Administration. He addressed principal issues of common interest, including bilateral political and economic cooperation, NATO, EU-US relations, and individual regional issues, with particular emphasis on the Western Balkans.

Slovenian citizens are advised to postpone all unnecessary travel to China due to the novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV epidemic and related restrictive measures taken by the Chinese authorities. It is also not recommended to travel into Chinese provinces, where a quarantine or transport limitations and restrictions have been introduced, such as Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Guangdong and Zhejiang.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Marjan Šarec, met today with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in Brussels. The discussion focused on the negotiations regarding the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2021-2027 period. Over the past week President Michel has been holding bilateral talks with the EU-27 Heads of State and Government, on the basis of which a compromise agreement should be reached on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2021-2027 period. To this end, a special European Council meeting will be held on 20 February 2020.

On the occasion of the Slovenian national holiday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened the “Between the Sky and the Earth” exhibition mounted by the students of the Faculty of Architecture. At the same time, the Ministry presented Slovenian priorities for international cultural cooperation for 2020: research as art, intercultural dialogue, European cooperation, and cultural and creative industries.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the project Development of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along the Gregorčič alley. The project budget amounts to EUR 580,000; the Cohesion Fund will contribute over EUR 240,000 under the ITI mechanism.

The Slovenian Foreign Ministry welcomes today's proposal of the European Commission on new enlargement methodology, aiming for a more efficient, transparent and credible enlargement process.

Today, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry hosted bilateral political consultations between Slovenia and Ethiopia, headed by the Acting Director-General for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Anita Pipan, and the Director-General for European and European Union Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ato Mehreteab Mulugeta. They addressed bilateral cooperation, including in economic matters, as well as cooperation at the multilateral level.

The eighth session of the Intergovernmental Slovenian-Belarusian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held at the Brdo Congress Centre today. It was headed by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Dobran Božič, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Oleg Kravchenko.

Today, the State Secretary, Dobran Božič, took part in a working meeting of State Secretaries and Secretaries-General of EU Member States' Foreign Ministries, hosted by the Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helga Schmid.

Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg delivered its judgment on the admissibility of the Slovenian action against Croatia for infringements of EU law resulting from Croatia’s refusal to implement the Arbitral Award on the border between the countries declaring that it lacks jurisdiction to rule on the action.

Students participating in the first project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘Young Women Ambassadors’ completed the informal educational programme on 30 January 2020. They were received by the President of the Republic and presented with project certificates.

On 30 January 2020, the Slovenian Government approved the report about the oral hearing of Slovenia in the third UPR cycle, which took place in Geneva on 12 November 2019. At the same time, it approved the report of the UPR Working Group on the basis of which Slovenia decided on the recommendations of other countries in the third UPR cycle. The decision will be published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

An amendment of the Visa Code (Regulation (EC) No 810/2009) enters into force on 2 February 2020. As a result, some of the rules governing the issuing of Schengen visas will change.

Today, the day before the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, Minister Dr Miro Cerar held talks with the British Ambassador to Slovenia Sophie Honey. They agreed on the excellent bilateral relations and stressed that despite Brexit, Slovenia and the UK will continue to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in economy, tourism, investment, science, education and culture, and the cooperation within multilateral forums. The countries will pursue their endeavours in all areas of common interest, including in South-East Europe.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the call for proposals Design and testing of services promoting social inclusion of people with disabilities which is to be published by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The call for proposals, which makes a total of EUR 1.15 million available, will receive over EUR 921,000 from the ESF.

Today, the State Secretary, Dobran Božič, took part in a working meeting of State Secretaries and Secretaries-General of EU Member States' Foreign Ministries, hosted by the Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helga Schmid.