News

Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko, attends the opening ceremony of the renovated Podčetrtek Castle. The castle reopens its doors after decades of decline.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon hosted Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf on an official visit, reaffirming the excellent relations between the two countries, further strengthened by the opening of embassies in their respective capitals. Today, they will officially inaugurate the Algerian Embassy in Ljubljana. The two ministers focused on the enhanced cooperation between their two countries.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today received the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Hakan Fidan.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon received Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for an official visit. Their talks focused on cooperation between Slovenia and Türkiye, and in this context, they signed an Action Plan. They also discussed current global issues and agreed that both countries will continue to work for peace in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today met the Foreign Minister of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Ahmed Attaf.

On 28 and 29 August, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs hosts the 4th Seminar for young diplomats from the Eastern Partnership countries, with participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Prime Minister Robert Golob is attending the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games in Paris.

During the discussion on Russia's aggression against Ukraine at the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, Minister Tanja Fajon expressed concern about attempts to attack nuclear power plants. On the Middle East, she stressed the need for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Gaza in order to carry out vaccination campaigns to protect children against polio. She also supported the debate on the imposition of further sanctions upon Israel.

On Thursday, 29th August 2024, the Republic of Slovenia (“Slovenia”), rated A3 (stable) by Moody’s / AA- (stable) by S&P / A (stable) by Fitch / AA- (stable) by JCR, successfully priced a total of JPY50.0bn across a 3-year and a 5-year fixed rate senior unsecured bond, marking it as the first Social Samurai Bond issued by a sovereign. With a highly successful inaugural offering, Slovenia has established a strong footprint in the Japanese market. BNP Paribas, Nomura and SMBC Nikko jointly led the offering.

At today's session, the Government discussed the first package of tax amendment proposals, which will be finally approved at a correspondence meeting in the coming days. It also adopted the baselines for drafting amendments to the Radiotelevizija Slovenija Act and the Ordinance amending the amount of the radio and television licence fee for the provision of radio and television activities by Radiotelevizija Slovenija.

Minister Tanja Fajon met with representatives of the Centre of Excellence in Finance (CEF), the Centre for European Perspective (CEP), the Centre for International Development and Cooperation (CMSR) and ITF Enhancing Human Security. She thanked them for their successful cooperation and assured them of the Ministry's continued support, both in their work and in reducing red tape for them.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tokyo is seeking a talented and organised Administrative Assistant. This role offers a unique opportunity to work in a dynamic international environment. If you want to join our international team apply by 17 September 2024.

Prime Minister Robert Golob met today with the management of RTV Slovenija.

State Secretary Marko Štucin opened the European Regional Conference on Advancing Victim Assistance Implementation and Cooperation, which brings together representatives of states, civil society and mine victims' organisations from the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Tajikistan to discuss the current challenges facing mine victims and their reintegration into society.

Today, the European Commission proposed a financial contribution from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) of more than one billion for the countries affected by severe flooding in 2023. Slovenian will receive a total of 428.4 million euros for recovery measures following the August 2023 floods in Slovenia.

Following the conclusion of the second Strategic Partnership for Humanitarian Emergency Response with Slovenian Karitas, Minister Tanja Fajon met with its Secretary General, Peter Tomažič. The two officials praised the partnership as very good and the cooperation as effective and reciprocal. They reviewed the humanitarian activities already agreed, especially in Gaza and Ukraine, and discussed further plans.

The reading room of the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia at Zvezdarska 1 in Ljubljana will from September 2, 2024 be open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 2 pm due to the relocation of our archival and library holdings. During this period, some archival fonds and collections, as well as library materials, will be unavailable.

Minister Tanja Fajon concluded her official visit to Tirana, where she met with Albania's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Iglio Hasani, President Bajram BegaJ, Prime Minister Edi Rama and Speaker of Parliament Elisa Spiropali. The main topics of their talks were the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries and Slovenia's continued support for Albania's European path.

Prime Minister Robert Golob met today in Ljubljana with Joerg Reinhardt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Novartis, and other Novartis executives.

The Republic of Slovenia (the “Issuer”), rated A3 (Stable) by Moody’s, AA- (Stable) by S&P, A (Stable) by Fitch and AA- (Stable) by JCR, has mandated BNP Paribas, Nomura and SMBC Nikko to joint lead the issuance of JPY-denominated senior notes in Samurai format (the “JPY Notes”).

Prime Minister Robert Golob attended the 10th conference of headteachers of educational institutions in Slovenia. In his address, he focused on three key areas: curriculum reform, reform of the public sector pay system and the establishment of a clear framework for headteachers to take on more responsibility and therefore have more authority.

Director-General Slobodan Šešum presented to the representatives of the Strategic Research and Innovation Partnership on Mobility (SRIP ACS+) the levers of economic diplomacy to help companies enter or operate in foreign markets and expand their business abroad.

The Public Agency SPIRIT Slovenia has again launched the Call for proposals for the promotion of large investments to boost productivity and competitiveness in the Republic of Slovenia, which is implemented in the framework of Slovenia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. This call for proposals, which was recently cancelled due to the European Commission's requirements to update and amend the conditions for applicants, was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No 69/2024 and on the SPIRIT website.

On the basis of the Act on Aid to Ensure Enhanced Air Connectivity (hereinafter reffered as: the Act), a Public Tender for Enhanced Air Connectivity of Slovenia was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia and the Official Journal of the European Union on 16. 8. 2024. In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Act, the tender documentation is publicly published, however, the English translation is merely an information aid for foreign air carriers when preparing applications for aid.

The application for aid and Annexes must be submitted in Slovene language. Submission deadline is 16. 9. 2024 at 23.59

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Raising the quality of bilingual education for the Italian national community in Slovenia and the Slovenian national community in Italy.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Improving laboratory testing for new psychoactive substances and illicit drugs by including laboratory testing for prohibited drugs in sport and other performance- and image-enhancing drugs – Drug testing improvement.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Digitisation of the system for recording, storing and sharing data on long-term care and social protection - DIGIDO.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Strengthening the professionalisation of public procurement.

Paris this year is not only the centre of the sporting world, but also a meeting point of different cultures. The Olympic Games have always been linked to culture and the arts. France is a country of culture and Paris a capital of the arts. Slovenia has strong ties with the latter, as many Slovenian artists have studied there over the years and many of them have also created and worked there.

On Friday, August 16th, the Archive, the reading room and the information room will be closed due to a collective leave day.

Today's roundtable at the Slovenian House discussed the end of a sporting career, which is an important milestone in every athlete's journey. Former top skier and UKOM I feel Slovenia brand ambassador Tina Maze and sports aces Urška Žolnir Jugovar, Goran Dragić and Igor Vušurović, Montenegro's gold-winning volleyball player, spoke about the pitfalls and fears they faced along the way and about their experiences.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the call for proposals Sustainable restoration and revitalisation of municipality-owned cultural monuments and inclusion of cultural experience in the Slovenian tourism – cohesion region Vzhodna Slovenija. European Regional Development Fund contribution stands at 13.8 million euros.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and State Secretary for International Affairs and National and International Security Vojko Volk today issued statements following yesterday's successful prisoner swap between the Western Allies and the Russian Federation.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Machine Learning for Science and Humanities – SMASH. The project will receive 2.1 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund.

It has been one year since the catastrophic floods affected a large part of Slovenia. The Government promptly responded to this extreme event and did much to ameliorate the immediate effects. Later, it also adopted many measures for flood recovery. One of the key people who led the first response and saved lives was Civil Protection Commander Srečko Šestan.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Upgrading the railway track state border-Dobova-Zidani most – phase 1: section state border-Dobova-Sevnica: stage 1 (Krško area). The project, worth 43.2 million euros, will receive a Cohesion Fund contribution of 22.8 million euros.

In July, the Russian Federation held the Presidency of the UN Security Council. The main events of the month were the open debates on multilateralism and the Middle East, chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. The Presidency also organised an open debate on cooperation between the UN and some regional organisations (CSTO, CIS, SCO).

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Centre for managing deinstitutionalisation. The project will receive 2.4 million euros from the European Social Fund Plus.

The Government has adopted a series of recommendations and is preparing new legislative measures to improve the fairness and transparency of the state media advertising, the European Commission noted in a recent report on the rule of law in the EU.

As of 31 July 2024, I will conclude my five-year term as the Slovenian Consul General in Cleveland. During my tenure, I have endeavored to actively represent and promote all things Slovenian—culture, heritage, tourism, economy, science, etc., and to devote maximum attention to the activities of the Slovenian community here.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project called Development and establishment of a new service model of the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) by strengthening digital services. The project will receive 12.7 million euros from the European Social Fund Plus.

Slovenia House in Paris has officially opened its doors today and will serve as the centre of fan gatherings and Slovenia’s comprehensive presentation featuring numerous events in the coming Olympic days.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today visited the Slovenia House in Paris, where he was received by Franjo Bobinac, the president of the Slovenian Olympic Committee – Association of Sports Federations. After a tour of the House and a working lunch, they made a statement to the media.

On 25 July 2024, the Republic of Slovenia issued its inaugural digital bond. The landmark transaction is the first such transaction of an EU sovereign, and one of the first sovereigns worldwide.

At today's session, the Government has decided on a proposal for the appointment of the candidate as Member of the EU Commission and to submit the proposal to the National Assembly. The Government nominates Tomaž Vesel as a candidate for appointment as Member of the EU Commission.

On 24 July 2024, the Slovenian Government approved proposals from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to contribute to international organisations and other international bodies involved in development cooperation and humanitarian aid for the 2024–2026 period.

Between 23rd and 25th of October 2024, the tenth meeting of the parties to the Water Convention will take place at the Ljubljans Economic Exhibition Centre, at which Slovenia succeeds the three-year chairmanship of the convention bureau from Estonia. Around 500 attendees from all over the world are expected at the event.

The European Commission's fifth annual Rule of Law Report for 2024 shows that Slovenia has made progress in almost all areas, including in implementing last year's recommendations. Slovenia remains committed to the common fundamental values of the Union, in particular the rule of law, and will actively continue its efforts to further strengthen it.

At today’s session, the Government adopted the starting points for drafting the Act on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications in Healthcare in order to simplify and accelerate recruitment procedures for foreign health professionals. The agenda also included the item “nomination for a Member of the European Commission”, but this item was suspended during the session.

On 18 July 2024, Slovenia became a member of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC), marking an important milestone in its commitment to upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those online, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By joining the Coalition, Slovenia affirms its commitment to promoting and protecting digital rights and freedoms.