News

In the article, the Washington Post journalist Michael Birnbaum describes the actions of firefighters, members of the rescue forces and the Slovenian Armed Forces during the big fire in July that raged in the Goriska Karst.

At the initiative of the United Nations General Assembly, we are celebrating the third International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. On this day, we call for rational food management.

The Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Uroš Brežan, and the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Luka Mesec, participated in the ceremony to mark the opening of the new modern Pod Pekrsko gorco neighbourhood in Maribor. The aforementioned neighbourhood is one of 34 projects to be developed under the auspices of Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, which is supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) and financed by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB).

At today's government committees, the government included two new projects in the 2022-2025 Development Programme Plan as in force, and reallocated funds in the state budget for 2022.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended the opening session of the workshop "ERP and IPA Coordinators as Inspired Leaders" in Bled. The event has been organised as part of the EU-funded project "Structural Reforms Better Integrated Within Fiscal Frameworks - FIR 2".

The Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko, and the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Matjaž Han, visited the filming location of the Netflix production “The Union” in Piran, which stars famous actors such as Halle Berry, Mark Wahlberg and J. K. Simmons. The Government contributed monetary compensation in the amount of EUR 2.5 million for the implementation of the film project in Slovenia. The implementation of the project in Slovenia will contribute to an estimated 30,000 overnight stays and the planned use of more than EUR 10 million of the film crew’s funds for preparations and filming here. Over 340 Slovenian workers participate in the project.

Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon and President Borut Pahor presented Slovenia's vision for its candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council to the Permanent Representatives of the UN Member States in New York. "During its 30-year UN membership, Slovenia has proven on several occasions its commitment to multilateralism, solidarity and shared responsibility for world peace, security and development. Today, we are committed to this goal more than ever," underlined Minister Fajon.

On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, we publish the message from the Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Matjaž Han.

At today’s meeting by correspondence, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia approved the proposed amendments to five tax acts: the Personal Income Tax Act, the Excise Duty Act, the Tax Procedure Act, the Financial Administration Act and the Fiscal Validation of Receipts Act. The Government also stated its position on amendments to this year’s revised state budget.

Minister Irena Šinko attended a session of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. As part of fisheries topics, they exchanged views on fishing opportunities for the coming year, including fish stocks shared with the United Kingdom, and the annual consultations between the EU and Norway in 2023. In agricultural topics, the discussion regarding the market situation in the light of war and the state of agricultural production and logistics in Ukraine was at the forefront. The EU Council also learned about the impact of the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive on agriculture and information about the growing population of wild animals in Europe. The discussion on food labelling and the call to the Commission to supplement the assessment of the proposal for the Regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products was also important. Minister Šinko also met with the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides. They discussed the Commission’s measures to reduce the use of plant protection products and food labelling.

Minister Dr Emilija Stojmenova Duh is attending the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is taking place in Bucharest. More than 3,000 representatives from 160 ITU Member States at the level of ministers, regulators of information and communication technologies, academic institutions and private companies are attending the conference.

The seventh event of this year's "Slovenian Days in Cleveland 2022" was the screening of the documentary Polka! The Movie, followed by a pleasant gathering with tarragon potica and Slovenian wine!

We started the fifth day of Slovenian Days in Cleveland 2022 with mass in the Slovenian church of St. Mary of the Assumption in Collinwood and continued with the concert of the Megaron Chamber Choir - this time with a program of Slovenian folk songs, which made many people cry!

The sixth event of the Slovenian Days in Cleveland 2022 was marked by cuisine, folk music and Slovenian tradition - traditional Grape Festival at the SNPJ Farm in Kirtland

The fourth day of Slovenian Days in Cleveland 2022 was spent on the beautiful property of the Slovenian St.Clair Rifle and Hunting Club for the traditional fall "Clambake".

At today’s correspondence session, the Government decided that a funeral with military honours will be organised for the late actor, Radko Polič - Rac. It also adopted a position regarding the Fiscal Council’s assessment of the compliance of this year’s draft revised budget and the proposed amendments to the Ordinance on the framework for the preparation of the general government budget for the 2022–2024 period with fiscal rules.

On the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon took part in a number of ministerial events, held several bilateral meetings, and signed the economic cooperation agreement between the Republic of Slovenia and the Kyrgyz Republic.

Tonight we marked the third event within the project "Slovenian Days in Cleveland 2022" - in the Cleveland Cathedral, with a concert of the Slovenian choir "Megaron" with conductor and composer Damijan Močnik.

At today's session, the Government started discussing proposed tax changes, adopted the proposed act on intervention measures in education for the 2022/2023 school year, increased economic aid to EUR 86 million due to high electricity and gas prices, and adopted the proposed act regulating anew paternity leave and parental protection. It also confirmed the assessment of damage to property and the reimbursement of intervention funds due to the consequences of this summer’s fires in the Karst region. The Government will also finance additional equipment for the societies that played a part in firefighting in the Karst.

Within the framework of the Slovenian Days in Cleveland 2022 we opened an exhibition of sculptures in the Slovenian Museum and Archives. It is entitled "Angels" by the recently deceased Slovenian painter Lučka Koščak, who lived in Switzerland.

As the coordinating body for implementation of the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Office for Recovery and Resilience organised a seminar on the subject of protecting the financial interests of Slovenia and the European Union. Those attending the seminar heard from representatives of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The visit focused on the discussions relating to Slovenia’s assistance and cooperation within North Macedonia’s accession process to the EU in the field of judicial reforms.

At the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the first session of the Working Group for Local Self-Government took place, consisting of the leadership representatives of all three representative municipal associations in addition to Dr Aleksander Jevšek, the Minister of Development and European Cohesion Policy, and Sanja Ajanović Hovnik, the Minister of Public Administration. The main topic of today’s session was the preparation of strategic documents for drawing European funds in the 2021–2027 period.

This evening, the first in a series of nine events of this year's Slovenian Days in Cleveland took place at the Slovenian National Home on St.Clair, opened by Cleveland City Councilor Mike Polensek and SNH President Bob Hopkins together with our Consul General Alenka Jerak.

On the 20th of September 2022, the Republic of Slovenia, rated A3 (stable)/A (stable)/AA- (stable) reopened its 2.250% March 2032 (Mar-32) by €500mn. The new issue size totalled €3.83bn after reopening.

At today's meeting, the Government again discussed the budgets for 2023 and 2024, following the Office for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development's autumn forecast.

At the invitation of the Montenegrin Minister of Defence, mag. Raško Konjević, Marjan Šarec, the Slovenian Minister of Defence, is paying an official visit to Montenegro on 20 and 21 September.

At today's meeting of the Government Committee on State Organisation and Public Affairs, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the text of the amendments to the proposed Act Amending the Enforcement of Criminal Sanctions Act (ZIKS-1H) submitted to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia by a group deputies headed by Danijel Krivec and forwarded the amendments to the National Assembly.

The Republic of Slovenia announces the cash tender results of the Euro denominated notes of the tender that expired on 19 September 2022.

The 7th edition of the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-regional Strategies Week under this year's slogan "Healthy seas for a safer future" was officially opened in Izola on Tuesday. The attendees were addressed by Ambassador Ksenija Škrilec, Acting Director-General for EU Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia.

In Sarajevo, State Secretary Dr Branko Lobnikar attended a two-day regional conference entitled 'Sarajevo Migration Dialogue'.

This year's edition of the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-Regional Strategies Week, which is organized around the theme ''A healthy sea for a safer future'', kicked off this week in Izola. The multi-day event puts spotlight on the importance of the sea and its hinterland for future development. State Secretary at the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, mag. Marko Koprivc, delivered remarks at the opening ceremony, highlighting the importance of working together for sustainable development, and the unique role of macro-regions as platforms that facilitate collaboration.

The Republic of Slovenia, rated A3 (stable) / AA-(stable) / A (stable), has mandated Barclays, BNP Paribas, Erste Group and J.P. Morgan to lead manage a reopening of the SLOREP benchmark due in March 2032. A potential tap of SLOREP 02/2062 and/or SLOREP 03/2081 is possible, subject to the interest of investors. The transaction will be Regulation S in dematerialized registered form.

In his conversation with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister Robert Golob continued the bilateral dialogue, initiated during his visit to Berlin on July 12.

On Friday, September 9, 2022, the Republic of Slovenia and the Kingdom of Thailand celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations. On this occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand exchanged messages of congratulations.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob, today hosted the first coalition summit, which brought together deputies from the parties of the government coalition and ministers of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia.

The Government adopted the draft act on temporary measures to mitigate the consequences of price increases for the beneficiaries of child benefit. Based on this families with children, who are entitled to child benefit, will be receiving dearness allowance for three months. It also adopts the Autumn Economic Forecast, which shows moderation in economic growth. The government took note of the audit report on the feasibility of procuring 8x8 wheeled combat vehicles for the needs of the Slovenian army and decided that Slovenia will withdraw from the Boxer program.

As the coordinating body for implementation of the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Office for Recovery and Resilience organised a seminar at which experts presented the ‘do no significant harm’ principle. That principle was laid down in the European directive establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility and states that no measure from national recovery and resilience plans may do significant harm to the environment.

Message by Prime Minister Robert Golob on the Day of Return of Primorska to the Motherland.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her third State of the Union address to the European Parliament today, in which she set out the vision for the Union in the year ahead, before holding a discussion with MEPs the achievements of the last year and the way forward.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and Minister of Infrastructure Bojan Kumar today visited Gomilsko and Velenje, where they held talks with representatives of energy companies on ensuring energy independence in the long term and responding to the current energy crisis.

The 11th Slovenian Economic Diplomacy Day was held as part of the MOS Celje trade fair. Strengthening economic diplomacy is one of the priorities of Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon. The event was attended by ambassadors and honorary consuls to the Republic of Slovenia and by a number of representatives of Slovenian companies and institutions.

On 12 September 2022, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tokyo joined the first virtual meeting of Slovenians, who have been educated abroad and live in Japan. The meeting was organised by Društvo VTIS.

Slovenia joined the Copenhagen Pledge on Tech for Democracy that lays out a framework and envisions a shared digital future based on democratic values and human rights.

On the day of the official opening of the 77th UNGA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a briefing for representatives of embassies based in Ljubljana. State Secretary Samuel Žbogar presented Slovenia’s priorities for the UNGA and plans related to participation in the General Debate, which will take place in New York from 20 to 26 September 2022.

Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira announced yesterday that the European Commission adopted the Partnership Agreement with Slovenia for the period 2021-2027. Slovenia will receive EUR 3.26 billion for Cohesion Policy investments to support the sustainable development of its economy.

On Monday, 12 September 2022, a meeting of the leaders of the Brdo-Brijuni Process was held at Brdo pri Kranju. The Government Communication Office took part in the organisation.

By signing the book of condolences, Prime Minister Robert Golob paid his respects to the memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Republic of Slovenia (the Issuer), rated A3 (stable) / AA- (stable) / A (stable), has mandated Barclays, BNP Paribas, Erste Group and J.P. Morgan as Joint Dealer Managers for a Tender Offer for the Issuer’s outstanding March 2023 and September 2024 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.

As part of the first round of bi-annual technical visits, the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office hosted today a visit by representatives of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The visit took place in a hybrid format, with some EUIPO staff joining the virtually.