News

During the consultations in Warsaw, State Secretary Marko Štucin met Polish Minister for the EU Adam Szłapka, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrzej Szejna, and Head of the International Policy Bureau in the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland Mieszko Pawlak. The talks focused on bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as current European and international issues.

Prime Minister Robert Golob met with Wang Yong, the Vice-Chair of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

On the margins of the EU General Affairs Council, State Secretary Marko Štucin took part in the EU-Montenegro Intergovernmental Conference, where participants took stock of the overall accession process and provided political steer for future work. The Conference is a recognition of the results achieved by Montenegro and an encouragement to continue reforms, with special focus on the rule of law.

At the EU General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU set out the priorities for the Council's work in the first half of 2024, with a focus on the topics addressed by the General Affairs Council. The six-month period will be marked by the end of the mandates of the current European Commission and European Parliament, and by the European elections.

Prime Minister Robert Golob received today at Brdo pri Kranju representatives of organisations that provided relief to those affected by the floods in August last year.

On 27 January, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly, Slovenia remembers the Jewish, Roma and other victims of the Holocaust, including many from Slovenia.

Slovenia welcomes today's order delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of South Africa against Israel, indicating provisional measures, including that Israel must take effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and prevent genocide in Gaza.

Ljubljana, 26 January 2024 – The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has issued 37 funding decisions marking the start of the implementation of community-led local development (CLLD) in the framework of 37 Local Action Groups (LAG). A total of 40.1 million euros in ERDF funding was approved for the implementation of CLLD.

Today, two days before World Holocaust Remembrance Day, the military facility Kadetnica in Maribor hosted the opening of a guest exhibition entitled A Tale of Two Transports, the Jews of Medjimurje and Prekmurje during the Holocaust, prepared by Boris Hajdinjak, Director of the Centre of Jewish Cultural Heritage Synagogue Maribor.

At today's session, the Government adopted a decision on drafting a national spatial plan for reducing flood risks in the Lower Savinja Valley, with a view to comprehensively reducing flood risks in urban areas. It also approved the Agreement on the Amendments to the Strike Agreement with the Higher Education Trade Union.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar attended an informal meeting of the Council of Ministers of the European Union for Home Affairs in Antwerp and Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday.

EU Med Ministers and State Secretaries met today in Brussels on the initiative of the Greek Minister of Agriculture. The group consists of Mediterranean countries that are EU member states: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Slovenia was represented by State Secretary Eva Knez.

The Government adopted the opinion on the draft recommendation to address the worrying situation in residential care homes and approved an amendment to the Act Regulating the Implementation of the Budgets of the Republic of Slovenia.

The Siol.net portal has published an article entitled "The forgotten lesson of 1991, when Slovenians drove out the occupier" in the Active Citizenship thematic section, which provides readers with in-depth information on specific topics. Within the article, Dr. Damir Črnčec, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, addresses questions regarding the current state of the Slovenian Armed Forces and their preparedness for a potential escalation of armed conflict in Europe.

The Ministry of Finance will issue bonds for citizens on 1 February with a maturity of three years, an issue volume of €250 million and an interest rate of 3.4 %.

For the first time since Slovenia became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon participated in the ministerial meeting of the UNSC in New York on the situation in the Middle East. In her address, she called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and in the region, outlining the reasons why it is so important.

The discussion at the first Agriculture and Fisheries Council under the Belgian Presidency has revolved around the future of agriculture in Europe and the international trade in agricultural products, and the establishment of an EU-wide forest monitoring framework.

The Prime Minister, Robert Golob, and the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, hosted their traditional New Year's reception for the Diplomatic Corps. On this occasion, he highlighted Slovenia's main domestic and foreign policy achievements over the past year.

Minister Tanja Fajon attended the regular meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, where the discussions were again devoted to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. During the debate on the Middle East, the EU foreign ministers were joined by several ministers from the region, with whom they agreed to step up their cooperation in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ambassador Dr Andrej Benedejčič, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to NATO, hosted a reception at NATO Headquarters for members of NATO Civil Society Advisory Panel for Women, Peace and Security, as well as Allies and partner countries.

In the first episode of the GOVSI podcast, host Boštjan Lajovic hosts Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and Marjan Šarc, Minister of Defence.

At today’s session, the Government appointed Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič the head of the umbrella negotiating group for negotiations and coordination with the representative trade unions of the public sector. It also appointed the heads and members of negotiating group for negotiations by individual wage tiers.

Prime Minister Robert Golob, Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko and Minister of the Economy, Matjaž Han, met today with representatives of Delo, Dnevnik and Večer newspaper publishing houses. They continued the discussion on the situation of printed media in Slovenia.

Speaking to a wide range of interlocutors at the 54th World Economic Forum in Davos, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon stressed the urgency of an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the protection of civilians, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and an early agreement on a peace plan for a two-state solution, the recognition of the state of Palestine and the provision of security for Israel.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and line ministers today met with representatives of business organisations and associations. The need for a continuous dialogue was already agreed upon at the Economic Summit at the end of last year. This is the only way to draft solutions that would enable businesses to be competitive while preserving the current level of prosperity.

At today's meeting, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Robert Golob and the President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar exchanged views on current international and political developments.

Prime Minister Robert Golob attended the premiere of the play “The Miser” by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known by his stage name Molière, at the Slovenian National Theatre Drama Ljubljana.

Minister Dr Aleksander Jevšek attended a meeting of chairpersons and lead partners of Local Action Groups (LAGs), which took place in Gorica pri Slivnica. In his address, he expressed his satisfaction that all Slovenian municipalities are involved in Local Action Groups, a rare trend in Europe. The Minister also underlined that bottom-up mechanisms are the most effective approach to addressing people’s concrete problems and are gaining importance.

At the Government committees’ sessions, the Government adopted the opinion on the proposal for a review of the constitutionality and legality of the Decree on setting prices for certain petroleum products and a position on the proposed EU regulation on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans.

A trilateral meeting of the Ministers of the Interior of Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, Davor Bozinović, Matteo Piantedosi and Boštjan Poklukar, took place in Buzet, Croatia. The ministers discussed current developments on the Western Balkan migration route, the strengthening of cooperation with the Western Balkan region and the temporary reintroduction of internal border controls.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held political consultations with Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Türkiye in Ankara. The officials welcomed the extensive political dialogue and exchanged views on current foreign policy issues.

During his visit to Podgorica, State Secretary Marko Štucin met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Filip Ivanović, Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević, and Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro Oana Cristina Popa. He held political consultations with Milisav Raspopović, State Secretary at the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The first governmental podcast, entitled “GOVSI podcast”, is being prepared by the Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia (UKOM). This is a (video) podcast of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia by means of which we will broaden the conventional methods of informing and communicating with the public and thereby enhance the transparency of the Government’s operations.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia has appointed Mateja Čalušić as the new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food on the proposal of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Robert Golob. Minister Čalušić has taken over from Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec who was temporarily put in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food on 13 October 2023.

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 12. 1. 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 12. 2. 2024 at 23.59

Minister Tanja Fajon hosted Dr Constantinos Kombos, Foreign Minister of Cyprus, during his official visit to Slovenia. As like-minded, Mediterranean and economically comparable countries, Slovenia and Cyprus are natural allies and members of the Union for the Mediterranean and the MED-9, an informal group of nine Mediterranean countries. The two ministers addressed the settlement of the Cyprus issue and the current situation in the Middle East and Yemen.

On the margins of the NATO Ministerial Meeting in October 2022, the Republic of Slovenia, together with 14 other countries, signed a Letter of Intent to join the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), initiated by the Federal Republic of Germany and involving 19 European countries as of July 2023.

At today's session, the Government adopted the draft Act on the Implementation of the EU Regulation on a Single Market for Digital Services, and a Resolution on Slovenia's participation in the procedure for rendering an Advisory Opinion by the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs proposed to the Government that Slovenia participate in the ICJ proceedings initiated by the UN General Assembly in 2022 concerning Israel's allegedly controversial activities in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which the Government approved. Minister Fajon stressed that the alleged violations in question cover a broad spectrum and have been taking place in the region for decades, going beyond the recent conflict.

The Joint Committee Slovenia - Styria, which meets once a year in plenary session, held its sixth meeting in Celje. It was co-chaired by Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and Christopher Drexler, Governor of Styria. In a joint statement, the two sides welcomed the initiative of the Slovenian minority to establish a "House of Cooperation" in Graz.

At the Government committee meetings, the Government adopted, among other things, an opinion on the proposal to temporarily suspend the implementation of parts of the Act on status transformation of Vzajemna health insurance company d.v.z., gave its consent to the 2024–2025 Business Plan of ARAO – the Agency for Radioactive Waste Management, and adopted a number of responses to decisions of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia and its commissions.

On Monday, 8 January 2024, the Government appointed the Government negotiation team for the negotiation of the strike demands of the Union of Doctors and Dentists of Slovenia – Fides, and today invited it to start negotiations on a solution to the strike demands.

The European Commission has announced the New European Bauhaus Academy (NEBA), a pan-European consortium led by the University of Primorska and based at InnoRenew CoE, as the winner of the call for proposals for the establishment of a New European Bauhaus (NEB) Academy.

During her visit to Paris, Minister Tanja Fajon and Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, discussed strengthening cooperation between the two countries and concluded a new Strategic Partnership Action Plan. Minister Fajon stressed that Slovenia will strive to overcome differences in the UN Security Council and actively seek opportunities to promote its priorities.

We would like to inform that the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tirana on January 2024 will be moving to the new premises with mailing address Rruga ˝Skënderbej˝, nr. 21/1, Tirana

The Prime Minister, Dr Robert Golob, today attended the traditional award ceremony for the personality of the year campaign "SHE or HE 2023 – Act of the Year".

Prime Minister Robert Golob today attended the memorial service in Paris to mourn the death of former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors. The ceremony was also attended by the president of the first Slovenian Government, Lojze Peterle.

Prime Minister Golob met today with Beti Hohler, judge at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. They discussed the role of the International Criminal Court and the challenges it faces in its work.

On Wednesday, 3 January 2024, the Republic of Slovenia, rated A3 (stable) / AA- (stable) / A (stable), successfully accessed the international capital markets with a EUR 1.5bn long 10-year Reg S issuance due 10 March 2034. This transaction marks the first sovereign EUR-denominated transaction of 2024 benefitting from start of year investor liquidity.

The Republic of Slovenia - EUR 10-year mandate