News

On 1 January 2024, Slovenia becomes a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the second time in its history. Following its successful election by an overwhelming majority of 153 votes, and after three months as an observer, Slovenia will participate in decisions to maintain international peace and security during the 2024–2025 term. It will act in an inclusive and responsible manner, committed to the principles of the UN Charter, international law and human rights.

Message from Prime Minister Robert Golob for the New Year.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tirana will be closed on Monday 1 January and Tuesday 2 January (New Year).

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food has issued an open call to citizens, legal persons or other organisations for the identification of candidates for the 2024 Golden Bee Award. The call is open till 15th March 2024 and applications from Slovenia and abroad are expected. The subject of the call are projects or achievements in promotion of bees and other pollinators in the past seven years (i.e. in the period 2016–2023).

Slovenia has received EUR 536 million in response to its second request for the payment of funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Reducing flood risk in the Vipava River basin – stage one.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the operation Strengthening cooperation between the employment offices, the social work centres and other stakeholders in the integration in the labour market of the long-term unemployed.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tehran will be closed on 25 December 2023, Christmas Day, as well as on 26 December 2023, Slovenia's Independence and Unity Day.

Christmas and New Year greetings from Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs:

The most magical time of the year is before us. A time spent in anticipation of Christmas and the beginning of the following year. A time that we would look forward to as children and still do today, as adults.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Robert Golob, delivered a solemn address at the ceremony on the occasion of Independence and Unity Day.

"I am pleased that today we signed a contract with the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), which will provide sufficient resources for the provision of this public service in 2024," said Petra Bezjak Cirman, Director of the Government Communication Office, at the signing ceremony.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia will be closed on 25 December on Christmas and on 26 December on the Day of Independence and Unity of Slovenia.

The Prime Minister, Robert Golob, hosted today a holiday reception for the relatives of the fallen soldiers of the Slovenian War of Independence, the defence and security structures of the Republic of Slovenia and representatives of veterans' organisations.

The political deal on migration and asylum that was reached after several years of negotiations marks an important step in the formulation of European Union's (EU) migration and asylum policy. It also sends a strong signal on EU's capacity to agree on a common solution in an area as complex as migration management.

The Government has defined the legal bases allowing the payment of suitable compensation to insurance companies, adopted the proposed new amendments to the Road Transport Act and the proposed new amendments to the Spatial Planning Act, and concluded a contract with the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

The Government of Slovenia signaled its intention to accede to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Announced during the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees-convened Global Refugee Forum previous week in Geneva, the accession reconfirms Slovenia’s commitment to human rights and solidarity, including the right to nationality.

A ceremony marking the arrival of the first C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft was held today at the Cerklje ob Krki airfield.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project On-the-job training.

On 20 December 2017, the United Nations General Assembly in New York unanimously adopted a resolution proclaiming 20 May as World Bee Day. The aim of the initiative is to further raise awareness among the international public regarding the importance of bee preservation and to remind everyone that we heavily depend on bees and other pollinators. They are invaluable in economic, social and environmental terms.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the strategic project Centre for Demonstration and Training in Zero Carbon Technologies. ''This project is identified in the Territorial Just Transition Plan for the Zasavje coal region as one of the flagship projects of the Just Transition Fund with the objective of investing in growth and jobs,'' said Minister Jevšek.

The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2024.

At today's 27th annual meeting of Slovenian diplomats, Prime Minister Robert Golob addressed the heads of diplomatic and consular missions.

The traditional Consultation of Slovenian Diplomats in Brdo pri Kranju is taking place against the background of Slovenia's preparations for membership of the United Nations Security Council. The diplomats discussed current foreign policy issues, focusing on support for Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. The participants in the event, chaired by Minister Tanja Fajon, were addressed by the country's highest representatives.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Raising awareness, communicating with different audiences, and encouraging greater involvement in lifelong learning.

The temporary border controls on Slovenia’s internal borders with Croatia and Hungary will continue for another six months, from 22 December 2023 until 22 June 2024. The internal border checks are being extended under Article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the Call for proposals to support the activities of Knowledge Transfer Offices.

In assuming the Presidency of the Barcelona Convention, Slovenia has also succeeded in implementing an initiative for interregional integration of monitoring of the major ecosystems of the Danube, Black Sea and Mediterranean, with the aim of reducing negative effects on the world's most international river basin. The work programmes for individual sites were already agreed on the margins of the Barcelona Convention in Portorož, and the cooperation was formally confirmed at the meeting of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) in Vienna last week.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon opened the 27th Consultation of Slovenian Diplomats at Brdo pri Kranju. In her address, she presented some reflections on the year that is coming to an end and spoke about the challenges ahead. She went on to express her sincere appreciation to the Slovenian diplomatic corps for its contribution to the strengthening of the Slovenian diplomatic service and Slovenia's role in the changed geopolitical reality.

A press conference on the funding opportunities and the use of the funding made available under the Just Transition Fund was held in Velenje today. The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a novelty of the 2021-2027 programming period. Two Slovenian coal regions are eligible for funding under this instrument, i.e., Savinjsko-Šaleška region and Zasavje region. The JTF aims to support the restructuring and diversification of the local economy to alleviate the impact of the regions’ coal phase-out as part of the transition towards climate neutrality.

Four Syrian families and one individual have arrived in Slovenia from Türkiye, having been selected and accepted as part of the resettlement project. Resettlement is a way of providing legal routes to Europe for people in need of protection.

The European Patent Office and the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office have signed an administrative agreement which will provide financial support to certain national patent applicants and Slovenian patent holders in the form of a reduction in the fee for searches to be carried out by the European Patent Office under the working agreement signed on 4 September this year.

Prime Minister Golob is attending the December European Council meeting today and tomorrow. On the table are strategic decisions important for the future of the EU: the rapprochement of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European budget.

The Government adopted a decree on the establishment and provision of a public information and alert system via public mobile networks, took note of information on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and issued the Ordinance temporarily reintroducing controls at internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia with the Republic of Croatia and Hungary.

On December 8, 2023, the American-Slovenian Club (ASC) was formally established in Washington D.C., USA, to help Slovenian businesses in the USA better connect with the diaspora and to foster stronger collaboration among American Slovenian experts, entrepreneurs, professionals, and individuals.

The EU-Western Balkans Summit, which was attended today by Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob, reaffirmed the prospect of EU membership for the Western Balkans on the one hand and the increased commitment of the Western Balkan partners to accelerate reforms and alignment with EU policies and values on the other.

Ambassador Tadej Rupel, National Coordinator for External Aspects of Digitalisation, AI and Cyber Security, represented Slovenia at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit and Ministerial Council meeting in New Delhi, India, on 12–13 December 2023.

The Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob met with the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron in Paris. During a working lunch, the two leaders exchanged views on key issues to be discussed at tomorrow’s European Council. They also discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic field.

Today, Slovenia received an advance of EUR 24 million of EU funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan for the implementation of REPowerEU measures to reduce the dependence on Russian energy products and accelerate the green transition. In total, EUR 122 million is available to Slovenia for this purpose. It will receive the remaining funds when it meets the milestones and targets of the planned measures.

The Slovenian delegation is attending the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, which aims to strengthen international solidarity and burden-sharing in response to the large number of refugees worldwide.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project with the acronym ‘zMIGAJ!’, which supports sports and recreation activities to promote health.

As part of a final discussion of its working bodies, the Government adopted decisions establishing two public education institutions, reallocated spending rights and amended the 2023–2026 Development Programmes Plan.

On 11 and 12 December 2023, Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar hosted a meeting of the interior ministers of the Salzburg Forum member states in Brdo pri Kranju.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended a regular meeting of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels, where ministers focused on the draft conclusions for the December European Council and on enlargement. He underlined that the decision to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina is key to maintaining the region's confidence in the EU.

Prime Minister Robert Golob has attended today's meeting of the ambassadors of EU members states to Slovenia hosted by the Spanish ambassador Juan Aristegui Laborde at the European Union House in Ljubljana.

The last Agriculture and Fisheries Council under the Spanish Presidency began on Sunday with negotiations on fishing opportunities. On the second day of the meeting, the Council considered the compromise text of the proposed regulation on new genomic techniques and discussed the labelling of the origin of honey blends. State Secretary Eva Knez participated in the second day of the meeting, in which the Council discussed the proposal for a regulation on plant protection products, took note of the situation in agricultural markets and took stock of the strategic plans of the common agricultural policy.

The Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob attended today's corner stone ceremony for Lek Pharmaceuticals' new high-tech centre for the production of biosimilars in Lendava. This is one of the largest direct foreign investment projects in Slovenia's history.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon attended the European Council meeting in Brussels to discuss the situation in the Middle East, Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Sahel. This was followed by the Eastern Partnership ministerial meeting with ministers from the region. In the margins, she also met the High Representative of the international community for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt.

As part of maintaining regular dialogue and good collaboration, Prime Minister Robert Golob and Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar met at a working breakfast.

The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted on 9 December 1948, was the first international human rights treaty to define the responsibility of states to prevent and punish genocide, a crime that shocked the conscience of the world at that time. One day later, on 10 December, UN Member States adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.