News

On Saturday, Slovenia and all the World will for the sixth time be celebrating the World Bee Day, proclaimed on 20 December 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly. The main purpose of the World Bee Day is to raise the awareness of global general public on the significance of bees and other pollinators for the entire human race, in the light of food security, global hunger elimination, and protection of the environment and biodiversity.

At today's session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the text of the proposal to initiate the procedure for amending Articles 160, 161 and 162 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and allocated an additional EUR 2.8 million for the organisation and hosting of the European Youth Olympic Festival 2023 in Maribor.

At the invitation of the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Marjan Šarec, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Albania, Niko Peleshi, paid an official visit to Slovenia. After being received with military honours in front of the Ministry of Defence, Minister Šarec and Minister Peleshi first had a private conversation, followed by official talks between the two delegations.

The annual meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA) is held in Singapore and attended by the delegation of the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office. The delegation also attended an event organised by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, where the Directors of the Slovenian and Singaporean IP Offices exchanged good practices in the field of intellectual property.

The Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob met with Dr Simona Gerenčer, Secretary General of the Deafblind Association of Slovenia DLAN.

State Secretary Marko Štucin opened the thematic conference "Towards Knowledge-Society and Professions of the Future" in Brdo pri Kranju, held within the scope of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) lasting until October 2023.

Minister Tanja Fajon received Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Staša Košarac during his working visit to Slovenia. Their talks focused on bilateral relations.

Members of the Animal Protection Working Group, which is organised under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Office, met with representatives of the Psi in Mi Institute, a centre for modern dog parenting.

This year, Slovenian Bee diplomacy is entering a new phase with projects primarily supporting social and environmental resilience. In cooperation with local partners, Slovenian diplomatic missions and consular posts will again carry out more than 30 projects around the world. The two most important celebrations will take place in Rome and New York.

This year's theme for the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, "Together always: united in diversity", reminds us that all people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, are born free and are equal in dignity and rights.

Minister Tanja Fajon was in Koper today for talks with the Mayor of Koper, Aleš Bržan, and the management of the Port of Koper. The visit took place just a few days ahead of her departure for Vietnam (21–23 May) in the company of a ten-strong business delegation that includes the Port of Koper, and for Indonesia. She will also visit the Republic of Korea in June.

State Secretary Samuel Žbogar hosted Pablo Anselmo Tettamanti, Secretary of Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Argentine Republic, for bilateral political consultations. Their talks focused on strengthening political and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Under the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), the first meeting of the Strategy's National Coordinators took place today, bringing together for the first time delegations from all 14 EUSDR Member States and members of the Danube Youth Council (DYC).

Minister Irena Šinko participated in the presentation of the results of the targeted research programme entitled The Design of the Methodology for the monitoring of wild pollinators in Slovenia. The event came ahead of World Bee Day, which will be celebrated on Saturday, 20 May, bringing bees and other pollinators into the global spotlight at the initiative of Slovenia.

On behalf of the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, State Secretary mag. Dejan Židan participated for the first time in the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council meeting, of which the agenda for the first day includes content in the field of sports.

At the opening of the MLA diplomatic conference, Minister of Justice dr Dominika Švarc Pipan emphasised that states and the international community are responsible for establishing interstate mechanisms for the investigation and prosecution of international crimes, and drew attention to the protection of children in these proceedings. During the conference, representatives of the Ministry of Justice are to actively participate in the negotiation process.

In the spring forecast published today, the European Commission has enhanced the economic growth forecast for Slovenia. This year, it is expected to reach 1.2 per cent, and 2.2 per cent in 2024. The enhanced forecast is an encouraging signal; we are also pleased that currently there is no fear of a recession in Europe.

On 10 May 2023, Slovenia became a member of the Instruct-ERIC European Research Infrastructure Consortium by the Instruct-ERIC Council decision, and thus joined the fourteen existing members together with Greece. The membership enables researchers from Slovenia to participate in the entire portfolio of services, including the technology catalogue, internships, training programmes, and research and development funding.

After more than a decade of efforts by Slovenia, Argentina, Belgium, Mongolia, the Netherlands and Senegal, an international diplomatic conference has opened in Ljubljana to adopt the text of a convention on international cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of the most serious crimes. The Conference will run until 26 May. Upon adoption, the convention will be called the Ljubljana-Hague Convention.

On 9 May, 2023, the EU Delegation to China celebrated Europe Day 2023 in its garden in Beijing.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar and his closest team hosted foreign ambassadors to Slovenia at the Ministry today.

Slovenia has made a significant contribution to the visibility of Slovenian beekeeping knowledge and to raising global awareness of the importance of bees by proclaiming World Bee Day.

The 9th session of the Small Countries Initiative, which has been operating under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2013, was held in Luxembourg on May 10-12. Slovenia has also participated in the Initiative since 2019. The subject of the meeting, which was attended by State Secretary Azra Herceg and a delegation from Slovenia, was the promotion of health and well-being.

On 10 and 11 May, State Secretary Samuel Žbogar visited Brasilia for political consultations with Ambassador Maria Laura da Rocha, Secretary General of Foreign Affairs of Brazil.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held consultations with Secretary General of Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonatan Vseviov and Undersecretary for Political Affairs Kyllike Sillaste-Elling in Tallinn. In addition to bilateral relations, the talks focused on current issues at the EU and international levels, including the war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Robert Golob hosted the President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, at Vila Podrožnik.

The Government initiated activities to erect a monument to Slovenian independence, which will connect and unite, and with its symbolism convey the story of the future of a nation that has won its independence and freedom. It also confirmed an intervention bill with which the mining rights are extended for three years by means of an annex, and the wording of the amendments to the Higher Education Act.

Under the patronage of President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar, the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana has organised the 6th Biennial Academic Conference "Responsibility to Protect in Theory and Practice" in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to mark the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the first conference of this kind in Slovenia.

A four-day international conference on cyber defence, organised jointly by the Ministry of Defence and NATO, concludes today, 11 May, at Ljubljana's Grand Plaza Hotel. It brings together 150 representatives from NATO Member States, European Union institutions and partner countries.

At the 4th meeting of the Strategic Council for the Prevention of Hate Speech, the members discussed the area of prevention. They concluded that hate speech is a complex phenomenon, the prevention of which should extend to various areas of social activity. It has to be acknowledged that hate speech is both a cause and a consequence of violence, and the answer to it is the establishment of tolerant and supportive communities.

"There are many positive aspects to exchanging opinions on social media. However, the conditions for user participation must be clearly defined, so that such discussions are respectful and inclusive. We have done this on the Government's social media profiles," said the Director of the Government Communication Office, Petra Bezjak Cirman, at the 4th meeting of the Strategic Council on Hate Speech Prevention.

The 6th meeting of the Strategic Council for Nutrition was held today, 10 May 2023, to discuss the Nutritional Guidelines for Educational Institutions.

At today’s forum, where 125 demands were presented by representatives of crafts and entrepreneurship, the Prime Minister gave assurances that the Government will take all measures on the basis of an ongoing dialogue. “This dialogue must be continuous, because only through dialogue can we arrive at better solutions,” stressed dr. Golob.

At today’s event on the Recovery and Resilience Plan – Implementation, New Circumstances and Amendments, which was hosted by the Ministry of Finance and the Recovery and Resilience Office, representatives of ministries presented the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the proposed amendments to interested stakeholders and the public. The event was also attended by the Minister of Finance Mr Klemen Boštjančič.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon held a series of meetings with representatives of UN regional groups and senior UN officials in New York from 8 to 10 May.

In the context of regular dialogue and good mutual cooperation, Prime Minister Robert Golob and President of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar met today.

At yesterday's event, experts from the Boards of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) presented to the Slovenian public novelties and practical examples of how to deal with trade mark and design appeals.

Prime Minister dr. Robert Golob and ministers attended the GREMO Mission strategic development conference, which the Prime Minister described as one of the key development projects for the Slovenian economy.

At the correspondence meeting, the government issued an amendment to the Decree on programmes of compulsory health insurance services, the capacities required for their implementation, and the amount of funds for 2023. The government supports the establishment of a register of damage caused by the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine, and the adoption of a declaration to honour the memory of the victims of the Holodomor in Ukraine.

On the occasion of today's municipality holiday of Ljubljana – Hero City, the Prime Minister, Robert Golob, attended a formal session of the Ljubljana Municipality Council, where the highest awards of the City of Ljubljana were presented, including the titles of Honorary Citizen of the City of Ljubljana.

It is now 73 years since French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman drafted the declaration establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. The basic aim of this idea, which was conceived only a few years after the end of the Second World War, was to establish closer cooperation between countries in such a way that war between them would no longer be not only unacceptable, but also unfeasible.

The Government has issued a Decree amending the Decree on the environmental tax on air pollution caused by carbon dioxide emissions.

Today, Prime Minister Robert Golob attended a commemorative ceremony on the 78th anniversary of the final battles for the liberation of Ljubljana at Orle and the anniversary of the liberation of the Hero City and its holiday, 9 May.

The sixth World Bee Day will be celebrated on 20 May. The UN General Assembly proclaimed World Bee Day on 20 December 2017. Our aim is to raise awareness of the general public about the importance of bees and other pollinators for our survival on this planet.

On 5 May 2023, the Fitch agency affirmed Slovenia's A credit rating with a stable outlook.

At a correspondence meeting, the government formally decided that the artillery platoon of the Slovenian Armed Forces is to participate in Howitzer 2023 training held between 8 and 12 May at the Evgen Kvaternik training range in Slunj, Croatia.

At today's session, the government determined the text of the draft Act on specific matters relating to certain offences committed during the period of validity of the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection. Moreover, it adopted the 2023 Development Report and approved the annual plan for the financing and co-financing of investments in sports infrastructure for 2023.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and Slovenian Government ministers support the public and free expression of opinions and the right to peaceful protest.

The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs hosted bilateral political consultations between Slovenia and Azerbaijan, chaired by State Secretary Samuel Žbogar and Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Khalaf Khalafov.

Dear residents of Slovenia, citizens and all others who are building the future together with us, Congratulations on the occasion of Labour Day. To all of us.