Today’s epidemiological situation: a relatively large number of tests were carried out yesterday (as many as 6,587). One thousand six-hundred and nine cases were confirmed, which means that the proportion of positive tests was 24.4%. Hospital care required 22 more COVID-19 patients (namely 1,324) in comparison to Wednesday. Two-hundred-six patients needed intensive care, which is nine less than the day before. Ninety-eight patients were discharged from hospitals in total. Yesterday we also had a lot of deaths in Slovenia: 48 people died in hospitals, nursing homes and care homes.

The press conference on the current Covid-19 situation was attended by the acting director of the Healthcare Directorate of the Ministry of Health, Marija Magajne, psychologist Peter Markič, and the government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

The afternoon press conference on COVID-19 was attended by the General Manager of the Šmarje pri Jelšah Care Home Gordana Drimel and psychologist at France Bevk primary school in Tolmin Žarko Trušnovec.

On 20 November, Prime Minister Janez Janša ordered, based on the epidemic situation and counsel at EU level, the competent ministries to prepare everything necessary for mass voluntary coronavirus tests, and to establish a programme for registering candidates for voluntary vaccinations by 5 December at the latest.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by the head of the UKC Maribor emergency centre Dr Gregor Prosen, State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Mateja Ribič, deputy head of the Communicable Disease Centre of the National Institute of Public Health Nuška Čakš Jager, and the government spokesman Jelko Kacin.

At today's 49th extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Janez Janša presented in detail the draft Act determining intervention measures to contain the consequences of the second wave of COVID-19, or the sixth anti-corona package for mitigating and eliminating the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic, and the legislative package aimed at maintaining the condition of society, the state, and the economy, after the epidemic.

The Minister of Finance, Andrej Šircelj, presented the Government's measures relating to the economic, social and health area, which are covered by the sixth anti-corona package.

The press conference today on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the head of the regional civil protection service in Koper for the DSO area, Gabrijela Valenčič, the head of the RS civil protection service, Srečko Šestan, and the government spokesperson, ambassador, Jelko Kacin.

On 24 November 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum, which was organised by the Körber-Stiftung foundation in Berlin together with the German Foreign Ministry. The Forum was opened by the foreign ministers of the Trio Presidency of Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia.

The director of the Centre for the blind, visually impaired, and elderly in Škofja Loka, Silva Košnjek, assoc. prof. Robert Masten from the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology, and Jelko Kacin, the government spokesperson, participated at the afternoon press conference about the current COVID-19 status.

Dr Milivoj Piletič, Medical Director of Novo mesto General Hospital, and Government spokesperson Ambassador Jelko Kacin attended the today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 epidemic.

On Saturday evening, Prime Minister Janez Janša had a meeting with the management of Murska Sobota General Hospital, in which they focused on efforts to control the spread of the novel coronavirus in one of the most endangered regions. They also talked about successes that the public hears too little about, necessary investments, and the importance of mutual solidarity among teams that protect health and save lives.

On Saturday late afternoon and evening, Prime Minister Janez Janša visited University Medical Centre Maribor (UMCM) and the City Municipality of Maribor.

On this day 25 years ago, a peace agreement was reached in Dayton. It represents an important milestone in the European history, bringing peace and stability to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement was an important victory of diplomacy over war and brought an end to the conflict in the region and the dreadful atrocities suffered by the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Peace Agreement still guarantees sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Friday is nearly over, after spending the whole day coordinating COVID-19 measures and holding long conversations in between with Angela Merkel, currently presiding over the EU Council, and other EU heads of state in order to find compromise solutions for adopting the seven-year EU budget and the recovery fund. The situation calls for reason,” Prime Minister Janez Janša wrote on Twitter.

At today's video conference, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar and his Brazilian counterpart, Ernesto Araújo, confirmed the traditionally good relations between their respective countries, expressing mutual interest in finding new ways to build on the existing foundations.

Based on the current state of the epidemic and the latest EU Council video conference, the competent ministries have been instructed today to prepare everything necessary by 5 December to launch the voluntary mass coronavirus testing campaign and set up a programme for registering individuals opting for voluntary vaccination,” Janez Janša announced on Twitter.

The spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, said at the press conference that 1546 infections were identified from 5673 tests yesterday, which is a 27.25% infection rate - 3 percentage points down from the day before. About a quarter fewer infections were detected in 1100 fewer tests compared to Wednesday.

In scope of the HIA project, funded by the European Comission and coordinated by TECOS with the help of SRIP FoF and Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, we are launching the second call for expression of interest, where we invite interested companies with relevant Industry 4.0 references to apply. This is the second of the overall three open calls within this project.

Prime Minister Janša was a guest on the programme A Talk with the Prime Minister on Televizija Slovenija. The key topic of the interview was the Government's efforts to tackle the epidemic, including the adoption of measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Prime Minister also touched on current political issues, on Slovenia's role in the European Union and the world, and on the relations in the coalition.

Today, 20 November 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar symbolically handed a keyboard to Mr Matjaž Ugovšek, representative of the Slovenian Sustainability Society “Duh časa” (the Spirit of Time) a non-profit volunteer organisation which has been engaged in collecting used computer equipment since December 2011. The collected computer equipment is made ready for use and donated to individuals, families in need, and non-profit organisations.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša attended an informal video conference of the European Council on the current COVID-19 situation.

The spokesperson Jelko Kacin started the press conference with a review of today's epidemiological situation. Once again, the data is not encouraging, he said, upon expressing his concern regarding the development of the situation in the subsequent days.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today attended a video conference of EU foreign affairs ministers. Two central themes dominated the discussions, multilateralism and the situation in Palestine. Regarding the former, they agreed that the Union has the political, economic and financial power to co-create an effective multilateral order, which provides the best framework for tackling modern global challenges.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with the Mayor of Ljubljana Municipality Zoran Janković, Jože Mermal and Bojan Albreht.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša received the Australian Minister for Finance, Mathias Cormann, who is also a candidate for the Secretary-General of the OECD.

On Tuesday, 17 November 2020, Prime Minister Janez Janša appeared on the Nova24TV show Pogovor s predsednikom vlade (Interviewing the Prime Minister). In the first part of the show, the Prime Minister talked about the efforts to tackle the epidemic, and whether the Slovenian health system will hold on, the figures, and how the government prepared for the second wave. In the second part, he talked about the current political situation and post-crisis recovery.

The press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by Metoda Dodič Fikfak, Director of the Institute of Occupational, Traffic and Sports Medicine, members of the expert team preparing the Sixth Anti-Coronavirus Package (ACP6) Jure Knez from Dewesoft and Dušan Olaj, General Manager of Duol, and the government spokesman Jelko Kacin.

Prime Minister Janez Janša responded to today's reportings related to his letter to the European leaders.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the programme A Talk with the Prime Minister on Planet TV. He spoke about how the Government is tackling the second wave of the novel coronavirus epidemic, about current political affairs and about the Government's plans for the future.

The director of the residential care home in Rakičan, Zoran Hoblaj, prof. dr. Mojca Juriševič, from the Department of Education Studies, Faculty of Education, Ljubljana, and the government spokesperson and ambassador, Jelko Kacin, participated at the afternoon press conference today on the current issues regarding COVID-19.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar joined his Swedish and Lithuanian counterparts to participate in a virtual ministerial panel on the future of transatlantic relations, held at the beginning of a two-day International Conference Road to Warsaw Security Forum. The foreign ministers discussed the future of relations between Europe and the United States of America and the role of transatlantic leadership in tackling security, economic and other global challenges.

Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek participated today in the 14th annual meeting of the Ministers for Agriculture from South East Europe (SEE) that took place in the form of an audio-visual conference. The meeting was organised by the Secretariat of the Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group (SWG) in South East Europe (RRD SWG), and by the Republic of Serbia that had taken over the one-year presidency over this Working Group. The meeting was attended by the ministers and their deputies from the Western Balkans countries, by the high representatives of the European Commission, international organisations and observer countries, and by Slovenia among the latter ones.

The press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by dr. Nuška Čakš Jager from the National Institute of Public Health, prof. dr. Borut Štrukelj from the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ljubljana, and the government spokesman, Jelko Kacin.

The Slovenian Parliament today discussed the draft amending the budget of the Republic of Slovenia for 2021 and the amended draft of the budget for 2022. The RS Government submitted the drafts to the Slovenian Parliament for discussion. The introductory clarification of both drafts was presented at the Slovenian Parliament session by Prime Minister Janez Janša.

State Secretary Dr. Stanislav Raščan addressed the participants of the US-led virtual Ministers’ Forum of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) via a live video link.

On 17 November 2020, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended a video conference of ministers and state secretaries for European affairs to discuss topical issues.

At today’s correspondence session, the Government declared that the state of epidemic with regard to COVID-19 would be extended for another 30 days for the entire country.

Deana Potza from the health inspectorate opened the morning press conference about the current Covid-19 situation by saying that on the first day that the ordinance banning gatherings was in force, Friday, 13 November, only warnings were issued. There were at least 1,814 reports of breaches between 1 September and 8 November of this year, the highest number relating to the hospitality industry, followed by public spaces. She said that observation of the measures has been continually improving, as we head in the right direction as a society. This will help us get through the current challenging phase of the epidemic as quickly as possible, while allowing the health sector to operate at capacity.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša took questions from deputies in the National Assembly. Marjan Šarec from the List of Marjan Šarec (LMŠ) raised a question related to current developments in the country, Franc Trček from the Social Democrats (SD) a question associated with the fight against the epidemic, Luka Mesec from the Left with regard to the measures to control the epidemic and Janja Sluga from the Modern Centre Party (SMC) a question regarding the regulation of comprehensive use of cannabis.

State Secretary Tone Kajzer attended a virtual ministerial conference to promote the freedom of religion or belief, which was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland as a follow-up to the meetings of senior representatives of countries, international organisations, civil society, and religious leaders. The event was intended to discuss the state of religious freedom around the globe.

Government spokesman Jelko Kacin started the press conference with an overview of the current epidemiological situation. Yesterday, 1,792 tests were conducted and 501 infections (27.9%) were confirmed, with most new infections recorded in Kočevje (44), followed by Ljubljana (39). On Saturday, 920 cases (25. 82%) were confirmed with 3,563 tests performed. On Sunday, 34 people died.

Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek participated today in an informal videoconference of EU Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries. On the Agenda, the Ministers had agricultural as well as forestry issues. In focus was the discussion on the state of play in agricultural markets due to Covid-19 pandemic, on food loss and waste, African Swine Fever (ASF), on the common position on the EU Forest Strategy, and on preparations for the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021, one of the greatest international events to take place during Slovenia’s 2021 EU Council Presidency.

Prime Minister Janez Janša visited the Jesenice General Hospital today, where he met the hospital’s director Marko Toplak and management staff, and viewed construction works in progress at the hospital.

Doroteja Novak Gosarič, Secretary from the Health Care Directorate at the Ministry of Health, spoke about the current situation regarding Covid-19 disease.

The Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs and State Secretary Anton Olaj attended an extraordinary meeting of the EU Council of home affairs ministers through a videoconference call. The morning session, attended by the State Secretary, was devoted to a discussion on the fight against terrorism. The reason for putting this topic on the agenda was the recent terrorist attacks across Europe, which Slovenia condemned in the strongest terms.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer held a video call with Polish Undersecretary of State Paweł Jabłoński to discuss economic cooperation, the current activities in both countries in the framework of the Three Seas Initiative and some other topical issues.

In order to improve the epidemiological situation in the country, the Government extended the existing measures for 14 days and adopted some new ones.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Jože Podgoršek has outlined measures to soften the impact and eliminate the consequences of Covid-19 in the Sixth Coronavirus Package (PKP6).

The Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, presented the measures to mitigate and remedy COVID-19 consequences, as part of the sixth anti-coronavirus package (ACP6). In addition, he spoke about the situation in care homes and the measures adopted by the ministry to contain the spread of the virus.

Slovenian Minister of Finance Andrej Šircelj, Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek, Medical Director of the Murska Sobota General Hospital Daniel Grabar and government spokesman Jelko Kacin spoke today at a press conference about the current situation regarding COVID-19.

Two of the speakers at the afternoon press conference on the current COVID-19 situation were Maja Kalin, the president of the Slovenian High-school Student Organization (DOS), and Robert Masten from the Psychology department of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana.

For the ninth year in a row, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised the Africa Day International Conference as part of the Bled Strategic Forum. As always, the event was organised in cooperation with Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the European Commission. Marking a first for the Conference, this year the event was held virtually, focusing on the central issue – Africa and the EU: Cooperation for a Sustainable Future.

Robert Carotta, Coordinator for COVID-19 hospital beds at the Ministry of Health; Primož Horvat, Head of the COVID-19 Department at Ptuj General Hospital; and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin attended the press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19.

At the invitation of Michael Roth, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office, a video conference meeting of state secretaries for EU affairs of the Trio presidency Germany-Portugal-Slovenia was held tonight. The state secretaries exchanged views on the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and called for further coordinated action at Union level, particularly with regard to the vaccine and testing. The latter will also be the topic of a video conference meeting of Heads of State and Governments to be held on 19 November.

General Manager of Ljubljana University Medical Centre Janez Poklukar and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin spoke about the current situation regarding the COVID-19 epidemic.

Today, in the Grand Hall of the Presidential Palace in Ljubljana, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the decision taken by Demos to call for a plebiscite on the independence of the Republic of Slovenia. On 9 and 10 November 1990, a meeting was held in Poljče, where members of the Demos coalition adopted a decision to call for a plebiscite on the independence of the Republic of Slovenia. Based on the decision taken at the meeting in Poljče, the Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Plebiscite on the Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Slovenia Act on 6 December 1990, which determined that the plebiscite would be held on Sunday, 23 December 1990.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, addressed the public.

The following address is unauthorised.

A new book entitled International Humanitarian Law has been added to the International Law Series, published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Ljubljana. The newest addition to the series features a collection of papers by 21 authors discussing war and the related ethical, moral and legal issues, and international humanitarian law and related issues, as well as Slovenia's views and positions on this topic. The publication also includes references to older Slovenian literature on the law of war, including Professor Ivan Tomšič’s book on the law of war, the first Slovenian book on the subject.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended a virtual meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia, which form the unofficial regional group Central5. The ministers focused on COVID-19 coordination, especially the cross-border movement of persons, goods, and services.

The Slovenian Government took note of the assessment carried out by the expert group for the containment and control of the COVID-19 epidemic at the Ministry of Health as regards the expert justification of measures for the containment and control of COVID-19, and decided to extend the measures and restrictions under the ordinances.

The press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Simona Kustec, the Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Ajda Cuderman, and the Government's spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

Today, the Director-General for EU Affairs, Barbara Sušnik, held bilateral consultations with the Director-General for EU Affairs at the Portuguese Foreign Ministry, Rui Vinhas. Due to the current situation related to the pandemic, consultations were held via videoconferencing. The topics of discussion covered bilateral relations, current European issues and preparations for the EU Council presidency. The two countries are participating in the current trio of presidencies together with Germany.

At a time when Slovenia is once again facing an epidemic, the importance of local self-sufficiency and short supply chains is particularly highlighted. Every third Friday in November we celebrate Slovenian Food Day, in whose context the Traditional Slovenian Breakfast project, consisting of locally produced and processed foods, will be carried out this year for the tenth consecutive year.

As part of the ongoing preparations for Slovenia’s Presidency of the EU Council, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today held a virtual meeting with full and alternate members of the Slovenian delegation to the Committee.

Address to the nation by Janez Janša, Slovenian Prime Minister

This morning, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Dr Jože Podgoršek, participated in the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) High-level Conference, taking place in the form of an audio-video conference. The topics of the Conference included the preparation of a new strategy for fisheries and fish farming in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea.

On 22 October 2020, the Government of Slovenia endorsed the 7th National Report under the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management and sent it to the International Atomic Energy Agency. With this Slovenia fulfilled one of the obligations under the Joint Convention on time.

Psychologist Eva Kovač spoke at the press conference about distress during this time of epidemic.

Dr Matjaž Vogrin, Medical Director of Maribor University Medical Centre, Dr Irena Grmek Košnik, epidemiologist from Kranj Regional Unit of the National Institute of Public Health, and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin attended the press conference on the current COVID-19 situation.

At the initiative of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, a copy of the Bible with full title, Biblia, tu ie, vse Svetu pismu, Stariga inu Noviga testamenta, which has thus far been kept at the castle in Brdo pri Kranju was handed over to the National and University Library for safekeeping.

Dr Daniel Grabar, Medical Director of Murska Sobota General Hospital, Robert Masten from the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin attended the afternoon press conference on the current COVID-19 situation.

At today’s correspondence session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia decided to extend the validity of the ordinances on measures and restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on the basis of the expert assessment of the Expert Group for the Containment and Management of the COVID-19 Epidemic. It also adopted information on negotiations with representative public sector unions about the reimbursement of transport costs to and from work.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Dr Simona Kustec, Minister Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Dr Tina Bregant, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, and the Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

After an evening consultation of the core government team and the expert advisory group, Prime Minister Janez Janša communicated via Twitter that the number of people infected with COVID-19 will unfortunately still increase for some time according to projections. "The measures will thus be extended for a week," he forecast.

The International Law Week has traditionally been the highlight of the UN General Assembly Sixth Committee in New York, the primary focus of which is to encourage the progressive development of international law and its codification.

Deana Potza from the Health Inspectorate, Tomaž Pečjak, Deputy Director General of the Police, psychologist Barbara Čibej Žagar and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin attended the press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 epidemic.

After visiting Ljubljana University Medical Centre yesterday, Prime Minister Janša visited Golnik Hospital today where he met Director Aleš Rozman and viewed the hospital’s capacities.

State Secretary Tone Kajzer today took part in the OECD’s virtual annual Ministerial Council Meeting.

In the last month of their deployment, three members of the 15th Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) contingent in the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) continue to perform their duties. Their deployment was also marked by measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus and the consequent hibernation period of the mission.

Janez Cigler Kralj, the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Nuška Čakš Jager, Deputy Head of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health, Dr Mateja Logar from the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Illnesses of Ljubljana University Medical Centre and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin attended the press conference on the current situation of the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Together with other EU leaders, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the video conference of the European Council. The topic of the discussion was the fight against coronavirus. The urgency of the situation in the Member States results in the need to enhance joint efforts.

Dr Bojana Beović, Head of the Expert Group at the Ministry of Health, was the first to speak at the morning press conference presenting the current COVID-19 situation. She emphasised that the number of severely ill persons requiring hospital treatment is the key data in the epidemic situation.

Msgr. Stanislav Zore OFM, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Ljubljana, Dr Aleš Rozman, Director of the University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases Golnik, and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin attended the press conference on the current COVID-19 situation.

Today, Prime Minister Janša visited Ljubljana University Medical Centre, where he met General Manager Janez Poklukar with whom he visited the still unfinished section of Ljubljana University Medical Centre.

Today, the WHO Regional Office for Europe published the results of the vote by secret ballot of the new members of the WHO Executive Board for the period 2021–2024. In view of the current epidemiological situation, the elections took place in the form of a postal ballot. Slovenia was nominated with its candidate, Ms Vesna Kerstin Petrič.

The situation concerning COVID-19 was discussed at a press conference by Mateja Logar from the Clinic for Infectious Diseases at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Matej Tušak from the Faculty of Sport and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

The new issue of the News from Nuclear Slovenia is published.

The speakers at today's press conference on the current situation concerning the COVID-19 epidemic were Prof. Mojca Matičič from the Clinic for Infectious Diseases at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, who is also a professional mentor to students at the government call centre, and government spokesperson Ambassador Jelko Kacin.

Today, 26 October 2020, the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology published a public tender for the promotion of the re-establishment of Slovenia's air connectivity. The aim of the tender is to maintain existing international airlines, encourage the re-establishment of scheduled airlines that have already stopped flying to Slovenia due to the consequences of the pandemic, and encourage new airlines to fly in Slovenia.

The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia will be closed to all visitors and users of archival records from 26 October 2020 until further notice. To obtain information or data from archival records, contact the archive in writing by regular mail or e-mail or during office hours by telephone.

At today’s correspondence session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia issued the Ordinance on temporary partial restriction of the movement of people and the restriction or prohibition of public gatherings in order to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections and published it in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

On the social network Twitter, Prime Minister Janez Janša wrote that the Government is taking new measures due to the growing number of infected people. The restriction of movement to municipalities will thus be introduced on Tuesday, whereby the same exceptions will apply as in the spring. This restriction will initially be in place for a week for the whole of Slovenia and will be lifted gradually, starting with the regions that first limit the spread of the epidemic.

Nothing in the life of a person or a nation should be taken for granted. Especially events as glorious as birth and the successful defence of an independent country. The Sovereignty Day is a national holiday when we commemorate one of the crucial events in Slovenia’s process of gaining independence. In October 1991, the last soldier of the occupying Yugoslav People’s Army left Slovenia. Slovenia thus not only formally, but de facto became a sovereign country.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama at a working meeting.

At its correspondence session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia issued the Ordinance of imposing and implementing measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic at border crossing points at the external border and inspection posts within national borders of the Republic of Slovenia and published it in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

Slovenia and Ukraine held virtual consultations on cybersecurity. The Slovenian delegation was led by State Secretary Tone Kajzer, and the Ukrainian side was headed by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vasyl Bodnar.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the coronavirus was attended by Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek, Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj, Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec, Acting Director-General of the Public Health Directorate at the Ministry of Health Vesna-Kerstin Petrič, and Government spokesman Jelko Kacin.

Early this morning, the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council reached agreement on the general approach to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform beyond 2020 legislative package. This is an important achievement as the agreement facilitates opening the negotiations with the European Parliament. On behalf of Slovenia, the meeting was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Dr Jože Podgoršek, who earmarked the compromise as extremely important achievement within the EU for the entire agricultural sector. “It is most important that we, the ministers, have come to an agreement that facilitates the continuation of the demanding CAP reform process and its subsequent timely implementation. In negotiations, Slovenia succeeded in ensuring the essential elements for the development of agriculture in Slovenia, while simultaneously following the environmental protection guidelines. Particular attention has been on small farmers in terms of reducing the administrative burdens.” At the meeting that commenced on Monday, the ministers discussed certain other topics in agriculture and fisheries.

What is the future that we want? Are we on the right track to reach it? What must be done to overcome the differences?

At today's press conference Prime Minister Janez Janša presented an overall assessment of the situation after adoption of some additional measures for the containment of the coronavirus in the last days. "We believe that we are able to cope with the situation and this is mainly because we are now dealing with the virus as it is. Namely as a threat which is symmetrical and does not select by any other criteria than those applicable to the virus," the Prime Minister began his address.