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The Acting Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation, Anita Pipan, attended an informal meeting of EU directors-general for development cooperation. This time, the focus was on the “Team Europe” initiatives, financing for development, the Southern Neighbourhood, and COVID-19 in terms of support for public health.

Celebrated around the world on 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.

In the early morning hours of 11 February, the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) delivered a member of the Slovenian UNIFIL contingent with a severe course of the COVID-19 disease from Lebanon to Slovenia. During the flight, the SAF member was accompanied by the SAF chief physician.
The flight with the Falcon aircraft was smooth. After landing at Brnik airport, the Military Medical Unit ambulance transported the infected SAF member to the Dr Peter Držaj hospital in Ljubljana for further treatment. Two members of the SAF Veterinary Unit disinfected the aircraft all the equipment at the airport.
The United Nations operation UNIFIL in Lebanon includes six members the Slovenian Armed Forces. The other five contingent members tested negative for coronavirus infection. They are healthy and continue to perform tasks in the area of operations in southern Lebanon.

A number of media outlets today summed up the untrue statements of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) in connection with the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). STA citing unofficial information reported that according to the European Commission Slovenia’s RRP is among the least prepared.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was held by Nuška Čakš Jager, Deputy Director of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Marta Grgič Vitek, National Vaccination Programme Coordinator at the NIJZ, and Maja Ravnikar, Director of the National Institute of Biology.

Today's press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Marija Magajne, the Director of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, a paediatrician at the Division of Paediatrics of the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, Tadej Avčin, and Mojca Juriševič from the Department of fundamental pedagogical studies at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana.

Minister without portfolio, responsible for Development and Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today gave opening remarks at the online conference Zlati kamen (Golden Stone). This year's conference took place amid intense preparations for the next programming period and drafting of the national recovery and resilience plan. The minister underlined that the outcome of MFF negotiations was ''best possible so far'', bringing extensive additional funding to the table to help the country get back on its feet after COVID-19 crisis.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion policy has issued a funding decision for the Call for proposals for demonstration projects of smart cities and communities creation - JR PMIS. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 8 million available, of which EUR 6.4 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund.

Slovenia today celebrates one of its most important holidays, Prešeren Day. To mark the occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar donated the book I Saw Her That Night by Drago Jančar, one of the most renowned and most widely translated contemporary Slovenian authors, to the Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps in Slovenia, the Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia, Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich, at Strmol Castle.

Today, a special Etihad Airways aircraft from the United Arab Emirates landed in Slovenia, carrying seven tons of protective equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Raščan, and Deputy Director-General of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, Stanislav Lotrič, thanked the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Salim Mohamed Al Musharrakh, for the generous donation.

Due to the epidemiological situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrates this year’s Day of Culture in virtual format. In the year of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in Trio with Germany and Portugal, this day is dedicated to Slovenian culture in the wider European area. On the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s gaining independence, special attention is drawn to the role culture played in the formation of our state, its international engagement and recognition.

Message by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša on Prešeren Day

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses solidarity with, and support for, Belarusian citizens who have insisted on peaceful anti-government protests since the presidential elections held in August last year, demanding respect for democratic standards and fundamental human rights. The Belarusian authorities responded with disproportionate violence, illegal deprivation of liberty, and systematic disrespect and violation of fundamental human rights, which is unacceptable.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar paid a working visit to the Republic of Cyprus, where he met with the political heads of Cyprus, discussing cooperation between the two countries and the situation in the EU and in the Mediterranean. The visit was aimed at maintaining good relations with one of Slovenia's natural partners and strengthening cooperation with the Mediterranean countries.

At its meeting by correspondence, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia has adopted the Ordinance temporarily prohibiting the offering and sale of goods and services to consumers in the Republic of Slovenia and the Ordinance amending the Ordinance determining the conditions of entry into the Republic of Slovenia to contain and control the COVID-19 communicable disease.

On Friday, 5 February, members of the 45th Tracked Combat Vehicles Centre left for the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Germany.
The multinational military exercise Combined Resolve XV will take place in Hohenfels and Grafenwoher until Wednesday, 3 March. It will include some 4,500 members from seven allied and partner armed forces. The Slovenian Armed Forces will participate with a tank platoon (four M-84 tanks) and the associated logistical support. The aim of the exercise is to upgrade the competence of the Slovenian Armed Forces armoured unit to operate across the spectrum of combat operations and to strengthen its international cooperation.
In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, the participants were self-isolated for 14 days before traveling to the exercise venue, and all appropriate measures will also be apply in the training area.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today gave his annual address to the diplomatic corps. Owing to the current epidemiological conditions, this year’s event took place in virtual form. The diplomatic corps was also addressed by President Borut Pahor and the Most Reverend Jean-Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia and Doyen of the diplomatic corps accredited in Slovenia.

Today’s press conference on the current Covid-19 situation was hosted by chief inspector at the Slovenian Education and Sport Inspectorate Simon Slokan and member of the Slovenian minority in Italy Damijan Terpin, who spoke about experiences with educating children during the time of the epidemic in Italy.

During a working visit to Malta today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with his host, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo. Slovenia and Malta are EU member states sharing similar views on several European topics. They are also Mediterranean countries, which makes it imperative that they develop closer cooperation and work together on key issues in the Mediterranean region.

Today Prime Minister Janša called for a consultation to be held at Brdo pri Kranju before the final discussion of consent to the content of the invitation for enrolment into undergraduate and integrated master’s study programmes in the 2021/2022 academic year. He believes that the determination of the number of places available for enrolment at public schools and faculties that are financed by taxpayers is one of the most crucial strategic decisions of any country. Prior to the final adoption of the document by the Government the Prime Minister thus wanted to also consult the representatives of universities, independent higher education institutions, chambers of commerce and associations.

At today's press conference at Brdo pri Kranju, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Deputy Prime Ministers Matej Tonin and Zdravko Počivalšek, talked about the situation concerning the coronavirus.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Road K5-K8 in the Business and Industry Zone Tezno (expansion EPC)”. The project worth a little under EUR 1.6 million, implemented by the Urban Municipality of Maribor, will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of EUR 984,000.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by representative of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) Mario Fafangel, head of the Consulate Sector at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrej Šter, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food (MAFF) is intensively preparing the 2023–2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan. The preliminary draft of the Strategic Plan was prepared in last December and includes the needs identified, proposals for interventions, defined funds, and the output and result indicators.

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a mourning session in the Great Hall of the National Assembly honouring the deceased National Assembly Deputy Franc Kramar.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the call for proposals Financial incentives for innovation startups in 2021. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 2.16 million available, of which over EUR 1.56 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund. The Slovene Enterprise Fund will publish the call for proposals next week.

Today, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a telephone conversation with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Qin Gang. They reaffirmed the positive bilateral relations and advocated for closer cooperation during the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2021.

Based on the decision of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, members of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) have been cooperating with the Police in the broad protection of the national border since 18 February 2016.
Around 150 of SAF members are currently involved in the aforementioned tasks daily, and in almost five years, the SAF has assigned members to these tasks on 150,000 occasions. In addition to members working in mixed patrols with the Police, the SAF also provides independent observation posts, a helicopter, and drones to observe the border area, as well as engineers arranging patrol routes and maintaining temporary technical barriers.
SAF members have been participating in the above-mentioned efforts based on the operations and tactical plan regulating the cooperation between the Slovenian Armed Forces and the Police in broad protection of the national border. Its purpose is to ensure the stability and national security of all inhabitants of Slovenia, and it determines the forms of work of police officers and soldiers in protecting the border and preventing illegal migration. In line with the basic guidelines from the operations and tactical plan, the protection of the national border is led, directed and supervised by the Police. Police procedures are conducted by police officers, while soldiers who take part in border-protection activities in accordance with military tactics, techniques and procedures, are commanded by military commanders.
Based on the decision of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, the SAF has continuously been supporting the Ministry of the Interior in resolving the illegal-migration situation since 19 October 2015.

Today’s daily press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Neda Hudopisk, Head of the National Institute of Public Health Ravne na Koroškem unit, Aleš Rozman Director of the Golnik University Clinic for Lung Diseases and Allergy and Borut Štrukelj, full professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ljubljana.

On the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as part of the preparations for Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU, State Secretary Dovžan today held a virtual meeting with Slovenian members of the European Economic and Social Committee. In his introductory address, he outlined the envisaged priority tasks of the Slovenian presidency in the second half of this year.

This afternoon, Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek held a remote meeting with Mr Janusz Wojciechowski, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. They primarily discussed topics to be in the forefront during Slovenia’s EU Council Presidency in the field of agriculture and forestry. The interlocutors discussed the difficult situation in the pig meat sector, also within the context of Slovenia’s call for action launched at the January videoconference of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers. The Minister informed the Commissioner of the progress made in preparing the National Strategic Plan.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by Matej Lahovnik, coordinator of the expert advisory group, which is preparing the package of anti-corona relief, director of DSO Vojnik Breda Božnik, and psychologist Eva Kovač.

A press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by state secretary at the Ministry of Health Marija Magajne and Director of the National Institute of Public Health Milan Krek.

Prime Minister Janez Janša nominated the missionary Pedro Opeka and his humanitarian organisation, Akamasoa, which operates on the outskirts of Antananarivo in Madagascar, for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

Prime Minister Janez Janša published a message on his Facebook page regarding the number of enrolment places in public schools and faculties financed by taxpayers’ money. It is one of the most important strategic decisions in every country.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today spoke with his Hungarian, Slovakian, and Israeli colleagues on the phone.

“The Slovenian Government had already adopted a roadmap to ease or tighten measures at the beginning of December, given that we were already in the second wave of infections, and this plan was revised at the beginning of January according to the situation that developed.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan hosted Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution at the Federal Chancellery. Slovenia and Austria share similar views on EU issues and are partners in regional initiatives. Minister Edtstadler was also received by Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar.

A working level meeting for senior officials of the Slovenian, Croatian, and Italian foreign ministries took place today. It focused on cooperation on economic development, connectivity, and comprehensive protection of the northern Adriatic region prior to the declaration of the exclusive economic zones by both Croatia and Italy.

The new Executive Director of the European Labour Authority (ELA), Cosmin Boiangiu, paid a visit to Slovenia on 29 January 2021 as part of his tour of EU Member States. He was received by State Secretary Gašper Dovžan when he paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to the promotion of the European Labour Authority, the visit is also aimed at establishing sound foundations for cooperation and at enhancing relations with the competent labour authorities in Slovenia, with which the ELA would like to cooperate more closely in the future. The Executive Director also met with the Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs.

Prime Minister Janez Janša participated at the January session of the Managers’ Association of Slovenia. The broad event represents a symbolic start to the new economic year, which is why it is full of optimism, new ideas, drive, and expectations. Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke with the executive director of the Association on aiding the economy with anti-corona packages, on the national recovery and resilience plan, and on other topics which are significant for the Slovenian economy.

Today the Slovenian Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, and his delegation attended an informal video conference of the EU Home Affairs Ministers. The Portuguese Presidency included three discussion topics on the conference agenda: the next steps in the EU migration and asylum policy, the current state and future of the Schengen area, and the future of Europol.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has extended the reopening of kindergartens and schools for students of the first three grades of primary school in the following red regions: the Gorenjska, Koroška, Osrednjeslovenska, Podravska, Pomurska and Savinjska regions. In these regions, from Tuesday, 2 February 2021, childcare for pre-school children and classes for students of the first three grades of primary school will continue to take place on school premises, said Minister Simona Kustec, presenting the Government's decision.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by Bojana Beović, head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

As a response to the article posted by the New York Times on 27th of January, titled ''A populist leader kicks off a culture war in museums'', we are posting the full correspondence between the Ministry of Culture and the New York Times reporter, Mr. Alex Marshall.

Today, the EU Ministers competent for agriculture, and fisheries met on the first EU Council meeting this year under the Portuguese Presidency, which took place in the audio-visual form. On behalf of Slovenia, the meeting was attended by the Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek. In the introduction, Portugal presented the work programme in agriculture and fisheries in the following half year.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar addressed the participants of the 5th Forum of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR), which this year is being held under the slogan “Strengthening the resilience of the Adriatic and Ionian Region through cooperation”. At the virtual forum taking place during Slovenia's presidency of EUSAIR, the Minister underlined that Europe’s green and digital recovery can only be achieved through effective cooperation and coordination on both the regional and global scale.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Collection and treatment in the Savinja River basin – the municipalities of Braslovče, Polzela and Žalec”. The project worth over EUR 2.1 million will be implemented by the municipalities of Braslovče, Polzela and Žalec and will receive nearly EUR 759,000 of European Regional Development Fund support.

On Wednesday, 27th January 2021, the Republic of Slovenia successfully entered the markets with a 60-year (Mar-81) benchmark issuance of EUR 500 mio. This landmark transaction constitutes the longest ever bond issue from the Republic of Slovenia on Debt Capital Markets. The success of the transaction, with more than EUR4.3bn of demand, is a strong testimony of the confidence institutional investors have into the Republic of Slovenia.

With its credit rating by S&P (AA-), Fitch (A), Moody’s (A3), and DBRS (AH) and the placement of a new 60-year Eurobond issue and the related extension of the reference market yield curve, the Republic of Slovenia has consolidated its position among the more advanced euro-area countries.

Minister Jože Podgoršek today attended the 13th Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference at the Global Forum For Food And Agriculture (GFFA). The GFFA, which began on Monday and concluded with today’s ministerial conference, features a series of political and professional events, discussions and meetings that take place every year on the fringes of the Green Week fair. The ministerial conference welcomed almost 100 agriculture ministers and their deputies from around the world along with the highest representatives of all major international institutions and international NGOs. The forum was hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture with the central topic of "How to Feed the World in Times of Pandemics and Climate Change?"

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Nuška Čakš Jager, Deputy Head of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health, and Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, Director of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food.

In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day has been marked by the international community for 16 years now, and in Slovenia since 2008.

State Secretary Raščan participated in the virtual Replenishment Conference for the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. This financial instrument of the Peacebuilding Commission was created by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council in 2005 to support peace efforts in post-conflict countries. Thus far, the Peacebuilding Fund has supported peacebuilding programmes in more than 40 countries around the world, including the Western Balkans.

The Republic of Slovenia, rated A3 (stable) / AA-(stable) / A (stable), has mandated BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE and HSBC to lead manage a new 60-year SLOREP benchmark due March 2081. The transaction will be Regulation S in dematerialized registered form. The deal is expected to be launched in the near future, subject to market conditions. Relevant stabilization regulations apply.

Attending today’s press conference on the latest situation regarding COVID-19 were the Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec, Gregor Pečan, president of the Association of Head Teachers and psychologist Andreja Poljanec.

Today, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs participated in a video conference meeting of Ministers for Home Affairs of the Germany-Portugal-Slovenia Trio Presidency, hosted by his Portuguese counterpart Eduardo Cabrita, currently presiding over the Justice and Home Affairs Council.

Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs attended a virtual meeting of the EU Internet Forum, convened by the European Commission.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Alenka Forte, Director of the National Education Institute Vinko Logaj, clinical psychologist Mateja Hudoklin, Director of the Counselling Centre for Children, Adolescents and Parents, and Maja Drobnič Radobuljac, Head of the Intensive Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at the Ljubljana University Psychiatric Clinic.

After attending the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Foreign Minister Anže Logar met with his host Sophie Wilmès, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions, for a bilateral visit to the Kingdom of Belgium. The ministers welcomed the development of Slovenian-Belgian relations and confirmed their mutual interest in further consolidating them at the bilateral, European, and multilateral levels.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the regular meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). The discussion focused on three key topics – challenges and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, the security situation in Asia, climate and energy diplomacy, and possibilities for cooperation between the EU and the UK in common foreign and security policy.

Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke about the UK coronavirus variant in Slovenia at today’s press conference, and the related measures which need to be adopted.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Municipal infrastructure of the Sevnica Business Zone”. The project worth EUR 1.4 million will be implemented by the Municipality Sevnica and will receive EUR 831,000 of European Regional Development Fund support.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar was on a working visit to Croatia and made his first stop in the town of Petrinja, which was hit by a devastating earthquake on 29 December last year. Together with his host, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Goran Grlić Radman, he went to see for himself the current situation on the ground and took note of the activities to help those affected by the earthquake. Minister Logar also paid a visit to one of the families living in mobile homes donated by the Republic of Slovenia.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding Covid-19 will be attended by Director-General of the Public Health Directorate Vesna Kerstin Petrič and Anton Gradišek of the Jožef Stefan Institute.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a video conference of the members of the European Council. European heads of state exchanged best practices related to the measures adopted to contain the coronavirus, and discussed prospects for the coming weeks.

Slovenian Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Sabina R. Stadler handed over today a high-tech disinfection system, to the World Health Organization in Geneva. The device will be used at the WHO Geneva headquarters, where it will provide additional protection to its employees and visitors.

This afternoon’s press conference on the latest situation with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic was attended by Janez Cigler Kralj, Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate and Tomaž Pečjak, Deputy Director General of the Police.

The press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec, Minister of Infrastructure Jernej Vrtovec and State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology Simon Zajc.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in a virtual high-level Arria-formula meeting of the United Nations Security Council on media freedom in Belarus, held under the auspices of the Estonian presidency of the UN Security Council. Among the keynote speakers was Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarusian opposition leader and human rights activist.

Prime Minister Janez Janša stressed in today's statement to the media following the 50th regular session of the government that, on the basis of prior consultation with the management of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) and the Government Advisory Group, some decisions were made stemming from the current epidemiological situation and the plan for relaxation of measures.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended the video conference Trends in Sustainable Financing, hosted by the Centre for Energy Efficient Solutions and the Representation of the European Commission. She presented the process of developing Slovenia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan and the planned measures in the field of green and sustainable development.

The year 2021 is an anniversary for Slovenia and for Slovenes at home and abroad who will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the declaration and defence of the independent Republic of Slovenia.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by Director of the Maribor Unit of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) Zoran Simonovič and Marta Grgič Vitek, National Vaccination Programme Coordinator at the NIJZ.

Prime Minister Janez Janša and Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj, held a press conference today in Brdo pri Kranju to provide an update on vaccination against COVID-19 and present the eighth Anti-Corona Package to mitigate the consequences of the epidemic.

Prime Minister Janez Janša and Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Minister Janez Cigler Kralj held a press conference today in Brdo pri Kranju to provide an update on vaccination against COVID-19 and present the eighth coronavirus relief package designed to mitigate the consequences of the epidemic.

Minister Andrej Šircelj today attended an informal video conference of economics and finance ministers (the ECOFIN Council). The meeting started with the presentation of the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency Programme. In the continuation, ministers discussed the state of play and implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the 2021 European Semester, and the Action Plan for Non-Performing Loans.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in an informal video conference of the General Affairs Council. The ministers responsible for European affairs discussed the preparations for the virtual meeting of the European Council to be held on 21 January, exchanged views and information on the current epidemiological situation in the EU and the vaccine roll-out, and took stock of the vaccination process.

Today marked the opening of the online conference entitled “Water and Beyond: EU transformative approaches for international partnerships”, hosted by the European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships and the Government of Slovenia, with the support of Portugal, which is currently holding the EU Council presidency. At the introductory panel, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan stressed that water needs to be systematically and fully integrated into all aspects and facets of the Union's external action. During its Council presidency in the second half of this year, Slovenia will continue efforts aimed at strengthening EU water diplomacy.

A press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by state secretary in charge of vaccinations Jelko Kacin and state secretary at the Ministry of Health Marija Magajne.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was invited to the Nova24TV show. In the interview, the Prime Minister talked about vaccination, the epidemic and the economic recovery after the epidemic, and the observance of containment measures in Slovenia. He also touched upon the current political situation, the crisis of the opposition and how the unstable political environment affects the fight against the epidemic. The Prime Minister also responded to the threats that the deputies of the coalition parties and the DeSUS party are exposed to.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the Planet 18 show on Planet TV where the coronavirus epidemic and current domestic policy topics were discussed.

The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) continues to take part in the regional association of countries - the European Union Battle Group (EUBG), led by the Italian Julia Brigade, which in addition to the Slovenian Armed Forces, also incorporates the forces of Austria, Croatia and Hungary.
The Slovenian Armed Forces is planning to take part in the EUBG from July to December 2021 with an infantry company and its support elements. The SAF capabilities are provided by the 1st Brigade, which will also man positions at all levels of the EUBG command structure.
Slovenian contingent, which will operate under the auspices of Italy and will include up to 190 members, is led by the SAF 10th Infantry Regiment. The preparations of the regiment for the assigned tasks is already underway, since SAF capabilities assigned to the EUBG forces are to be ready for possible operation within the battle group in the first half of this year.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the call for proposals “Mobile rehabilitation teams” which will be published by the Ministry of Health. The total funding made available under the call for proposals and contributed by the European Social Fund amounts to EUR 1 million.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by Robert Carotta, COVID beds coordinator at the Ministry of Health, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, Tomaž Pečjak, Deputy Director General of the Police, and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

Today the Prime Minister Janez Janša and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Jože Podgoršek, held a meeting in Ljubljana with representatives of the Slovenian Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar is paying a working visit to Helsinki today. He met with his host, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavistö, the Minister for European Affairs, Tytti Tuppurainen, and was also received by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. He outlined the main highlights of the programme of the Slovenian six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year, focusing on measures to mitigate the economic and social effects of the crisis caused by the epidemic and to strengthen the resilience of the Union to a variety of challenges.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by Nuška Čakš Jager, Deputy Director of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Marta Grgič Vitek, National Vaccination Programme Coordinator at the NIJZ, Sašo Rebolj, Director of Kamnik Medical Centre, and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

In his capacity as health minister, today Prime Minister Janez Janša attended an informal video conference of EU health ministers. The aim of this conference was to exchange experiences with the various vaccination monitoring systems used, the lessons learned from the first days of administering the vaccine, and views on the current and planned contracts for additional vaccine doses.

The press conference on the latest situation regarding the Covid-19 disease was attended by Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, Head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology and Head of the Laboratory for the Diagnosis of Viral Infections, Miroslav Petrovec and Government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

Prime Minister Janez Janša, who is also the acting Minister of Health, and National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) director Milan Krek gave a detailed presentation of the public vaccination programme planned for the first half of the year at a press conference today.

On Twitter, Prime Minister Janez Janša announced that the Government will “exempt the operational part of the police from the uniform salary system and make the regulation of relations fairer.”

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest of today's “Pogovor o” talk show on Radio Ognjišče. In the show he spoke about the plebiscite and Slovenia’s attainment of independence thirty years ago, the fight against the epidemic, the vaccination strategy, current political situation, the formation of a new coalition, the role of the opposition during the epidemic, moves made by the Constitutional Court, the police strike, media and Slovenian foreign policy.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Construction of the cycling path from the town of Litija to the settlement of Pogonik”. The project worth EUR 3 million will be implemented by the Munucipality of Litija and will receive approximately EUR 981,000 of European Regional Development Fund support.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on current affairs show Odmevi [“Echoes”] on Tuesday, where he talked about the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations, the joint European strategy for the purchase of vaccines, ongoing measures by the government to contain the epidemic and the current political situation.

At today's press conference the Director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek, and the government's spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan took part in a handover workshop of the trio Presidency of the EU Foreign Affairs Council attended by development cooperation ministers. The workshop took place in the form of an audio-video conference with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Francisco André, and the German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Martin Jäger.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Deputy Prime Ministers Zdravko Počivalšek and Matej Tonin, took part in a press conference on the Government’s measures and plans to contain the epidemic in the coming weeks and months and information regarding the current ongoing vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Deputy Prime Ministers Zdravko Počivalšek and Matej Tonin, took part in a press conference on the Government’s measures and plans to contain the epidemic in the coming weeks and months and information regarding the current ongoing vaccination campaign against COVID-19. "As anticipated in December, when we received the European forecasts for the first half of this year, we entered the most difficult period of the epidemic, but we have not yet reached the peak. Most of the northern hemisphere, including the EU, has found itself in a similar situation. Even countries that have a much more robust, modern and capable system than ourselves are facing problems unlike any they had to deal with before," stated the Prime Minister at the outset.

At today’s session, the Government adopted several ordinances to contain the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.