News

On 26 March, the Bee Forage Planting Day project initiated by the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association took place in Tokyo. In collaboration with Tokyo urban beekeepers, a non-profit organisation called Ginza Honeybee Project "Ginpachi", we have sowed sunflower and cosmos seeds and planted lavender, blackberries and blueberries. We also decorated it with the plaque with information about the project.

Prime Minister Janez Janša is attending the second day of the European Council meeting in Brussels, where participants will discuss security and defence, energy, and economic issues and review the current challenges related to COVID-19.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša is attending a meeting of leaders of EU Member States in Brussels.

Due to numerous false claims made over the past few days by media outlets and subsequently by individual political parties about the decision to send a chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Republic of Slovenia to Kyiv, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to communicate its response to the most frequently highlighted false statements. It should be noted that the claims relating to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the procedure of appointment of a chargé d’affaires have not been previously verified with the lead authority.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today in a video speech addressed the participants of the National Conservatism Conference: The Future of the Nation-state in Europe, which was organised by the Edmund Burke Foundation in Brussels on 23 and 24 March 2022. Speaking in the panel "Facing the Russian aggression", Prime Minister Janša talked about the war in Ukraine, his recent visit to Ukraine together with the Polish and Czech prime ministers and the situation in that country.

Prime Minister Janez Janša is today attending the extraordinary summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Brussels to discuss the Russian aggression in Ukraine and current developments in NATO related to the situation in that country.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the television programme "Your World" broadcast on Fox News. Hosted by Neil Cavuto, "Your World" focused on the current situation in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on today’s TV Celje programme, where he talked about topical issues in Slovenia and the world, his government’s two years in office and the upcoming parliamentary election.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was today’s guest on CNN's At This Hour live, where he discussed with host Kate Bolduan the situation in Ukraine, the visit of three Prime Ministers to Ukraine, the NATO Summit in Brussels and current foreign policy issues.

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended today in Brdo pri Kranju the 16th Slovenian Business Summit entitled "Horizons of the Future", where he delivered the opening address. The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Tibor Šimonka, and, in a video address, the President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gennadiy Chyzhykov, also addressed the audience.

At today's press conference in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša and Deputy Prime Ministers Zdravko Počivalšek and Matej Tonin presented the projects completed in Slovenian municipalities during the Government's 2020–2022 term of office. At the press conference, they also discussed future projects already approved by the Government and the ongoing projects.

At Expo 2020, participants in the round table convened on World Water Day by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and Spirit Slovenija discussed groundwater in relation to climate change. Rok Tomšič, Head of the Department for Bilateral Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, underlined the important role of economic diplomacy in facilitating the entry of Slovenian companies into new markets.

Due to the emergence of extraordinary circumstances in Ukraine, the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office is doing its utmost to protect the rights of Ukrainian intellectual property right holders.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended the General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, with state secretaries and ministers for European affairs focusing on the preparations for the European Council on 24–25 March 2022.

Minister Jože Podgoršek attended the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels. The discussion centred on the information provided by the European Commission and the exchange of views on the situation in agricultural markets in light of the war in Ukraine. Ministers also held a video conference with the Ukrainian minister of agriculture Roman Leshchenko, who presented the situation in Ukraine. Ministers held an important discussion on the strategic plans of the common agricultural policy (CAP). Slovenia provided information on seeking alternatives to plant protection products in agricultural and non-agricultural land, in particular as regards glyphosate. Ministers also discussed the issue of large carnivores.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša chaired the session of the Government Council for Slovenians Abroad, which was devoted to discussing the preservation and strengthening of the knowledge of the Slovenian language among Slovenians living abroad, as well as on reviewing the Council's work to date and establishing directions for its future work.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša chaired the session of the Government Council for Slovenians Abroad, which was devoted to a discussion about the current situation of the Slovenian community abroad, its organisational structures during and after the pandemic, future financial perspectives as an opportunity for the Slovenian minority, and the possibility of applying for Interreg projects.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar attended a regular Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels chaired by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. The main topics on the agenda were the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and the situation in Mali and the Sahel. EU foreign affairs and defence ministers sitting in a joint session approved the Strategic Compass.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended a ministerial meeting in the framework of the European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels on strengthening compliance with international humanitarian law.

Today, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs briefed a number of foreign ambassadors to Slovenia on the activities and measures of the Slovenian Government in relation to the crisis in Ukraine.

In 2022, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination focuses on the theme “Voices for action against racism”, highlighting the importance of safe public participation, of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and of protecting civic space to stand up against racial discrimination. The elimination of all forms of discrimination is one of Slovenia’s foreign policy priorities in the sphere of human rights.

Prime Minister Janša was a guest on NPR’s "All Things Considered" yesterday, where he spoke about the visit of the three prime ministers to Kyiv and the war in Ukraine.

Air transport in Europe, including Slovenia, and around the world has been severely restricted due to the consequences of the covid-19 epidemic and continues to be so. According to Eurostat, the drop in passenger transport in Slovenia in 2020 in comparison to 2019 amounted to 83.3 percent (EU average was 73.3 percent), which was the greatest decline among all EU countries.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today appeared in the "Rosemary Burton Live" show on CBC News, where he spoke about the situation in Ukraine and his recent visit to Kiev together with the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Poland.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the show "Ura moči (The Hour of the Power)" on Planet TV, where he talked about his visit to Ukraine and the current situation in that country.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on Planet TV's daily news programme, where he answered some questions on Ukraine and current affairs.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the programme Odmevi. He talked about the war in Ukraine and his visit to Kiev.

The Prime Minister made a statement for 24UR Zvečer, speaking about Ukraine and his visit to Kiev. He said that life in Kiev was fairly normal when the city was not under curfew: "The city of Kiev is far from defeated."

Tonight, Prime Minister Janez Janša was the guest of the Nova24TV show Theme of the Day, where he talked about his journey to Ukraine and the current situation.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today in Brdo pri Kranju attended the celebration of the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia, where he delivered the keynote speech. At the ceremony, the Prime Minister also presented the Craftsman of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year awards for 2020 and 2021 and the Oldest Craftsman of the Year award for 2020.

Brussels, 17 March 2022 – The first formal meeting of the Environment Council during the French Presidency took place. At the forefront was the adoptionof the general approach for the Batteries and Waste Batteries Regulation. Ministers held a policy debate on the Fit for 55 legislative package, focusing on the ETS Directive and on the proposal for the Deforestation Regulation. During the working lunch ministers exchanged views on the greening of the European Semester.

Minister Jože Podgoršek attended a joint Slovenian-Japanese online event on smart agriculture. The event, which is the continuation of the online AGRI-TECH event held in March last year, was intended for representatives of ministries, scientific research and educational institutions, and the interested public. The eminent Japanese expert in smart agriculture Prof. Noboru Noguchi, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Hokkaido University and Chair of the Japanese Society of Agricultural Engineering, participated in the event, which was organised by the Embassy of Japan in Ljubljana.

Prime Minister Janez Janša gave an interview today for the BBC World Service. Most of the interview was devoted to the visit of the Prime Ministers of Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Poland to Kyiv.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad Ramtane Lamamra, Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab, CEO of the state-owned Sonatech company Toufik Hakkar, and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algiers. The purpose of the working visit was to strengthen political and economic cooperation between the two countries, particularly in provision of energy products.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan pledged a new contribution from Slovenia to the World Food Programme (WFP) worth EUR 80,000 at the international High-Level Pledging Conference for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, co-hosted by the UN, Switzerland and Sweden.

On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv.

On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv.

On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv.

Prime Minister Janez Janša wrote about his visit in Ukraine on his twitter account.

Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Janša, Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Chairman of the National Security and Defense Committee Jarosav Kaczynski are going to Kyiv today as representatives of the European Council to meet with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal.

Becoming the first climate neutral continent: This is the goal Europe has set itself and wants to achieve by 2050 with the help of the European Green Deal. Notably in consumer protection, the ambition is reflected in concrete initiatives.

On Monday, the 14 March 2022, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the programme Dober večer g. predsednik, where he talked about various topical issues, including the war in Ukraine, the energy market situation, measures adopted by the government to mitigate the energy crisis and measures adopted during the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Janez Janša and the Minister of Digital Transformation Mark Boris Andrijanič today met with the representatives of the Strategic Council for Digitalisation.

The Governments of Slovenia and the United States held the second session of the Slovenia-U.S. Strategic Dialogue in Ljubljana on March 14, 2022. The dialogue was led by Political Director Jernej Müller, Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Robin Dunnigan, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

At the 30th ordinary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, Prime Minister Janez Janša took questions from deputies Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti regarding the acute challenges facing the Republic of Slovenia, Janja Sluga regarding the measures to mitigate the impact of rising prices, and Branko Grims on preparedness for change following the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

On the 30th anniversary of Peru’s recognition of the Republic of Slovenia, which took place on 17 March 1992, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held an audio-video discussion with Ambassador Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Peru.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, which this year was dedicated to the possibilities of transforming and adapting diplomacy to new global and security challenges.

Director-General for European Union Affairs Barbara Sušnik hosted Thomas Oberreiter, Director-General for Europe and Economic Affairs at the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs.

After hearing the statement by State Secretary Árpád János Potápi during the Težišče television programme on 10 March 2022 that the Mura was the border river between Slovenia and Hungary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia immediately called the Ambassador of Hungary to Slovenia, Andor F. Dávid, requesting appropriate clarifications.

European leaders are continuing the informal meeting of the European Council, where the main topics of discussion are the situation in Ukraine and how to strengthen European sovereignty, reduce dependencies, and design a new growth and investment model.