News

On 25 and 26 October 2021, Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces Major General Robert Glavaš, attended a meeting of the EU Military Committee at EU CHOD’s level in Brussels

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan spoke at the third China-EU Discussion Event under the slogan “Shaping the Future of China-EU Relations”.

In the week leading up to Remembrance Day on 1 November, a wreath was laid in Gorlice, Poland, on behalf of Prime Minister Janez Janša at the memorial to the Slovenians who fell on the Galician Front during World War I.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today met with President of the European Council Charles Michel for a working dinner in Brussels.

Today, the State Secretary Peter Geršak attended the meeting of the ministers of the D9+ countries in Luxembourg. In his speech he highlighted the need to reduce the digital gap between the EU Member States.

The Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs chaired the first meeting in the context of international negotiations on the revision of Europol's mandate today in Brussels. Minister Hojs fulfilled this role as the current President of the EU Home Affairs Council on behalf of the Council of the EU.

A regular meeting of Directors-General for territorial cohesion, chaired by Georgi Bangiev, Director-General of the Spatial Planning, Construction and Housing Directorate at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, took place yesterday as a part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. At the meeting, the Directors-General were acquainted with the activities connected with communication and implementation of the Territorial Agenda 2030 adopted in December 2020.

At today's session, the Government adopted amendments to the Ordinance on the method of meeting the recovered/vaccinated/tested rule to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which set out the frequency of screening with the rapid antigen self-test or rapid antigen tests every 48 hours, bi-weekly self-testing for all primary and secondary school pupils and students, and the obligation to wear masks despite the fulfilled recovered/vaccinated rule for health, education and social care activities, and in activities and services where there is interpersonal contact.

Today, the Republic of Slovenia, as holder of the Presidency of the Home Affairs Council of the EU and the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice(eu-LISA) held the 8th Eu-LISA Annual Conference entitled Towards the Digital Schengen Area. The participants of the annual conference discussed the progress achieved and shortcomings in the implementation of modern technologies on the external EU borders.

The Minister for Digital Transformation, Mark Boris Andrijanič, paid a working visit to Brussels from 25 to 27 October, during which he also met with representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament. During his visit to Brussels, Minister Andrijanič presented the tasks of the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Digital Transformation and exchanged views on the opportunities in digital transformation for the advancement of the economy and the reduction of the digital divide in society.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar participated in the second AU-EU ministerial meeting in Kigali, Rwanda. The meeting was of particular importance as it set the stage for the 6th AU-EU Summit scheduled to be held in 2022. “Slovenia as the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU fully supports our common aspiration for a stronger partnership between the African Union and the European Union. A partnership with a shared long-term vision and with strong day-to-day cooperation,” Minister Logar said in his address.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan participated as one of the key speakers via video conference at the plenary session of the 8th Symposium “China and countries of Central and Eastern Europe”. The focus of the hybrid seminar was to discuss how to steer the 16+1 initiative through a turbulent period of change and adaptation.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended the Smart Country Convention 2021. In the panel “Successful Digital Transformation of the Civil Society and the Public Sector: Stories from Female Leaders” she presented the priorities of Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU in the field of digitalisation, best practices and how female leaders view the process of digitalisation.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tehran has handed over six urban beehives to the school for Afghan girls, children of refugees in Karaj, Iran, which will be used by the fostered children for educational purposes and practical training. The purpose of the project, which began in 2019, is to familiarize the most vulnerable parts of the Iranian society, especially street children and children of Afghan refugees, with the opportunities offered by beekeeping and the production of honey and honey-based products.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Parliament co-organised the ninth meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol, which was held in Brussels. The meeting was devoted to an overview of Europol's activities in the present year and the presentation of Europol Draft Multiannual Programming Document 2022-2024. Cybercrime in the EU was also discussed, with a focus on online child abuse, financial crime and corruption.

Op-Ed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Anže Logar, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Heiko Maas, Minister of State and for Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese Republic Dr Augusto Santos Silva and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Today, the Prime Minister Janez Janša took part in a national Sovereignty Day ceremony, which took place in the sports hall of the Koper Primary School. The keynote speaker at the ceremony was the Minister of Defence Matej Tonin.

Today, Prime Minister Janša attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition "The peculiar thing about dreams is they sometimes come true" in the Park of Military History in Pivka. On this occasion, the Prime Minister addressed the participants. The Prime Minister opened his address saying that that today we are celebrating a final act in the Slovene epic of independence, when Slovenes became masters on their own land.

...Brothers! Our spring is rising from the ground,
Clear as a gale, strong as a wave:
It has descended on our homes,
Dispelled the darkness, brought out the sun,
The sun – the day of King Matjaž.
(Rudolf Maister Vojanov, Onward)

On Tuesday, 19 October, the Office of the Military Representative to the European Union organized an informal meeting of the EU Military Committee (EUMC) where topics ranking among the military-related priority contents of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council were presented and discussed.

The United Nations was established on this day 76 years ago. The theme for this year’s General Assembly is Building Resilience through Hope – post-pandemic recovery, rebuilding sustainability, responding to the needs of the planet, respecting the rights of people, and revitalisation of the United Nations.

On Saturday 23 October, the second Conference Plenary meeting took place in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to discuss citizens’ contributions.

After the two-day meeting of the European Council in Brussels, Prime Minister Janez Janša took part in a press conference, where he spoke about several discussions held by European leaders on current topics over the past two days.

At today’s meeting of the Central 5 (C5) in Vienna, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar underlined the importance of the European Union’s swift action to help its member states in the post-pandemic recovery. “With the European Recovery and Resilience Facility, countries will be able to embark on the path towards green transformation and digital transition,” said Minister Logar.

Prime Minister Janez Janša is attending a European Council meeting in Brussels, where he and the other EU leaders are discussing the COVID-19 situation, digital transformation, energy prices, migration and external relations.

At the last debate before the presentation of the draft Strategic Compass, which will set the political guidelines for the development of European defence and security in the following decade, EU defence ministers discussed the building of a rapid response force, countering hybrid threats, critical capability development and deepening of strategic partnership with NATO by signing the third joint declaration.

From 18 to 21 October, Minister Anže Logar attended the European Parliament plenary session as Slovenia's high representative for the relations between the Council and the Parliament.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Wastewater collection and treatment in the Drava River basin – Municipality Dravograd. The project focuses on establishing public wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure in the Vič agglomeration.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today met with the Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Tim Cook, via videoconference.

The Government has issued the Decree on the implementation of the EU Regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which sets out in more detail the implementation and financing of the Facility in Slovenia.

On 19 October, the European Commission published the Enlargement Package for the Western Balkan countries and Turkey, which provides an overview and assessment of the situation across key areas of the necessary reform progress.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the Tripartite Social Summit, which was held virtually. The summit focused on the topic of "Transforming Europe's recovery into long-term sustainable growth supporting more and better jobs".

The Prime Minister today addressed the participants of the 15th traditional Strategic Conference on Trade, which was organised virtually in collaboration with the School of Economics and Business of the University of Ljubljana.

At today's press conference the Director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek, and Deana Potza from the Health Inspectorate provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

As part of the Government’s visit to the Obalno–kraška region Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač met, together with the Prime Minister, with the mayors of the region and the representatives of the Sežana Business Incubator.

This year, the NATO MW COE organized the 3rd Mountain Warfare (MW) Congress dealing with the topic of (JOINED) PERSONNEL RECOVERY IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. The congress was held from 5th to 8th October 2021 and took place in Bled and its surrounding area. It was attended by over 90 participants representing 14 different countries, who were attending a variety of presentations delivered by an ensemble of speakers ranging from scientists and high-altitude experts in MEDEVAC and CASEVAC to military personnel recovery.

The Government delegation concluded its visit to the Obalno-kraška (Coastal-Karst) region with a public debate on the development of the Obalno-kraška region in Lipica, discussing the challenges and opportunities in the region with representatives of local communities and business.

The Minister of Digital Transformation, Mark Boris Andrijanič, was part of the Government delegation that visited the Obalno-kraška region today. He visited the Koper Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, the companies Obala mobilnost and Dinit Card Service, and the Sežana Business Incubator.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today attended the regular General Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg as Chair. The debate focused on preparations for the October European Council, the state of the rule of law in the Union and the Conference on the Future of Europe. “Today, we discussed a number of issues that directly affect our citizens. As the country holding the Presidency, we are very pleased to have reached the conclusions on the Joint Cyber Unit. In doing so, we have taken an important step forward in ensuring greater cybersecurity and resilience for citizens," underlined State Secretary Dovžan.

Today, the Slovenian Government visited the Obalno-kraška (Coastal-Karst) region, which includes the municipalities of Ankaran, Divača, Hrpelje-Kozina, Izola, Komen, Koper, Piran and Sežana. The region's performance figures are good, especially with regard to the development indicators, which are above the Slovenian average. For other indicators, it stands out in terms of below-average youth unemployment and total unemployment, a high level of treated wastewater and a relatively low risk of natural disasters. The Obalno-kraška region is also the only one alongside Osrednjeslovenska (Central Slovenia), with an above-average GDP per capita and productivity.

State Secretary Kirbiš Rojs today met with the officials of the Municipality of Izola which acts as project partner of Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy in the strategic project EUSAIR Facility Point. She also visited Izolana, the House of the Sea, a product of cross-border cooperation between Slovenia and Croatia.

Under the Slovenian Presidency, a global conference is taking place today and tomorrow, which for the first time is discussing government governance in terms of innovation, drawing-up better legislation and improving the quality of the public sector. Slovenia, together with the OECD, presented for the first time the results of a survey on the ageing of the workforce and attracting and retaining talent.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a reception for Marjan Osvald, the newly elected Deputy Director General of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, and Tomaž Kokot, General Manager Ad Interim of Pošta Slovenije.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša participated in the "Government Beyond Recovery: Towards a Future-fit Public Sector" international conference, where he took part in the "Shaping Innovative and Inclusive Governments" panel discussion. Other participants who addressed the audience during this discussion included: OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, EIPA Director-General Marco Ongaro and Slovenian Olympic medallist Petra Majdič.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Jože Podgoršek attended the Farm to Fork international conference via video conference. The event, which is taking place on 14 and 15 October, is organised by the European Commission. The two-day conference will be devoted to the wider aspects of the strategy and sustainable food systems, which include all stakeholders in the food chain.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today attended the regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg headed by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In their discussions, the ministers focused on the Gulf, the Eastern Partnership and the situation in Ethiopia and Nicaragua.

At today's 26th session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, Prime Minister Janez Janša answered parliamentary questions from deputies Bojana Muršič (SD), Luka Mesec (Levica), Alenka Bratušek (SAB) and Monika Gregorčič (SMC). The questions put to the Prime Minister addressed the increase in energy prices and other goods in Slovenia, tackling environmental challenges, the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, and methods of governance.

18 October is European Anti-Trafficking Day and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness on trafficking in human beings.

In the field of anti-trafficking, Slovenia attaches great importance to international cooperation on the operational and the strategic levels, with special attention focused on the Western Balkans region. Over the years, the Slovenian Ministry of the Interior has been carrying out a number of regional activities, encouraging the countries in the region to align their legislation and standards with the acquis.

Minister Jože Podgoršek met by video conference with the representatives of Slovenian and EU environmental NGOs, such as BirdLife Slovenia (DOPPS), the Slovenian Foundation for Sustainable Development (Umanotera), BridLife international environmental organisation and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). The discussion centred on how to include environmental protection in the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans.

H. E. Sanja Štiglic, Slovenian Ambassador to the Netherlands, officially opened "The Future of Living" Exhibition of Contemporary Slovenian Design at Dutch Design Week 2021 in Eindhoven. The travelling exhibition ‘The Future of Living’ showcases Slovenian designs at 25 locations around the world, and Eindhoven has been chosen as one of its prominent stops. The exhibition, displayed at #DDW21 until 24 October, features 19 of the 90 selected products that have received the “Made in Slovenia" mark of design excellence in the last two years.