News

Environment ministers adopted the Council Conclusions as a mandate of the EU and its member states at the meeting for the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Glasgow in November.

Tonight, the Prime Minister hosted an informal working dinner at Brdo pri Kranju for the heads of state and governments of the EU member states. The European leaders held a strategic discussion on the role of the EU on the international stage in view of recent events in Afghanistan, the AUKUS security alliance and the development of relations with China.

Minister Anže Logar attended the regular annual meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which adopted a new strategy paper with a vision of the OECD’s work over the next ten years and an external OECD action strategy.

Acting Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation Igor Jukič took part in a meeting of EU Directors-General for development cooperation via a videoconference. The participants discussed the Team Europe initiatives, the European financial architecture for development, the assistance offered to partner countries in the fight against COVID-19, the Gender Action Plan, and the current situation in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Jože Podgoršek has attended a ministerial meeting on the new EU forest strategy at the invitation of the Austrian minister responsible for forestry Elisabeth Köstinger. At the meeting, the ministers from forest rich member states discussed the future of forests at EU level.

Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs attended a meeting of the interior ministers of the Visegrad Group, the Republic of Austria and the Republic of Slovenia in Budapest. The meeting focused on the current challenges in migration and topical issues concerning the management of Europe's borders.

On the occasion of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD DAC), State Secretary Stanislav Raščan added his congratulations to those of the high-level representatives responsible for international development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

Minister Jože Podgoršek has attended a meeting of chief veterinary officers of the Working Party on Animals and Veterinary Questions. The event is traditionally organised in the framework of the presidency of the Council of the EU. The highest representatives of veterinary services meet to work, exchange views and socialise.

Tomorrow, the EU ministers responsible for the environment and climate change will meet in Luxembourg. This will be their first meeting chaired by the Slovenian Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak.

Prime Minister Janez Janša responded to a letter from Zoran Stevanović, president of the Resni.ca party. In the letter, Zoran Stevanović calls for the immediate abolition of the recovered/vaccinated/tested rule and immediate resignation of the Government.

Today is the final day of the three-day Pre-COP meeting hosted by Italy, as the UK's partner country in the organisation of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), with a view to approximating the positions of the parties ahead of the COP meeting in Glasgow in November. Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning Andrej Vizjak and his delegation also attended the meeting.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today had a meeting with European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica. They discussed the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today met with senior representatives of the Identity and Democracy Group in the European Parliament, which is on a study visit to Slovenia.

The second and third days of the 9th session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Water Convention were held in Geneva.

Within the framework of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food co-organises an international event called “Smart Villages for a Green, Digital and Resilient Europe” together with the office of MEP Franc Bogovič. In the debate, which was attended also by the Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, and the Director-General of the FAO, Qu Dongyu, the participants highlighted the importance of coherent and integrated rural development, which is an issue that extends way beyond just agriculture.

The meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the European Territorial Cooperation Programme (URBACT) was organised as part the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. It was attended by representatives of the EU member states, the European Commission, the Managing Authority and the Secretariat of the Programme.

The International Day of Older Persons is celebrated on 1 October and this year, it is dedicated to digital equality for all ages, pointing to the need for accessibility and inclusion of older people in the digital world.

The Slovenian legal conference is a great opportunity to hold an open dialogue on trends and challenges in the European legal environment in order to better understand different systems in the EU Member States.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša paid a working visit to London at the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar attended the regular meeting of EU member states’ ambassadors accredited to Slovenia. He presented Slovenia’s work as Chair of the Council of the EU to date and plans for the second half of the Presidency. “Despite the uncertain epidemiological situation, Slovenia has carried out all planned events and is successfully pursuing the objectives of its priorities,” said Minister Logar.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today participated in the 8th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum in Skopje, dedicated to EU enlargement. “The Western Balkans is part of Europe and the challenges of the region are also those of the European Union. It is therefore vital to involve the Western Balkan region in the debates on the future of Europe," said State Secretary Dovžan in his address.

From 12 to 13 October 2021, an international expert conference "Increasing the accessibility and competitiveness of European audiovisual and media content" will take place in Cankarjev dom congress center in Ljubljana as well as online. The participants will be addressed by dr. Vasko Simoniti, Slovenian Minister of Culture and President of the Council of the European Union for Culture and Giuseppe Abbamonte, Director of Media Policy at the European Commission.

At the meeting of the Competitiveness Council held on 29 September 2021, the ministers responsible for industry and the internal market discussed the impact of the “Fit for 55” package on the competitiveness of EU industry, and the importance of better regulation for the competitiveness of the European Union and the functioning of the single market.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan participated at the opening session of the Geneva Dialogue on responsible behaviour in cyberspace along with Livia Leu, State Secretary at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and Gaurav Keerthi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Cyber Security Agency of Singapore. This edition of the virtual event centred around the security of digital products and its regulatory framework.

In its capacity as Chair of the Council of the European Union, Slovenia hosted an informal consultation of the non-proliferation and disarmament directors. This is an annual traditional meeting for EU member states to exchange views on current strategic issues and challenges of the global arms of mass destruction control regime. The meeting was chaired by the Slovenian Ambassador for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Andrej Benedejčič.

A press conference to provide a COVID-19 update was attended by the Minister of Health, Janez Poklukar, and the head of the vaccination advisory group, Bojana Beović.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today paid a working visit to Klagenfurt to co-chair the 6th session of the Slovenia-Carinthia Joint Committee, together with Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser. The meeting set out the course for future cooperation between Slovenia and the Austrian state of Carinthia in a number of areas of common interest. Minister Logar also held a separate meeting with Governor Kaiser.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with representatives of the Slovenian minority in Carinthia prior to the Slovenia-Carinthia Committee session. The Minister assured Slovenia's ongoing support for the minority's efforts towards long-term and systemic solutions regarding the implementation of their rights.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan held talks with Sergei Cheryomin, Moscow Government Minister and Head of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity and International Relations. The officials confirmed good relations between the two countries and wide-ranging cooperation in the economic, cultural, scientific, educational and other sectors.

In Ljubljana, Prime Minister Janša today met with Latvian President Egils Levits, who is on an official visit to Slovenia at the invitation of Slovenian President Borut Pahor.

The government finished its visit to the Zasavje Region with a public forum in which it discussed the challenges and opportunities in the region with representatives of business interests and local communities.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan met with a delegation of the European Parliament Former Members Association (FMA), headed by its Chairman Hans-Gert Pöttering.

In the frame the Government visit to the Zasavje region Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač visited the municipality Litija and Trbovlje. State Secretary at the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs visited municipality Zagorje ob Savi.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the annual CEPA Forum organised by the Washington-based think-tank Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) as one of the keynote speakers. The event, entitled “Renewing the Transatlantic Alliance in a Contested World”, is being held in a virtual form.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan met with the Chair of the 10th NPT Review Conference, Ambassador Gustavo Rodolfo Zlauvinen. They discussed preparations for the high-level conference scheduled to be held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York at the beginning of next year.

A meeting of the Working Group for Urban Development, chaired by Deputy Director-General of the Spatial Planning, Construction and Housing Directorate at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning Aša Rogelj, took place in Ptuj as a part of the Slovenian Presidency.

European Blockchain Week 2021(EBCW 2021) was one of the soundest events in the framework of Slovenian Presidency of the Council of EU. Co-organized by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, in collaboration with Digital Innovation Hub Blockchain for Trusted Data Ecosystems, Digital Innovation Hub Slovenia, Slovenian Digial Centre, BTC City, together with European Commission, EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, INATBA - International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications, Blockchain Alliance Europe, Blockchain for Europe and many other partners, it achieved great success, backed by more than 100 panelists, more than 25 panels, workshops and roundtables and more than 1200 participants from 86 countries worldwide.

A Slovenian Government delegation visited the Zasavje region today. The Zasavje statistical region is Slovenia’s smallest in terms of surface area and comprises the municipalities of Hrastnik, Litija, Trbovlje and Zagorje ob Savi.

At the invitation of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE), State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended the opening of the 17th Europe Summit held in Salzburg this year under the title ‘Europe and Peace’. He appeared at the opening panel titled ‘Democracy and Freedom in Europe after Corona’.

As part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the town of Ptuj hosted a meeting of the national members of the Network of Territorial Cohesion Contact Points (NTCCP), chaired by Mr Tomaž Miklavčič from the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar addressed the participants of the Western Balkans Speakers' Meeting at Brdo pri Kranju as part of the parliamentary dimension of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. “The enlargement policy has a transforming power and is a prerequisite for a stable, secure and democratic Europe,” declared Minister Logar in his introductory speech.

A press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Dr Irena Grmek Košnik, epidemiologist of the National Institute of Public Health’s Kranj Regional Unit.

Throughout his life, Alfred Brežnik - Fredi, an electrical engineer, a businessman and a long-term Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Slovenia in New South Wales, Australia, has been promoting Slovenianness and his home country with dedication and sacrifice. He moved to Australia in 1959. Together with other compatriots in Australia, Brežnik was particularly active during Slovenia’s independence process. Prior to that, he held intensive discussions with Australian politicians regarding the recognition of Slovenian independence. And also thanks to him, Australia was the first overseas country to acknowledge Slovenia as an independent state in January 1992.

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Minister Zdravko Počivalšek expresses optimism about the recovery of Slovenian and world tourism as well. As he says, tourism is an extremely flexible ecosystem and it will react and transform in line with the current situation. He also believes that Slovenia has everything it takes to become one of the most desirable tourist destinations.

In his opening address via video-conference, Mark Boris Andrijanič opened the virtual conference of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, entitled "2021 OECD Business and Finance Outlook on AI". The conference took place on Friday, 24 September 2021.

On Thursday, Minister Andrijanič delivered an opening address at the conference "Leaders’ Dialogue: How Can We Create a Region of Mavericks, Unicorns, and Global Winners?", which was held as part of the sixth Slovenia Business Bridge Investment and Development Conference.

At an informal meeting held on 24 September 2021 at Brdo pri Kranju, ministers responsible for consumer protection discussed how to enhance consumer protection for future generations in the age of digitalisation and tourism.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar accompanied Slovenian President Borut Pahor as he addressed the General Assembly on behalf of the Republic of Slovenia at the general discussion. He also attended President Pahor’s meeting with António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).

A delegation of the Republic of Slovenia headed by Marko Rakovec, Chief Legal Adviser and Director-General for International Law and Protection of Interests, took part at the 61st meeting of the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public international Law (CAHDI) in Strasbourg on 23 and 24 September.