News

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša met with the President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Swiss Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Guy Parmelin, who is currently on an official visit to Slovenia. At their meeting in Ljubljana, they primarily discussed the priorities of Slovenia’s EU Presidency and current international developments.

Prime Minister Janez Janša meet today with President of the Swiss Confederation and Minister of the Economy, Education and Research, Guy Parmelin.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held consultations with Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, ahead of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan met with Wendy Morton, Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas at the Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who is on a two-day visit to Slovenia.

Before the launch of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Director-General Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations with the Secretary General for European Union Affairs at the Cypriot Foreign Ministry, Philippa Karsera, via an audio-video link.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in an online meeting with Polish Minister for European Affairs Konrad Szymański. The State Secretary briefed his counterpart on the priorities of Slovenia's EU Council Presidency, which will take place in the second half of this year. He highlighted the importance of the Union's quick economic recovery, resilience to future crises and ensuring strategic autonomy. He also mentioned the Conference on the Future of Europe, where Slovenia will play an important role as the EU presiding country.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan participated in a videoconference with Märt Volmer, Undersecretary for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended today’s opening ceremony of the Cooperative Union of Slovenia congress entitled "Na temeljih tradicije v poslovni model prihodnosti” (Developing a Business Model of the Future Based on Tradition), addressing the decision-makers in Slovenian cooperatives.

Secretary of State, Mr Aleš Irgolič, MSc, participated in the Informal Videoconference of Fisheries Ministers. The session was important as the ministers competent for fisheries conducted the discussion and confirmed the final agreement in principle on fishing possibilities in 2021, and on the deep sea fish stocks for 2021 and 2022, which had most recently been reached between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals Appeal Chamber unanimously rejected all grounds of appeal by Ratko Mladić, former Bosnian Serb army chief, thereby confirming the first-instance judgement. In 2017, Ratko Mladić was found guilty of genocide in Srebrenica, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the siege of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

On 15 June 2021 the Embassy will restart issuing Schengen visas.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Extension of the gym in the Stane Žagar Primary School – Kranj. The project worth over EUR 2.8 million will be implemented by the Urban Municipality Kranj under its Sustainable Urban Strategy and will receive a good EUR 1.1 million of European Regional Development Fund support.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the call for project proposals Supportive environment for cultural activities 2021. The funding available under the call for proposals that will be implemented by the Ministry of Culture amounts to EUR 627 thousand with the European Social Fund contributions standing at EUR 502 thousand.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a discussion at the presentation of the publication, Z lepilom na podplatih: Trideset let slovenske države. (With Glue on the Soles: Thirty Years of the Slovenian State.), on the Nova24TV channel.

Interior ministers, including Slovenia's Aleš Hojs, held a meeting in Luxembourg today. The initial exchange of views focused on the Strategy on the future of Schengen, which was presented by the European Commission last week.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan met with State Secretary for the European Union at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain Juan González-Barba Pera to discuss the incoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency and current European topics.

In videoconference, the Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek met today with the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Sig. Stefano Patuanelli, Ing. The meeting was arranged as a forerunner of the Slovenian and Italian Ministerial Coordination Council to take place on 14. 6. 2021.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the ceremony held at Paloma to mark the completion of the investment in a new paper machine, the largest investment in the Slovenian paper industry in the past 40 years.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held consultations with the Undersecretary of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Vincenzo Amendola.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar concluded a two-day working visit to Korea today. He met with his host, Chung Eui-yong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea. They advocated strengthening political and economic ties between the two countries, including the opening of the Slovenian Embassy in Seoul. Minister Logar also took the opportunity to present the priorities of Slovenia’s EU Council Presidency in the second half of this year and to exchange views on current international issues.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today met with the Vice-President of the European Commission and the Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas. Mr Janša and Mr Schinas continued the discussion they started during the visit of the Slovenian Prime Minister to Athens on 10 May 2021.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today held a videoconference with Secretary General at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, focusing on the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2021.

A press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was held by the head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health, Mateja Logar, and the Director of the Ljubljana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Marjana Majerič.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a videoconference with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs of Turkey Faruk Kaymakçi. They assessed bilateral relations and exchanged views on EU-Turkey relations in the light of the incoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs met with Margaritis Schinas, European Commission Vice-President for Promoting the European Way of Life, today at Brdo Castle. The discussion focused on three key topics: the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the strategy for the future of Schengen and the proposal for an amendment of the Regulation establishing the Schengen Evaluation Mechanism and internal security.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion has approved EU funding for the project Arrangement of Agricultural and Business Dobrovnik – Phase 2. The project worth a good EUR 1 million will be implemented by municipality Dobrovnik under the Agreement on the development of the Pomurje region and will receive EUR 612 thousand of European Regional Development Fund support.

Today, the Slovenian Prime Minister attended the traditional Holy Mass and memorial ceremony at the Burial Ground below Kren in Kočevski Rog. Prior to the memorial ceremony, Prime Minister Janez Janša and the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, laid a wreath at the pit under Macesnova gorica in Kočevski Rog. After the ceremony, they laid a wreath at the Memorial to the Victims of the National Liberation War at Smrečje near Turjak.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša submitted the notice of resignation of the Minister of Justice, Lilijana Kozlovič, to the National Assembly in accordance with Article 261 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a meeting via videoconference with Finnish Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen. The meeting focused on the presentation of the priorities of the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with the president of the Strategic Council for Digitalisation, Mark Boris Andrijanič, and the heads of working groups. They presented the course of the Council’s work thus far and welcomed good cooperation with government representatives and external stakeholders.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, held a working meeting with the Italian Minister of the Interior, Luciana Lamorgese, at the Brdo Castle today. The Ministers agreed that the countries had a tradition of good cooperation in the area of home affairs. They discussed Slovenia’s preparations for the Presidency in the second half of 2021 and irregular migration.

Today, the Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik attended the EU Telecommunications Council meeting in Luxembourg, where he presented the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency in the field of digitisation. At the meeting, ministers took note of the state of play of legislative proposals on data management, cyber security, ePrivacy, roaming on mobile communications networks in the European Union (roaming) and artificial intelligence. There was also a political debate on the European Union’s digital future.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša took part in a video conference of the BusinessEurope Council of Presidents. BusinessEurope joins 40 national industry and employer's business federations from 34 European countries and represents over 20 million small, medium-sized and large companies.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a video conference with the Minister for EU Affairs of Sweden, Hans Dahlgren. State Secretary Dovžan briefed Minister Dahlgren on the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency in the second half of this year.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan and Secretary General Jožef Drofenik hosted a regular informal meeting of secretaries-general of the EU Member States and the Secretary General of the European External Action Service.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID 19 was attended by the Minister of Health, Janez Poklukar, the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik, and the Director of the National Institute of Public Health, Milan Krek.

Director-General of the Directorate for European Union Affairs Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations with Jean-Louis Thill, Director-General for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg via videoconference.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with his Czech colleague Jan Hamáček in Prague today, as part of the preparations for Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU. He continued the working visit in Bratislava with a meeting with the Slovakian Minister Roman Mikulec.

At the invitation of Mr Guan Zhi'ou, the administrator of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of the People’s Republic of China, Minister Podgoršek attended today by videoconference the Third Ministerial Conference of the Mechanism for the Cooperation in Forestry between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (17+1 Forestry Mechanism). 17+1 Forestry Mechanism strengthens business, scientific research and political cooperation in the field of forestry and forest-wood chains.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar had a telephone conversation today with Liechtenstein Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport Dominique Hasler.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended the formal handover of 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, lended by Hungary to Slovenia. On this occasion, a press conference took place in Ljubljana, attended by Prime Minister Janša, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary Petér Szijjártó, Minister of Health Janez Poklukar, and Director of the National Institute of Public Health Milan Krek.

World Environment Day is one of the oldest of the world days designated by the United Nations and its environmental programme. This is the 47th World Environment Day, and it features an additional slogan: Reimagine, Recreate, Restore - Generation for Restoration (#GenerationRestoration). The aim is to encourage people through initiatives and best practice to help preserve the environment. "We are a generation that has to hold out our hand to nature," according to the creators of World Environment Day.

As part of the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the proclamation and defence of the independent and sovereign Republic of Slovenia, a ceremony was held today in Ig, marking the 30th anniversary of the oath taken by the first Slovenian recruits. Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the ceremony and gave the key address on this occasion. Thirty years ago, more precisely, on 2 June 1991, the first generation of military recruits serving in the Territorial Defence forces were solemnly sworn in at the training centres at Ig and Pekre near Maribor. For the first time in the history of Slovenians, recruits were performing military service in the Slovenian Armed Forces. After the ceremony and the signing of the oath, the first generation of 270 young men began their military service at a time when the Yugoslav Army was preparing an aggression against Slovenia.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the 25th annual Consultation of Slovenian Diplomats at Brdo pri Kranju, where he addressed ambassadors of the Republic of Slovenia and high representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Consultations are taking place in the last month before Slovenia will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In his address to diplomats, the Prime Minister spoke about the current situation in the world after the pandemic, the issues Slovenia has faced and is still facing, the enlargement of the European Union, the challenges that lie ahead, even during the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the future and the stabilisation of Europe.

On the second day of the 25th Consultation of Slovenian Diplomats, which was launched yesterday at Brdo pri Kranju, the core topics revolved around the future of the European Union and Europe, building the Union’s resilience following the pandemic, and its role in the changed global geopolitical situation. Heads of Slovenian diplomatic missions and consular posts, along with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were addressed by Prime Minister Janez Janša. He referred to the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international relations, and the future of the Union: “In my view, genuine debate on what Europe should look like is the greatest added value of the Conference on the Future of Europe.”

Minister Anže Logar participated in the NATO foreign affairs ministers' session via video-conference, which was carried out ahead of the NATO Summit on 14 June.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Themed route: Marof archaeological site and Kette avenue. The EUR 490,000 project is implemented by Urban Municipality Novo mesto as part of the Sustainable Urban Strategy Novo mesto 2030 and will receive support from the European Regional Development Fund in the amount of EUR 296,000.

On Monday, 31 May 2021, and Tuesday, 1 June 2021, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan participated in the virtual ministerial session of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Council titled “Shared Values: Building a Green and Inclusive Future”. The session was opened by the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, on behalf of the country holding the Presidency.

Today marks the launch of the 25th Consultation of Slovenian Diplomats at the Brdo Congress Centre, which is taking place one month before Slovenia takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In his introductory address, Foreign Minister Anže Logar, who is heading the two-day Consultation, assured the participating diplomats that Slovenia is well prepared for the Presidency. “The following months will be very challenging for all of us. The Presidency will be another test due to the limitations and uncertainties brought about by the pandemic. However, we have the knowledge, experience and confidence to accomplish this task as successfully as we did in 2008,” explained Minister Logar.