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State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a series of meetings prior to tomorrow’s General Affairs Council (GAC). He met with Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourova, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, Secretary-General of the Council Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, and some senior officials in the Commission and the General Secretariat of the Council.

After having participated today at the 6th Delphi Economic Forum, where he introduced the priorities of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU and also talked of some current issues, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. After the meeting, the press releases of both prime ministers followed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today met with President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, Secretary-General Klaus Welle, and Leader of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament Manfred Weber.

Prime Minister Janez Janša is on a working visit to Greece today. During the visit, the Prime Minister addressed the 6th Delphi Economic Forum. This is the central event and annual conference of the organisation of the same name, which brings together leaders from different countries who are committed to implementing and promoting innovative ideas for sustainable and competitive growth in Europe and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region. At this year’s conference, Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke about the future of Europe and presented the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the European Council, as well as addressing other current topics in the conversation with the moderator.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar today attended a regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. Ministers discussed the situation in the Western Balkans and transatlantic relations. They also held an informal video conference with the US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Franc Vindišar and the head of the vaccine advisory group Dr Bojana Beovič. Maja Bratuša of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the current epidemiological picture.

Prime Minister Janez Janša, in an interview for the Spanish newspaper El Correo, spoke about his appearance in the European Parliament, where the MEP Sophie in 't Veld, ironically through the very Group that is supposedly the stronghold defending the freedom of speech, grossly censored his address; in the interview, the Prime Minister also discussed the developments in the European People's Party, as well as the communist era in Slovenia and the spread of communist ideas in Spain, and Slovenia's recent history.

Following Friday’s EU Social Summit, an informal meeting of EU leaders was held in the Portugal city of Porto today, and was also attended by Prime Minister Janez Janša. At today’s meeting, the leaders concentrated on how to best ensure an inclusive recovery, with education and skills at the heart of the EU's political action. They also focused on how to create jobs and improve their quality, and on how to combat poverty and social exclusion.

Europe Day is celebrated every year on 9 May. The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration of 1950, in which the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented a central idea to set up transnational economic cooperation in Europe. The core motive of this proposal was to create the conditions for lasting peace and enhanced cooperation in Europe. His ideas set into motion the process of European integration and a year later, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was created, the predecessor of the European Economic Community and the European Union.

An informal meeting of the members of the European Council is taking place today in Porto, where EU leaders, including Prime Minister Janez Janša, will continue the debate launched at the Social Summit, in particular on how to give political impetus to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the Porto Social Summit, a high-level conference organised by the Portuguese presidency.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Agreement on the development of region – Cycling network Turnišče-Dobrovnik-Lendava. The EUR 477,000 cycle project that will be jointly implemented by municipalities Dobrovnik and Turnišče under the Agreement on the development of the Pomurje region will be supported by the EU, with the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund standing at EUR 305,000.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Agreement on the development of region – Cycling connection between Lendava, Dobrovnik and Kobilje. The EUR 1.2 million cycle project that will be implemented jointly by municipalities Lendava, Dobrovnik and Kobilje under the Agreement on the development of the Pomurje region will be supported by the EU, with the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund standing at EUR 490,000.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Cycling connection between school centre and industrial zone Muta and the settlements Muta, Vuzenica and Gortina. The EUR 1,1 million cycle project that will be implemented by the Slovenian Infrastructure Agency under the Agreement on the development of the Koroška region will be supported by the EU, with the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund standing at EUR 482,000.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar paid a visit to Austrian Carinthia on Friday, 7 May 2021. As part of the visit, he met with Governor of Carinthia Peter Kaiser and separately with the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Klagenfurt, Christian Scheider and Lojze Dolinar, respectively.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project “Arrangement of the small business zone – Phase 4”. The project worth EUR 600 thousand will be implemented by the municipality Markovci in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Podravje Region and will receive EUR 259 thousand of European Regional Development Fund support.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project “Drinking water supply in the Dravinja River basin – lot 4 – the Ormož area”. The project worth EUR 8.4 million will be implemented by the municipality Ormož, municipality Središče ob Dravi and municipality Sveti Tomaž in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Podravje Region and will receive a good EUR 4 million of Cohesion Fund support.

Yesterday, Minister of Defence Matej Tonin, MSc, attended a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers’ configuration. The main topic of the ministers' discussion was the current state of preparation of the Strategic Compass, with an emphasis on its first pillar - crisis management.

A press conference on the state of play on COVID-19 brought together Minister of Health Mr Janez Poklukar, Ms Deana Potza from Health Inspectorate and Mr Tomaž Pečjak, Deputy Director-General of the Police.

At the press conference led by the director of the Slovenian Government Communication Office, Uroš Urbanija, the decisions adopted by the government at its session yesterday were discussed by the Minister of Finance, Andrej Šircelj, and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Jože Podgoršek.

Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today gave opening remarks at the event Slovenian Regional Days. This year's symposium marked the 50th anniversary of regional policy in Slovenia. Minister Černač underlined that the anniversary was an important milestone offering an opportunity to reflect on past lessons and achievements in the area of regional development.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Kamiński earlier today as part of the preparations for the Slovenian EU Council Presidency. They discussed the priorities of the forthcoming Presidency, in particular migration.

On Friday, 7 May, Prime Minister Janez Janša will attend the Porto Social Summit. The event is organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and includes a high-level conference with social partners and an informal meeting of the EU heads of state or government.

In two weeks' time, on 20 May, Slovenia and the rest of the world will celebrate World Bee Day for the fourth time. The UN General Assembly proclaimed World Bee Day on 20 December 2017 as the result of cooperation between the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association as the initiator, the Republic of Slovenia and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and as the result of the widespread European and wider international support of countries and organisations, including Apimondia (International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations).

Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with the Lithuanian Minister of the Interior, Agnë Bilotaitë, this morning in Vilnius, as part of preparations for Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council. In the afternoon, the Minister met with the Latvian Minister of the Interior, Sandis Ģirģens, in Riga.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a consultation via video conference with Carsten Grønbech-Jensen, the Danish State Secretary for European Affairs and the Arctic of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, ahead of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

The press conference on the current issues regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by the state secretary Jelko Kacin, the national coordinator for the logistics part of the mass vaccination against COVID-19.

Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation Anita Pipan attended the audio-video conference of EU directors-general for development cooperation. There, the directors-general discussed the second set of Team Europe initiatives as well as sustainable funding.

Prime Minister Janez Janša meets Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with Minister of Defence Matej Tonin, Minister of Health Janez Poklukar and Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs at a working meeting.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Nuška Čakš Jager, the deputy head of the Communicable Diseases Centre of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), and Doroteja Štruc, the head of the healthcare programme and vaccination coordinator in the vaccination centre of the Celje Community Health Centre.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a video conference with Slovak State Secretary Ingrid Brocková, in which he presented the priority topics of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency concerning development cooperation. They also briefly discussed regional partnership and relations with key economic powers.

Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar hosted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on an official visit.

Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations via video conference with David Cvach, Director for European Affairs at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Wastewater collection and treatment in the Savinja River basin – Municipality Laško. The EUR 4.3 million environmental infrastructure project that will be implemented by Municipality Laško under the Agreement on the development of the Savinjska region will be supported by the EU, with the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund standing at over EUR 2.1 million.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša exchanged views on the situation in Belarus with Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an informal working meeting.

The press conference on the current situation regarding Covid-19 featured Mateja Logar, the head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health, with government spokesperson Maja Bratuša first presenting the epidemiological situation in the country.

Minister for Development and the EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač continues his visits to Slovenian municipalities. Today he met with the Mayor of the Municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji, Rajko Meserko, and the Mayor of the Municipality of Litija, Franci Rokavec.

Prime Minister Janez Janša visited the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital today, where he inspected the renovated Covid-19 department areas, which he also formally opened. He also inspected the department for diagnostics and intervention radiology, where the functioning of the angiography imaging device was presented.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project “COVID19 – IT support for making an appointment (to be vaccinated) at primary level”. The project worth EUR 1.5 million will be implemented by the Ministry of Health. Total project funding comes from the European Regional Development Fund. The project is another investment supported by React-EU under the Recovery and Resilience Facility – NextGenerationEU.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar held talks with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. He expressed solidarity, cooperation and support for the Belarusian opposition's peaceful endeavours to establish an inclusive political dialogue between the opposition and the authorities, paving the way for a renewed free and fair presidential election monitored by international electoral observers. Minister Logar went on to emphasise the importance of providing support to civil society in Belarus. He assured Ms Tsikhanouskaya that during Slovenia's EU Council Presidency, he would strive to keep Belarus high on the EU agenda.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved funding for the project “Community infrastructure for the Industrial Zone Šentjur South – 3”. The project worth nearly EUR 3.9 million will be implemented by municipality Šentjur in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Savinjska Region and will receive over EUR 2.6 million of European Regional Development Fund support.

Message by Prime Minister Janez Janša for 1 May, International Labour Day and the day celebrating St Joseph the Worker.

After the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the national Recovery and Resilience Plan on Wednesday, the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy today submitted the Plan to the European Commission. ‘The submission of the Recovery and Resilience Plan marks the conclusion of a challenging and comprehensive task. We are in the final stages and I believe that in the next three months the Plan will be approved. After a year of crisis, it is time for action, time to conclude administrative procedures and to start as quickly as possible with activities for the use of funds that will significantly contribute to mitigating the negative economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic’, said Minister Černač.

Today, Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations with Marika Linntam, Director-General for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia. They discussed bilateral relations and the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency in the second half of this year as well as current EU issues.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar hosted his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi on an official visit aimed at strengthening friendly relations and deepening political dialogue between the two countries. The visit also places great emphasis on the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2021.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Toshimitsu Motegi, who is on an official visit to Slovenia. The visit is aimed at strengthening friendly relations between the two countries and deepening political dialogue.

On 14 April 2021, Prime Minister Janez Janša and the competent ministers met to coordinate the content and financial structure of the Long-Term Care Act for the first time. "Because Slovenians deserve a dignified and safe life throughout their whole live," said the Prime Minister at the first meeting. Today, the second such meeting took place to discuss the content, solutions and financial structure of the Long-Term Care Act, thus bringing Slovenians one step closer to living a dignified and safe life, regardless of their age or financial situation.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj, the head of the vaccine advisory group Dr Bojana Beovič, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate and Deputy General Director of Police Tomaž Pečjak.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the minister without portfolio responsible for development and European cohesion policy Zvonko Černač, State Secretary at the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy Monika Kirbiš Rojs, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology Simon Zajc and Director of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food Tjaša Žohar Čretnik.