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Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the “Call for proposals for co-financing district heating using renewable energy sources (code: JR DO OVE 2021)”. The total funding available under the call for proposals is fully contributed by the Cohesion Fund and amounts to EUR 16 million.

The Office of Prime Minister Janez Janša has communicated to all leaders of parliamentary parties (List of Marjan Šarec, Social Democrats, Party of Modern Centre, The Left, New Slovenia – Christian Democrats, Party of Alenka Bratušek, Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia, Slovenian National Party) and to the deputies of the national communities a proposal for an agreement between all political parties and the representatives of the national communities in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for cooperation in formulating responses to the fundamental development challenges in the 2021–2022 period.

At today's 62th extraordinary session, the National Assembly considered the proposal of the candidacy of Janez Poklukar for the post of Minister of Health. He was proposed for this function by Prime Minister Janša pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 112 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, and Articles 229 and 234 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in a videoconference meeting of members of the General Affairs Council today. Ministers and state secretaries responsible for European affairs focused on the preparations for the European Council meeting, the European Democracy Action Plan, the state of play of preparations for the Conference on the Future of Europe, and EU-UK relations.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the “Call for proposals for co-financing the purchase of mobile units (cars) used to perform the tasks of the coordinator for community mental health care and the tasks of the coordinator for the provision of protection of people with disabilities”. The available funding under the call for proposals amounts to EUR 400,000 of which the European Regional Development Fund contribution stands at EUR 320,000.

Today, the EU Ministers competent for fisheries met on the second current year’s meeting of the EU Council under the Portuguese Presidency, which took place in the audio-visual form. This time, the Agenda included topics on fisheries. On exit of the United Kingdom from the EU, the Ministers familiarised themselves with the state of play of bilateral consultations between the EU and the UK on fishing opportunities for 2021 and on deep-sea fish stocks for 2021 and 2022. Slovenia was represented by the acting Directress General of the MAFF Food and Fisheries Directorate, Ms Ana Le Marechal Kolar.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in the regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels. The ministers focused their discussions on EU-Russia relations and the situation in Hong Kong. The Council also held a video conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on future cooperation with the new US administration regarding the common foreign and security policy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today took part in the High-Level Segment of the 46th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, which is being held in as a virtual event this year. In his address, the Minister expressed his concern over the consequences brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that it is imperative that the post-pandemic recovery include measures aimed at achieving greater equality, solidarity, and social protection.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan delivered a video address today at the High-Level Segment of the Conference on Disarmament. He also raised the issue of membership expansion, which has remained unresolved for too long, and called for progress in this matter with a view to enhancing universality, transparency, and multilateralism.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Economic Zone Turnišče”. The project worth a little under EUR 420,000 and implemented by the Municipality Turnišče will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of over EUR 225,000.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Alenka Forte and Mojca Kirbiš, Headteacher at Rado Robič Limbuš Primary School.

The Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) is taking place in Nairobi, which, as the highest global environmental body, sets priorities for global environmental policy and international environmental law. Due to the pandemic, the assembly will be held in two parts. The first part will be held in the form of a virtual meeting on 22 and 23 February 2021 and the second part is expected to take place as a physical meeting in February 2022 in Kenya. Andrej Vizjak, Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, delivered a video address at the assembly.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology Simon Zajc, Commander of the Slovenian Civil Protection Force Srečko Šestan and Natalija Bevc, a Slovene who lives in Germany, who spoke about experiences during the epidemic in Germany.

The approval of the investment for the relocation of the Department of Pulmonary Diseases to University Medical Centre Maribor marks the beginning of a large investment cycle in the field of strengthening public health. Over the next few years over half a billion euros in EU grants will be allocated to healthcare system enhancement.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan today held an audio-video conference with the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Paweł Jabłoński.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was held by Bojana Beović, head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health, Slavko Krištofelc, head of the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection Service at the Labour Inspectorate, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

At today’s regular session, the Slovenian Government adopted amendments to the Ordinance on temporary restrictions on sports programmes. Those amendments relate primarily to testing. Amendments to the Ordinance determining the conditions for entry into the Republic of Slovenia for the purpose of containment and control of the infectious disease COVID-19 stipulate that printed confirmation is sufficient for entry without quarantine for those who have recovered from COVID-19.

Today, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a video call with Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden Anna Hallberg.

Current epidemiological conditions and an update on the progress of vaccinations were presented at today’s press conference by National Institute of Public Health director Milan Krek.

Prime Minister Janez Janša had a working meeting today with Anton Obreht, the president of school directors’ and head teachers’ union SINDIR. The meeting was also attended by Simona Kustec, Minister of Education, Science and Sport.

The directors-general for European affairs of Slovenia and Switzerland, Ambassador Barbara Sušnik and Ambassador Pietro Piffaretti, held video consultations today.

Today, Minister Andrej Šircelj attended the informal video conference of economic and finance ministers (ECOFIN Council). The most important topic of the session was the economic recovery in the European Union.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion policy has issued a funding decision for the project Construction of footpath and Cerknica-Dolenje Jezero cycling path. Total project budget is estimated at EUR 835,000. The project will be implemented by the Municipality Cerkno and will receive contribution from the European Regional Development Fund amounting to EUR 87,000.

Today’s press conference on the latest situation with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic was held by Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj, State Secretary for Education and Sport Marjan Dolinšek, and Principal of the Škofljica primary school Roman Brunšek.

Today, Politico publishes an article on the media situation in Slovenia. Despite the fact that the Government Communication Office provided extensive answers to Politco's questions, the answers were not summarized when reporting on the situation in Slovenia. Therefore, we publish all the answers the questions and materials that were provided to Politico.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar today addressed the participants of the virtual launch of the Declaration against the Use of Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations with a national statement. The event was organised by Canada, the initiator of the Declaration.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended the 61st extraordinary session of the National Assembly, at which deputies are deliberating over the election of a new prime minister. At the session, Janša presented an overview of the work of the Government to date.

Today’s press conference on the latest situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was attended by Alenka Forte, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Simon Podnar, technical director of the Neurological Clinic at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, and Darko Černe, head of the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 virus was held by Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Marija Magajne and Chairman of the Slovenian Economic Association in Austrian Carinthia Benjamin Wakounig, who spoke about experiences with preventive measures during the epidemic in Austria.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today submitted to the National Assembly a nomination of the new Minister of Health; his proposed candidate is Janez Poklukar.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan hosted János Bóka, State Secretary in charge of EU Affairs at the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office and the new Hungarian Sherpa for EU affairs.

Every day, consular representations of the Republic of Slovenia receive numerous enquiries from Slovenian citizens concerning crossing the state border during the holidays and the winter school break. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises again that tourist travel is not a legally permitted reason for entering most of Slovenia's neighbouring countries.

Members of the 12th Slovenian contingent of the Resolute Support Mission are concluding their six-month deployment in Afghanistan.
Within the Train Advise Assist Command - West, they were in charge of human resources and planning tasks at Camp Arena in Herat. In addition, they underwent tactical procedures training, and conducted patrols and reconnaissance in the area of responsibility.
Members of the 12th Slovenian contingent received special acknowledgements for their work, performance and esprit-de-corps showed in cooperation with members of other armed forces.

The Government has decided that from Monday the restriction of movement between municipalities will be lifted and gatherings of up to ten people will be permitted. All primary school students (except those on holiday) will return to school. Also from Monday, all commercial activities will be permitted without restriction.

On Thursday, 11 February 2021, the second meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative (AII) took place under the Slovenian chairmanship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held via video conference.

This afternoon’s press conference on the latest situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was attended by Aleš Hojs (Minister of the Interior), Jernej Vrtovec (Minister of Infrastructure), Ajda Cuderman (State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology) and Damir Orehovec (State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport).

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was held by Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

The Acting Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation, Anita Pipan, attended an informal meeting of EU directors-general for development cooperation. This time, the focus was on the “Team Europe” initiatives, financing for development, the Southern Neighbourhood, and COVID-19 in terms of support for public health.

Celebrated around the world on 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.

In the early morning hours of 11 February, the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) delivered a member of the Slovenian UNIFIL contingent with a severe course of the COVID-19 disease from Lebanon to Slovenia. During the flight, the SAF member was accompanied by the SAF chief physician.
The flight with the Falcon aircraft was smooth. After landing at Brnik airport, the Military Medical Unit ambulance transported the infected SAF member to the Dr Peter Držaj hospital in Ljubljana for further treatment. Two members of the SAF Veterinary Unit disinfected the aircraft all the equipment at the airport.
The United Nations operation UNIFIL in Lebanon includes six members the Slovenian Armed Forces. The other five contingent members tested negative for coronavirus infection. They are healthy and continue to perform tasks in the area of operations in southern Lebanon.

A number of media outlets today summed up the untrue statements of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) in connection with the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). STA citing unofficial information reported that according to the European Commission Slovenia’s RRP is among the least prepared.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was held by Nuška Čakš Jager, Deputy Director of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Marta Grgič Vitek, National Vaccination Programme Coordinator at the NIJZ, and Maja Ravnikar, Director of the National Institute of Biology.

Today's press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Marija Magajne, the Director of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, a paediatrician at the Division of Paediatrics of the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, Tadej Avčin, and Mojca Juriševič from the Department of fundamental pedagogical studies at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana.

Minister without portfolio, responsible for Development and Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today gave opening remarks at the online conference Zlati kamen (Golden Stone). This year's conference took place amid intense preparations for the next programming period and drafting of the national recovery and resilience plan. The minister underlined that the outcome of MFF negotiations was ''best possible so far'', bringing extensive additional funding to the table to help the country get back on its feet after COVID-19 crisis.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion policy has issued a funding decision for the Call for proposals for demonstration projects of smart cities and communities creation - JR PMIS. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 8 million available, of which EUR 6.4 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund.

Slovenia today celebrates one of its most important holidays, Prešeren Day. To mark the occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar donated the book I Saw Her That Night by Drago Jančar, one of the most renowned and most widely translated contemporary Slovenian authors, to the Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps in Slovenia, the Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia, Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich, at Strmol Castle.

Today, a special Etihad Airways aircraft from the United Arab Emirates landed in Slovenia, carrying seven tons of protective equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Raščan, and Deputy Director-General of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, Stanislav Lotrič, thanked the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Salim Mohamed Al Musharrakh, for the generous donation.

Due to the epidemiological situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrates this year’s Day of Culture in virtual format. In the year of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in Trio with Germany and Portugal, this day is dedicated to Slovenian culture in the wider European area. On the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s gaining independence, special attention is drawn to the role culture played in the formation of our state, its international engagement and recognition.

Message by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša on Prešeren Day

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses solidarity with, and support for, Belarusian citizens who have insisted on peaceful anti-government protests since the presidential elections held in August last year, demanding respect for democratic standards and fundamental human rights. The Belarusian authorities responded with disproportionate violence, illegal deprivation of liberty, and systematic disrespect and violation of fundamental human rights, which is unacceptable.