News

Prime Minister Janez Janša held a videoconference today with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Their discussions focused on the serious spread of the coronavirus.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar concluded his three-day visit to the Baltic countries in the Republic of Lithuania, where he met with his host, Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius. The foreign ministers discussed opportunities for further strengthening cooperation between the two countries, both on the European and multilateral level. They also found time to touch on the challenges the EU is facing in coordinating measures to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Also high on the agenda were the latest developments in Belarus and in this context, Minister Logar met Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Vilnius.

The press conference on the current Covid-19 situation was attended by the Head of the intensive care unit at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Matjaž Jereb, and the government spokesman, Ambassador Jelko Kacin.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in the Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), which was held as a virtual event based in Zagreb. He stressed the importance of good governance of macro-regional strategies and a more visible role of the European Commission.

The Government and the Ministers have adopted additional measures to contain the COVID-19 epidemic. Minister of Health Tomaž Gantar presented the work of the Ministry of Health, while Minister of Education Simona Kustec presented the Ordinance on temporary restrictions for sport activities.

Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek, Head of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre Dr Tatjana Lejko Zupanc and government spokesman Jelko Kacin spoke today at a press conference about the current situation regarding Covid-19.

In October 2020, during Germany’s Chairmanship, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) – on the basis of prolonged discussions and proposals put forth by experts on Roma issues – adopted a non-legally binding working definition of antigypsyism. The definition was prepared with the participation of Slovenian experts, members of the Slovenian delegation to IHRA, and the Roma community in Slovenia. The text of the working definition is provided below.

Head of the expert group for the containment and control of the COVID-19 epidemic at the Ministry of Health Bojana Beović said that around 1% of the population is infected, i.e. 20,000 people, which is more than the official number of 7,103 active cases.

The Government has issued an Ordinance on the temporary partial restriction of movement and the restriction or prohibition of public gatherings in order to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections, and published it in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

On Sunday, 2637 coronavirus tests were conducted and 537 new cases were confirmed, which is a 20.4% positivity rate. A total of 289 patients with COVID-19 are currently in hospital, of whom 55 are in intensive care units. Two persons died. On Sunday, Slovenia reached a 14-day incidence of 339 cases per 100,000 population.

An epidemic has been declared throughout Slovenian territory as of today. At the correspondence session on 18 October 2020, the Government adopted the Order on the Declaration of a COVID-19 Epidemic based on the Communicable Diseases Act.

Prime Minister Janez Janša posted on Twitter that an epidemic has been declared for the whole of Slovenia for 30 days, as of Monday. He posted this message on Sunday evening when a section of the Government, together with the advisory group of the Ministry of Health, discussed the current situation.

Address of the Prime Minister Janez Janša to the people of Slovenia.

Today, Foreign Minister Anže Logar held meetings in Trieste and Gorizia with representatives of the Slovenian minority in Italy. This was his first official visit to the Slovenian minority in Italy, after he briefly met with Slovenians in Italy at the ceremony on the return of the National Hall into Slovenian hands on 13 July.

Today, at the conclusion of the European Council meeting, Prime Minister Janez Janša, in his statement to the press, spoke of today’s agenda, which included Brexit negotiations, the assessment of the epidemiologic situation, discussions on climate change, EU relations with Africa, and the main conclusions reached by European leaders

On 15 October, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan and Ambassador of Mongolia Gankhuurai Battungalag signed the Visa Waiver Agreement for holders of diplomatic and service passports, the first agreement signed between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations.

In 2007, the European Commission declared 18 October to be the EU Anti-Trafficking Day. This year, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia will use this day to raise awareness of human trafficking and the prevention of this phenomenon.

In 2007, the European Commission declared 18 October to be the EU Anti-Trafficking Day. This year, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia will use this day to raise awareness of human trafficking and the prevention of this phenomenon.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša is attending a European Council meeting in Brussels. Yesterday's agenda for the leaders of the EU Member States primarily included topics related to relations with the UK and Brexit negotiations. The leaders assessed the epidemiologic situation and also discussed climate change, while today's focus will be on other aspects of foreign policy, particularly on EU relations with Africa.

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Ljubljana, Msgr Stanislav Zore, infectious disease and intensive care specialist Tomaž Vovko, and the government spokesperson Jelko Kacin spoke about the current situation regarding COVID-19.

Yesterday, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan met with Ambassador Zef Mazi, chief Albanian negotiator for accession to the EU, State Minister and member of the Albanian Government. State Secretary Dovžan expressed support for Albania's rapprochement with the European Union and welcomed the EU's decision to open accession negotiations with Albania.

On his working visit to Slovakia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Ivan Korčok today. The ministers principally focused on the measures being taken by Slovenia and Slovakia to limit the spread of COVID-19, agreeing that it was paramount to coordinate these measures to successfully curb the epidemic and relaunch the European economy.

Today, the Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik attended an informal meeting of ministers of EU Member States responsible for telecommunications and digitalisation. The meeting took the form of a video conference.

Today, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša is attending a regular European Council meeting in Brussels. EU leaders will discuss the epidemiological situation, relations with the United Kingdom, climate change and relations with Africa.

On Wednesday in the evening session, the government took several measures to contain the spread of the disease COVID -19. The measures were presented at today’s press conference by the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Mr Zdravko Počivalšek, the Minister of Education Science and Sport, Ms Simona Kustec, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Aleš Hojs, the State Secretary, Ms Tina Bregant, and the Government Spokesperson, Mr Jelko Kacin.

At today’s session that started at 17:00 in Brdo pri Kranju, the Government examined and adopted new measures from the third phase of the orange package. After the session, Prime Minister Janez Janša made a press statement in Ljubljana.

Head of the intensive care unit at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases Matjaž Jereb, acting director of the Health Care Directorate at the Ministry of Health Marija Magajne, and government spokesperson Jelko Kacin took part in the press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 in Slovenia.

Prime Minister Janez Janša participated in the opening ceremony marking the start of the construction of the 2 x 400 kV Cirkovce–Pince transmission line. The ceremony was held in a marquee on the lawn next to Sternthal Mansion in Kidričevo, where the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia addressed the participants.

On his working visit to the Czech Republic, Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his host, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček, talked about the importance of coordinating measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 and facilitate European economic recovery. They also discussed the strengthening of regional cooperation.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the project “Wastewater discharge and treatment in the Kolpa river basin – Municipality Črnomelj”. Total project funding amounts to nearly EUR 3.6 million of which a little less than EUR 1.6 million is Cohesion Fund contribution. Cohesion Fund support has recently also been awarded to Municipality Metlika for wastewater discharge and treatment in the Kolpa river basin.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended today’s General Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg. The Council discussed preparations for the European Council meeting to be held at the weekend in Brussels. Ministers took note of the state of play in the EU-UK negotiations. They also held a general debate on the first annual report on the situation regarding the rule of law in the EU and endorsed recommendations for COVID-19 coordination

On the 13th of October 2020, the Republic of Slovenia successfully priced a new €1bn 30 year issuance, shortly after receiving a credit rating update from Moody’s.

Slovenian minister of the interior Aleš Hojs has met with Austrian colleague Karl Nehammer. The bilateral meeting is a confirmation of exceptionally good cooperation between the countries and their police forces.

The Republic of Slovenia announces the cash tender results of the Euro denominated notes of the tender that expired on 12 October 2020. January 2021 Notes and April 2021 Notes were accepted in the amount of EUR 98,130,000 and EUR 74,850,000, respectively.

The Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin spoke about the current situation regarding COVID-19 at the press conference.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a meeting of the highest representatives of all three branches of government on the topic of "The principle of the separation of powers: (self)restriction, mutual supervision and mutual cooperation" at the Presidential Palace in Ljubljana.

Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today met with mayors from the Obsotelje, Kozjansko and Haloze regions to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of 2014-2020 projects and discuss the preparations for the 2021-2027 programming period.

A Update on the Republic of Slovenia Tender Offer and a potential launch of a new 30 year Republic of Slovenia bond

Mateja Logar, infectologist from the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, and Jelko Kacin, the Government spokesperson, provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

Today marks 100 years of the Carinthian referendum, after which the southern part of Carinthia and the Slovenian population living there became part of the Republic of Austria. On this anniversary, the two countries are drawing attention to the elements of their shared history and, inevitably, also to the current situation and expectations of the Slovenian ethnic minority in the provinces of Carinthia and Styria about improving their regulatory and material position in accordance with the obligations of the Republic of Austria under international law. These obligations are set out in Article 7 of the 1955 State Treaty on the Establishment of an Independent and Democratic Austria, which guarantees the Slovenian ethnic minority the right to education in its mother tongue, the right to use Slovenian as an official language, and the right to Slovenian or bilingual topographical inscriptions in administrative and judicial districts with Slovenian and mixed populations. It also guarantees the Slovenian ethnic minority the right to participate in cultural, administrative and judicial institutions on equal terms with other Austrian nationals. In 2011, considerable progress was made with the agreement on the erection of 168 bilingual inscriptions. The atmosphere in Carinthia has improved and the majority and the minority groups have coexisted side by side. Nevertheless, certain commitments remain unfulfilled.

Today marks 100 years of the Carinthian plebiscite by which the southern part of Carinthia, together with the Slovenian population living there, was to become an integral part of the Republic of Austria. This anniversary opens up an opportunity for both nations to reflect upon the past and lift the historical burdens.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša gave an opening speech at the third Skills Summit entitled Skills Strategies for a World in Recovery. This years' summit, organised by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is held virtually and hosted by Slovenia. The Prime Minister greeted the participants in a video address. In addition to Mr Janša, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, also spoke at the opening of the event, which was attended by the Minister of Education, Simona Kustec, the Minister of Labour, Janez Cigler Kralj, the Minister of Health, Tomaž Gantar, and the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik.

Ministers and senior officials of international organizations responsible for skills, including education, employment, the economy, technology, innovation and other, met at the Skills Summit 2020, this time hosted by Slovenia and held in Brdo pri Kranju. The 2020 Skills Summit was held as a virtual event.

Deana Potza from the Health Inspectorate and government spokesman Jelko Kacin provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

At today’s correspondence session, the Slovenian government adopted an Ordinance on the temporary limitation or prohibition of public gatherings in the Republic of Slovenia, and the prohibition on the transport of certain types of goods and products during public gatherings. At the same session, the government also confirmed the draft national recovery and resilience plan.

Today, 8 October 2020, Slovenian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Tone Kajzer held talks with Virginia Gamba, United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

At today’s session Government of the Republic of Slovenia took note of and approved draft National Recovery and Resilience Plan that shall serve as the basis for drawing on the funding available under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Slovenia is eligible to EUR 5.2 billion of which EUR 1.6 billion is available as grants and EUR 3.6 billion as loans.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its pleasure on the news of the appointment of Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Canada Dr Melita Gabrič as the new Head of the European Union Delegation in Ottawa. The appointment will be formally confirmed once the receiving state issues an agrément. It is the most prominent appointment of a Slovenian official in the European diplomacy during the sixteen years of Slovenian EU membership.

Minister Hojs has participated in the videoconference summit of the Council of Ministers of the interior.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia concluded its first visit to the Carinthia region with a talk with the mayors and actors of development in the region.