News

Today, 7 October 2020, State Secretary Tone Kajzer represented Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar on a visit of the Slovenian Government to the Koroška region.

In the framework of the Government visit to the Koroška region Zvone Černač, Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy, met with the representatives of the Koroška region municipalities, namely the municipality of Vuzenica, Ravne na Koroškem Prevalje, Črna na Koroškem and Mežica. In Mežica Minister Černač and Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, opened the access road the Museum Peca Underground. At the end of the regional visit Minister Černač attended the public Government gathering.

Today, the Government started visiting Slovenian regions to learn first-hand about the problems and challenges encountered by these regions and so draft suitable measures and solutions. The Government first visited the Koroška region.

The Director of the University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Aleš Rozman, and the Government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, shed light on the current epidemiological situation in Slovenia – a record-breaking 356 positive cases were recorded yesterday.

Today, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia is visiting Carinthia. Following the visit to Gašper trženje d.o.o. in Radlje ob Dravi, Prime Minister Janez Janša gave a brief statement for Carinthia television, highlighting the importance of the government's visits to individual regions. "It's one thing just to be stationed in Ljubljana studying documentation and papers, and another when you experience the subject of decision-making in the real lives of people - this way, you are making the right decisions."

Yesterday, the European Commission published the Enlargement Package for the Western Balkan countries and Turkey, which provides an overview and assessment of the situation across key areas of the necessary reform progress, with recommendations for further rapprochement with the EU.

At today’s press conference, Prime Minister Janez Janša made an in-depth presentation of the coronavirus situation in Europe and Slovenia and the Government plant for measures in the second wave of the coronavirus.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer held an online call with Dr Kirsten Dunlop, Chief Executive Officer of the Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (EIT Climate-KIC) supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology funded by the European Commission.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer attended the annual high-level meeting of the OECD Development Centre Governing Board held in a virtual format. The aim of the meeting was to share experience between member countries and international organisations of the steps taken to mitigate the COVID-19 impact. During the discussion, the participants outlined the Centre’s programme for the following two years.

On Monday, 5 October 2020, at 14:00, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the 45th extraordinary session of the National Assembly where he presented the 2021–2022 Budget Memorandum, the Draft Amending Budget for 2021 and the Draft Budget for 2022.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met the leadership of the Slovenian Federation of Pensioners’ Associations (ZDUS), i.e. its President Janez Sušnik and Vice-Presidents Vera Pečnik and Jožica Puhar.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the call for proposals “Research and development projects to remedy the consequences of COVID-19”. The funding available under the said call for proposals amounts to EUR 5 million of which EUR 4 million is European Regional Development Fund contribution.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša presented a proposed act on the National Demographic Fund to the members of the Economic and Social Council.

The Republic of Slovenia (the Issuer), rated A3 (stable) / AA- (stable) / A (stable), has mandated Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Goldman Sachs International Bank, J.P. Morgan and UniCredit as Joint Dealer Managers for a Tender Offer for the Issuer’s outstanding January 2021 and April 2021 EUR securities. Additionally, the Republic will consider a Euro-denominated Reg S transaction in dematerialised registered form, subject to market conditions and the results of the concurrent Tender Offer. Relevant stabilisation (including FCA/ICMA) applies. Target Market: Manufacturer target market (MIFID II product governance) are eligible counterparties and professional investors (all distribution channels) and also retail investors (all distribution channels).

The Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin presented the epidemiological situation in the country, and Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, spoke about the situation at the Department.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended a round table entitled Responsible Citizen – Successful Nation. The round table, co-organised by the Civil Initiative Prebudimo Slovenijo (Wake up, Slovenia) and the Social Academy, was held at St Stanislav's Institution in Šentvid, Ljubljana.

On 2 October 2020, Moody's Investors Service, a global rating agency, upgraded the credit rating of the Republic of Slovenia by one notch to a A3 and ascribed to it a stable outlook.

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended an extraordinary meeting of the European Council in Brussels, at which they discussed the single market, digital transformation, issues relating to Belarus and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The epidemiological situation in the country was presented by Jelko Kacin, Government spokesman for COVID-19, while the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Ciglar Kralj, summed up the conditions in homes for the elderly.

On the first day of the summit in Brussels, EU Member State leaders reached an agreement on defining relations with Turkey and sanctions against the Belarus regime. At the press conference, the president of the European Council Charles Michel announced that the leaders agreed on a “double strategy,” “a two-tier approach” which opens a possibility for dialogue, but at the same time firmly protects European values and solidarity.

Today and tomorrow, Prime Minister Janez Janša is attending an extraordinary European Council meeting in Brussels. On the agenda for this meeting is a discussion on the single market, industrial policy and digital transformation, as well as external relations, especially with Turkey and China. The summit will also provide an opportunity to review the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Assembly today received the Prime Minister's proposal for the dismissal of Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Aleksandra Pivec.

In the European Commission's report on Rule of Law, Slovenia ranks among the most developed members of the OECD countries in terms of transparency, as it has introduced several measures to prevent corruption in the field of public procurement.

On September 30, 2020 the »2019 Annual Report on Radiation and Nuclear Safety in the Republic of Slovenia« was presented to the Slovenian National Assembly. That was the last stage of its consideration. The report was approved by the Government of Slovenia in July and discussed in the National Council (the upper chamber of the Slovenian Parliament) in September of the same year.

The Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin provided the latest information on the COVID-19 situation in Slovenia.

Slovenia welcomes the activities of the European Commission related to the launch of the rule of law mechanism as a prevention tool aimed at strengthening the common understanding of the fundamental values and promoting the culture of the rule of law thereby consolidating the application of this principle throughout the EU as a whole.

During the REHA meeting in Portorož on September 29, 2020, the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia received an award for its good practice and policy in employing people with disabilities in 2019. The Archives also received the title Disability-Friendly Employer.

In the afternoon, Prime Minister Janez Janša met Slovenian President Borut Pahor, President of the National Assembly Igor Zorčič and President of the National Council Alojz Kovšca.

Members of the Monitoring Committee (MC) of the Operational Programme for the Implementation of the European Cohesion Policy in the Period 2014-2020 (OP 2014-2020) met for the 7th regular meeting in Brdo pri Kranju. Most of them participated in the meeting via video conferencing. The meeting was opened by Zvone Černač, minister for Development and Cohesion Policy who updated the participants on the progress concerning the preparation of the national recovery and resilience plan and the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy programmes.

This morning, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the AmCham Business Breakfast, which was held in Union Hall at Grand Hotel Union in Ljubljana.

At the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal Augusto Santos Silva, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar paid an official visit to the Portuguese Republic today. Slovenia and Portugal maintain close and friendly ties and are partner EU Member States as well as NATO allies. In 2021, the countries will be holding successive presidencies of the Council of the EU for the second time, for which intensive preparations are already under way.

Today, on 29 September, State Secretary Tone Kajzer participated in an informal video conference of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in the format of development ministers, focusing on relations with Africa, the state of play of EU-ACP Post-Cotonou negotiations and the situation in Belarus.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on A Talk with the Prime Minister broadcast on Nova24TV. He talked about the epidemiological situation in the country and the measures taken to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the fifth anti-corona legislative package, the Government's international activities, the EU funding secured by Slovenia, the Demographic Fund and current political topics.

Minister without portfolio, responsible for Strategic Projects and Cohesion Zvone Černač has participated in a high-level videoconference on Implementation and strategic orientations of future Cohesion Policy instruments. The videoconference was held under the auspices of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, spoke about two ordinances adopted by the Government over the weekend. The Government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, presented the epidemiological data.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan received the State Department’s Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Ambassador Nathan A. Sales. During their discussions, the State Secretary underlined Slovenia’s commitment to counter-terrorism within the scope of the European Union, with particular focus on the challenges posed by the misuse of new technologies.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of amendments XCVI, XCVII and XCVIII to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. The keynote speakers at the ceremony, which took place at the Crystal Hall of the Presidential Palace in Ljubljana, were Dr Ludvik Toplak, President of the Socio-political Chamber of the Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia at the time, and Borut Pahor, President of the Republic of Slovenia.

At the invitation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, Mr Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski, the Minister, Dr Aleksandra Pivec, participated in the meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Visegrád Group, extended to include Slovenia, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania (hereinafter referred to as V4+7 VG) that took place in Poznań, Poland.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the project Wastewater collection and treatment in the Kolpa River basin – Municipality of Metlika. The project with a total budget of EUR 952,000 will receive a contribution from the Cohesion Fund in the amount of nearly EUR 336,000. The project will be implemented by the Municipality of Metlika.

On 25 September 2020 at the 27th Days of Slovenian Public Administration organised by the Faculty of Administration of the University of Ljubljana, the winner of the competition for best improvement in public administration entitled »The Shift Forward 2020« was announced. The title went to the Government Communication Office for their Model of the central call centre for public information and raising awareness in the event of an epidemic.

Today, Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Arancha González Laya received Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar on an official visit to the Kingdom of Spain. Slovenia and Spain are two friendly countries and allies, sharing similar views within the EU and NATO but also concern over numerous international issues.

The Government has been briefed on the Assessment of the epidemiological situation in the EU Member States, the Schengen Area countries, the Balkan countries and the selected third countries, the Assessment of the epidemiological situation in countries and the European Commission's recommendation Re-open EU, and the definition of the criterion for a worsening epidemiological situation and the epidemiological trends in the cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 people prepared by the National Institute of Public Health. The Government has assessed the expert justification of the restrictions laid down in the Ordinance on imposing and implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the external border crossings and at control points at the internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia and decided that these restrictions will continue to apply.

At today's meeting by correspondence, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia issued the Ordinance on imposing and implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the external border crossings and at control points at the internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia, which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

Metoda Dodič Fikfak, Director of the Institute of Occupational, Traffic and Sports Medicine, and the Government spokesperson, Ambassador Jelko Kacin spoke about the current situation regarding COVID-19 at a press conference.

On Thursday, 24 September 2020, Germany, Portugal and Slovenia organized a joint Trio event, currently presiding the Council of the EU, as a side event of the 75th United Nations General Assembly: “Digital Societies: towards a human-centred, trustworthy and value-based digital transition”.

New York, 24 September 2020 – On the margins of the Climate Week taking place during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), members of the Green Group (Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Iceland, Singapore, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates) call for action in combating climate change in their joint statement.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar took part in the virtual ministerial meeting of the Central European Initiative (CEI) Member States. He apprised the participants of Slovenia’s successful response to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing out that the general and special measures adopted by the Slovenian government to curb the epidemic remain in effect.

The press conference on the latest situation regarding the Covid-19 disease was attended by the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, the deputy head of the Centre for Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health, Nuška Čakš Jager, and Government spokesman Jelko Kacin.

At it's session, the Government discussed the proposal for the Act Determining the Intervention Measures to Mitigate and Remedy the Consequences of the COVID-19 Epidemic for Citizens and the Economy, took note of the Autumn Forecast 2020, and discussed the proposal for the National Demographic Fund Act.

The European Commission has published the latest results of the regular comparative analysis of the development of e-government services in the European Union 2020 ("e-Government Benchmark"), measurements were carried out in 2019. Compared to other European countries, Slovenia still ranks around the European average in terms of development of e-government services. An example of good practice is the IT solution of electronic sick leave, which was established with the cooperation of the Health Insurance Institute and the Ministry of Public Administration.