News

Switzerland has retained its top spot among the world's most innovative countries, a position it has held for almost a decade. Slovenia has dropped one place in this year's ranking to 33rd out of 132 countries.

The EU Competitiveness Council met today in Brussels, attended by State Secretary Matevž Frangež on behalf of Matjaž Han, the Minister of Economic Development and Technology. The meeting took place in the light of the exacerbated energy crisis and the Member States displayed a great degree of unity in all key decisions. The ministers supported the proposal of the new crisis instrument to protect the internal market.

The National Assembly adopted amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights Act and the Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights Act. With the amendments, Slovenia transposes the provisions of two European Directives into the Slovenian legal order.

The Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko, and the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Matjaž Han, visited the filming location of the Netflix production “The Union” in Piran, which stars famous actors such as Halle Berry, Mark Wahlberg and J. K. Simmons. The Government contributed monetary compensation in the amount of EUR 2.5 million for the implementation of the film project in Slovenia. The implementation of the project in Slovenia will contribute to an estimated 30,000 overnight stays and the planned use of more than EUR 10 million of the film crew’s funds for preparations and filming here. Over 340 Slovenian workers participate in the project.

On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, we publish the message from the Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Matjaž Han.

3 September 2020 would go down in Slovenian history as the day Slovenia joined the list of countries that have their own satellites in the Earth’s orbit. At 03.51 (GMT + 2), the first two Slovenian satellites – Trisat and Nemo HD – flew into space aboard a Vega VV16 rocket from French Guiana.

Following the 30th anniversary celebration of Slovenia’s membership to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller and the Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology Matjaž Han signed a Roadmap for Cooperation.

Mag. Dejan Židan, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, attended the Competitiveness Council (Internal Market and Industry) in Luxembourg where the ministers agreed on a general approach towards the drafted Consumer Credit Directive.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted last week the strategic starting points for the promotion of the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in the economy.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has adopted a decision establishing a public interest in concluding a public–private partnership to implement the "Hybrid Cloud Computing" project. The public–private partnership will be implemented in the form of a contractual partnership.

On the basis of the Promotion of Tourism Development Act, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Slovenian Tourism Strategy 2022 – 2028, which represents the basic framework for the development of Slovenian tourism in the next seven years. The strategy responds to the new circumstances and challenges faced by the tourism industry, while developing and promoting the key benefits of Slovenian tourism and our country.

Slovenian Industrial Strategy 2021 – 2030 is the strategic document of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, that sets out a vision and goals for the development of industry and the economy for the period up to 2030.

Air transport in Europe, including Slovenia, and around the world has been severely restricted due to the consequences of the covid-19 epidemic and continues to be so. According to Eurostat, the drop in passenger transport in Slovenia in 2020 in comparison to 2019 amounted to 83.3 percent (EU average was 73.3 percent), which was the greatest decline among all EU countries.

Becoming the first climate neutral continent: This is the goal Europe has set itself and wants to achieve by 2050 with the help of the European Green Deal. Notably in consumer protection, the ambition is reflected in concrete initiatives.

Today's press conference following the working consultation on the situation and measures to contain the COVID 19 epidemic and preserve the country's economic potential was attended by the Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek and Minister of Health Janez Poklukar..

The Strategy for the digital transformation of the economy, which has been adopted today, is part of the reform measures under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, under the digital transformation of enterprises component. The strategy is also an important milestone for achieving the objectives set out in the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Within the UNIDO international development cooperation project "Development of Innovation Ecosystem and Support Infrastructure" we hosted a study delegation of experts from the Agency for Innovation and Start - up of the institutional environment from Azerbaijan. The aim of the visit was to gain experience in Slovenia and exchange of good practices.

On Wednesday, 17 November 2021, the 20th European Tourism Forum took place, organised by Slovenia as the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU in cooperation with the European Commission. The event followed an informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for tourism on 16 November 2021. The central theme of both events was the creation of a document "Transition Pathways” for the green and digital transformation of Europe’s tourism industry and destinations.

The three-day SME 2021 Assembly, the most significant event for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU, is coming to an end. The three-day programme, full of panel discussions, workshops and specialised courses, took place from 15 to 17 November in Portorož, Slovenia, as part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

On Tuesday 16 November 2021, EU tourism ministers held an informal meeting via an audio-video link. The debate focused on the transition pathway for a green and digital transformation of the European tourism ecosystem by 2030.