Skip to main content

News

Customize list

Filterable records
Reset
  • General approach for batteries regulation adopted

    Brussels, 17 March 2022 – The first formal meeting of the Environment Council during the French Presidency took place. At the forefront was the adoptionof the general approach for the Batteries and Waste Batteries Regulation. Ministers held a policy debate on the Fit for 55 legislative package, focusing on the ETS Directive and on the proposal for the Deforestation Regulation. During the working lunch ministers exchanged views on the greening of the European Semester.

  • Minister Vizjak at the last Environment Council meeting of the Slovenian Presidency

    The Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning Andrej Vizjak attended the last meeting of the Environment Council to be held during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Slovenian Presidency presented a report on the progress made in negotiations on the proposal for a regulation concerning batteries and waste batteries, which is an integral part of the European Green Deal. The proposals contained in the “Fit for 55” package were the main priority of the Slovenian Presidency, which strived for the greatest possible progress and a coherent approach to dealing with dossiers that are highly horizontal in nature.

  • Minister Vizjak to give EU environment ministers a progress report on adoption of the »Fit for 55« legislative package

    The Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak, will chair the last meeting of EU Environment and Climate Change Ministers before France takes over the European Council presidency.

  • Slovenia will host the next meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention – COP23

    The 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its Protocols took place in Antalya, Turkey. The most important achievement of the meeting is the designation of the entire Mediterranean Sea as an emission control area for sulphur oxides. In addition to adopting the Medium-Term Strategy of the United Nations Environment Programme, the Mediterranean Action Plan for 2022–2027 and the Post-2020 Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biological Diversity, the parties also designated new marine protected areas and adopted the Antalya Ministerial Declaration.

  • Parties to the Geneva Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution harmonise emission reduction guidance documents by sector

    During the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the 41st session of the Executive Body for the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution took place in Geneva in a hybrid format from 6 to 8 December 2021. At a time when some of the capital cities across the world have once again decided to shut down all activities, this time because of excessive air pollution, the parties are adopting new provisions for cleaner air.

  • Ministers adopted the Ljubljana Agreement and the Multiannual Work Programme for the Urban Agenda for the EU

    The Slovenian Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak, chaired the virtual informal meeting of ministers responsible for urban development. With the adoption of the Ljubljana Agreement, the ministers supported further implementation of the Urban Agenda for the EU. Slovenia's initiative to involve small and medium-sized cities more in cooperation and the policy-making processes, alongside large cities was therefore successful.

  • Completion of the Portuguese, German and Slovenian Three Presidencies for Climate project

    This conference concludes the Three Presidencies for Climate (Three4Climate) project. Climate activities took place in towns and schools in Germany, Portugal and Slovenia to support the Trio Presidency under the motto "Think European – Act Local".

  • Informal meeting of water and marine directors

    In the framework of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, water and marine directors met online for their regular twice-yearly informal meeting. The meeting was attended by around 115 participants, including European Commission representatives, EU water and marine directors and their colleagues, as well as representatives of other European countries, the European Environment Agency and several other organisations. The meeting opened with a welcome address by Dr Metka Gorišek, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning.

  • Informal meeting of ministers responsible for urban matters on urban development and green measures

    The ministers responsible for urban matters will meet online on Friday, 26 November. The main topic of the meeting will be the Urban Agenda for the EU and the adoption of the Ljubljana Agreement. The informal meeting, which will also be attended by the European Commissioner for cohesion and reforms, Elisa Ferreira, will be chaired by the Slovenian Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak.

  • EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 among the topics discussed at Informal EU Nature Directors Meeting

    As part of a two-day meeting, the EU Nature Directors discussed the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the new EU Forest Strategy and wild pollinators. They began by emphasising that, in order to address the loss of biodiversity and climate change, it was imperative to intensify nature-related efforts at all levels.

  • COP26 — significant progress made but further efforts needed to reach the 1.5 degree objective

    The COP26 climate change conference concluded with the ministerial segment, where negotiations entered their final phase at the political level. During the negotiations, ministers sought consensus on the setting up of a new collective financial target; on new or updated nationally determined contributions and long-term climate strategy; on timeframes and rules for international carbon markets and transparency rules for reporting.

  • Working towards successful COP26 negotiations

    Following the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, a number of bilateral meetings between the EU and other countries and groups of countries, including China, Japan, the USA, Australia, Russia and the group of least developed countries (LDCs), are taking place under the leadership of the Slovenian Presidency. In the following days, several other bilateral meetings will also take place.

  • Slovenia to ensure the EU's views are successfully represented at the COP26

    From 31 October to 14 November, the 26th session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) will take place in Glasgow, with the participation of delegations of States Parties to the Convention and Parties to the Paris Agreement. As the country holding the presidency of the EU Council, Slovenia and the European Commission will represent the EU in international relations, conduct negotiations with third countries and coordinate EU member states.

  • Meeting of Directors-General for territorial cohesion

    A regular meeting of Directors-General for territorial cohesion, chaired by Georgi Bangiev, Director-General of the Spatial Planning, Construction and Housing Directorate at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, took place yesterday as a part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. At the meeting, the Directors-General were acquainted with the activities connected with communication and implementation of the Territorial Agenda 2030 adopted in December 2020.

  • Adoption of the Kunming Declaration on biodiversity

    The High-Level Segment meeting as part of the fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) concluded today with the adoption of the Kunming Declaration, by which the Parties to the Convention committed to adopt and implement an ambitious global biodiversity framework. The aim is to stop the loss of biodiversity by 2030 and facilitate its recovery.

  • Setting biodiversity on the path to recovery

    The virtual meeting of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15), which will take place between 11 and 15 October 2021, will be dedicated to preparations for negotiations on the 2030 and 2050 biodiversity targets, concluding with an in-person meeting next year. Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning Andrej Vizjak is attending the high-level meeting.

  • The Central European Initiative member states will work together on sustainable waste management

    State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment, Metka Gorišek, attended the Ministerial Conference on the Environment within the Central European Initiative (CEI) currently chaired by Montenegro. The main topics of the ministerial meeting, which was attended by the ministers responsible for the environment of the member states of the CEI, which unites 17 countries as a regional intergovernmental political forum, were waste management and waters without borders. The conference adopted a joint declaration on cooperation in sustainable waste management between the CEI member states.

  • Meeting of the Working Group on Strategic and Project Environmental Assessments

    As part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Working Group on Strategic and Project Environmental Assessments met online to discuss all current issues in the field, including the European Commission's instructions on defining plans and programmes which are subject to a strategic environmental assessment, and some examples of best practice, as well as infringements from EU member states.

  • Environmental ministers adopt EU mandate for Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November

    Environment ministers adopted the Council Conclusions as a mandate of the EU and its member states at the meeting for the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Glasgow in November.

  • Environment ministers to approve the formal negotiation positions for the Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November

    Tomorrow, the EU ministers responsible for the environment and climate change will meet in Luxembourg. This will be their first meeting chaired by the Slovenian Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak.