State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended an informal video conference of the EU foreign ministers together with Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani and Foreign Minister of Albania Olta Xhaçka.

Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with his Hungarian colleague Sandor Pinter in Budapest today. The aim of the working visit was to present priorities of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU in the area of home affairs.

Today, Minister of the Interior, Aleš HOJS, attended the Ministerial conference in Lisbon on the Management of Migration Flows, organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council to strengthen partnerships between the EU and countries of origin and transit and promote legal migration and integration of migrants.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today attended a regular meeting of ministers and state secretaries for European affairs. The focus was mostly placed on preparations for a special European Council meeting, which will bring together the EU heads of state on 25 May 2021. Special attention was also devoted to climate policy discussions, the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, and EU-Russian Federation and EU-UK relations.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a series of meetings prior to tomorrow’s General Affairs Council (GAC). He met with Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourova, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, Secretary-General of the Council Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, and some senior officials in the Commission and the General Secretariat of the Council.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today met with President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, Secretary-General Klaus Welle, and Leader of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament Manfred Weber.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar today attended a regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. Ministers discussed the situation in the Western Balkans and transatlantic relations. They also held an informal video conference with the US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry.

Europe Day is celebrated every year on 9 May. The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration of 1950, in which the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented a central idea to set up transnational economic cooperation in Europe. The core motive of this proposal was to create the conditions for lasting peace and enhanced cooperation in Europe. His ideas set into motion the process of European integration and a year later, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was created, the predecessor of the European Economic Community and the European Union.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Kamiński earlier today as part of the preparations for the Slovenian EU Council Presidency. They discussed the priorities of the forthcoming Presidency, in particular migration.

Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with the Lithuanian Minister of the Interior, Agnë Bilotaitë, this morning in Vilnius, as part of preparations for Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council. In the afternoon, the Minister met with the Latvian Minister of the Interior, Sandis Ģirģens, in Riga.

Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations via video conference with David Cvach, Director for European Affairs at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with Krum Garkov, the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) in Tallinn, Estonia, today, as part of the preparations for the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, who visited Slovenia as part of preparations for the EU Council Presidency. They focused on the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency in the second half of this year.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, in Ljubljana earlier today. The meeting focused on Slovenia’s preparations for the Council Presidency in the second semester of 2021.The Minister outlined to the Commissioner the priorities in the area of home affairs. These are integrated migration management, the strengthening of the Schengen area leading to improved security in the EU and Slovenia, and the Western Balkans being a regional priority.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar today attended a video conference meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. The ministers focused their discussion on the situation in Ethiopia and Ukraine and held an informal talk with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

A joint letter of Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva has been published in today’s edition of the Delo newspaper, in which they discuss the objectives of their countries’ EU Council Presidencies. The entire letter is available below.

Today, as part of preparations for Slovenia’s Presidency, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs had a meeting with Italy’s Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese through video conferencing. They agreed the levels of cooperation between their countries in the area of home affairs have always been good. Their discussion focused on Slovenia’s preparations for assuming the Council Presidency in the second semester of 2021 and on some topical issues such as irregular migration.

Today, as part of preparation for Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs held a meeting by videoconference with Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission for Promoting the European Way of Life.

Following the opening address by Prime Minister Janez Janša and the parliamentary debate, the National Assembly has confirmed at its plenary session the Government's proposal for the Declaration on the Activities of the Republic of Slovenia in the Institutions of the European Union for the Period 2021–2024.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended a video conference meeting of ministers and state secretaries for European affairs, focusing on the preparations for a video conference of the European Council members at the end of the week. The officials exchanged views on a joint response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding vaccine supply, the efforts to jointly and gradually remove restrictions as soon as the situation allows, the digital green pass, and global vaccine supply.