Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today in Washington, which was the third bilateral meeting at the level of foreign ministers over the last year and a half. The meeting was aimed at continuing the strategic dialogue between the two countries.

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.

The first international Golden Bee Award was awarded today in the House of the Carniolan Honey Bee. Prof. Lucas Alejandro Garibaldi from Argentina received the award. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food and Chair of the Golden Bee Award Committee Jože Podgoršek announced the winner of the award. President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor presented the award, which was collected by a representative of the Embassy of Argentina on behalf of the award winner.

The development of rural areas requires coherent and integrated rural development approaches. Combining different European funds offers opportunities to invest in infrastructure, technology and people for resilient, inclusive and prosperous rural areas.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the "Kdo vam laže?" ["Who is telling you lies?] show on Nova24TV, in which he spoke about current domestic political issues.

Today’s press conference, dedicated to COVID-19, focused on the Vaccination Days campaign, which will take place between 19 and 23 December. Participants in the press conference included the Minister of Health Janez Poklukar, Commander of the Slovenian Civil Protection Force Srečko Šestan and the General Secretary of Red Cross Slovenia Cvetka Tomin.

On the invitation of Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt, Minister Dr Anže Logar is paying an official visit to the Kingdom of Norway. Cooperation between Slovenia and Norway is excellent, and the ministers discussed opportunities for further widening and strengthening mutual collaboration.

A regular informal political dialogue between the European Union and the Russian Federation on the EU enlargement was held today via video conferencing. The EU side was led by Political Director and Director-General Jernej Müller.

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.

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the European Council meeting in Brussels, where EU leaders discussed the current situation regarding COVID-19, crisis management and resilience, energy prices, security and defence, migration and certain issues related to the EU's external relations. After the European Council meeting, the Prime Minister attended the Euro Summit. In accordance with the conclusions of the June 2021 Euro Summit, the state of play of the Capital Markets Union was discussed.

The Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs and the Minister of Justice Marjan Dikaučič, current Chairs of the EU Home Affairs Council and EU Justice Council respectively, attended the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs ministerial meeting in Washington on 16 December 2021. The ministerial meeting was also attended by the European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, the Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, a delegation of the General Secretariat of the EU Council, the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Ilkka Salmi, the Executive Director of Europol Catherine de Bolle and the President of Eurojust Ladislav Hamran.The meeting agenda was dedicated to justice and home affairs topics of shared EU and US interest.

A regular informal political dialogue between the European Union and the United States on the EU enlargement was held today via video conferencing. The EU side was led by Political Director and Director-General Jernej Müller.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Maribor riverfront redevelopment – Lent. The ERDF-supported project will foster Maribor waterfront regeneration, making the famous Lent bank and the promenade along the Drava River a vibrant urban place offering opportunities for social interaction, recreation, cultural events or just a pleasant place to sit and relax.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris today. The main purpose of his visit to France was to outline the achievements of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and to discuss future work on the key European dossiers during the upcoming French Presidency.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan attended the 29th consultations of the economic and social stakeholders of the EU and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) via video conference.

On the margins of the European Council meeting today in Brussels, Prime Minister Janez Janša signed the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission on the EU's legislative priorities for 2022. A resilient and reinvigorated EU will remain at the forefront of events in the year ahead.

Prime Minister Janez Janša is attending a European Council meeting in Brussels, where he and the other EU leaders will discuss the COVID-19 situation, including the emergence of new virus variants, coordination of measures, provision of vaccination and and external relations. They will also address external relations, including with Belarus and Ukraine, as well as the issue of crisis management and resilience, energy prices, security and defence, and the external aspects of migration.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended an evening discussion on Cohesion Policy. The on-line event was organised by the info point Europe Direct Novo mesto and the Development Centre Novo mesto. The State Secretary drew attention to the important role Cohesion Policy funds play in ensuring a balanced regional development and went on to present the priorities supported by the NextGenerationEU instrument and the entities eligible to the funding available under the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027.

The continually updated virtual exhibition "Pioneers of Slovenian Modern Architecture – Fabiani, Plečnik and Vurnik – Forms for a New Democracy" is being rounded off with an exhibition at the National Museum of Slovenia and a comprehensive monograph on the three great Slovenian architects produced by Bojana Čampa in Stane Jeršič.

Igor Jukič, Acting Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation, attended the meeting of the EU directors-general for development cooperation on Team Europe initiatives, which was held as an audio-video conference.