State Secretary Gašper Dovžan chaired today’s regular session of the General Affairs Council in Brussels. The discussion focused on the preparations for the December European Council meeting, the rule of law in five member states, with the cases considered in alphabetical order, and EU enlargement. Ministers and state secretaries for European affairs also took note of the state of EU-UK relations and the European Commission’s work programme for the next year.

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.

In the frame of the Government visit to Southeast Slovenia Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač met with the mayors of the municipality of Moravske Toplice and Turnišče. In Lendava the Minister tried out the electric bike renting system by taking a bicycle ride to visit the transnational cooperation project IronCurtainCycling and the location where new housing units will be built in Lendava.

The Management Board of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) held its seventh virtual meeting today.

As part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the meeting of the Atlas Commanders Forum was held in Ljubljana today and was attended by representatives of the special police units from all EU member states.

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.

Slovenian delegation, led by State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs, today participated in the first South East Europe (SEE) 2030 Strategy Monitoring Committee meeting which was held online. The Monitoring Committee consists of delegations from the countries covered by the SEE 2030 Strategy, i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Republic of North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey and a representative of the Regional Cooperation Council secretariat.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today had a meeting at Otočec with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković.

The Medical Director of the University Medical Centre Maribor (UKC), izr. prof. dr. Matjaž Vogrin and School Chief Inspector dr. Simon Slokan took part in the press conference on the current situation regarding the Covid-19 epidemic, while the current epidemiological situation in the country was presented by Maja Bratuša.

Minister Dr Logar participated in the international conference on Belarus organised in an online format by Austrian Federal Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and Austrian Federal Foreign Minister Michael Linhart.

State Secretaries Gašper Dovžan and Stanislav Raščan held separate talks with Special Envoy for the European Union and Europe and Ambassador of Canada to Germany, Stéphane Dion, Ambassador of Canada to the EU Ailish Campbell and non-resident Ambassador of Canada to Slovenia Caroline Charette via video conference.

European Forest Week will be marked next week (22 – 28 November 2021). The week, which was first marked in 2008, offers a unique opportunity to raise the profile of the forestry sector and impact on Europe-wide and global debates on forests. The week is jointly organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The theme of this year's European Forest Week is The Future of Forests.

On 19 and 20 November 2021, the Foreign Minister, Anže Logar, attended the High-Level Forum on Resisting Authoritarianism – “The Future of Democracy” organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. High-level representatives ranging from political decision-makers and academics to human rights defenders and international organisations addressed the most current challenges in the debates related to the shrinking of the democratic space, the consolidation of authoritarianism and the path towards a democratic renaissance.

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.

In the format of ministers for development cooperation, the EU Foreign Affairs Council confirmed the conclusions on water in the EU’s external action, which is one of the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU in development cooperation. The EU will strengthen its reputation as the largest development assistance donor and confirm its impact as the key global actor in this field, also in the light of the UN Conference on the Water Action Decade scheduled for March 2023.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan attended the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in the composition of development ministers (FAC DEV). The meeting endorsed two conclusions, including conclusions on water in the EU’s external action, which represents an important milestone in EU water diplomacy and important achievement of Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in a seminar on the Western Balkans in Madrid, which was organised by the Slovenian Embassy in Madrid, the Bled Strategic Forum, and the Elcano Royal Institute. On this occasion, he also met with State Secretary for the European Union at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain Juan González-Barba Pera. In a separate meeting, the two state secretaries reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on topical European, regional, and global issues. Slovenia and Spain are both focusing their efforts towards strengthening the EU's resilience to crises of all kinds with a view to putting the slogan of the Slovenian Presidency “Together. Resilient. Europe.” into action.

The Meeting of the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee of the UN General Assembly, also referred to as the Third Committee, has concluded in New York. The Committee, which opened its meeting on 30 September, adopted more than 60 resolutions. In addition to the Council Presidency, Slovenia is focusing on its priorities in its work within the Third Committee, particularly on the rights of women, the rights of older persons, the rights of the child, human rights and the environment, the human rights situation around the world and issues concerning civil society but is also actively involved in other topics.

At the meeting of the General Affairs Council, the ministers responsible for Cohesion Policy underlined the contribution of Cohesion Policy to reducing and eliminating development gaps, to the green transformation and digital transition and to the economic, social and territorial cohesion. The ministers gave green light to the inclusion of San Marino in the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region.

The Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs today attended a regional ministerial conference entitled "Sarajevo Migration Dialogue" in Sarajevo. The Minister focused on strengthening cooperation and partnership in the region in managing migration and maintaining security.