The first shipment of a vaccine against COVID-19 arrived in Slovenia yesterday, and today the first vaccinations of the most critical groups began across the country. Prime Minister Janez Janša today visited the Danica Vogrinec Home for the Elderly in Maribor, where they are at the moment still facing an aggravated epidemiological situation and where the first married couple was vaccinated.

The first batch of the coronavirus vaccine arrived at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana on Saturday and was delivered to the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

Below is the Christmas address of the Prime Minister Janez Janša.

The Ministry welcomes the deal on EU-UK future partnership, which was reached after extremely intensive negotiations led by the EU’s negotiator Michel Barnier and on the UK side, David Frost.

Below is a transcript of the address by Prime Minister Janez Janša at the state ceremony on Independence and Unity Day; due to the epidemiological situation, it was only broadcast on television.

Government of the Republic of Slovenia took note of the activities regarding the draft national Recovery and Resilience Plan which was approved on 8 October 2020 and instructed the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy to submit the said proposal to the Government for approval after the European Parliament adopts the EU Regulation establishing a Recovery and Resilience Facility in February 2021.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, the state secretary at the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology, Simon Zajc, the deputy head of the Centre for Infectious Diseases at the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ), Nuška Čakš Jager, and the government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2021.

Today, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food published an open competition for selection of an innovative, creative design and plan for a symbolic object – the ‘Zlata čebela’ / ‘Golden Honeybee’ award model. This open and anonymous competition is addressed to all the interested citizens of the Republic of Slovenia with the required skills in the realms of authorship, technical know-how and organisational competencies.

Prime Minister Janez Janša participated at the meeting of four presidents at the presidential palace today, which is traditionally organised by the President of the Republic, Borut Pahor. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Janez Janša, President of the Republic, Borut Pahor, President of the National Assembly, Igor Zorčič, and the President of the National Council, Alojz Kovšca.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by Marija Magajne from the Ministry of Health, Prof. Dr Borut Štrukelj, psychologist Dr Andreja Poljanec, and the government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

At the invitation of Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, the first meeting of foreign ministers of the three countries was held today in Trieste, and focused on the joint management of the Adriatic Sea. Bordering the same sea, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia share a vision of the Adriatic Sea as a bridge uniting the people of the region and as a source of prosperity for all.

At a session, the Government issued the Ordinance on the declaration of the COVID-19 epidemic in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and published it in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. By this ordinance and on the basis of the Communicable Diseases Act, an epidemic of the COVID-19 communicable disease was declared in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia. The ordinance shall enter into force on 18 December 2020 and remain in force for 30 days.

On Thursday, 17 December, in the Presidential Palace, the President of the Republic of Slovenia and Commander-in-Chief of the Slovenian Armed Forces Borut Pahor promoted Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Robert Glavaš, to the rank of Major General.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today addressed the participants of the 15th Slovenian Economy Summit via video. He said, among other things, that the victors of tomorrow are those who are flexible, creative, curious, and dare to think outside the established frameworks. In order to succeed, we need the know-how that is connected with digitalisation and innovation. Skills in artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, and quantum computers are necessary.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended an event that was part of the Zlati pogovori cycle, which takes place on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Zlati kamen event. In the virtual conversation “How to get funds for municipalities after 2020?”, State Secretary underlined that municipalities and development regions are important partners in the process of planning the use of European Cohesion Policy funds for the period 2021-2027 as well as the funds available under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The EU Environment Council, attended by the State Secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Metka Gorišek, reached an agreement on the EU Climate Act, which sets out the long-term goal of EU's carbon neutrality until 2050 at the EU level.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today held a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla. The ministers reviewed bilateral cooperation, especially on the economy, which has an important place in bilateral relations. They also discussed measures to stem the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its consequences and went on to discuss current regional themes.