The second and third days of the 9th session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Water Convention were held in Geneva.

Within the framework of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food co-organises an international event called “Smart Villages for a Green, Digital and Resilient Europe” together with the office of MEP Franc Bogovič. In the debate, which was attended also by the Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, and the Director-General of the FAO, Qu Dongyu, the participants highlighted the importance of coherent and integrated rural development, which is an issue that extends way beyond just agriculture.

The meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the European Territorial Cooperation Programme (URBACT) was organised as part the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. It was attended by representatives of the EU member states, the European Commission, the Managing Authority and the Secretariat of the Programme.

The International Day of Older Persons is celebrated on 1 October and this year, it is dedicated to digital equality for all ages, pointing to the need for accessibility and inclusion of older people in the digital world.

The Slovenian legal conference is a great opportunity to hold an open dialogue on trends and challenges in the European legal environment in order to better understand different systems in the EU Member States.

420 years ago, on October 19, 1601, Georg Paradeiser and some of his accomplices were executed in Vienna. This nobleman from a prominent Carinthian family was found guilty of treason for his surrender of the strategically important border fortress of Kanizsa, which he was commander of, after the fortress had been besieged by the Turks for a longer period of time. Considerably less known than Paradeiser's fatal two-year affair of Kanizsa, is his work in the seaside town of Senj. While working as the Captain of Senj, Paradeiser sent to Carniola two interesting alerts against the oncoming Turks in January 1596. The so-called Turkish alerts are presented here as this month's archivalia.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša paid a working visit to London at the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar attended the regular meeting of EU member states’ ambassadors accredited to Slovenia. He presented Slovenia’s work as Chair of the Council of the EU to date and plans for the second half of the Presidency. “Despite the uncertain epidemiological situation, Slovenia has carried out all planned events and is successfully pursuing the objectives of its priorities,” said Minister Logar.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today participated in the 8th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum in Skopje, dedicated to EU enlargement. “The Western Balkans is part of Europe and the challenges of the region are also those of the European Union. It is therefore vital to involve the Western Balkan region in the debates on the future of Europe," said State Secretary Dovžan in his address.

From 12 to 13 October 2021, an international expert conference "Increasing the accessibility and competitiveness of European audiovisual and media content" will take place in Cankarjev dom congress center in Ljubljana as well as online. The participants will be addressed by dr. Vasko Simoniti, Slovenian Minister of Culture and President of the Council of the European Union for Culture and Giuseppe Abbamonte, Director of Media Policy at the European Commission.

At the meeting of the Competitiveness Council held on 29 September 2021, the ministers responsible for industry and the internal market discussed the impact of the “Fit for 55” package on the competitiveness of EU industry, and the importance of better regulation for the competitiveness of the European Union and the functioning of the single market.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan participated at the opening session of the Geneva Dialogue on responsible behaviour in cyberspace along with Livia Leu, State Secretary at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and Gaurav Keerthi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Cyber Security Agency of Singapore. This edition of the virtual event centred around the security of digital products and its regulatory framework.

In its capacity as Chair of the Council of the European Union, Slovenia hosted an informal consultation of the non-proliferation and disarmament directors. This is an annual traditional meeting for EU member states to exchange views on current strategic issues and challenges of the global arms of mass destruction control regime. The meeting was chaired by the Slovenian Ambassador for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Andrej Benedejčič.

A press conference to provide a COVID-19 update was attended by the Minister of Health, Janez Poklukar, and the head of the vaccination advisory group, Bojana Beović.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today paid a working visit to Klagenfurt to co-chair the 6th session of the Slovenia-Carinthia Joint Committee, together with Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser. The meeting set out the course for future cooperation between Slovenia and the Austrian state of Carinthia in a number of areas of common interest. Minister Logar also held a separate meeting with Governor Kaiser.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with representatives of the Slovenian minority in Carinthia prior to the Slovenia-Carinthia Committee session. The Minister assured Slovenia's ongoing support for the minority's efforts towards long-term and systemic solutions regarding the implementation of their rights.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan held talks with Sergei Cheryomin, Moscow Government Minister and Head of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity and International Relations. The officials confirmed good relations between the two countries and wide-ranging cooperation in the economic, cultural, scientific, educational and other sectors.

In Ljubljana, Prime Minister Janša today met with Latvian President Egils Levits, who is on an official visit to Slovenia at the invitation of Slovenian President Borut Pahor.

The government finished its visit to the Zasavje Region with a public forum in which it discussed the challenges and opportunities in the region with representatives of business interests and local communities.