Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač attended the ceremony marking the start of the construction works for the Prapretno solar power plant. Minister Černač together with the Minister responsible for infrastructure Jernej Vrtovec, the CEO of the Holding slovenske elektrarne Viktor Vračar, Ph. D. and the mayor of the municipality Hrastnik Marko Funkl pressed the button that marked the start of the construction works. ‘Pressing the button has a simple and yet a strong message: Green future is in our hands,’ stressed Minister Černač.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended the main ceremony to mark the municipal holiday of Benedikt and addressed the residents of the municipality. She congratulated them on this occasion and underlined that the Government will continue to focus the available EU funding on reducing development disparities between Slovenia’s regions.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended the presentation of the project My Europe, My Future at Brdo pri Kranju, where a documentary-feature film on the topic of a Healthy, Green and Sustainable Europe was premiered.

The launch of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency is accompanied by the opening of the Europe Readr digital platform, its leading cultural and promotional project. The selection of books in the virtual library that will be available free of charge will bring readers closer to the current social issues and encourage them to reflect on, and discuss, the world we want to live in. A number of accompanying events will be organised around the world, along with the creation of public spaces for reading and exchanging ideas, all the way from Paris and Helsinki to Washington and Bangkok. The formal opening of the platform will take place on 7 July in the Lighthouse Park in Izola.

To ensure a safety distance (at least 1 meter), the archive reading room can be visited by up to 10 users at a time.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the projects Agreement on the development of region Ptuj-Markovci-Gorišnica, Agreement on the development of region Ptuj-Juršinci, Development of cycling infrastructure in Trbovlje, Agreement on the development of region Regional cycling route Novo mesto-Straža, Agreement on the development of region Destrnik-Ptuj, Cycling connection between Radlje ob Dravi and Vas, Agreement on the development of region Kungota-Maribor and Agreement on the development of region Regional cycling route Črnomelj-Kanižarica. The total value of all projects amounts to EUR 17.7 million. The projects will be supported by the EU, with EUR 8.3 million coming from the European Regional Development Fund.

The premiere of the Waterman ballet marked the start of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The ballet staged on Bled Island and choreographed by internationally renowned choreographer Edward Clug was attended by representatives of the Slovenian Government and members of the College of Commissioners.

The premiere of the Waterman ballet on July 1 2021, marked the beginning of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The ballet performance on Bled Island, choreographed by the internationally renowned choreographer Edward Clug, was seen by representatives of the Slovenian Government and members of the European Commission. The gathering was addressed by the Slovenian Minister of Culture dr. Vasko Simoniti and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attended the ceremony marking the start of Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU – the ballet performance Water Man (Povodni mož), choreographed by Edward Clug, on Bled Island.

The European Commission gave the green light to Slovenia's plan for resilience and recovery. This was message brought by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the College of European Commissioners to today's meeting with the Slovenian Government, which is taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second time.

Slovenia today assumes the Presidency of the EU Council for the second time. The European Commission, headed by President Ursula von der Leyen, is visiting our country to mark this occasion. After a morning visit to the Pediatric Clinic in Ljubljana, Prime Minister Janša and the President of the European Commission met for a bilateral meeting at Brdo, followed by a working lunch of the entire Government and the European Commission. After that, a press conference was held for Slovenian and foreign media.

Today, Slovenia is taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second time. On this occasion, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the College of Commissioners arrived to Ljubljana and will meet with the Slovenian Government today.

In the context of the visit of the College of European Commissioners, Foreign Minister Anže Logar met with Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič and Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen. He presented the priorities in the field of foreign policy during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, stressing that Slovenia would strive to strengthen the Union's resilience and to achieve a stronger role of the Union in global relations.

At the invitation of the German Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Svenja Schulze, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan attended the Water Dialogues for Results virtual conference in Bonn. The conference is part of a formal preparatory event for the United Nations (UN) Conference on the Water Action Decade scheduled for March 2023 in New York. This will be only the second conference in the history of the UN dedicated exclusively to water.

Today, as part of her visit to Slovenia, Minister of Health Janez Poklukar received President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the Slovenian Prime Minister, Janez Janša.

Eighty years ago, more precisely on July 22, 1941, a few minutes before 8 am, a single shot was fired on the Tacen-Šmartno road. The shot, whose echo continued to be heard even a decade later, when it became to be regarded by the Slovenian people as the shot that started its armed uprising. The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia keeps the criminal charge issued by the Commander of the Security Police and Security Service in the Occupied Territory of Carinthia and Upper Carniola against two suspects, two young men, who were believed to have fired the shot from a bush and wound a bike-riding Franc Žnidaršič, an interpreter at the German gendarmerie station.

Members of the Slovenian Government today paid a day-long visit to the Podravje region. They first met for a working consultation at Ptuj Castle, followed by separate programmes of the Prime Minister and ministers. During the visit, the Prime Minister and ministers met with representatives of businesses, institutions, municipalities and other stakeholders in the region. The visit to the region concluded with a public debate on the development and prospects of the Podravje region.

Prime Minister Janša made a guest appearance on Radio City in Maribor today during the Government visit to the Podravje region. In conversation with radio talk show host Dejan Vedlin, he talked about the epidemic, the importance of vaccination, the spread of the delta variant, the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Government's plans for the Podravje region.

Minister Zvone Černač today visited University Medical Centre Maribor as part of the government visit to the Podravje region. The Minister paid a visit to the Slivniško Pohorje-based Department of pulmonary disease that will be relocated to new premises thanks to EU funding. In Maribor, the Minister made a visit to the neighbourhood Pod Pekrsko gorco, and met with the Mayor of Selnica ob Dravi dr. Vlasta Krmelj and her colleagues. State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs also participated in the government visit, meeting Mayors of Poljčane and Hoče-Slivnica and paying a site visit to the Business Zone Tezno.

On the eve of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan took part in a meeting of the co-chairs of the Conference on the Future of Europe. He will co-chair the Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe during the Slovenian Presidency.