Foreign Ministers exchanged information on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in their countries and in the international community.

The Minister of Finance M.Sc. Andrej Šircelj On the basis of the third paragraph of Article 40 of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding Act, on 10 April 2020 issued a Decision on the appointment and tasks of the Expert Commission for the preparation of the candidate proposal for the members of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) Supervisory Board. The Expert Commission carried out the procedure of obtaining and evaluating candidates, but was unable to submit s sufficient number of suitable candidates to the Minister of Finance. The expert commission therefore publishes an open public call for additional candidates. The candidate selection process is underway due to the expiration of the term of office of two members of the SSH Supervisory Board on July 16, 2020.

The third international celebration of World Bee Day was held virtually due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The international conference was organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations (Apimondia) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and with the support of the Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food. The aim of the conference, entitled "Bee Engaged", was to highlight the importance of the engagement and actions of every person for the preservation of bees and other pollinators.

On World Bee Day, members of the Green Group issued a joint statement attesting to their commitment to protect bees and their natural environment. The Green Group – Cabo Verde, Costa Rica, Iceland, Singapore, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates – is an informal association of small countries that, on Slovenia’s initiative, have been promoting issues related to the environment and sustainable development in foreign policy since 2009.

At today's session, the Government concluded their consideration of the proposal for the Act Determining the Intervention Measures to Mitigate and Remedy the Consequences of the COVID-19 Epidemic for Citizens and the Economy.

Prime Minister Janez Janša assessed the Franco-German proposal on the establishment of a 500 billion euro recovery fund to restart the EU economy following the COVID-19 pandemic as "a good step forward". The fund would be financed by EU borrowing on the markets and would be used to fund the sectors and regions of the EU that were most affected by the pandemic.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar participated in an audio-video conference of foreign ministers of the Western Balkans – North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Serbia, foreign ministers of the EU countries bordering the region – Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovenia, and high representatives of the European Union.

"Children, pupils and students successfully returned to kindergartens and schools yesterday, thanks to the principals and the teachers who thoroughly prepared for the return and made all the necessary arrangements to successfully carry out classes. Students and parents were also very understanding and prepared for a smooth implementation of the education process in schools," stressed the Minister of Education, Science and Sport at today's press conference in her first evaluation of kindergartens and schools reopening yesterday. Schools are reporting good cooperation with local communities and smooth operation of school transport.

At the invitation of his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar today participated in a video conference on lifting restrictive measures at state borders to ease tourist travel. Other participants included the foreign ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, the major holiday destinations for German tourists.

Today marks the centenary of the birth of Karol Józef Wojtyła in Poland, later Pope St. John Paul II. He entered history as a remarkable personality and leader, staunchly supporting freedom, justice and peace.

Borders will be gradually reopened, and the amended ordinance gives the state a discretion to refuse entry to EU citizens who do not have temporary or permanent residence in Slovenia and show clear signs of infection or disease, said the Government's spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, at today's press conference. The Government has amended the Ordinance on imposing and implementing measures for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 at border crossings at the external border and at checkpoints at the internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia, which was adopted on 14 May 2020.

Slovenian minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs and Croatian minister of the Interior Davor Božinovič met in Ormož, Slovenia, on 16 May 2020. They discussed the current situation regarding the COVID-19 epidemic, particularly regarding options of crossing the Slovenian-Croatian state border and issues related to illegal migrations.

Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar today took part in a video conference of EU ministers of foreign affairs, which was led by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. The central topic of the fourth video conference of foreign ministers was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the regions of North Africa and the wider Middle East. Minister Logar was pleased to inform his European colleagues that, as of today, Slovenia has declared an official end to its COVID-19 epidemic as a result of good epidemiological results.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan represented Slovenia at the virtual meeting of CEI Heads of Government on behalf of Prime Minister Janez Janša and Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar, who had previously scheduled commitments. The 31st CEI Summit focused on a debate about the situation, measures, and regional cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted an ordinance declaring the end of COVID-19 epidemic effective from 15 May, based on a joint assessment by healthcare professionals and the Government Slovenia is thus the first country in Europe to take this step. Since the risk of spreading COVID-19 still persists, the general and specific measures adopted pursuant to the decision on the application of measures under the Communicable Diseases Act will continue to apply based on expert opinion until 31 May 2020.

After the tourist market came to a full stop due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) responded with a motivational campaign for the domestic market entitled THE TIME IS NOW. My Slovenia. The Government Communication Office (UKOM) is a partner in this campaign. Together with the STO and other partners, we invite Slovenians to discover more or less hidden parts of Slovenia, to spend a short or long holiday in Slovenia, and, above all, to strengthen pride in our country through our joint efforts.

Today the Minister without portfolio, competent for development and the EU cohesion policy, Zvone Černač, visited Žužemberk, Ivančna Gorica and Grosuplje. The Minister and the mayors discussed the topical issues regarding EU Cohesion Policy implementation and visited projects co-financed by European Cohesion Policy funds.

This morning, Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen over the phone. Their discussion was very substantive and constructive. They talked about the proposals for the next EU budget and the recovery fund in response to the coronavirus epidemic.

At today’s extraordinary session of the National Assembly, the deputies discussed the proposed resolution on the acquaintance with the report on the status, reasons, reserves and orders of personal protective equipment and critical medical equipment upon the declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) epidemic and the purchases that enabled Slovenia’s success in overcoming the epidemic. The proposed resolution was submitted for discussion by the Government of the Republic of Slovenian and, at the session, Prime Minister Janez Janša further explained the proposal.

In a week, on 20 May, Slovenia and the rest of the world will celebrate World Bee Day for the third time. The UN General Assembly proclaimed World Bee Day on 20 December 2017. The main purpose of World Bee Day is to raise awareness among the global public about the importance of bees and other pollinators for humanity, in light of ensuring global food security, eradication of hunger, and care for the environment and biodiversity. With the title "Bee Engaged", FAO as the organiser of the event wishes to draw attention to the importance of engagement and actions of countries, organisations, research and educational institutions, civil society, the private sector, farmers, beekeepers and the public for the conservation of bees and other pollinators.