A joint letter of Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar and his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva has been published in today’s edition of the Delo newspaper, in which they discuss the objectives of their countries’ EU Council Presidencies. The entire letter is available below.

Today, Minister Andrej Šircelj attended an informal video conference of the economic and finance ministers (ECOFIN Council). As part of the discussions on the economic recovery in the European Union, Minister Šircelj presented the concept of the Slovenian recovery and resilience plan.

Today, as part of preparations for Slovenia’s Presidency, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs had a meeting with Italy’s Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese through video conferencing. They agreed the levels of cooperation between their countries in the area of home affairs have always been good. Their discussion focused on Slovenia’s preparations for assuming the Council Presidency in the second semester of 2021 and on some topical issues such as irregular migration.

At the invitation of the Portuguese Presidency, State Secretary Dr Božo Predalič and Director of Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants Katarina Štrukelj joined an informal ministerial video conference on integration and the impact of the pandemic on the access of migrants to the labour market.

Today, as part of preparation for Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs held a meeting by videoconference with Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission for Promoting the European Way of Life.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, French President Emmanuel Macron, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovič and Romanian Prime Minister Florin Cîțu have written a letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen about the role of nuclear energy in the EU climate and energy policy.

Following the opening address by Prime Minister Janez Janša and the parliamentary debate, the National Assembly has confirmed at its plenary session the Government's proposal for the Declaration on the Activities of the Republic of Slovenia in the Institutions of the European Union for the Period 2021–2024.

EU Ministers responsible for agriculture and fisheries met yesterday and today at the EU Council meeting held in Brussels. The main items on the agenda were agriculture and fisheries. Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek attended the meeting on behalf of Slovenia. The Minister also met with Italian and French agricultural ministers in the framework of the meeting.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended a video conference meeting of ministers and state secretaries for European affairs, focusing on the preparations for a video conference of the European Council members at the end of the week. The officials exchanged views on a joint response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding vaccine supply, the efforts to jointly and gradually remove restrictions as soon as the situation allows, the digital green pass, and global vaccine supply.

As part of preparations for Slovenia's Presidency in the second half of 2021, the Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs and his delegation paid a two-day working visit to Brussels and The Hague. In Brussels, he met with the Director-General for Justice and Home Affairs at the General Secretariat of the Council Christine Roger.

Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning Andrej Vizjak attended an on-line informal conference of EU environmental ministers, which held an exchange of views on the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, which was published by the European Commission in February. Ministers also debated the role of the Recovery and Resilience Plans for a Green Transition in conjunction with the European Semester and held a political debate on the Commission's proposal for a regulation concerning batteries and waste batteries, following the goals of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan. The afternoon part of the session was attended by State Secretary Metka Gorišek, PhD.

Today, Minister Andrej Šircelj participated at an informal video conference of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). Economic recovery in the European Union remains the most important subject of the discussions at the European level.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar and Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs today attended a joint virtual meeting of EU Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Ministers. The purpose of the session was to make progress in negotiating the pact on migration and asylum in the context of external aspects of migration, which is an important pillar of the European Union’s comprehensive migration policy. The ministers were in firm agreement that the underlying causes of migration should be addressed and partnership with third countries should be established. Progress is also needed with regard to the return and readmission of migrants.

Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs, accompanied by the delegation, participated at the informal videoconference of Home Affairs Ministers.

Today, at the invitation of Foreign Minister Anže Logar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain Arancha González Laya travelled to Slovenia for a working visit. The visit was aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two Mediterranean European countries and exchanging views, which will play a vital role both before and during Slovenia's EU Council presidency in the second half of this year.

The Design Austria Gallery in Vienna’s Museum Quarter is hosting an exhibition of contemporary Slovenian design entitled The Future of Living, which brings together products of local origin and adheres to sustainable principles. It presents Slovenian creativity, highlighting the role of the cultural and creative industries as a driver of sustainable development. Its focus is also on the internationalisation of Slovenian design and on the search for entrepreneurial opportunities and international cooperation.

Minister Zdravko Počivalšek attended a virtual meeting of EU ministers responsible for trade, where they discussed the new medium-term trade strategy, which was published on 18 February. It sets out the political direction of the EU trade and investment policy for the upcoming years in estimating the contribution of the trade policy to a fast and sustainable recovery and to open strategic autonomy.

Minister Zdravko Počivalšek attended a video session of the Informal Ministerial Conference on European Tourism, a top-level debate. The Portuguese EU Council presidency convened a meeting at the initiative of some Mediterranean countries whose economies depend on tourism to improve the free movement of people within the EU's internal and external borders, as well as possible additional EU tools to help launch the EU tourism industry in the short and medium term.

Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek participated in an informal videoconference of ministers of EU Member States responsible for the internal market and industry. The morning session was dedicated to a political discussion of the European Semester in the context of the Union’s recovery process and national recovery and resilience plans as an instrument for the implementation of industrial strategy, strengthening the internal market, the twin transition and strategic autonomy, and a discussion of the new consumer agenda. The afternoon session featured a discussion of the draft directive on the public disclosure of certain tax information by undertakings (i.e. the Country-By-Country Reporting or CbCR Directive).

Today, the EU Ministers competent for fisheries met on the second current year’s meeting of the EU Council under the Portuguese Presidency, which took place in the audio-visual form. This time, the Agenda included topics on fisheries. On exit of the United Kingdom from the EU, the Ministers familiarised themselves with the state of play of bilateral consultations between the EU and the UK on fishing opportunities for 2021 and on deep-sea fish stocks for 2021 and 2022. Slovenia was represented by the acting Directress General of the MAFF Food and Fisheries Directorate, Ms Ana Le Marechal Kolar.