Due to the officially announced Coronavirus disease COVID-19 epidemic and the recommendations of the competent authorities, we inform you that the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia will be closed for all visitors and users from March 13, 2020 until further notice.

At the press conference on the current situation related to the COVID-19 epidemic, the speakers were the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning. Andrej Vizjak, Mojca Matičič, a doctor at the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana and a professional mentor for students at the government call centre, and Government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

At the invitation of Ambassador Boris Grigić of Croatia, which is currently holding the Council presidency, Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar was a guest at a meeting of Heads of Mission of EU Member States accredited to the Republic of Slovenia.

At a press conference on the current situation with respect to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, and the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, and the Minister of Finance, Andrej Šircelj, presented the third package of measures to mitigate the consequences of the epidemic.

A formal session of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association was held at its headquarters to mark the third World Bee Day in Slovenia. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, only a small number of participants gathered at this beekeeping event, which had initially been planned to take place in Dolenjske Toplice. The participants were representatives of beekeepers, local communities, diplomats and others involved in the World Bee Day project. Minister of Agriculture Aleksandra Pivec also attended the event. In her address, she highlighted the importance of beekeeping and the role of the state in supporting this important sector.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke to Slovenia’s citizens on the adoption of the third coronavirus stimulus package.

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

It has been two years since the UN General Assembly proclaimed 20 May as World Bee Day on the initiative brought forward by Slovenia.

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.