State Secretary Dobran Božič received Loránt Vincze, the president of FUEN (the Federal Union of European Nationalities), today to present the initiative Minority Safepack. The initiative’s goal is to establish an EU framework of ethnic and linguistic minority members’ rights.

On 19 July, the President of the Republic of Slovenia signed a decree on the appointment of Lea Stančič as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to Romania.

It was on 15 July, that the first British Airways flight landed at Ljubljana Airport – after long 18 years. The flight connection between London Heathrow and Ljubljana will run until 2nd of September, every Monday and Friday.

A group of researchers from the Jožef Stefan Institute has discovered what they describe as an entirely new kind of matter that cannot be understood with existing physics and which opens up an entirely new field. Their paper was published in the latest issue of Nature Materials.

On 19 July, the President of the Republic of Slovenia signed a decree on the appointment of Peter Japelj as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to the Republic of Albania.

The rating agency Fitch upgraded the credit rating for Slovenia from A- to A, with a stable outlook. This is the third such upgrade for Slovenia by rating agencies this year, showing that the country is in good shape and has been successfully consolidating its public finances.

This year’s High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, United Nations’ central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals convened every year under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, is held under the theme ‘’Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality’’. The key message from the HLPF is that the global response to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has not been ambitious enough, and a renewed commitment and accelerated action is needed to deliver the SDGs in time. 47 Member States are presenting their Voluntary National Reviews of the 2030 Agenda during the Ministerial Segment. Slovenia presented its first National Voluntary Review in 2017, and will conduct its second voluntary national review in 2020.

The Government Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, has issued the decision on financial support for the “Interpretation of Biodiversity and Heritage of Pile Dwellings in the Ljubljana Marshes” project. The European Regional Development Fund will contribute nearly 1.3 million euros to the project, which overall will cost just under 2.3 million euros.

To mark the 101st anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, celebrated today, Political Director/ Director-General for Common Foreign and Security Policy Matej Marn attended the opening of the African Cultural Centre in Ljubljana. The African Cultural Centre was established in the framework of the African Village Institute. In addition to holding cultural events, the centre’s purpose is informal awareness raising of the importance of a multicultural society and respectful intercultural communication.

State Secretary Božič attended the General Affairs Council today, which took note of the foreseen course of negotiations on the new EU budget until the end of the year and of the Finnish Presidency’s priorities. Implementation of the new strategic agenda and the situation regarding the rule of law in the European Union were also discussed.

The Foreign Ministry participates in this year’s MetalDays festival taking place between 21 and 27 July in Tolmin, where it displays in an interactive way key sustainable development messages included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030).

Yesterday, 17 July 2019, the Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar met with the Minister of the Interior of the Italian Republic Matteo Salvini on the margins of the Informal JHA Council Meeting. The main topic of their discussion was migration.

The Government confirms Janez Lenarčič as candidate for European commissioner from Slovenia and adopts a strategy with regard to migrations.

At it’s session, the Government decided to put forward Janez Lenarčič, Ambassador to the EU, as candidate for the European Commissioner from Slovenia. He is an experienced candidate with long-standing top references in international and European matters, who meets all the criteria required.

The Government adopted at its session a strategy with regard to migrations, treating them in a multifaceted and comprehensive manner over the long term, putting emphasis on better understanding of all aspects of migrations and improving the measures for their management.

On 16 July, the President of the Republic of Slovenia signed a decree on the appointment of Gregor Presker as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to Montenegro.

On 12 July, the President of the Republic of Slovenia signed a decree on the appointment of Alain Brian Bergant as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to the Argentine Republic.

On 12 July, the President of the Republic of Slovenia signed a decree on the appointment of Andrej Slapničar as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia – Head of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovenia to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

On 12 July, the President of the Republic of Slovenia signed a decree on the appointment of Metka Ipavic as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to the French Republic.

On 12 July, the President of the Republic of Slovenia signed a decree on the appointment of Dr Erik Kopač as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia – Head of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovenia to NATO in Brussels.