In mid-May, two prominent Slovenian writers visited Greece. Drago Jančar presented the Greek translation of his novel And Love Itself in Athens and at the 20th Thessaloniki International Book Fair. Dušan Šarotar presented his novel Panorama to the Greek audience in Thessaloniki.

Have you heard about the invasion of bedbugs in one of Europe’s countries? And seen a photo of Pope Francis in a white puffer jacket? Even if the news sounds credible and the photo on the screen in front of you looks completely real, these two cases are among the more well-known examples of disinformation that has been exposed.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon opened the 13th Africa Day International Conference dedicated to celebrating the international Africa Day and fostering the friendship between Slovenia and African countries, as well as between Europe and Africa. This year's event is focused on a fair green transition and on effectively tackling one of the greatest challenges of our time – the triple planetary crisis.

Today, the Prime Minister, Dr Robert Golob, signed a Letter of Intent with the Rector of the University of Primorska, Dr Klavdija Kutnar, for the development and implementation of a single master’s degree programme in medicine at the University of Primorska.

In a media statement, Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar presented Slovenia's decision to extend temporary control at the internal borders with Croatia and Hungary by six months.

On Slovenian Diplomacy Day, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon thanked the diplomats and Ministry staff for their contributions to enhancing Slovenia's visibility, prestige and strength on the global stage. The Ministry also marked the day with a special event in honour of Jožefa Puhar, the highly esteemed first female ambassador to the then Republic of Macedonia.

The joint delegation of the European Commission, led by Ms Sofia Alves, Director at the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, and the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, led by Minister Jevšek, visited the Zasavje region on the occasion of the closure of the 2014-2020 programming period.

The main international event to mark the 7th World Bee Day this year - the international forum “Bees for People, Planet and Peace” took place in Ljubljana, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The opening part of the international forum “Bees for People, Planet and Peace” was attended by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Ervin Kosi.

"I welcome today's announcement by the leaders of the Kingdom of Spain, the Republic of Ireland and the Kingdom of Norway on recognising the State of Palestine. In recent weeks, I have been in close and regular contact with them. In the coming days, I will also be in contact with many colleagues from EU Member States that have not yet recognised Palestine, in the hope that they join the recognition process in the near future.

On World Bee Day, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon and Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Qu Dongyu inaugurated an urban beehive in the garden of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs at a special ceremony and opened the international forum "Bees for People, Planet and Peace".

Prime Minister Robert Golob meet with Qu Donyu, Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The two speakers discussed the global food crisis and food security, especially in war zones.

At the invitation of President Jakov Milatović, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, was on an official visit to Montenegro. The Slovenian President was received with military honours by her host, and their talks today focused on Montenegro's efforts on the path towards the European Union and the importance of the earliest possible integration of the Western Balkan countries into Euro-Atlantic integration for the stability of the region.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for two calls for proposals. The Just Transition Fund makes a total of EUR 77,740,000 available for both calls, i.e., Call for proposals for promoting investments for the economic restructuring of the Zasavska and Savinjsko-Šaleška coal regions and Call for proposals for co-financing the projects of economic and business infrastructure development in the Savinjsko-Šaleška coal region.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held political consultations in Riga, where he and Andris Pelšs, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, confirmed the good and friendly bilateral relations between Slovenia and Latvia.

The Golden Bee Award was presented on World Bee Day for the fourth time. The award was presented by the President of the Republic Nataša Pirc Musar, and the winner was declared by the Minister of Agriculture Mateja Čalušić. The Golden Bee Award was presented to The Wheen Bee Foundation Limited of Australia. Many other events were organised around the world on the occasion of today's World Bee Day.

The European Commission adopted a decision to increase short stay Schengen visa (visa type C) fees worldwide by 12 per cent. The increase will apply worldwide as of 11 June 2024.

Maja Brkan presented the Annual Report of the Court of Justice of the European Union for 2023 to Prime Minister Robert Golob and outlined the key challenges for the period ahead.

In the coming days, we are celebrating a series of European, global, and international days that remind us each year of our relationship with nature and the importance of preserving nature for future generations – World Bee Day on 20 May, European Natura 2000 Day on 21 May, International Day of Biological Diversity on 22 May and European Day of Parks on 24 May.

Danijel Levičar, State Secretary for the National Nuclear Programme, today took part in a debate on the role of nuclear energy in the green transition, which took place as part of the international SEEnergy conference in Celje.