Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today met his host and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for a working meeting aimed at presenting the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2021, exchanging views on current international topics, and bilateral cooperation.

It was not possible to reach a political agreement with the European Parliament and the European Commission on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in a super trilogue and the meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. The Portuguese Presidency will continue the negotiations until the end of its Presidency, aiming to reach a final agreement at June's meeting of the EU Council that will be held in Luxembourg. Minister Jože Podgoršek has attended the meeting on behalf of Slovenia. After the suspension of negotiations, Mr Podgoršek said early this morning that, even though we still have different views from the European Parliament and the Commission on some questions and final solutions, we are closer to a final agreement. "It is vital to go through a democratic process to reach important agreements, such as the agreement on the new Common Agricultural Policy. This means that opinions and specific characteristics of numerous stakeholders and Member States are included and taken into account. We obviously have to find some more political will to reach a real compromise and seek solutions that, in the end, will benefit agriculture and rural areas. I believe that the Portuguese Presidency will do everything in its power to conclude the negotiation process in June's Council. If the negotiations are not concluded by then, Slovenia will continue these complex negotiations during its Presidency of the Council of the EU."

The 2nd Session of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation between Slovenia and North Macedonia was held via videoconference today. Slovenia was represented by State Secretary Stanislav Raščan and North Macedonia by State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy, Razmena Cekić-Durović.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, via videoconference today. The meeting was convened at Slovenia’s initiative and focused on the presentation of the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

Today's press conference featured Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj.

The epidemic is slowing down, for various reasons, stated Minister of health Janez Poklukar this week.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Industrial-Business Zone Steklarna – TKI Hrastnik. The Municipality Hrastnik will implement the EUR 4 million project under the Agreement on the Development of the Zasavje Region. European Regional Development Fund contribution stands at nearly EUR 2.5 million.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s independence, we are, besides many other activities, today launching the project "30 peaks for 30 years".

In the month that celebrates World Bee Day, an important EU supported project that transcends municipal and state borders is being completed “House of the Carniolan Bee – Centre for Innovative Technologies (ApiLab)”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich) in Lisbon. The ministers discussed EU-Africa relations, the unresolved conflicts in the European Eastern Neighbourhood, Belarus and the drafting of the EU's Indo-Pacific Strategy. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi joined them for a working lunch and briefed them on the situation in the region and the Middle East Peace Process.

The press conference focused on the decisions taken by the Government at its 77th and 78th sessions; the decisions were presented by Minister of Health Janez Poklukar, Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik, the head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health, Mateja Logar, Inspector Deana Potza from the Health Inspectorate, and Deputy Director-General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan met with Roland Schilling, Regional Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Central Europe. They discussed the priorities of Slovenia's EU Council Presidency, migration, the difficult humanitarian situation of refugees and migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Slovenia's support for the UNHCR.

The Minister of Finance M.Sc. Andrej Šircelj on the basis of the third paragraph of Article 40 of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding Act, issued a Decision on the appointment and tasks of the Expert Commission for the preparation of the candidate proposal for the member of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) Supervisory Board.

Today, at the 75th extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Janez Janša responded to a proposal for a constitutional indictment filed by opposition parties. His answer outlined the current epidemiological situation and listed the reasons for the situation in Slovenia. He pointed out that the opposition must be moderate in exercising possible instruments, and spoke of an optimistic economic forecast, then gave the latest data about vaccinations, stressing that a year of recovery is ahead, which will be faster than the average of EU member states and will return Slovenia to pre-crisis levels in record time.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a meeting via videoconference with State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. Their conversation focused on the priorities of the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, officially opened the 10th jubilee Africa Day International Conference. Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar, who emphasised that from the very beginning, the Africa Day Conference has been a forum for the exchange of ideas and views between partners, including Slovenian and African companies, also addressed the participants.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved funding for the project ITI Arrangement of cycling connections in Urban Municipality Murska Sobota – Phase 2 – Cohesion Fund. The project implemented by the Urban Municipality Murska Sobota is worth EUR 1.3 million with the Cohesion Fund contribution standing at EUR 601 thousand.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar, Minister of the Economy Zdravko Počivalšek, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs, Minister of Culture Vasko Simoniti and Minister of Health Janez Poklukar, had a virtual meeting with President of the European Parliament David Sassoli and the leaders of the European Parliament's political groups. After the meeting, President of the European Parliament and Prime Minister Janša issued a joint statement for the media.

The press conference was attended by State Secretary Jelko Kacin, responsible for the logistics of mass vaccination against Covid-19.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Agreement on the development of region: Drinking water supply in the Upper Sava River area – Set 4. The project worth a good EUR 3 million will be implemented by the Municipality Preddvor and the Municipality Naklo in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Gorenjska region and will receive EUR 943 thousand of Cohesion Fund support.