Today's press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Marija Magajne, the Director of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, Tjaša Žohar Čretnik, a paediatrician at the Division of Paediatrics of the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, Tadej Avčin, and Mojca Juriševič from the Department of fundamental pedagogical studies at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana.

Minister without portfolio, responsible for Development and Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today gave opening remarks at the online conference Zlati kamen (Golden Stone). This year's conference took place amid intense preparations for the next programming period and drafting of the national recovery and resilience plan. The minister underlined that the outcome of MFF negotiations was ''best possible so far'', bringing extensive additional funding to the table to help the country get back on its feet after COVID-19 crisis.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion policy has issued a funding decision for the Call for proposals for demonstration projects of smart cities and communities creation - JR PMIS. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 8 million available, of which EUR 6.4 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund.

Slovenia today celebrates one of its most important holidays, Prešeren Day. To mark the occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar donated the book I Saw Her That Night by Drago Jančar, one of the most renowned and most widely translated contemporary Slovenian authors, to the Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps in Slovenia, the Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia, Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich, at Strmol Castle.

Today, a special Etihad Airways aircraft from the United Arab Emirates landed in Slovenia, carrying seven tons of protective equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Raščan, and Deputy Director-General of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, Stanislav Lotrič, thanked the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Salim Mohamed Al Musharrakh, for the generous donation.

Due to the epidemiological situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrates this year’s Day of Culture in virtual format. In the year of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in Trio with Germany and Portugal, this day is dedicated to Slovenian culture in the wider European area. On the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s gaining independence, special attention is drawn to the role culture played in the formation of our state, its international engagement and recognition.

Message by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša on Prešeren Day

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses solidarity with, and support for, Belarusian citizens who have insisted on peaceful anti-government protests since the presidential elections held in August last year, demanding respect for democratic standards and fundamental human rights. The Belarusian authorities responded with disproportionate violence, illegal deprivation of liberty, and systematic disrespect and violation of fundamental human rights, which is unacceptable.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar paid a working visit to the Republic of Cyprus, where he met with the political heads of Cyprus, discussing cooperation between the two countries and the situation in the EU and in the Mediterranean. The visit was aimed at maintaining good relations with one of Slovenia's natural partners and strengthening cooperation with the Mediterranean countries.

At its meeting by correspondence, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia has adopted the Ordinance temporarily prohibiting the offering and sale of goods and services to consumers in the Republic of Slovenia and the Ordinance amending the Ordinance determining the conditions of entry into the Republic of Slovenia to contain and control the COVID-19 communicable disease.

Composer Jakob Jež, painter Zoran Mušič and author Marjan Rožanc are the artists who received the 1991 Prešeren Award for lifetime achievement.

On Friday, 5 February, members of the 45th Tracked Combat Vehicles Centre left for the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Germany.
The multinational military exercise Combined Resolve XV will take place in Hohenfels and Grafenwoher until Wednesday, 3 March. It will include some 4,500 members from seven allied and partner armed forces. The Slovenian Armed Forces will participate with a tank platoon (four M-84 tanks) and the associated logistical support. The aim of the exercise is to upgrade the competence of the Slovenian Armed Forces armoured unit to operate across the spectrum of combat operations and to strengthen its international cooperation.
In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, the participants were self-isolated for 14 days before traveling to the exercise venue, and all appropriate measures will also be apply in the training area.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today gave his annual address to the diplomatic corps. Owing to the current epidemiological conditions, this year’s event took place in virtual form. The diplomatic corps was also addressed by President Borut Pahor and the Most Reverend Jean-Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia and Doyen of the diplomatic corps accredited in Slovenia.

Today’s press conference on the current Covid-19 situation was hosted by chief inspector at the Slovenian Education and Sport Inspectorate Simon Slokan and member of the Slovenian minority in Italy Damijan Terpin, who spoke about experiences with educating children during the time of the epidemic in Italy.

During a working visit to Malta today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met with his host, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo. Slovenia and Malta are EU member states sharing similar views on several European topics. They are also Mediterranean countries, which makes it imperative that they develop closer cooperation and work together on key issues in the Mediterranean region.

The Ministry of Agriculture has protected "Istrski med/Istarski med" (Istrian honey) as a protected designation of origin at the national level for a transitional period.

Today Prime Minister Janša called for a consultation to be held at Brdo pri Kranju before the final discussion of consent to the content of the invitation for enrolment into undergraduate and integrated master’s study programmes in the 2021/2022 academic year. He believes that the determination of the number of places available for enrolment at public schools and faculties that are financed by taxpayers is one of the most crucial strategic decisions of any country. Prior to the final adoption of the document by the Government the Prime Minister thus wanted to also consult the representatives of universities, independent higher education institutions, chambers of commerce and associations.

At today's press conference at Brdo pri Kranju, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Deputy Prime Ministers Matej Tonin and Zdravko Počivalšek, talked about the situation concerning the coronavirus.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Road K5-K8 in the Business and Industry Zone Tezno (expansion EPC)”. The project worth a little under EUR 1.6 million, implemented by the Urban Municipality of Maribor, will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of EUR 984,000.

Today’s press conference on the current situation with regard to COVID-19 was attended by representative of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) Mario Fafangel, head of the Consulate Sector at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrej Šter, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate, and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.