The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently undertaking one of the biggest repatriation efforts in the history of both the Ministry and the state. Since the evacuation of Slovenian citizens from the cruise ship quarantined at Yokohama in the beginning of February, the Ministry is constantly and intensively seeking for new ways and solutions to bring home Slovenian citizens.

At yesterday's regular session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the text of the act proposal on the intervention measures to stem and mitigate the consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) communicable disease epidemic for citizens and the economy. The act proposal was presented at today's press conference by Prime Minister Janez Janša, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Aleksandra Pivec, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Matej Tonin and Minister of Finance Andrej Šircelj.

At its 8th regular session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the text of the Act on the intervention measures to mitigate the consequences of the communicable disease SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) for citizens and the economy and submitted it to the National Assembly for consideration and adoption under an emergency procedure, in accordance with Article 143 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Ordinance on the temporary general prohibition of movement and public gathering in public places and areas in the Republic of Slovenia and the prohibition of movement outside the municipality of permanent or temporary residence, to be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. The Ordinance will enter into force on 30 March 2020 at 00.00 and will remain in force until revoked.

At today's session, the Government adopted the proposal for an act on the intervention measures to mitigate the consequences of the communicable disease SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) for citizens and the economy, known as the #PKP1 #antiCorona legislative package. One of the measures adopted by the Government to contain and control the new coronavirus epidemic was the Ordinance on mandatory disinfection of multi-dwelling buildings. The Government also adopted amendments to the Ordinance on the temporary prohibition of offering and selling goods and services to consumers in the Republic of Slovenia, which dictates that purchases from 8.00 to 10.00 can only be made by vulnerable groups (e.g. persons with disabilities, pensioners, pregnant women). Pensioners can carry out their purchases only in this period.

A video conference of the European Council, called by European Council President Charles Michel, was held today. The heads of state and government and leaders of EU institutions discussed the situation and measures relating to the COVID-19 epidemic. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša also participated in the video conference.

Minister for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion Zvonko Černač today participated in a video conference of Cohesion Policy ministers. The ministers unanimously welcomed rapid response of the European Commission and the joint measures it put forward to help EU Member States tackle the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Slovenia called on the Commission to allow maximum flexibility in developing and implementing Cohesion Policy measures.

Archival records are priceless and are as such treated as cultural monument. Over the course of the years their appearance changed, diligently mirroring the time and the environment that created them. Today, due to widespread use of information and communication technology, we are constantly faced with a challenge of having to deal with various forms of electronic archival records (eAR) produced by public archival records creators. Electronic archival records are selected out of the entire body of current records produced by an individual records creator during the course of its work. This selection is carried out in close cooperation between public archives and creators of such archival records. As part of e-ARH.si project we are currently developing a number of key solutions intended for records creators and aimed at controlling the risks in a document's life cycle, taking into account the entire life span of a document from its creation to its transfer to archival institution.

One of the key objectives of the Slovenian public archival service is providing access to archival records. As part of our e-ARH.si project, we took up a major challenge of digitizing our reading room procedures and creating the Virtual Archival Reading Room (VARR) to facilitate our users and enable them to get in touch with archival cultural heritage.

In 2020, Slovenia commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Slovenian-Paraguayan anthropologist, Dr Branislava Sušnik, whose life and achievements made an indelible mark on science and established links between Slovenia and the South American cultural area.

Slovenians are real culture enthusiasts.

A special meeting of four presidents, including the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor, Prime Minister Janez Janša, President of the National Assembly Igor Zorčič, and the President of the National Council Alojz Kovšca, was held today. The four presidents discussed the operation of political institutions during the coronavirus crisis, their cooperation, and their joint efforts to achieve political unity in order to take concerted action. In their discussions, they focused especially on making various decisions that need to be effective, democratic, and protected by all democratic standards.

In a joint letter addressed to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, nine leaders of EU Member States, i.e. Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Slovenia, called for action to establish a joint European debt instrument with regard to the fight against the new coronavirus. They stressed that the emergency situation and the coronavirus crisis, which affected all Member States, require coordinated and unified action that is undertaken in the spirit of solidarity and with an intensity corresponding to the scope of the challenge.

Slovenia, on behalf of eight participating countries, submitted to the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris a multinational nomination of the "Lipizzan Horse Breeding Traditions" for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Drago Jančar, arguably Slovenia's leading contemporary writer, has been awarded the Austrian State Prize for European Literature 2020.

The Government has issued the Ordinance on the conditions of entry into the Republic of Slovenia from the Republic of Austria to contain and manage communicable diseases, which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

On the 24th March 2020, the Republic of Slovenia successfully issued a new €850mn 3yr (Mar-23) benchmark along with a €250mn Mar-29 tap.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan participated in a videoconference of the EU General Affairs Council where ministers voiced their unanimous support for starting the EU accession negotiation process with North Macedonia and Albania.

The Republic of Slovenia, rated Baa1 (positive) / AA- (stable) / A (stable), has mandated Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole CIB, Goldman Sachs International Bank and HSBC to lead manage a new EUR 3-year benchmark due March 2023 and an increase of the outstanding 1.1875% notes due 14 March 2029 (ISIN: SI0002103842) in dematerialized registered form. This Regulation S transaction is expected to be launched in the near future, subject to market conditions.

At today's press conference, Prime Minister Janez Janša, Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Aleksandra Pivec, Minister of Finance Andrej Šircelj and Expert Advisory Group Coordinator Matej Lahovnik presented a package of measures to help the population and the economy, the so-called anti-corona package discussed at the Government’s evening session yesterday.