News

Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions via videoconference. The discussion focused on key current topics and issues faced during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has reached all the decisions regarding the appointment of European Delegated Prosecutors from Slovenia within its legal powers and the national part of the appointment procedure prescribed by law.

The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia Vasko Simoniti opened a conference "Increasing the accessibility and competitiveness of European audiovisual and media content", which took place in Cankarjev dom congress center in Ljubljana as well as online from 12 to 13 October 2021.

On the second day of the Luxembourg meeting, EU agriculture ministers focused on the Green Deal initiatives related to agriculture and forestry. They discussed the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and addressed the Fit for 55 legislative package.

EU fisheries ministers reached a political agreement in Luxembourg this morning on the total allowable catch for next year in the Baltic Sea. Already yesterday, the ministers exchanged opinions on consultations on fisheries with the United Kingdom and Norway for 2022.

The virtual meeting of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15), which will take place between 11 and 15 October 2021, will be dedicated to preparations for negotiations on the 2030 and 2050 biodiversity targets, concluding with an in-person meeting next year. Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning Andrej Vizjak is attending the high-level meeting.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today hosted Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turković on a working visit to Slovenia. Their discussion focused on bilateral cooperation in various areas, particularly the economy, and on Slovenia’s support for the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Prime Minister Janša and his ministerial delegation today met with ten leading Slovenian automotive suppliers at the Hidria company in Spodnja Idrija. Automotive manufacturers and suppliers are facing major and necessary structural challenges. Restructuring against the backdrop of the Fourth Industrial Revolution seems crucial for Slovenia to retain a prominent place on the international automotive map.

In his video speech for the annual OSCE Mediterranean Conference, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar underlined his conviction that a more effective system to respond to future crises must be included in the post-pandemic recovery plans.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan met with Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner, Minister of Federal, European and International Affairs of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The main topic of the talks was the strengthening of cooperation in the light of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan participated via video conference in a meeting of eminent representatives of the European Parliament Former Members Association (FMA) on the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Posavje Regional Development Agency invited State Secretary Kirbiš Rojs to take part in an online conference Posavje Development Outlook 2021-2027. The State Secretary talked about the programming process and explained how ESI funds are programmed and planned for the upcoming 2021-2027 period. She also touched on possible complementarities with other funding sources.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, participated in a high-level videoconference of the Radicalisation Awareness Network (EU-RAN) organised by the European Commission. The conference marked the 10th anniversary of the network and provided an opportunity for a discussion on ways of addressing radicalisation challenges.

After four weeks, the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council drew to a close on Monday, 11 October. This meeting was one of the most demanding meetings for Slovenia in recent years, as it participated as the Chair of Council of the European Union and was in charge of several initiatives.

On the first day of the two-day meeting in Luxembourg, EU agriculture and fisheries ministers held a discussion on challenges and progress in the preparation of CAP strategic plans and on the revision of EU marketing standards for agricultural products. Negotiations on the fixing of fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2022 have also started.

In his capacity as Minister for Development Cooperation and representing Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar, State Secretary Raščan represented Slovenia at a commemorative meeting marking the 60th anniversary of the first conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Slovenia is one of the successor states of a founding member of the NAM movement. On the sidelines of the event, he met with State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nemanja Starović.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Stanislav Raščan attended the extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council composed of the ministers of International Development Cooperation (FAC DEV). The topic of discussion was Afghanistan. State Secretary Raščan stressed that the complexity of the situation in the country requires that international partners mount a continuous and coordinated response.

At the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, resolutions on the right to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment and on the rights of the elderly were adopted on the initiative of Slovenia and like-minded states.

During a working lunch in the framework of the EU Home Affairs Council meeting, EU ministers of the interior held an open discussion about the current situation regarding the implementation of interoperability (connectivity of information systems) in the member states, which should be concluded by 2023. So far, we have done a lot of work at EU level and in the member states on this major project for the interconnectivity of justice and home affairs information systems.

On World and European Day against the Death Penalty, which is observed on 10 October, Slovenia calls on the countries that still practice capital punishment to abolish it entirely. Slovenia is a resolute opponent of the death penalty, which is an inhuman, cruel, degrading, and final form of punishment.