Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the programme “COVID19 – Temporary unemployment compensation”. The programme worth EUR 4.6 million will be fully supported by the European Social Fund.

The speakers at the press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 were the chief epidemiologist at the National Institute of Public Health, Mario Fafangel, and the epidemiologist at the Italian Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Flavia Riccardo.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer participated in the virtual High-Level Pledging Event in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. He announced an additional pledge by Slovenia, which will be channelled through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“In the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, Slovenia is among the most successful countries in the world. The reputation of a safe and orderly state, which is able to take care of the health of its people, is the best recommendation in times like this,” said Prime Minister Janez Janša in his address to the citizens of Slovenia on the occasion of the adoption of the third anti-corona package, adding that the Government will make the best of the advantage gained with the containment of the epidemic in order to eliminate its consequences. In its most recent forecast, the European Commission assessed the measures adopted so far in Slovenia as very positive. Furthermore, owing to these measures among other things, it forecast a potentially quick recovery for Slovenia and a rebound to almost the pre-crisis level as early as next year. “We will do our utmost to achieve this,” stated the Prime Minister decidedly.

For many people in Slovenia, life almost stopped during the declared epidemic. Despite the fact that we all contributed to the good epidemiological picture, the heaviest burden was mainly carried by the health workers – those in healthcare institutions (notably Ljubljana and Maribor university medical centres, the Golnik clinic and the Celje hospital), at 16 testing entry points for the potentially infected, in elder care homes, members of the 13 medical teams designed to help the personnel in elder care homes, epidemiologists…

Ivan Cankar has up to now been the focus of two articles in our online series Archivalia of the Month; in March 2011 we presented the report on censorship in regard to the staging of Cankar's play Hlapci, and in August 2013 we published the court document, revealing how Cankar's lecture Slovenians and Yugoslavs earned its author a week in prison in 1913. This month's archivalia focuses on one of his muses, to whom the writer wrote an original dedication, although the actual written media on which he chose to write this dedication (a postcard depicting St. James's Church in Ljubljana) seems somewhat less original.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the programme A Talk with the Prime Minister, which was broadcast on TV Slovenija 1. The Prime Minister spoke about various current issues, such as Slovenia’s efforts to fight the coronavirus epidemic, the EU’s response to the crisis, the upcoming recession and the economic recovery of Slovenia. The Prime Minister and the TV host also discussed the functioning of the coalition and the cooperation between the coalition and the opposition.

Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar today took part in a video conference of EU ministers of foreign affairs, which was chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. The discussion at the now fifth video conference of foreign ministers focused on relations between the EU and China, the impact of the pandemic in the Asia-Pacific region and on future relations between the EU and said region.

In today’s audio-video conversation with Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar stressed excellent bilateral relations and underlined Slovenia’s interest in further deepening economic cooperation with Norway, with both ministers noting that their countries share a number of positions relating to European and multilateral topics.

Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar met with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in Dolga Vas today.

Slovenia is a land of forests as they cover 58.2% of our country. In terms of forest cover, Slovenia ranks third in the European Union, after Sweden and Finland.

Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest of today's Pogovor o ... talk show on Radio Ognjišče, where he talked about various current topics, especially Slovenia's fight against the coronavirus and the measures adopted by the Government to contain the spread of the coronavirus and to help the people and the economy.

At the invitation of Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić and Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar today participated in an audio-video conference of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative (AII) and the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR). The ministers exchanged views and incentives regarding the role of the AII and EUSAIR, and discussed ways of successful regional cooperation in alleviating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the meeting, Minister Logar presented the programme of the Slovenian AII and EUSAIR chairmanship, which will officially be assumed on 1 June 2020.

Today, the European Commission published a renewed proposal for the EU 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework, which includes the long-awaited recovery fund. It constitutes a financial package designed to deal effectively with the consequences of the COVID crisis.

At today’s virtual Donors Conference in solidarity with Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the countries of the region facing the COVID-19 crisis, State Secretary Kajzer pledged Slovenia’s humanitarian contribution in the amount of EUR 10,000. The contribution, which is to be channelled through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is intended for Venezuelan refugees in the Brazilian cities of Boa Vista and Manaus.

On Monday, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the programme A Talk with the Prime Minister on Nova24TV.

The keynote speaker at the press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 epidemic was the Chair of the Commission for Children with Special Needs of the Council of Experts of the Republic of Slovenia for General Education, psychologist Kristijan Musek Lešnik.

Slovenia declared an epidemic on 12 March 2020 due to the growing number of coronavirus infections. In order to contain the spread of infection, many countries, including Slovenia, introduced changes in their border crossing regime. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted an ordinance declaring the end of COVID-19 epidemic effective from 15 May. But since the risk of spreading COVID-19 still persists, the general and specific measures adopted pursuant to the decision on the application of measures under the Communicable Diseases Act will continue to apply based on expert opinion until 31 May 2020.

Slovenians are hard-working and motivated people. Work is an important value and we strive to be good at what we do. We see creativity as a source of encouragement for the development of society, and it comes as no surprise that the Slovenian business environment is based on the following approach: green, creative and smart.

The new Ordinance on imposing and implementing measures for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 at border crossings at the external border and at checkpoints at the internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia entered into force today. New exceptions from mandatory 14-day quarantine upon entry into Slovenia have been added. Also, a new checkpoint Gorjansko ‒ San Pelagio has been added on the road connection with Italy.