Today, as part of his two-day visit to Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec and his delegation visited members of the Slovenian Armed Forces in Kosovo, who are deployed in the international operation KFOR and the NATO Advisory and Liaison Team.

At today's session, the Government adopted a Decree on setting the price of natural gas from the gas system for certain legal persons governed by public law, for providers of publicly valid education and training programmes, for providers of social care services, and for providers of family support programmes.

The Prime Minister established the Strategic Council for Food (the Council), which is currently comprised of 15 representatives of various professions and sectors. The Council is headed by Dr Nataša Fidler Mis, a food technology expert with an MA and a PhD in this field. The Council composition is being expanded and is expected to be completed next month when the Council holds its constitutive session.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon and Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg visited Montenegro on behalf and at the request of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. They met President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović, Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, and Assembly Speaker Danijela Đurović.

As part of the pre-Christmas reception, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2023 in Planica were promoted on 15 December 2022 in Salzburg. The event was organised by the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Austria, Aleksander Geržina, and the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovenia in Salzburg, Anton Santner.

At the Government committee meetings, the Government adopted, among other things, the Revision of the Eco Fund Business and Financial Plan, and the Revision of the Housing Fund Business and Financial Plan, as well as the inclusion of a large number of agricultural and research projects in the current Development Programmes Plan.

After the agreement on capping the price of natural gas reached at the EU ministerial level, Prime Minister Robert Golob has already met with the representatives of employers at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (CCIS).

A discussion was held at the Faculty of Social Sciences entitled: Public institutions between efficiency and social responsibility – Governance of public institutions and directors' accountability in healthcare. Minister Sanja Ajanović Hovnik also participated in the discussion.

Five years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly declared 20 May World Bee Day. The National Council of the Republic of Slovenia organised an expert meeting entitled "There will be no bees without beekeepers" together with the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association to mark this occasion. Minister Irena Šinko attended the event. Certificates of recognition were awarded and the national champion in honey was crowned on the margins of the expert meeting.

On Friday, 23 December 2022, a state celebration will take place in Ljubljana in honour of Independence and Unity Day. Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob, will be the keynote speaker.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon met her Serbian counterpart Ivica Dačić during an official visit to Belgrade. Their meeting focused on enhancing bilateral relations between their two countries, succession issues and Serbia's rapprochement with the EU.

On 21 December 2022 have passed 15 years since Slovenia became a Schengen state. For the Slovenian people, the most visible sign of the country’s entry into the Schengen Area was the abolishment of border controls at the borders with Austria, Italy and Hungary. This was a very important development for Slovenia, as its path to other EU states and the Schengen Area finally opened up.

The European Union has confirmed all three programmes for the European Union (EU) Home Affairs Funds for the 2021–2027 period. This will enable Slovenia to draw European funds in the fields of asylum, migration and integration, internal security and border management and visa instrument.

Bohinj was listed among the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO as part of the World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) initiative. It was selected from among more than 130 applicants from 57 countries, which is a testament to the exceptional values of Bohinj and the work it carries out in rural tourism. The destination boasts unique natural and cultural resources and demonstrates a commitment to sustainable development throughout all three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social and economic.

A Slovenian company Sinergise, together with partners that form the T-Systems International consortium, signed an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission (EC) on setting up a system for storing, processing and distributing data from the Copernicus system (Copernicus Space Component Data Access ‒ CDAS), worth EUR 150 million in total.

Fifteen prizes and awards of the Republic of Slovenia for outstanding achievements in scientific research and development were presented at an award ceremony held at Cankarjev dom.

Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity concludes with a final plenary session in Montreal.

Minister of Infrastructure, Bojan Kumer, attended the continuation of the Extraordinary Energy Council of the European Union in Brussels, where ministers intensively coordinated an agreement on a European mechanism to limit natural gas prices and finally reached a political agreement.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held talks at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin with Minister of State for Europe and Climate Dr Anna Lührmann, State Secretary Andreas Michaelis and Director for Europe Sibylle Sorg. The meeting was aimed at identifying ways to strengthen the strategic partnership between Slovenia and Germany, and also provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on topical European and international themes.

Several foreign media re-listed Slovenia on the rankings of tourist destinations for 2023. It was ranked first by the French Le Monde and was included on the list of sustainable countries by the American Forbes, and Hotel Milka in Kranjska Gora was added to the list of the best new hotels.