Only one more month separates us from the 23rd Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention COP (COP 23). The meeting of Mediterranean countries, hosted by Slovenia, is set to place in Portorož in the week of 5-8 December 2023 – and, for the second time in history, Slovenia will assume the two-year presidency of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean, better known as the Barcelona Convention.

The 33rd session of the Slovenian-Bavarian Mixed Commission, Slovenia's oldest form of international cooperation, opened at Brdo pri Kranju. The Commission will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025, and this session was dedicated to the preparations for this important event. The members of the Commission were introduced by State Secretary Marko Štucin.

On 8 November 2023, the European Commission adopted the 2023 Enlargement Package for the Western Balkans and Türkiye, and for the first time also for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. The package provides an assessment of the state of play by key areas where reform progress is needed in each country.

The Slovenian Minister of the Interior, Boštjan Poklukar, hosted the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nenad Nešić. The main topic of their talks was the migration situation in the Western Balkans.

The new issue of the News from Nuclear Slovenia is published.

At the Government committees meetings, the Government adopted, among other things, two answers to the questions of the National Council Commissions on the wolf issue and included several new projects in the current Development Programmes Plan 2023-2026.

Today, the Strategic Council for Nutrition and the Strategic Health Council held a joint session. The experts from both councils expressed the clear view that decisive measures are needed to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol and the use of tobacco, in particular among young people.

Prime Minister Robert Golob met today with the leaders of parliamentary parties. The meeting was aimed at finding a consensus on solutions to the Act on Reconstruction, Development and Provision of Financial Resources.

Prime Minister Robert Golob met with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, who was on a visit to Slovenia.

The 17th Meeting of the Agriculture Ministers of the Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group in South-Eastern Europe (SWG) was held in Jahorina, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Slovenia, participating as an observer, was represented at the meeting by Maša Žagar, Director-General of the Agriculture Directorate.

Today, the first national conference on artificial intelligence, entitled "Artificial Intelligence - an Advantage and an Opportunity for Slovenia", took place at Jable Castle. The conference was opened by Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon and Minister of Digital Transformation Emilija Stojmenova Duh.

At today's correspondence meeting, the Government decided to propose to the National Assembly that it endorse the amendment to the Foreigners Act and the amendment to the Employment Relationships Act following reconsideration.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, in collaboration with PiNA – Association for Culture and Education, has initiated a pilot project called At the School of Open Cohesion. The project involves eight secondary schools from various regions of Slovenia. It is an interdisciplinary educational programme that combines civic education, digital and statistical skills acquisition, and data journalism competencies.

Today at the Space Summit in Seville, Spain, Slovenia presented a formal request for full membership of the European Space Agency (ESA). The request for membership, which follows the official decision of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia last Friday, was submitted today to the Director-General of ESA, Josef Aschbacher, by State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport, Matevž Frangež, and the head of the Slovenian Space Office, Tanja Permozer, on the margins of the ESA ministerial meeting.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon hosted Ahmed Attaf, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. Their discussion focused on three important topics: bilateral relations, economic cooperation and the non-permanent membership of both countries in the UN Security Council.

At a correspondence session, the Government adopted Slovenia's first Space Strategy and the decision to apply for full membership of the European Space Agency.

Following a turbulent night, the weather is gradually settling, but another weather front is forecast to sweep over Slovenia on Sunday. A yellow alert is in place for most of the country and an orange alert for the Primorska region and the northwest due to strengthening south-westerly winds and forecast heavy rainfall on Sunday.

Interior ministers of Slovenia, Italy and Croatia, Boštjan Poklukar, Matteo Piantedosi and Davor Božinović, respectively, called for efforts to strengthen cooperation in patrolling the borders along the Western Balkans migration route, as they met in Trieste on Thursday.

The Trans Dinarica Cycle Route, which is the first and only cycle route linking all eight countries of the Western Balkans, including Slovenia, has been named one of Lonely Planet's Best in Travel experiences for 2024. In 2022, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel recognised Slovenia as one of the top countries to visit.

On the last day of October, Slovenia celebrates Reformation Day, a public holiday and a work-free day, commemorating the religious, socio-political and cultural movement of the 16th century. At the same time, Slovenians commemorate the birth of the Slovenian literary language.