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.

Minister Irena Šinko and Director-General of the Food and Fisheries Directorate, Ana Le Marechal Kolar, today presented the Programme for the Implementation of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) for the new financial period 2021-2027 at a press conference.

Prime Minister Robert Golob visited the Holy See today, on 17 December 2022. He was received by Pope Francis in a private audience.

After yesterday’s historic decision of the European Council to grant the status of candidate country to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prime Minister Robert Golob announced that he would visit Sarajevo and pledged technical and development assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prime Minister Golob and President Pahor agree that the adoption of the Slovenian initiative is above all an important message of hope for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon and Minister of Economic Development and Technology Matjaž Han discussed with key internationalisation players the support for the Slovenian economy abroad at the Economic Internationalisation Council.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very pleased that EU leaders at the European Council on 15 December took the important political decision to grant EU candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Common Application Centre at the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia – CAC will be closed due to the Holidays Season from 16th December 2022 until 10th January 2023.

On Monday, December 12, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tokyo participated in the charity event Ikebana International Fair. The honorary patron of the event is Japanese Imperial Princess Takamado. She traditionally addresses the participants and officially opens the fair. Before opening ceremony, she pays a courtesy visit to the exhibitors and symbolically participates to the event proceeds by purchasing different products.

Today's agreement by the leaders of the EU member states on granting the EU candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the most important geostrategic and political decisions made by the EU in the recent period.