As a winemaking country Slovenia is in a festive mood at this time of year as grape must has matured into wine on St Martin's Day according to an old custom.

All those seeking opportunities to discover or rediscover typical Slovenian dishes are in for a treat this week, as events will take place around the country to underline the benefits of eating locally grown produce. A new addition to such campaigns, the Week of Slovenian Food will culminate on Friday with a traditional Slovenian breakfast.

Slovenia concluded its second Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) with the 9th Annual Forum at Brdo pri Kranju. The priorities of Slovenia's Presidency of the Strategy, which provides a valuable platform for regional cooperation and the search for common solutions, were youth, water and the circular economy.

The European Commission has announced the selection of 27 chip competence centres in 24 Member States, including Slovenia. The centres will provide essential resources for the development of semiconductor and chip solutions, in particular for SMEs and start-ups.

At today’s session, the Government adopted three decrees seeking to cut the high electricity bills in the upcoming winter season and thus ease the transition to the new system of calculating network charges. The measures are aimed at enabling people to get through the winter calmly, without high electricity bills.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has decided to provide material aid in the form of food and sanitation items to the Palestinian civilian population affected by the war in Gaza, via Jordan.

At todays’ session, the Government adopted proposed new amendments to the Police Tasks and Powers Act and several measures to cut electricity bills in winter in order to ease the transition to the new system for calculating network charges. It also took note of the initialled documents relating to implementing the reform of the public sector pay system.

State Secretary Marko Štucin reaffirmed the good neighbourly relations during bilateral consultations with Nikolaus Marschik, Secretary General of the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, held in Bled. He expressed hope that Austria would continue to adopt measures to improve the situation of the Slovenian minority through close cooperation with the minority community.

On Thursday, 14 November 2024, a targeted and reinforced inspection of buses and heavy vehicles was carried out by the Police, the Labour Inspectorate, the Financial Administration, and the Infrastructure Inspectorate.

Below is the response of Prime Minister Robert Golob regarding recent events related to threats and violence against judges.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar today held a working meeting to discuss key foreign and domestic policy issues.

At the government committee meetings, the Government adopted, among others, the Amendments to the Business and Financial Plan of the Slovenian Regional Development Fund for 2024 and 2025.

State Secretary Marko Štucin visited Ukraine, engaging in discussions with representatives of the Ukrainian Government and visiting sites affected by the recent aggression. In Borodyanka and Moshchun, he witnessed the severe consequences of the conflict, while in Bucha, he paid tribute to the victims of Russian aggression at the memorial wall.

From 20 to 22 November 2024, on-line information days will be held in several languages for international students interested in studying in Slovenia. Full details and a registration link are available in the attachment.

From 11 to 22 November, the 29th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Slovenian delegation will be led by Minister of the Environment, Climate and Energy Bojan Kumer, who will participate in the ministerial negotiations to be held in the meeting’s second week.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Integrated care for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) for improving health literacy and reducing health inequalities – Let's prevent CKD.

Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Science and Innovation Directorate 10 November marks World Science Day for Peace and Development, which highlights the significant role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today attended an informal summit of EU leaders in Budapest.

The Government Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Information Security (GISO) organized a workshop in Podgorica, bringing together cybersecurity experts from Western Balkan countries. The event, which took place on November 6 and 7, was hosted by the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C).

On Friday, November 15th, the archival reading room will be closed.