The Minister of Infrastructure, Jernej Vrtovec, attended an informal meeting of EU transport ministers via video conference, at which a wide-ranging discussion on EU railway policies took place.

The territory of present-day Slovenia has been inhabited since prehistoric times. One of the most important finds, dating back to the Old Stone Age, is what is probably the oldest musical instrument in the world – a whistle from the Divje babe Cave near Cerkno. Experts estimate that the whistle is about 55,000 years old.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today attended the international Raisina Dialogue conference. Organised by the Observer Research Foundation and the Indian External Affairs Ministry, it is one of the leading global platforms aimed at in‑depth geopolitical and geoeconomic discussions.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Franc Vindišar, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Marko Pokorn, the Medical Director of Ljubljana Paediatric Clinic, Ada Hočevar Grom of the National Institute of Public Health and Nina Krohne, psychologist from the Slovenian Psychologists’ Association.

At the invitation of the Portuguese Presidency, State Secretary Dr Božo Predalič and Director of Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants Katarina Štrukelj joined an informal ministerial video conference on integration and the impact of the pandemic on the access of migrants to the labour market.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Mateja Logar, the Head of the Advisory Group of the Ministry of Health, and Tomaž Vovko, specialist in infectiology and intensive care medicine.

Today’s press conference was attended by Janez Poklukar, the Minister of Health, Mateja Logar, the Head of the Advisory Group of the Ministry of Health, and Milan Krek, the Director of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). Maja Bratuša first presented the epidemiological situation in the country.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša and Janez Poklukar, the Minister of Health, visited the Bia Separations company in Ajdovščina. BIA Separations - Sartorius is a leading developer of monolith technology and the exclusive producer of chromatographic columns for the production, purification, and analysis of large biomolecules.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Simona Kustec, Minister of Education, Science and Sport, and Borut Štrukelj from the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ljubljana.

The Slovenian Government adopted the Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste Handling, which is an implementing regulation based on the amendment to the Environmental Protection Act. The objective of this Decree is to ensure a high level of environment protection, the prevention and reduction of any impact of packaging and packaging waste on the environment, and to ensure the operations of the internal market, prevent obstacles to trade and distortion and restriction of competition.

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

Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke today at the virtual conference entitled "Changing Paradigms in a Pandemic World: How to regain trust? Health, Happiness & Ethics".

Minister of Health Janez Poklukar held an address for healthcare workers and co-workers and the general public on the occasion of World Health Day, celebrated on 7 April. The current epidemiological data was presented by Government spokesperson Maja Bratuša.

On the occasion of this year’s World Health Day, the World Health Organization is putting health inequities at the forefront under the slogan "Let’s build a fairer, healthier world for everyone". The emphasis is on achieving the highest level of health, which is a fundamental right of every human being without regard to race, religion, political belief, or economic or social condition.

The national flag became established as a symbol of Slovenian identity back in the 19th century. The Slovenians determined the colours (white, blue and red) based on those featured in the coat of arms of the province of Carniola, and submitted them for the approval of the then ruling Austrian administration in Vienna, where the colours were accepted. The first national flag was hung by Slovenian students in Vienna in March 1848 during a period of revolutionary tumult.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar held talks via videoconference with the Bavarian State Minister for European and International Affairs Melanie Huml. Their discussion focused on the activities aimed at strengthening political, economic, and regional cooperation with Bavaria in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

The speakers at the press conference on the current COVID-19 situation were State Secretary Jelko Kacin, National Logistics Coordinator for the Mass Vaccination Campaign against COVID-19, and Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, Head of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Fever Conditions at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana.

Dear citizens of Slovenia, dear fellow Slovenians at home and abroad, the hope that Easter brings touches our open hearts time and again. Every time as if for the first time and always the way that we need it most at that precise moment. We draw strength from Easter hope. We rely on it in times of trial, while being conscious of the fact that there would be no Easter without suffering, trial and renunciation.

As part of the group of six like-minded countries, Slovenia has always worked towards eliminating the growing differences in the vaccination rate among EU Member States. The overall goal was to eliminate these differences to the greatest extent possible with the supply of 10 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to achieve a 70% vaccination rate of the adult population in all Member States by early summer. Member States had different interests and views regarding the distribution of these 10 million vaccine doses.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the Call for proposals for ESF-supported operations promoting social inclusion of vulnerable groups through cultural and creative industries in the period 2021-2023. The call for proposals will make a total of EUR 1.3 million available, of which over EUR 1 million will come from the European Social Fund.