The past few days in Slovenia have been dedicated to celebrating Mobility Week, which features the introduction of sustainable mobility actions. A record number of 78 Slovenian municipalities participated in the event this year, and the common theme of this year’s Mobility Week was the slogan ‘Walk with us!’, under which numerous organisations promoted the advantages of walking.

The Slovenian government put forward the draft state budgets for 2020 and 2021. The draft budgets follow the fiscal rule that requires medium-term balance of general government revenues and expenditures without borrowing. Total state budget expenditures of EUR 10.35 billion are planned in the next year, which is 1.9% higher than set out in the revised budget for 2019, while revenues are planned to rise by 4.5% to just under EUR 10.82 billion.

At today’s session the Slovenian government put forward the draft state budgets for 2020 and 2021. The draft budgets follow the fiscal rule that requires medium-term balance of general government revenues and expenditures without borrowing. Total state budget expenditures of EUR 10.35 billion are planned in the next year, which is 1.9% higher than set out in the revised budget for 2019, while revenues are planned to rise by 4.5% to just under EUR 10.82 billion.

Andrej Benedejčič, Ambassador-at-Large for arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, attended in Vienna a session of the informal Structured Dialogue working group on the current and future challenges and risks to security in the OSCE area. This meeting, held in capital format, focused on measures to increase transparency and on hybrid threats, above all on strengthening resilience and raising awareness about the dangers hybrid threats pose in the contemporary security environment.

Six astronauts from five space agencies are training in Slovenia these days for space missions as part of the CAVES programme by the European Space Agency (ESA). Training in caves presents the astronauts with environments and situations very similar to spaceflight, to help them transfer the learning from their caving expedition to space.

Rogla, the well-known Slovenian winter tourism centre, is now offering guests a new experience, a panoramic treetop trail, where they will be able to walk along the elevated pathway among the treetops and get to know Pohorje from a different perspective.

On the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Slovenian Constitution, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court have prepared a joint project called The Constitution in a Comic Strip. The strip, which was drawn by Zoran Smiljanić, uses the language of comic strips to make complicated legal ideas sound interesting, educational and fun – even for kids, but not just for them.

State Secretary Simona Leskovar and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Andrew Winternitz advocated further strengthening of friendly and allied relations between Slovenia and the US, underlining the need for a strong Transatlantic partnership, and they went on to exchange views on current international developments.

An eight-member delegation of the Slovenian Government, led by Slovenian Minister of Economy Zdravko Počivalšek, is attending a working meeting in Berlin at the invitation of German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier.

The two counterparts confirmed positive bilateral relations between Slovenia and India, and they identified a number of opportunities for enhanced cooperation in various fields, from business and tourism to culture, science and sports.

Today, 13 September 2019, the Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar hosted the Austrian Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Peschorn. The two ministers discussed internal border controls and migration.

Today the 52nd MOS Trade Fair in Celje hosted the 9th Economic Diplomacy Day. The event was attended by ambassadors and economic advisers from countries accredited to Slovenia, and by representatives of Slovenian companies. The participants were addressed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Miro Cerar, MOS Board Member Nina Ermenc Pangerl and Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek. This year the MOS partner country is Montenegro.

Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar met Ombudsman Peter Svetina today for a working meeting. Given the human rights focus of Slovenia’s foreign policy, the two institutions have developed excellent cooperation. The Minister assured the Ombudsman that numerous international activities in this area will also continue after Slovenia’s membership and last year’s presidency of the UN Human Rights Council. He went on to mention that Slovenia is currently preparing for the third UPR cycle, planned for 12 November in Geneva.

It has become a tradition for our September issue to draw attention to topics related to Slovenian literature and themes associated with the Bled Strategic Forum. These two areas are a platform for presenting Slovenia's art, cultural heritage, successful projects in science and business, tourism, cuisine, and more. When a successful project or an interesting person captures our attention, we always feel an urge to share the story with you.

The first year of the current government’s term of office is ending with stable and strong public support. Since we follow the vision of Prime Minister Marjan Šarec that “our main duty is to work for the people”, increased trust in the work of the government team comes as no surprise. On the anniversary of the election of the government, we are aware of the responsibility that such support entails, and we are once again committed to working in the interest of Slovenia and all of its inhabitants.

On the last day of her visit to Canada, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Aleksandra Pivec attended Slovenia's promotional event presenting Slovenian businesses to potential business partners and the media. Ms Pivec met today with the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Province of Ontario, Ernie Hardman, and representatives of Slovenians living in Canada.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Aleksandra Pivec spent the second day of her Canadian visit in Ottawa. Ms Pivec met with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Chris Forbes at the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food. She also attended the ceremonial handover of a photograph featuring the image of a bee to the Canadian Museum of Nature and visited a research institution – an experimental farm.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the Integrated Territorial Investment ‘’ITI Velenje cycle network – west’’. The project funding amounts to a total of EUR 2.6 million, of which nearly EUR 1.4 million comes from ERDF.

Between 13 and 15 September 2019, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) will host the NATO Military Committee Conference in Chiefs of Defence session with the participation of all allied armed forces and the highest NATO military representatives. The aim of the conference is to enable Chiefs of Defence and strategic commanders to exchange views on topical defence and security matters important for the Alliance as part of its peacekeeping and security efforts.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Aleksandra Pivec is on a three-day visit to Canada, where she is attending the 56th Apimondia International Apicultural Congress. During her visit she met with several apiculture representatives from all over the world, and at the fair she presented Slovenia as a beekeeping country.