Slovenian citizens are advised to postpone all unnecessary travel to China due to the novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV epidemic and related restrictive measures taken by the Chinese authorities. It is also not recommended to travel into Chinese provinces, where a quarantine or transport limitations and restrictions have been introduced, such as Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Guangdong and Zhejiang.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Marjan Šarec, met today with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in Brussels. The discussion focused on the negotiations regarding the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2021-2027 period. Over the past week President Michel has been holding bilateral talks with the EU-27 Heads of State and Government, on the basis of which a compromise agreement should be reached on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2021-2027 period. To this end, a special European Council meeting will be held on 20 February 2020.

On the eve of Prešeren Day, the Slovenian Cultural Holiday, a state ceremony will be held during which the Prešeren Prize and Prešeren Fund Prizes will be awarded as the highest recognition in the Republic of Slovenia for achievements in the field of artistic creation.

On the occasion of the Slovenian national holiday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened the “Between the Sky and the Earth” exhibition mounted by the students of the Faculty of Architecture. At the same time, the Ministry presented Slovenian priorities for international cultural cooperation for 2020: research as art, intercultural dialogue, European cooperation, and cultural and creative industries.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the project Development of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along the Gregorčič alley. The project budget amounts to EUR 580,000; the Cohesion Fund will contribute over EUR 240,000 under the ITI mechanism.

The Slovenian Foreign Ministry welcomes today's proposal of the European Commission on new enlargement methodology, aiming for a more efficient, transparent and credible enlargement process.

Today, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry hosted bilateral political consultations between Slovenia and Ethiopia, headed by the Acting Director-General for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Anita Pipan, and the Director-General for European and European Union Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ato Mehreteab Mulugeta. They addressed bilateral cooperation, including in economic matters, as well as cooperation at the multilateral level.

Slovenia has welcomed a European Commission proposal for a reform of the EU membership process that provides stronger sanctioning of aspiring EU members if they backslide on their reform efforts.

The eighth session of the Intergovernmental Slovenian-Belarusian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held at the Brdo Congress Centre today. It was headed by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Dobran Božič, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Oleg Kravchenko.

This year’s focus of 2 February, World Wetlands Day, annually celebrated in the framework of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, is on the role of wetlands in preserving biodiversity. Despite the growing awareness of the importance of wetlands, they are still being changed or even destroyed.

4 February marks World Cancer Day. On this occasion, the European Commission presented its initiative for Europe’s new Beating Cancer Plan.

Slovenia can be justly proud of its successful initiative to declare 20 May World Bee Day.

Defeat is usually difficult to accept. In Europe as well as in Asia many soldiers from the ranks of the defeated armies found it difficult to come to terms with the fact that the war was really over. During the first post-war months and even years there were a number of such individuals, and in some cases even entire military units, fighting their own “private” wars long after the actual hostilities formally ended, either by launching their own guerrilla attacks or just by hiding and refusing to surrender. Well-known example are Japanese officers and soldiers; the last ones among them surrendered themselves in Southeast Asia in 1974. The former member of the Home Guard Janez Rus was in hiding even for a couple of years more.

Today, the State Secretary, Dobran Božič, took part in a working meeting of State Secretaries and Secretaries-General of EU Member States' Foreign Ministries, hosted by the Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helga Schmid.

Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg delivered its judgment on the admissibility of the Slovenian action against Croatia for infringements of EU law resulting from Croatia’s refusal to implement the Arbitral Award on the border between the countries declaring that it lacks jurisdiction to rule on the action.

Students participating in the first project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘Young Women Ambassadors’ completed the informal educational programme on 30 January 2020. They were received by the President of the Republic and presented with project certificates.

On 30 January 2020, the Slovenian Government approved the report about the oral hearing of Slovenia in the third UPR cycle, which took place in Geneva on 12 November 2019. At the same time, it approved the report of the UPR Working Group on the basis of which Slovenia decided on the recommendations of other countries in the third UPR cycle. The decision will be published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

An amendment of the Visa Code (Regulation (EC) No 810/2009) enters into force on 2 February 2020. As a result, some of the rules governing the issuing of Schengen visas will change.

Today, the day before the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, Minister Dr Miro Cerar held talks with the British Ambassador to Slovenia Sophie Honey. They agreed on the excellent bilateral relations and stressed that despite Brexit, Slovenia and the UK will continue to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in economy, tourism, investment, science, education and culture, and the cooperation within multilateral forums. The countries will pursue their endeavours in all areas of common interest, including in South-East Europe.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the call for proposals Design and testing of services promoting social inclusion of people with disabilities which is to be published by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The call for proposals, which makes a total of EUR 1.15 million available, will receive over EUR 921,000 from the ESF.