At today's session, the government determined the text of the draft Act on specific matters relating to certain offences committed during the period of validity of the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection. Moreover, it adopted the 2023 Development Report and approved the annual plan for the financing and co-financing of investments in sports infrastructure for 2023.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and Slovenian Government ministers support the public and free expression of opinions and the right to peaceful protest.

Slovenia has moved four spots up in the latest World Press Freedom Index, published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), to rank 50th among 180 countries.

A three-day annual commemoration of Ljubljana's liberation after the Second World War will commence on Thursday with first hikers embarking on the 35-km circular trail which runs where the Fascists wired off the city in February 1942 to stop supplies to the Partisan resistance movement.

The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs hosted bilateral political consultations between Slovenia and Azerbaijan, chaired by State Secretary Samuel Žbogar and Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Khalaf Khalafov.

Dear residents of Slovenia, citizens and all others who are building the future together with us, Congratulations on the occasion of Labour Day. To all of us.

In 1783, Alois Kappus von Pichelstein began his work as the archivist at the Carniolan Provincial Estates' archive, the first employee ever to hold this title, and remained at his post until 1788. In the summer of 1785, when Inner Austrian Gubernium in Graz sent for the founding charter of the Flachenfeld's canonry, the Estates' archive was just allocated its first suitable space, and its archival documents were due to numerous moving around in considerable state of disarray. Kappus set about arranging the collection of archival documents and was only able to find the missing charter at the start of December 1785. He immmediately sent it to Graz, and, apologizing for the delay, described his efforts in arranging and processing the Estates' archive.

During the EU Macro-Regional Strategies Week (EU MRS Week), which took place in Brussels from 24 to 28 April 2023, the Slovenian Presidency of the EUSDR chaired the 7th Meeting of Trio Presidencies of Macro-Regional Strategies and the European Commission. The central topic for discussion was the common challenges of the MRS and their further cooperation in the framework of the Trio Presidencies.

This year could indeed be called a sporting year, and it will certainly be a sporting year of great rankings, but it will not be just that.

A leading web travel portal, Big 7 Travel, has conducted a study, publishing a list of the top 20 safest destinations in the world for solo female travellers. Slovenia ranked third on the list.

Thursday was a national holiday, the Day of Uprising Against Occupation. The state celebration took place on the eve of the holiday in Šoštanj, the birthplace of poet and national hero Karel Destovnik-Kajuh, to whom this year is dedicated.

The government recently declared 24 April the Slovenian No Food Waste Day to raise awareness of the fact that Slovenians are throwing away more than 100,000 tonnes of food every year.

Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Warsaw is organizing a thematic art workshop on bees.

The Embassy of Slovenia in Tirana will be closed on 1 and 2 May due to the May Day holiday.

Message by Prime Minister Robert Golob on the occasion of the Day of Uprising Against Occupation

At the opening panel of the 4th EU Macro-Regional Strategies Week in Brussels, State Secretary Marko Štucin presented Slovenia's perspective, as the country holding the Presidency of the Strategy for the Danube Region, on the role of macro-regional strategies in addressing current challenges in Europe. The panel was attended by representatives of the four countries holding presidencies of the strategies and Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform.

Today, the Government adopted the Stability Programme 2023 which must be submitted to the European Commission by the end of April each year as part of the European Semester process, as well as a number of other documents.

On 26 April, the member countries of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), including Slovenia, mark World Intellectual Property Day. On this day, a campaign is launched to raise public awareness about intellectual property and its role in fostering innovation and creativity.

Minister Irena Šinko has attended the Agriculture and Fisheries Council to discuss agricultural topics together with her EU counterparts. An important discussion was held on the situation on agricultural markets, in particular in light of the war in Ukraine, and export limitations for Ukrainian grain imposed by some EU member states. Ministers also exchanged their experience in implementing the strategic plans for the common agricultural policy and discussed the regulative framework for the certification of carbon removals. Slovenia recalled, in the EU Council, the importance of labelling the origin of honey in light of the planned revision of the Honey Directive.

State Secretary Marko Štucin hosted Dr Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe and Climate at the German Federal Foreign Office, for consultations. Their meeting was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations in the context of the strategic partnership between the two countries and at enhancing their bilateral cooperation on European affairs.