On Monday, June 24th, the Archive, the reading room and the information room will be closed due to a collective leave day.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today took part in the business and investment congress "Invest and Connect: Slovenian Business Pitch" in Munich as the keynote speaker. Senior representatives of the Slovenian and German Governments and more than 100 Slovenian companies attended the congress, which shows how important the Bavarian market is for Slovenia.

Today, the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict to honour the victims and stand in solidarity with the survivors of this horrific human rights violation and abuse. The United Nations General Assembly chose this day to commemorate the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1820 (2008), which condemns the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to peacebuilding.

The temporary reintroduction of controls at Slovenia's internal borders with Croatia and Hungary have been extended for another six months, up to and including 21 December 2024. Controls will continue to be carried out in such a way as to minimise the negative impact on travellers, the environment, the economy and the local border population.

Today, the European Commission published the European Semester Spring Package. The European Union (EU) has initiated an excessive deficit procedure against seven EU Member States; Slovenia is not one of them.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Promoting the inclusion of workers whose jobs are at risk, including jobs affected by digitisation and automation - SPIN 2.0. The project will receive nearly 4.4 million euros from the European Social Fund Plus.

At today's session, the Government decided to extend the temporarily reintroduced controls at the borders with Croatia and Hungary until 21 December 2024. It also adopted amendments to the Mining Act and new amendments to the Decree on the method of determining and calculating the contribution for ensuring support for the production of electricity from high-efficiency cogeneration and renewable energy sources.

Today, Minister Han attended the business and investment congress "Invest&Connect Slovenian Business Pitch: Germany Experiences Slovenia" in Munich. He also discussed opportunities for strengthening economic cooperation with Hubert Aiwanger, Deputy Prime Minister of Bavaria and Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Get moving, start exercising. The European Social Fund Plus will support the project with nearly 2.8 million euros.

The Government adopted the first National Intellectual Property Strategy 2030 and tasked the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport to prepare an action plan to implement the Strategy in cooperation with other authorities. Thus Slovenia further recognises the role of intellectual property in fostering innovation, creativity and knowledge-sharing and the importance of its strategic management.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher have signed an agreement that will see Slovenia become a full member of ESA on 1 January 2025, when the current Association Agreement expires.

The Ministers of the Interior of Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, Davor Božinović, Matteo Piantedosi and Boštjan Poklukar convened for a trilateral meeting in Gorizia.

The ministers met in the context of the General Affairs Council to discuss the link between cohesion policy and the new Strategic Agenda 2024-2029. Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira underlined that cohesion policy and Treaty objectives of promoting convergence and reducing disparities must feature prominently in the Council Strategic Agenda for the next five years as cohesion is a public good. Minister Jevšek stressed the importance of tailored, place-based approach to challenges.

Minister Tanja Fajon received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on a working visit to Slovenia to continue the talks they started in Abu Dhabi in May, focusing on strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.

At the Prague European Summit, State Secretary Marko Štucin stressed the importance of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans and supported the continuation of the enlargement process with Ukraine and Moldova.

In the new episode of the GOVSI podcast, host Zoran Potič interviewed two guests, one from the public sector and one from the non-governmental sector – Director of the Directorate for Nature at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning Dr Katarina Groznik Zeiler and President of the Society for Observation and Study of Birds of Slovenia (BirdLife Slovenia (DOPPS)) Dr Tanja Šumrada. The occasion for the interview was the awarding of a new national award, the Rado Smerdu Award, for contributions to the development of the profession of nature conservation and to nature conservation itself.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended the Ministerial Meeting of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Skopje.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar has attended the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the EU in Luxembourg.

At today's meeting, the Government adopted an amendment to the Act on the Arrangement of Certain Issues Arising from the Final Ruling of the Court of Arbitration under the Arbitration Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Croatia. It also approved a draft Aviation Act and an amendment to the Act on the Provision of Air Navigation Services, and issued the Decree on setting prices for certain petroleum products.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia will be closed on 17 June 2024, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice).