Twenty years on, the largest EU enlargement presents an opportunity to draw lessons from past communication efforts and to prepare for the upcoming EU enlargement, which is once again high on the EU political agenda. For this reason, together with the Club of Venice, we decided to organise a conference in Slovenia, 26 April 2024, and invited Government representatives and communication experts to discuss and share knowledge and experiences on the subject, with a special focus on disinformation.

Since the beginning of this year, the National Assembly has been hosting a number of activities and events to mark the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's EU membership.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for 12 Entrepreneurial approach to addressing challenges (PONI) projects across Slovenia. A total of EUR 12,921,484.80 of European Regional Development Fund support will be allocated to the twelve projects.

The first bilateral economic consultations at Director-General level between Slovenia and Montenegro were held on the sidelines of the official visit by the President of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, to Podgorica.

On Friday, May 3rd, the Archive, the reading room and the information room will be closed due to a collective leave day.

Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon participated in a round table discussion at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana to mark the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's EU membership. The event was organised by the Student Association for International Relations Globallis.

Prime Minister Robert Golob attended a foundation stone-laying ceremony for a new investment of the Japanese corporation Yaskawa in Kočevje.

The statement made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić after yesterday's UN Security Council debate on the report of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is unacceptable and insulting, and goes against the spirit of friendly relations between Slovenia and Serbia. The Ministry has therefore summoned the Serbian Chargé d'Affaires over this matter.

The first Cohesion Day event was recently held in Ptuj. At the old glassware factory, the building renovated with the help of EU funds and located in the centre of Slovenia’s oldest city, representatives of the state, municipalities, regional development agencies, local communities and businesses discussed the opportunities that the European Cohesion Policy brings to local communities, cities and regions; they also talked about support for innovative businesses.

At today's session, the Government took note of the starting points for the pension reform, approved the starting point for changes to the disability and pension insurance system and confirmed the basis for initial coordination with the social partners. It also adopted the defence, military and civil defence strategy of the Republic of Slovenia.

Representatives of Slovenia and Carinthia met at Brdo pri Kranju for the 7th session of the Joint Committee Slovenia – Carinthia, co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, and the Governor of Carinthia, Dr Peter Kaiser. The chairs reaffirmed the excellent relations and committed to continuing their successful cooperation.

The delegation responsible for implementing forestry policy in Montenegro started its visit to Slovenia on Monday. During its visit, the delegation met with the representatives of the Slovenian ministry responsible for forestry, the Slovenia Forest Service and the Slovenian Forestry Institute. They were shown examples of various forestry practices on the ground.

On 1 May 2004, Slovenia became a member of the European Union, along with nine other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Although there were some uncertainties before accession, from today's perspective we can see that membership has helped our country on the path to economic development and international recognition, and has opened up many new opportunities for people to study, work and do business in other Member States.

Today, Minister Han met with the Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), João Negrão. They discussed the cooperation of the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office with the EUIPO and the preparation of the EUIPO Strategic Plan 2030.

Prime Minister Robert Golob has today convened a meeting with representatives of the trade unions, employers and the Government who participate in the Economic and Social Council (ESC).

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the Call for proposals for the establishment and operation of the Slovenian Circular Economy Centre – for Green, Creative and Smart Development (JR CKG).

Following the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs met with their counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States at the High-Level Forum. In her address, Minister Fajon stressed the importance of security in the Persian Gulf and advocated joint strategic cooperation between the EU and the GCC Member States.

Prime Minister Robert Golob marked World Earth Day by attending and speaking at the inauguration of the Mrzlek water pipeline and gave a speech. The new pipeline will provide clean water to approximately 1,100 people and increase the security of the water supply. The project was co-funded by the Government.

At the regular monthly meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon made a strong plea for continued support for Ukraine and for European diplomats to do more to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec attended an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg in the format of a joint session gathering foreign and defence ministers. The topic of the meeting was the acceleration and reinforcement of military assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of its preparedness and resilience.