State Secretary Dobran Božič met with Minister for EU Affairs in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden Hans Dahlgren.

The new slovenia.si website was launched in mid-November, which presents Slovenia through text and video stories and the I Feel Slovenia national brand.

In November, the training as part of the preparations for the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2021 started and will be carried out until the spring of 2021. The preparation and implementation of the training programme is led by the Administration Academy of the Ministry of Public Administration.

Slovenia is joining the European Week for Waste Reduction, taking the opportunity to focus even more closely on good practices and on recommendations on how to prevent waste generation in an effective way.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has appointed Slovenian master chef Ana Roš as ambassador of gastronomic tourism.

Representatives of Slovenia and the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia met today in Koper for the fourth session of the Slovenia–Friuli Venezia Giulia Joint Committee. Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Miro Cerar and President of the Autonomous Region Massimiliano Fedriga, co-chairs of the Joint Committee, agreed that the cooperation between Slovenia and its neighbouring region of Friuli Venezia Giulia was very valuable. Agenda items for today’s session present the diversity of dialogue between Slovenia and its neighbouring Italian region, reflecting the needs of people on both sides of the border, explained Minister Cerar.

State Secretary Dobran Božič attended the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels, where the new EU budget, preparations for the December European Council, the rule of law and enlargement were discussed.

The successor states to the former SFRY have jointly sold the premises of the former SFRY embassy in Bonn for more than EUR 3.7 million. As stipulated in Annex B to the Agreement on Succession Issues, Slovenia is eligible to receive 14 percent of the total sale proceeds, which amounts to EUR 0.5 million.

The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) is currently meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, considering the widest possible global radiocommunication strategy.

A special workshop on human resources management was held today as a result of collaboration between the Ministry of Public Administration and the Observatory for Public Sector Innovation (within the OECD). The focus of the workshop was on the current challenges related to the ageing of the working population and the lack of competent staff, i.e. age management and talent management.

This week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is on the third mission to Ljubljana with the aim of co-creating systemic solutions for the public procurement process. The mission started yesterday, on 19 November 2019, with promising news, as according to the recently published OECD Government at a Glance report Slovenia ranks among the most developed OECD member countries in terms of the transparency of public procurement process and publicly available information. In Slovenia, information on the procedure, evaluation criteria, selection criteria and related documents are transparent and publicly available.

30 years ago the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

State Secretary Simona Leskovar at the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the Ukrainian delegation and representatives of the U-LEAD project. The delegation is visiting Slovenia as part of the high-level study visit on Slovenia’s regional development policy organised by the Centre for European Perspective. The Ukrainian delegation headed by First Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories of Ukraine Dmytro Zhyvytskyy is composed of representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development, the Verkhovna Rada and the Office of the President.

At the meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council attended by State Secretary Dr Jože Podgoršek, the ministers discussed the environmental and climate aspects of the common agricultural policy (CAP) beyond 2020. The Commission put before the Member States two proposals for regulations laying down the CAP transitional provisions that would ensure continuity in terms of policy implementation and the granting of support to farmers in 2021.

Three decades ago, on 20 November 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted, not only to protect children but also to recognise them as holders of rights. It has been almost as long since Slovenia’s foreign policy efforts have been focused on the promotion of children’s rights and the enhancement of their wellbeing. This significant anniversary is also in the focus of this year’s European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, which is marked on 18 November at the initiative of Slovenia.

In its publication Government at a Glance for 2019 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) placed Slovenia in the very top in terms of the openness of public sector data. Slovenia ranks 10th in the world and 5th in the EU, immediately after France, Ireland, Spain and Greece (OURData Index, Table 9.4, p. 151).

Slovenia is one of the safest countries in the world for travellers, faring very well in all three key indicators - security, medical risks and road safety, shows a risk world map for 2020 released by the SOS International NGO.

In Škofja Loka, Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar hosted Head of the State Chancellery and Minister of State for Federal and European Affairs and Media of Bavaria Dr Florian Herrmann, who is attending a session of the Permanent Slovenian-Bavarian Mixed Commission and consultations with citizens on the future of the Union.

On the margins of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, where she met with UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information Moez Chakchouk, State Secretary Leskovar held talks at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President of France and in the Senate.

On Friday we celebrate Slovenian Food Day, which will once again be accompanied by a traditional Slovenian breakfast.