At today's meeting, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Robert Golob and the President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar exchanged views on current international and political developments.

Prime Minister Robert Golob attended the premiere of the play “The Miser” by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known by his stage name Molière, at the Slovenian National Theatre Drama Ljubljana.

Minister Dr Aleksander Jevšek attended a meeting of chairpersons and lead partners of Local Action Groups (LAGs), which took place in Gorica pri Slivnica. In his address, he expressed his satisfaction that all Slovenian municipalities are involved in Local Action Groups, a rare trend in Europe. The Minister also underlined that bottom-up mechanisms are the most effective approach to addressing people’s concrete problems and are gaining importance.

At the Government committees’ sessions, the Government adopted the opinion on the proposal for a review of the constitutionality and legality of the Decree on setting prices for certain petroleum products and a position on the proposed EU regulation on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans.

A trilateral meeting of the Ministers of the Interior of Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, Davor Bozinović, Matteo Piantedosi and Boštjan Poklukar, took place in Buzet, Croatia. The ministers discussed current developments on the Western Balkan migration route, the strengthening of cooperation with the Western Balkan region and the temporary reintroduction of internal border controls.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held political consultations with Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Türkiye in Ankara. The officials welcomed the extensive political dialogue and exchanged views on current foreign policy issues.

During his visit to Podgorica, State Secretary Marko Štucin met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Filip Ivanović, Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević, and Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro Oana Cristina Popa. He held political consultations with Milisav Raspopović, State Secretary at the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The first governmental podcast, entitled “GOVSI podcast”, is being prepared by the Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia (UKOM). This is a (video) podcast of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia by means of which we will broaden the conventional methods of informing and communicating with the public and thereby enhance the transparency of the Government’s operations.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia has appointed Mateja Čalušić as the new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food on the proposal of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Robert Golob. Minister Čalušić has taken over from Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec who was temporarily put in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food on 13 October 2023.

On the basis of the Act on Aid to Ensure Enhanced Air Connectivity (hereinafter reffered as: the Act), a Public Tender for Enhanced Air Connectivity of Slovenia was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia and the Official Journal of the European Union on 12. 1. 2024. In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Act, the tender documentation is publicly published, however, the English translation is merely an information aid for foreign air carriers when preparing applications for aid.

The application for aid and Annexes must be submitted in Slovene language. Submission deadline is 12. 2. 2024 at 23.59

Minister Tanja Fajon hosted Dr Constantinos Kombos, Foreign Minister of Cyprus, during his official visit to Slovenia. As like-minded, Mediterranean and economically comparable countries, Slovenia and Cyprus are natural allies and members of the Union for the Mediterranean and the MED-9, an informal group of nine Mediterranean countries. The two ministers addressed the settlement of the Cyprus issue and the current situation in the Middle East and Yemen.

They say January is like a blank page. That does not seem to be the case for Slovenia, though, as we have been surprised by outstanding coverage of our tourist delights in world-famous media such as SKI Magazine, Le Monde, The Sunday Times, and The Times.

On the margins of the NATO Ministerial Meeting in October 2022, the Republic of Slovenia, together with 14 other countries, signed a Letter of Intent to join the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), initiated by the Federal Republic of Germany and involving 19 European countries as of July 2023.

At today's session, the Government adopted the draft Act on the Implementation of the EU Regulation on a Single Market for Digital Services, and a Resolution on Slovenia's participation in the procedure for rendering an Advisory Opinion by the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs proposed to the Government that Slovenia participate in the ICJ proceedings initiated by the UN General Assembly in 2022 concerning Israel's allegedly controversial activities in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which the Government approved. Minister Fajon stressed that the alleged violations in question cover a broad spectrum and have been taking place in the region for decades, going beyond the recent conflict.

The Joint Committee Slovenia - Styria, which meets once a year in plenary session, held its sixth meeting in Celje. It was co-chaired by Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and Christopher Drexler, Governor of Styria. In a joint statement, the two sides welcomed the initiative of the Slovenian minority to establish a "House of Cooperation" in Graz.

At the Government committee meetings, the Government adopted, among other things, an opinion on the proposal to temporarily suspend the implementation of parts of the Act on status transformation of Vzajemna health insurance company d.v.z., gave its consent to the 2024–2025 Business Plan of ARAO – the Agency for Radioactive Waste Management, and adopted a number of responses to decisions of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia and its commissions.

On Monday, 8 January 2024, the Government appointed the Government negotiation team for the negotiation of the strike demands of the Union of Doctors and Dentists of Slovenia – Fides, and today invited it to start negotiations on a solution to the strike demands.

The European Commission has announced the New European Bauhaus Academy (NEBA), a pan-European consortium led by the University of Primorska and based at InnoRenew CoE, as the winner of the call for proposals for the establishment of a New European Bauhaus (NEB) Academy.

During her visit to Paris, Minister Tanja Fajon and Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, discussed strengthening cooperation between the two countries and concluded a new Strategic Partnership Action Plan. Minister Fajon stressed that Slovenia will strive to overcome differences in the UN Security Council and actively seek opportunities to promote its priorities.