At its two last sessions, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted two flood recovery programmes to repair the damage caused by the August 2023 floods, with the development incentives measures programme also being drafted. After successfully preparing and submitting the application for financial assistance from the European Union Solidarity Fund, Slovenia received the maximum possible advance payment from the EU Solidarity Fund of EUR 100 million already in December 2023.

On 20 May, we celebrated World Bee Day, which focused this year on involving young people in beekeeping and pollinator conservation efforts, as they are the future caretakers of our environment.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Together for Knowledge: implementing activities in multi-purpose Roma centres.

Rok Tomšič, Head of the Department for Bilateral Economic Cooperation II at the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, attended the 18th Meeting of National Coordinators of Central and Eastern European Countries and China (the so-called 14+1 Initiative), hosted by China in Ningbo on 23-25 May.

To mark the launch of the Stop Disinformation - reREAD, reTHINK, RECHECK campaign, we're taking a closer look at this topic in a new episode of the GOVSI Podcast.

The annual meeting of the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN) took place in Ireland, and was also attended by the Director of the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office Karin Žvokelj. The first draft of the European Union Intellectual Property Office's Strategic Plan 2030 and the framework for cooperation were discussed.

The UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica. Slovenia co-sponsored the resolution based on the international principles of recognition, remembrance and respect for the victims and survivors of genocide.

From 8 to 10 April 2024 the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, met in Greece with the President of the Hellenic Republic, Ms Katerina Sakellaropoulou. The official visit was an opportunity to further strengthen the already excellent cooperation between the two countries and to exchange views on current foreign policy issues. Slovenian President was a keynote speaker at the 9th Delphi Economic Forum opening ceremony.

At today's session, the Government adopted a draft Act on the classification of judicial and prosecutorial functions in salary grades on the basis of the Constitutional Court's decision and took note of the report on the utilisation of European Cohesion Policy funds in the 2014–2020 programming period, which had been fully absorbed.

At a ceremony held in Ljubljana on the occasion of the closure of the Operational Programme for the Implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy in the Period 2014-2020, Minister Jevšek underlined that Slovenia has been successful in using all the available EU funding for introducing improvements in infrastructure, promoting innovation and job creation in numerous regions across Slovenia.

Brežice, as the first of the Slovenian cities, will host the European Youth Event (EYE) from May 23 to 26, 2024. Young people from across the EU will discuss key social issues and exchange ideas about the future of Europe. Prior to Brežice, similar events took place this May in Berlin, Vilnius, and Forlì, Italy.

Today, Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob attended a gala reception marking the 130th anniversary of the Novo Mesto General Hospital, where he was the keynote speaker.

In mid-May, two prominent Slovenian writers visited Greece. Drago Jančar presented the Greek translation of his novel And Love Itself in Athens and at the 20th Thessaloniki International Book Fair. Dušan Šarotar presented his novel Panorama to the Greek audience in Thessaloniki.

Have you heard about the invasion of bedbugs in one of Europe’s countries? And seen a photo of Pope Francis in a white puffer jacket? Even if the news sounds credible and the photo on the screen in front of you looks completely real, these two cases are among the more well-known examples of disinformation that has been exposed.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon opened the 13th Africa Day International Conference dedicated to celebrating the international Africa Day and fostering the friendship between Slovenia and African countries, as well as between Europe and Africa. This year's event is focused on a fair green transition and on effectively tackling one of the greatest challenges of our time – the triple planetary crisis.

Today, the Prime Minister, Dr Robert Golob, signed a Letter of Intent with the Rector of the University of Primorska, Dr Klavdija Kutnar, for the development and implementation of a single master’s degree programme in medicine at the University of Primorska.

In a media statement, Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar presented Slovenia's decision to extend temporary control at the internal borders with Croatia and Hungary by six months.

On Slovenian Diplomacy Day, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon thanked the diplomats and Ministry staff for their contributions to enhancing Slovenia's visibility, prestige and strength on the global stage. The Ministry also marked the day with a special event in honour of Jožefa Puhar, the highly esteemed first female ambassador to the then Republic of Macedonia.

The joint delegation of the European Commission, led by Ms Sofia Alves, Director at the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, and the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, led by Minister Jevšek, visited the Zasavje region on the occasion of the closure of the 2014-2020 programming period.

The main international event to mark the 7th World Bee Day this year - the international forum “Bees for People, Planet and Peace” took place in Ljubljana, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The opening part of the international forum “Bees for People, Planet and Peace” was attended by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Ervin Kosi.