Every friday the Slovenian Weekly Newsletter brings you the latest updates on the work of the Slovenian Government.

European Researchers’ Night, taking place on Friday, 30 September, is a Europe-wide event within the Programme for Research and Technological Development. Its purpose is to bring science and research closer to the wider public, especially younger people.

This month's archivalia presents some documents created in 1947 during the handing over of Janko Soklič by the British military intelligence Field Security Service to the Yugoslav authorities. Soklič's activities both during and after WW2 were often contraversial and shrouded in mystery, since many believe him to have been a triple agent. After being handed over to the Yugoslav authorities, he was charged with collaboration with the Gestapo during the war, liquidations and organizations of Quisling activities. On April 16, 1948, he was sentenced to death, and was believed to have been executed on June 10 of the same year. However, some reports indicate that Soklič continued to work for the state security administration for some years after that time and that he was actually executed in November 1950. For a long time, many people from the Upper Carniola believed that Soklič was still working as a Yugoslav intelligence officer somewhere abroad even after that time.

At its meeting by correspondence, the Government again discussed the draft Implementation of the Republic of Slovenia Budget for 2023 and 2024 Act. As per the draft Act adopted on Wednesday, the Government restructured the article referring to the payment of the annual allowance for pensioners. The amounts of annual allowance will increase by EUR 5 as per 2021 in all grades.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended the international conference in Gorizia held under the title European Cultural Links - Cross-border cities as European meeting points. In a panel entitled How to further define cross-border cooperation and remove barriers: policy instruments and territorial perspectives, he highlighted the European Capital of Culture 2025 project and the successful partnership between Nova Gorica and Gorizia as outstanding examples of cooperation between the two border towns.

Today, Sanja Ajanović Hovnik, head of the Government negotiating team and the Minister of Public Administration, and the heads of negotiating teams of representative public sector unions, Branimir Štrukelj and Jakob Počivavšek, initialled the agreement after several negotiating sessions.

The EU Competitiveness Council met today in Brussels, attended by State Secretary Matevž Frangež on behalf of Matjaž Han, the Minister of Economic Development and Technology. The meeting took place in the light of the exacerbated energy crisis and the Member States displayed a great degree of unity in all key decisions. The ministers supported the proposal of the new crisis instrument to protect the internal market.

As per the Partnership Agreement with the European Commission and the Operational Programme for the Implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy in the 2021–2027 Period that was confirmed yesterday, Slovenia will earmark a proportion of funds for the activities implemented by the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief.

Secretary of State, Ms Tatjana Buzeti, participated in the 13th OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Rural Development Policy Conference. The 3-day Conference, “Building sustainable, resilient and thriving rural places”, organised by the Irish Government, exposed a number of burning issues, relevant to coherent rural development.

The National Assembly adopted amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights Act and the Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights Act. With the amendments, Slovenia transposes the provisions of two European Directives into the Slovenian legal order.

In March 2022, the successor states of the former Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) signed the joint sale contract and in September 2022, the closing documents for the sale of the real estate of the former SFRY Mission to the United Nations. Slovenia will receive EUR 7.3 million from the sale of the property at 854 Fifth Avenue, New York, which is 14 per cent of the total purchase price.

At the Global Green Destinations Days in Athens, seven Slovenian destinations were awarded for their sustainable practices: Jeruzalem, Ljubljana, Maribor, Miren Kras, Rogaška Slatina, Rogla-Pohorje and Vipava. They are also the Slovenia Green label holders.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tokyo is opening a job position for the Personal Assistant to the Ambassador to start work on 1 December, 2022. For the details, please see the attached file. (The application has been closed. Thank you for your interest.)

At today's session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia approved the European Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027. This is a document that, together with the Partnership Agreement - signed in Ljubljana today by Minister Dr. Aleksander Jevšek and European Commissioner Elisa Ferreira - represents the basis for drawing down European funds within the financial perspective 2021-2027, which expires in 2029.

Minister for Development and European Cohesion Policy, dr. Alexander Jevšek, and European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, signed a partnership agreement between the Republic of Slovenia and the European Commission in Ljubljana. With the approval and signing of the agreement, Slovenia has opened the way to EUR 3.26 billion of European funds in the future programme period.

The Slovenian Prime Minister, Robert Golob, today received the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira. Prime Minister Golob and Commissioner Ferreira exchanged views on the current situation in the European Union and agreed on the importance of European cohesion policy in addressing the current economic, social and environmental challenges in Europe.

Acting Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation Eva Tomič took part in the meeting of EU development directors-general in Brussels. The directors-general discussed the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy, global food supply and preparations for the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15).

At today's session, the government approved the budget for 2023-2024. The government aims to ensure stable public finances for the well-being of citizens and to maintain the normal functioning of the economy upon considering the uncertainty and unpredictability of the further development of the energy crisis. Moreover, it has adopted the draft amendment to the Slovenian Sovereign Holding Act, the 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy strategic plan for Slovenia and the European Cohesion Policy 2021-2027.

In the article, the Washington Post journalist Michael Birnbaum describes the actions of firefighters, members of the rescue forces and the Slovenian Armed Forces during the big fire in July that raged in the Goriska Karst.

At the initiative of the United Nations General Assembly, we are celebrating the third International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. On this day, we call for rational food management.