Acting as Minister for Development Cooperation, State Secretary Raščan addressed the participants of an important virtual event marking the launch of the Digital for Development (D4D) Hub in Latin America and the Caribbean. This is a multi-stakeholder mechanism of the “Team Europe” initiative, the aim of which is to strengthen dialogue and partnership in digitalisation to promote a human-centric digital transformation.

State Secretary Kirbiš Rojs today gave closing remarks at the webinar marking the launch of the Europe Sustainable Development Report 2021. In her speech, State Secretary called for action.

As part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, a video conference of the Management Board of Europol started today. The participants were addressed by the Slovenian Minister of the Interior and Chair of the Home Affairs Council, Aleš Hojs.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today attended the 28th regular session of the National Assembly, at which his response to the question raised by Deputy Matej T. Vatovec concerning corruption and the "mafia-style" running of the country was discussed. The Prime Minister presented his position on the issue.

Today, EU fisheries ministers held the last meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels.They successfully concluded difficult negotiations on fishing quotas for next year. The Council meeting was chaired for the last time by the Slovenian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Jože Podgoršek.

Today’s press conference on COVID-19 was attended by the Minister of Health, Janez Poklukar, the National Coordinator of the Vaccination Programme at the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Dr Marta Grgič Vitek, and by the Head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology and the Head of the Laboratory for the Diagnosis of Viral Infections, Prof Dr Miroslav Petrovec.

At the 28th regular session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, Prime Minister Janez Janša answered parliamentary questions from Andrej Rajh (SAB) on measures related to the energy crisis, Ivan Hršak (DeSUS) on measures for the older generation, Janja Sluga (non-affiliated deputies) on the energy crisis and the Government’s response to it, and Jožef Horvat on the implementation of the coalition agreement.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan, on behalf of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, led the thirteenth meeting of the Accession Conference with Serbia at ministerial level today in Brussels. "Bringing enlargement forward has been one of the main priorities of the Slovenian Presidency," the State Secretary stressed.

On the second day of the meeting, agriculture ministers focused on the resilience of the food system and on ensuring the strength of the food supply chain. Council conclusions on a new contingency plan for ensuring food supply and security in times of crisis were approved unanimously. Ministers also discussed unfair trading practices in the food supply chain and focused on the Commission's proposal to prevent deforestation. The Council, chaired for the last time by the Slovenian Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Jože Podgoršek, also took note of the preparation of the strategic plans for the common agricultural policy.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan, on behalf of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, led the fourteenth meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro at ministerial level today in Brussels. As the current holder of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Slovenia is striving to speed up the enlargement process.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels headed by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The ministers focused on EU-Africa relations and Central Asia – with a special emphasis on Afghanistan – and Venezuela.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a videoconference discussion with Téte António, President of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy approved EU funding for three cycle projects between mid-November and mid-December 2021; new bikeways in Kranj, Ptuj and Murska Sobota will be developed with the help of EU funding. The three investments are the latest in a series of projects that aim to foster sustainable mobility and provide safe and comfortable cycling routes. Over the past seven years, a total of EUR 115 million has been invested in cycling infrastructure, which resulted in the development of some 490 kilometers of bikeways across Slovenia.

"Human resource management needs to focus on a multi-generational workforce and take into account the participation of all generations. This would help to shape younger and older workers not as separate commodities but as two sides of the same coin. Today, more than ever, it is important to make this natural diversity an asset in a rapidly changing work environment," stressed Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik in his opening address at the EUPAN Directors-General Meeting, which took place online on Monday 13 December 2021.

At today's meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the ministers discussed the state of play of the revision of the Union fisheries control system. The Council Chair Jože Podgoršek briefed the ministers on important achievements of the Slovenian Presidency regarding the revision. Today, the ministers primarily focussed on the agreement on fishing quotas for 2022.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan passed the presidency baton in the field of development cooperation to his counterpart French State Secretary Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.

Today’s press conference about the current COVID-19 situation was attended by Martina Gašperlin, Acting Chief Inspector of the Market Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia, and Marjan Maček, Head of the Financial Control Sector at the Financial Administration of Republic of Slovenia.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project COVID-19 – Arrangement of premises for Intermediate Care Department – renovation of the old department of internal medicine at the Novo mesto General Hospital. The EUR 6 million project that will be implemented by the Ministry of Health will receive a substantial contribution from the European Regional Development Fund under the React-EU initiative in the amount of. EUR 3.8 million.

As part of the government visit to the region, the Minister for Development and European Cohesion Policy today met with the officials from the municipalities of Kranjska Gora, Žirovnica and Cerklje na Gorenjskem and with the CEOs of the Public Utility Company Tabre and the NGEN company to discuss EU funding opportunities.

"Every citizen should have the possibility to actively, continuously and responsibly participate at all levels of the community, both in person and online. A progressive and inclusive approach can also help public administrations to develop better digital services that bring more added value to end users. However, the use of advanced digital technologies is only possible if citizens support digital solutions, know how to use them and recognise their value. That is why we are working to offer citizens secure, trustworthy, freely accessible and user-friendly digital services," said the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik, in the opening session of the conference.