The Minister of Finance M.Sc. Andrej Šircelj on the basis of the third paragraph of Article 40 of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding Act, issued a Decision on the appointment and tasks of the Expert Commission for the preparation of the candidate proposal for the member of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) Supervisory Board.

Today, at the 75th extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Janez Janša responded to a proposal for a constitutional indictment filed by opposition parties. His answer outlined the current epidemiological situation and listed the reasons for the situation in Slovenia. He pointed out that the opposition must be moderate in exercising possible instruments, and spoke of an optimistic economic forecast, then gave the latest data about vaccinations, stressing that a year of recovery is ahead, which will be faster than the average of EU member states and will return Slovenia to pre-crisis levels in record time.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a meeting via videoconference with State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. Their conversation focused on the priorities of the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, officially opened the 10th jubilee Africa Day International Conference. Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar, who emphasised that from the very beginning, the Africa Day Conference has been a forum for the exchange of ideas and views between partners, including Slovenian and African companies, also addressed the participants.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved funding for the project ITI Arrangement of cycling connections in Urban Municipality Murska Sobota – Phase 2 – Cohesion Fund. The project implemented by the Urban Municipality Murska Sobota is worth EUR 1.3 million with the Cohesion Fund contribution standing at EUR 601 thousand.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša, together with Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar, Minister of the Economy Zdravko Počivalšek, Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs, Minister of Culture Vasko Simoniti and Minister of Health Janez Poklukar, had a virtual meeting with President of the European Parliament David Sassoli and the leaders of the European Parliament's political groups. After the meeting, President of the European Parliament and Prime Minister Janša issued a joint statement for the media.

The press conference was attended by State Secretary Jelko Kacin, responsible for the logistics of mass vaccination against Covid-19.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Agreement on the development of region: Drinking water supply in the Upper Sava River area – Set 4. The project worth a good EUR 3 million will be implemented by the Municipality Preddvor and the Municipality Naklo in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Gorenjska region and will receive EUR 943 thousand of Cohesion Fund support.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Wastewater collection and treatment in the Upper Sava River basin – Municipality Tržič. The project implemented by the municipality Tržič under the Agreement on the Development of the Gorenjska region is worth EUR 10.4 million with the Cohesion Fund contribution standing at EUR 2.5 million.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar is hosting the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Nikola Selaković on an official visit to Slovenia. The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation, supporting Serbia on its path towards EU membership and exchanging views on the situation in the Western Balkans in the light of Slovenia's upcoming EU Council Presidency.

Director-General for European Affairs Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations with Pilvi-Sisko Vierros-Villeneuve, Director-General at the Department for Europe at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs via videoconference today. They exchanged views on current bilateral European and international topics.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with the Maltese Minister for Home Affairs, Byron Camilleri, in Malta today, as part of preparations for the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The press conference was attended by Irena Grmek Košnik, a representative from the Kranj Regional Unit of the National Institute of Public Health. Maja Bratuša presented the epidemiological situation in the country.

Prime Minister Janez Janša is participating at a special meeting of the European Council in Brussels. The leaders will focus on the current status regarding the harmonisation of the EU response to COVID-19 and the reform of the Fit for 55 climate and energy legislative package.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša is in Brussels where he met Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Eduard Heger, prior to the special meeting of the European Council. During their talks, the discussion partners spoke about the management of the COVID-19 situation and the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with the Greek Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, and the Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis A. Mitarachi, in Athens today, as part of preparations for the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today held a consultation with Msgr Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski, the Under-Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Pameče 3 Business Zone expansion. The project worth EUR 2.3 million will be implemented by the Urban Municipality Slovenj Gradec under the Agreement on the development of the Koroška region and will receive nearly EUR 1.3 million of European Regional Development Fund support.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar, together with his Austrian and Czech counterparts Alexander Schallenberg and Jakub Kulhánek, visited Tirana and met with Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Olta Xhaçka, Prime Minister Edi Rama, President Ilir Meta and President of the largest opposition Democratic Party Lulzim Basha. The three ministers travelled to the Albanian capital in the context of a two-day working visit to Skopje and Tirana.

This evening, Prime Minister Janez Janša and his wife Urška Bačovnik Janša attended a concert by the Big Band of the Slovenian Armed Forces Orchestra on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Pekre events. The concert took place outside the Kadetnica military facility in Maribor. On this occasion, Prime Minister Janez Janša also gave an official address.