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Today, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dr. Anže Logar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed a Joint Declaration on 5G Security.

Today, on 13 August 2020, Prime Minister Janez Janša hosts the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. The purpose of the visit is to reaffirm and foster close relations of friendship, partnership and alliance between Slovenia and the United States, review cooperation between the countries in all key areas of common interest and identify opportunities for enhancing mutual cooperation. During the talks, some topical international issues were also discussed. In the margins of the talks, the Joint Declaration of Slovenia and the United States on 5G Security was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Anže Logar, and Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.

Mateja Logar from the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the Ljubljana University Medical Centre, and Slovenian Government spokesman, Ambassador Jelko Kacin, took part in a press conference on the status of the COVID-19 disease. The two spoke about the various forms of support treatment, and encouraged those who have recovered from COVID-19 to give blood. Recovering patients may in the coming months be susceptible to various other health issues, even younger patients who recovered from COVID-19 relatively easily.

At today's correspondence session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia decided to earmark EUR 200,000 for emergency humanitarian aid to Lebanon and to send an expert to help coordinate international assistance in Lebanon within the framework of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

The Slovenian Government has allocated, through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Caritas Internationalis, a contribution of EUR 200,000 for the people of Beirut. In addition, as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Slovenia today deployed to Beirut a logistics expert, who is part of the EU Civil Protection Team.

On the basis of an expert assessment, the Slovenian Government decided that the restrictions under the Ordinance on the temporary general restriction or prohibition of the gathering of people in the Republic of Slovenia would continue to remain in force. The Czech Republic, Malta, Switzerland, and certain Spanish administrative units, i.e. the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, and Castile and León, were removed from the green list, whereas Belgium was added to the red list.

At today's correspondence meeting, the Government decided that the Ordinance on temporary measures in implementing compulsory health insurance to control and manage the COVID-19 epidemic would cease to be in force. It also adopted the consolidated balance sheet of the state and municipalities which in 2019 increased by 2.8% or EUR 1.36 billion.

US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo will be visiting Slovenia next week. The purpose of the visit is to intensify the high-level relations, which have stalled during the past few years, and to deepen the close friendly relations between the two allies and partner states, Slovenia and the USA. Another aim of the visit is to enhance the high-level bilateral political dialogue and strengthen cooperation in business and other areas.

On 6 August 2020, some changes to the lists of countries were introduced. Among other, the Slovenian Government decided to take the Czech Republic, Malta, Switzerland and some administrative units of Spain off the green list (entry without a quarantine) and to add Belgium to the red list (14-day quarantine).

On behalf of the Slovenian government, Prime Minister Janez Janša sent a cable of condolences to the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Hassan Diab, expressing his shock at the loss of lives and offered support and help after the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut on Tuesday, 4 August 2020, in late afternoon hours.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issues a grant decision for the project “Construction of secondary circuit of wastewater discharge in the Vuzenica industrial zone”. The project worth EUR 319,000 will be realised by the municipality of Vuzenica and will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of EUR 236,000.

One of the staff members of the Prime Minister’s Office was tested for COVID-19 yesterday as he was not feeling well. Since the test was positive, a testing for all employees who had been in contact with the staff member concerned was organised in accordance with the guidelines and epidemiological recommendations of the NIJZ (National Institute of Public Health).

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the project “Zasavje business incubator”. The project worth EUR over EUR 2 million will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of EUR 1.2 million.

Based on the German version, the application has already been adapted to Slovenian conditions and is undergoing a testing phase. It was presented at a press conference by Peter Geršak, State Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration, Primož Cigoj, Director of the RSteam company, and Špela Horjak, Deputy Government Spokesperson.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the project Restoration of wetland habitats along the Mura river and Vision Pohorje 2030 – Improving the conservation status of grasslands, water habitats and forest habitats and setting up quiet zones in Pohorje. The two projects, whose total budget will amount to over EUR 6.7 million, will be supported by the European Regional Development Fund with the support totaling more than EUR 5.3 million.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the project “Taking an entrepreneurial approach to addressing the challenges in the Primorsko-notranjska development region” and “Taking an entrepreneurial approach to addressing the challenges in the Pomurje development region”. The projects worth over EUR 1.4 million will receive European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) support in the amount of over EUR 1 million. The projects represent two of the eight projects that make up the project “Taking an entrepreneurial approach to addressing challenges” that is to be implemented throughout Slovenia. The goal of the project is entrepreneurial training for people trying to realise their entrepreneurial idea.

The news report, which was published on a fraudulent website and is making the rounds on social media, is an online scam. There are statements on the website that were not made or written by Prime Minister Janez Janša and were falsely attributed to him, moreover, the photos were published without authorisation from the authors.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Anže Logar met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Dr Gordan Grlić Radman.

On Monday, 874 tests were carried out and 14 new cases were confirmed, including one in the Hrastnik Care Home. The Head of the Expert Group on the containment and control of the COVID-19 epidemic, Dr Bojana Beović, and Deputy Government Spokesperson, Ms Špela Horjak, discussed the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease at a press conference.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the project “Deinstitutionalisation of the Centre for Training, Work and Care in Črna na Koroškem”. The project worth a little less than EUR 2.4 million will receive European Social Fund support in the amount of over EUR 1.9 million.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the project “Construction of wastewater infrastructure for Garant Polzela area”. The value of the project, which will be implemented by the Municipality of Polzela, amounts to more than EUR 703,000, of which the European Regional Development Fund will contribute EUR 337,500.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the call for proposals Co-financing of costs of digitalising sales processes and producing promotional and marketing materials for foreign markets - JPTT2020-COVID19. The call will be published by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology and will make EUR 800,000 available from the European Regional Development Fund.

Slovenian minister of the interior Aleš Hojs participated at a two-day ministerial summit in Vienna on efficient combat against current challenges of migration on the eastern Mediterranean route. Austrian federal minister of the interior Karl Nehammer called the conference due to increasing migration flows on the eastern Mediterranean migration route. The purpose of the meeting was to overview the overall situation regarding irregular migrations and agree on closer operational cooperation in addressing irregular migration with particular attention on border management.

The press conference on the COVID-19 situation following Thursday's regular Government session focused on controlling the spread of the virus at the Hrastnik Care Home. The main speakers were the Minister of Health, Tomaž Gantar, the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, and the deputy government spokesperson, Špela Horjak.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Dr Jacek Czaputowicz and Minister for European Affairs Konrad Szymánski in Warsaw. The working visit confirmed the outstanding relations between the two partner countries in the EU and NATO allies, which also work together successfully within regional initiatives in Central Europe and other international forums.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia finalised the text of the proposed Energy Efficiency Act, adopted the Guidelines for the drawing up of the draft revised budget of the Republic of Slovenia for 2020, the proposed amendments to the budget of the Republic of Slovenia for 2021 and the proposed budget of the Republic of Slovenia for 2022, and decided to extend the measure of partial reimbursement of salary compensation for temporarily laid-off workers until 31 August 2020. The Government revoked the minimum trading hours of shops and lifted the ban on the operation of shops on Sundays.

On the occasion of the official visit by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, to Slovakia, a business forum organised by SPIRIT Slovenia and the Slovak partner institution SARIO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was held on 22 July 2020.

After successfully concluding negotiations and securing EUR 10.5 billion in funds for Slovenia, the Government today held a working consultation on the absorption of funding. The Government first took note of Slovenia's absorption of funds from the 2014–2020 EU budget, which stands at a low rate of 39%.

On Monday, July 20, Shamaa military base in Lebanon was the venue of a handover ceremony between the 27th and 28th Slovenian UNIFIL contingents.

Today, after several days of negotiations, the European Council reached an agreement on a multiannual financial framework and a recovery instrument totalling EUR 1,824 billion. The agreement brings extensive additional funds for Slovenia, which will facilitate the recovery after the COVID-19 crisis and encourage investments in the green transition and digital transformation.

The press conference on the COVID-19 situation focused on the epidemiological situation in the country and the region, as well as the presentation of an application for the protection of people's health and lives during the pandemic. The main speakers were the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik, the deputy head of the Communicable Disease Centre at the National Institute of Public Health, Nuška Čakš Jager, and the deputy government spokesperson, Špela Horjak.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar held a videoconference with Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Among the topics for discussion were the rule of law and the new EU mechanism for monitoring the state of the rule of law in all EU Member States, under which the first annual rule of law report is being drafted by the Commission. This is a preventive tool aimed at deepening dialogue between Member States and EU institutions, and increasing awareness of the rule of law principle, including in relation to candidate countries.

European leaders are continuing their negotiations in Brussels today on the EU recovery package related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, Janez Janša, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, held a video conference in Brussels with Richard Saynor, the Chief Executive Officer of Sandoz, the generic pharmaceuticals division of Novartis International AG.

Today’s conference in Brdo pri Kranju marked tomorrow’s tenth anniversary of Slovenia's membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Among others, the event was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Anže Logar, and the Secretary-General of the OECD, José Ángel Gurría. Minister Dr Logar stressed that by joining the OECD, Slovenia has fulfilled its ambitions, but still has a great deal more to achieve.

Last edited: 21 July 2020.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša held a video conference call with OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria, who congratulated the Prime Minister on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in a very effective and timely manner.

During a telephone conversation today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar and Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi discussed the strengthening of bilateral cooperation and the Middle East Peace Process.

On the 10th anniversary of Slovenia’s membership in the OECD, government representatives in Brdo pri Kranju discuss opportunities and challenges faced by members. Attendees of the event were addressed by the Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anže Logar, and the Secretary-General of the OECD, José Ángel Gurría. Prime Minister Janez Janša also spoke to Secretary-General Gurría in a videoconference. In their talks they focused on the topic of the demographic challenges Slovenia will face in upcoming years. The Secretary-General congratulated the Prime Minister on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in a very effective and timely manner.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the projects “Entrepreneurial approach to addressing the challenges in the region Jugovzodna Slovenija – PONI JV”, “Entrepreneurial approach to addressing the challenges in the region Gorenjska - PONI Gorenjska” and “Entrepreneurial approach to addressing the challenges in the region Obalno-kraška development region”. For projects worth just under EUR 2.4 million, the European Regional Development Fund will contribute EUR 1.7 million. These are the next three in a row of eight projects within the project “Entrepreneurial approach to addressing challenges”, which will be implemented throughout Slovenia. Its purpose is entrepreneurial training of people who want to realize their entrepreneurial idea.

The leaders of the EU Member States are continuing with negotiations today on the EU recovery package in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša pointed out yesterday on Twitter, Saturday marked the second day of attempts to reach an agreement on the budget and the recovery fund. According to the prime minister, the EU is once again showing itself in all its complexity of differences, smallness and greatness, selfishness and solidarity. “For some, a given; for others, something fought for. A test of perseverance,” wrote Prime Minister Janez Janša on Twitter yesterday.

On Friday, 17 July 2020, Fitch Ratings affirmed Slovenia's credit rating at 'A' with a stable outlook.

The leaders of the EU Member States met yesterday at an extraordinary meeting of the European Council in Brussels, where they held a 14-hour discussion on the EU coronavirus recovery package in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. European Council President Charles Michel adjourned the meeting just before midnight and leaders resumed talks today.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the call for proposals Incentives for SMEs to develop and roll out new wood industry 4.0 products. Total funding from the European Regional Development Fund available under the call for proposals amounts to EUR 6.2 million. The call for proposals has been published by the Slovene Enterprise Fund.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the project Promotion of activities to prevent work related musculoskeletal disorders and psychosocial risks. The EUR 250 million project will receive a contribution from the European Social Fund totaling EUR 200,000 and will be implemented by the National Institute of Public Health.

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC) mandated to the prosecution of perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. Slovenia is committed to respecting the principles and values of the Rome Statute and to supporting the independence and impartiality of the ICC, and encourages other countries to do the same. Past atrocities have been preserved in the collective memory and give rise to the determination to prevent conflicts and genocide more effectively in the future.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the project COVID-19 – medical and protective equipment against epidemic. The project, worth a total of EUR 38.65 million, will be fully funded by the European Social Fund. The cohesion region Vzhodna Slovenija will receive EUR 23.19 million from the project, whereas the remaining EUR 15.46 million will go to cohesion region Zahodna Slovenija.

Today and tomorrow, Prime Minister Janez Janša is participating at the extraordinary European Council meetings in Brussels, dedicated entirely to the negotiations on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021–2027, including the negotiations on the newly proposed recovery instrument.

At yesterday's meeting by correspondence, the Government issued the Ordinance on imposing and implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the external border crossings and at control points at the internal borders of the Republic of Slovenia. The Government dismissed the chief market inspector.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a funding decision for the programme COVID-19 – Short-time work subsidies. The programme with a budget of nearly EUR 93 million will be implemented by the Employment Service of Slovenia and fully funded by the European Social Fund. The cohesion region Vzhodna Slovenija will receive EUR 38.64 million from the programme while the remaining EUR 54.35 million will be allocated to the cohesion region Zahodna Slovenija.

In the beginning of July, the 41st KFOR contingent of the Slovenian Armed Forces on the mission in Kosovo began to take over its tasks in the area of responsibility. As part of the preparations, members of the Sierra motorized company underwent training in the area of operations and met the conditions to attain full operational capability. Together with members of the deployed partner forces, company members trained helicopter medical evacuation procedures, airlift of the crowd and riot control unit, pyrophobia and ensuring freedom of movement.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the project “Drainage and treatment of wastewater in the Soča river basin - Municipality of Miren-Kostanjevica”. The project worth more than EUR 657,000, which will be implemented by the Municipality of Miren-Kostanjevica, will receive Cohesion Fund support in the amount of a little less than EUR 197,000.

Ljubljana, 15 July 2020 - Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a grant decision for the project “Drainage and treatment in the Krka River Basin - Municipality of Šentjernej”. The Cohesion Fund will contribute EUR 566,000 for the project which is worth more than EUR 1.2 million and will be implemented by the Municipality of Šentjernej.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met Managing Director of Fraport Slovenia, Zmago Skobir.

The United Nations has published the latest global review of the development of e-government. It is a regular and established publication, which UNDESA has been preparing since 2001. According to the e-government development index, Slovenia is ranked 23rd among 193 countries.

The Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak, attended the informal videoconference of the EU environment ministers, the first under the German presidency, held yesterday and today. On the first day of the meeting the ministers continued the discussion on the green recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and held an interactive discussion on the role of digitalisation in environmental protection and climate change, in which Mr Vizjak chaired one of the panels.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met Chief Commissioner of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, Dr Robert Šumi.

On Tuesday, 14 July 2020, the foreign ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia met in Budapest. It was the second time they have held a meeting in this configuration of five Central European countries, informally called, on Slovenia's proposal, “the Central 5”. The first such meeting was held on 16 June 2020 in Vienna.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes today’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the arson attack on the National Hall in Trieste, held in the presence of the highest state officials of Slovenia and Italy. On this solemn occasion, the National Hall was formally handed over to the Slovenian community in Italy. This concluded the long-lasting efforts of the Slovenian national community in Italy and Slovenian diplomacy, which pursued regular dialogue on the topic with representatives of the Italian Republic. The restitution of the National Hall in the presence of President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor and President of the Italian Republic Sergio Matarella has a strong symbolic charge both for Slovenians in Italy and for relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Today, Prime Minister Janša published his reply to the State Prosecutor’s Council on his Twitter account. Upon the publication of the letter, he emphasised that calling for death and inciting hatred was highlighted in the 2019 report of the state prosecution service as the prosecution policy’s great priority. With the appointment of the new government, the position and conduct changed abruptly, which is clearly a case of double standards.

The entire letter can be found in the attachment.

At today’s 19th regular session of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Janez Janša answered parliamentary questions raised by Luka Mesec (the Left), Marko Bandelli (SAB – Party of Alenka Bratušek), Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti (SNS – Slovenian National Party) and Jožef Horvat (NSI – New Slovenia, Christian People's Party).

At a press conference, Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik, Andreja Mojškrc from the Health Inspectorate and government spokesman Jelko Kacin spoke about the current situation regarding COVID-19.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, yesterday had a meeting at Otočec with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković. The talks of both prime ministers and their delegations focused on a more coordinated fight against COVID-19 and the curbing of the spread of coronavirus. The participants at the meeting included Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Dr Tina Bregant, Director of the National Institute of Public Health, Dr Milan Krek, and Director of the University Clinic of Pulmonary and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Aleš Rozman.

On Friday, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the TV programme Odmevi, in which he talked about various current political issues. The conversation focused on the measures related to the containment of the spread of the coronavirus, since the starting point of the interview was the meeting between the Slovenian Prime Minister and the Croatian Prime Minister at Otočec, which also took place yesterday. The first question posed by the anchor of the TV programme, Rosvita Pesek, was if Croatia will be put on the red list of COVID-19 risky countries with regard to the increase in the number of infected persons in Croatia.

At yesterday’s United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) Zvonko Černač, minister for development, strategic projects and cohesion, presented Slovenia’s second Voluntary National Review of the progress towards meeting the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

This year marks 25 years since one of the heinous crimes was committed at the heart of Europe in plain sight of the international community. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice determined that the massacre at Srebrenica constituted genocide. In 2009, the European Parliament adopted a resolution declaring 11 July Srebrenica Memorial Day.

At the invitation of the foreign ministers of Spain and France, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan participated at an informal video conference between foreign ministers of European and Latin American countries. The EU was represented by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

Acting Director-General Barbara Sušnik participated at an informal video conference of Directors-General for EU Affairs.

At the press conference, the deputy head of the Communicable Disease Centre at the National Institute of Public Health, Nuška Čakš Jager, presented the current epidemiological situation in Slovenia. State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Mateja Ribič, and Government spokesperson, Ambassador Jelko Kacin, also spoke about the current situation regarding COVID-19 and the fourth package of anti-corona measures approved yesterday. Slovenia will also present the measures and the current epidemiological situation at today’s meeting between Prime Minister Janez Janša and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and their core expert teams responsible for controlling the epidemic. The meeting will focus on a coordinated fight against COVID-19, curbing the spread of coronavirus, measures for containing the spread especially among the young, and providing assistance to the Western Balkan countries in the fight against the virus.

On Friday, July 10, a ceremony was held at the Edvard Peperko Barracks in Ljubljana marking the return of members of the 6th Slovenian Armed Forces contingent from the Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). Contingent members performed their duties as part of a battalion battle group in Latvia. On this occasion, they were awarded In the Service of Peace medals.

In cooperation with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD, a special webinar was held today, at which the key findings of the OECD review of digital public administration were presented - Digital Government Review of Slovenia: Leading the digitalization of the public sector - Key findings. The findings from the document were presented to the stakeholders who participated in its creation.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša was on a working visit to Brussels. In the morning, he met Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, and later in the day, the Prime Minister met Janez Lenarčič, the Slovenian Commissioner, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

The Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša, today took part in an online conference entitled "Europe Uncensored". In addition to the Slovenian Prime Minister, the online conference was attended by Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia, and François-Xavier Bellamy, Member of the European Parliament, philosopher. At the conference, the European leaders spoke about how to shape the future of Europe, given all the key challenges we are facing.

At its regular weekly meeting, the Government adopted a number of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was announced at the press conference by the Government spokesman, Ambassador Jelko Kacin, epidemiologist Mateja Logar from the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Conditions at the University Medical Center Ljubljana, and Deputy Director General of the Police Tomaž Pečjak.

At Monday's session, the Government, in its extended composition, decided on several actions to contain the spread of coronavirus infections in the country. At the press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19, the session's conclusions were presented by the Head of the Communicable Disease Centre at the National Institute of Public Health, Mario Fafangel, the Director of the University Clinic of Pulmonary and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Aleš Rozman, and the government spokesman, Ambassador Jelko Kacin.

"The situation in the Balkans is drastically deteriorating", said official spokesman Jelko Kacin at the start of the government press conference, adding that the situation had worsened, especially in countries which, like some Western countries in the past, decided to hold elections (Serbia, Croatia), which will also be held soon in Northern Macedonia.

On Saturday and Sunday, Prime Minister Janez Janša responded on Twitter to the increasing number of confirmed new cases of infection with the new coronavirus during the last two and a half months.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar hosted Gent Cakaj, Acting Foreign Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania, who was in Slovenia on a working visit. The ministers expressed satisfaction with the excellent relations between the two countries and were in full agreement that the current situation calls for solidarity in tackling the economic and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Minister Dr Logar pledged his full support for Albania’s EU integration.

On Friday, July 3, 2020, a ceremony was held at Camp Villaggio Italia in Pec/Peja, Kosovo, marking the handover and takeover of tasks and areas of operations between the 40th and 41st KFOR contingents of the Slovenian Armed Forces.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Janez Janša, today met with the German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Heiko Maas, who at the beginning of Germany’s EU Council Presidency paid his first visit to Slovenia.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia decided to include Belgium and the Netherlands in the list of epidemiologically safe counties or administrative units of countries (green list) as from 4 July 2020. It also decided to remove Czechia, Croatia and France from the green list, which means that these countries are now on the yellow list.

The Presidents of the coalition parties, Janez Janša, Zdravko Počivalšek, Matej Tonin and Aleksandra Pivec, and the President of the Slovenian National Party, Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti, and the deputies of the two national communities, Ferenc Horváth and Felice Žiža, today signed an agreement between the political parties and the deputies of the national communities in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia on cooperation in the adoption of laws and other acts and documents in the period 2020–2022.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) focused on four main aspects in compiling a comprehensive review of digital administration in Slovenia: coordination and management, digital skills, development and provision of services, and data management. In its key findings, the OECD emphasizes that Slovenia is making good progress in the development of a digital public administration, but it needs to improve coordination, vision and analytical approach, and needs stronger leverage to guide digital transformation. For agility and quick adaptation, the comparative advantage of Slovenia is its small size and general enthusiasm for digitalization.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today met with President of the European Council Charles Michel via videoconference. They discussed the European Commission’s proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework for the next seven-year period and the proposed recovery instrument.

The number of infected people in Slovenia has been increasing again in recent weeks, and the source of infections is no longer only imported cases, but also secondary infections and cases of unknown origin, said Bojana Beović, the head of the Government Advisory Group. The number has been increasing exponentially since end of May.

Based on the agreement between the Slovenian and Croatian national institutes and the talks between both prime ministers, Janez Janša and Andrej Plenković, Slovenia will not remove Croatia from the green list of epidemiologically safe countries for now. Croatia plans to implement several measures to curb the spread of the virus, including closing nightclubs and cancelling similar events.

From 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2021, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union will be held successively by Germany, Portugal and Slovenia. For several months, the trio has worked in the spirit of constructive and friendly cooperation to shape the 18-month programme. In June 2020, the final Presidency programme was presented and approved at the General Affairs Council.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar attended a video conference of Foreign Ministers and State Secretaries from the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) participating states, where he outlined Slovenia’s views on the further development of institutional ties within the 3SI and closer cooperation process in the wider region of Central and Eastern Europe.

If you saw numerous groups wandering and exploring Cleveland and its neighboring cities on Father’s Day weekend, wearing Slovenian clothing, with Slovenian flags, posters and other props, we hope you weren’t alarmed! It was not an invasion of Slovenian tourists in Cleveland, but a competition and a project, named "Discover Slovenia in Cleveland.”

At its last night’s session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia finalised the text of the proposed Act on the intervention measures to prepare for the second wave of COVID-19 (ACP4) to be submitted to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for discussion and adoption under an emergency procedure. The proposed act replaces the proposed amendment to ACP3 adopted by the Government last week.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a financial support decision for the project “Construction of public municipal infrastructure for the business zone Ravne 2019-2022”. The project worth a little over EUR 1.1 million will receive just under EUR 600,000 of European Regional Development Fund support.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs took part in a videoconference with Cohesion Ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4), Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the representative of Croatia and the EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira. Participants reaffirmed the importance of Cohesion Policy in addressing the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On behalf of Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tone Kajzer, attended a video conference with Foreign Ministers of South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) participants.

State Secretary Tone Kajzer attended the international Sudan Partnership Conference.

Message by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša on Statehood Day

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a number of events to commemorate tomorrow’s Statehood Day.

In today’s video conference at the Ministry of Defence, a day before Slovenian Statehood Day, Prime Minister Janez Janša addressed the members of the Slovenian Armed Forces on missions abroad. In addition to the Prime Minister, the video-conference was attended by the Minister of Defence, Matej Tonin, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Robert Glavaš.

Yesterday, the three-day Annual Security Review Conference of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) started, at which the participants will assess the activities undertaken in the last year and review the state of security and implementation of the assumed commitments in the OSCE area. The Slovenian side is represented by Ambassador-at-Large Dr Andrej Benedejčič, Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister for arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation.

At its session today, the Slovenian government decided to take Luxembourg and Montenegro off the list of epidemiologically safe countries or administrative units (i.e., the green list) as of 25 June 2020. In addition, the government decided to add Portugal and Albania to the list of countries with a deteriorated epidemiological situation (i.e., the red list) as of 25 June 2020.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a funding decision for the project Cycling connections between Radovljica and hinterland settlements. This EUR 2.5 million project which will be implemented by the Municipality of Radovljica will receive a contribution from the European Regional Development Fund totalling EUR 1.1 million.