News

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Agreement on the development of region – Cycling connection between Lendava, Dobrovnik and Kobilje. The EUR 1.2 million cycle project that will be implemented jointly by municipalities Lendava, Dobrovnik and Kobilje under the Agreement on the development of the Pomurje region will be supported by the EU, with the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund standing at EUR 490,000.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Cycling connection between school centre and industrial zone Muta and the settlements Muta, Vuzenica and Gortina. The EUR 1,1 million cycle project that will be implemented by the Slovenian Infrastructure Agency under the Agreement on the development of the Koroška region will be supported by the EU, with the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund standing at EUR 482,000.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar paid a visit to Austrian Carinthia on Friday, 7 May 2021. As part of the visit, he met with Governor of Carinthia Peter Kaiser and separately with the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Klagenfurt, Christian Scheider and Lojze Dolinar, respectively.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project “Arrangement of the small business zone – Phase 4”. The project worth EUR 600 thousand will be implemented by the municipality Markovci in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Podravje Region and will receive EUR 259 thousand of European Regional Development Fund support.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project “Drinking water supply in the Dravinja River basin – lot 4 – the Ormož area”. The project worth EUR 8.4 million will be implemented by the municipality Ormož, municipality Središče ob Dravi and municipality Sveti Tomaž in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Podravje Region and will receive a good EUR 4 million of Cohesion Fund support.

Yesterday, Minister of Defence Matej Tonin, MSc, attended a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers’ configuration. The main topic of the ministers' discussion was the current state of preparation of the Strategic Compass, with an emphasis on its first pillar - crisis management.

A press conference on the state of play on COVID-19 brought together Minister of Health Mr Janez Poklukar, Ms Deana Potza from Health Inspectorate and Mr Tomaž Pečjak, Deputy Director-General of the Police.

At the press conference led by the director of the Slovenian Government Communication Office, Uroš Urbanija, the decisions adopted by the government at its session yesterday were discussed by the Minister of Finance, Andrej Šircelj, and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Jože Podgoršek.

Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač today gave opening remarks at the event Slovenian Regional Days. This year's symposium marked the 50th anniversary of regional policy in Slovenia. Minister Černač underlined that the anniversary was an important milestone offering an opportunity to reflect on past lessons and achievements in the area of regional development.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Kamiński earlier today as part of the preparations for the Slovenian EU Council Presidency. They discussed the priorities of the forthcoming Presidency, in particular migration.

On Friday, 7 May, Prime Minister Janez Janša will attend the Porto Social Summit. The event is organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and includes a high-level conference with social partners and an informal meeting of the EU heads of state or government.

In two weeks' time, on 20 May, Slovenia and the rest of the world will celebrate World Bee Day for the fourth time. The UN General Assembly proclaimed World Bee Day on 20 December 2017 as the result of cooperation between the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association as the initiator, the Republic of Slovenia and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and as the result of the widespread European and wider international support of countries and organisations, including Apimondia (International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations).

Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with the Lithuanian Minister of the Interior, Agnë Bilotaitë, this morning in Vilnius, as part of preparations for Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council. In the afternoon, the Minister met with the Latvian Minister of the Interior, Sandis Ģirģens, in Riga.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held a consultation via video conference with Carsten Grønbech-Jensen, the Danish State Secretary for European Affairs and the Arctic of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, ahead of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

The press conference on the current issues regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by the state secretary Jelko Kacin, the national coordinator for the logistics part of the mass vaccination against COVID-19.

Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation Anita Pipan attended the audio-video conference of EU directors-general for development cooperation. There, the directors-general discussed the second set of Team Europe initiatives as well as sustainable funding.

Prime Minister Janez Janša meets Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with Minister of Defence Matej Tonin, Minister of Health Janez Poklukar and Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs at a working meeting.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Nuška Čakš Jager, the deputy head of the Communicable Diseases Centre of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), and Doroteja Štruc, the head of the healthcare programme and vaccination coordinator in the vaccination centre of the Celje Community Health Centre.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a video conference with Slovak State Secretary Ingrid Brocková, in which he presented the priority topics of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency concerning development cooperation. They also briefly discussed regional partnership and relations with key economic powers.

Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar hosted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on an official visit.

Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations via video conference with David Cvach, Director for European Affairs at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project Wastewater collection and treatment in the Savinja River basin – Municipality Laško. The EUR 4.3 million environmental infrastructure project that will be implemented by Municipality Laško under the Agreement on the development of the Savinjska region will be supported by the EU, with the contribution from the European Regional Development Fund standing at over EUR 2.1 million.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša exchanged views on the situation in Belarus with Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an informal working meeting.

The press conference on the current situation regarding Covid-19 featured Mateja Logar, the head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health, with government spokesperson Maja Bratuša first presenting the epidemiological situation in the country.

Minister for Development and the EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač continues his visits to Slovenian municipalities. Today he met with the Mayor of the Municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji, Rajko Meserko, and the Mayor of the Municipality of Litija, Franci Rokavec.

Prime Minister Janez Janša visited the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital today, where he inspected the renovated Covid-19 department areas, which he also formally opened. He also inspected the department for diagnostics and intervention radiology, where the functioning of the angiography imaging device was presented.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project “COVID19 – IT support for making an appointment (to be vaccinated) at primary level”. The project worth EUR 1.5 million will be implemented by the Ministry of Health. Total project funding comes from the European Regional Development Fund. The project is another investment supported by React-EU under the Recovery and Resilience Facility – NextGenerationEU.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar held talks with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. He expressed solidarity, cooperation and support for the Belarusian opposition's peaceful endeavours to establish an inclusive political dialogue between the opposition and the authorities, paving the way for a renewed free and fair presidential election monitored by international electoral observers. Minister Logar went on to emphasise the importance of providing support to civil society in Belarus. He assured Ms Tsikhanouskaya that during Slovenia's EU Council Presidency, he would strive to keep Belarus high on the EU agenda.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved funding for the project “Community infrastructure for the Industrial Zone Šentjur South – 3”. The project worth nearly EUR 3.9 million will be implemented by municipality Šentjur in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Savinjska Region and will receive over EUR 2.6 million of European Regional Development Fund support.

Message by Prime Minister Janez Janša for 1 May, International Labour Day and the day celebrating St Joseph the Worker.

After the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the national Recovery and Resilience Plan on Wednesday, the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy today submitted the Plan to the European Commission. ‘The submission of the Recovery and Resilience Plan marks the conclusion of a challenging and comprehensive task. We are in the final stages and I believe that in the next three months the Plan will be approved. After a year of crisis, it is time for action, time to conclude administrative procedures and to start as quickly as possible with activities for the use of funds that will significantly contribute to mitigating the negative economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic’, said Minister Černač.

Today, Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik held bilateral consultations with Marika Linntam, Director-General for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia. They discussed bilateral relations and the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency in the second half of this year as well as current EU issues.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar hosted his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi on an official visit aimed at strengthening friendly relations and deepening political dialogue between the two countries. The visit also places great emphasis on the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2021.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša met with the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Toshimitsu Motegi, who is on an official visit to Slovenia. The visit is aimed at strengthening friendly relations between the two countries and deepening political dialogue.

On 14 April 2021, Prime Minister Janez Janša and the competent ministers met to coordinate the content and financial structure of the Long-Term Care Act for the first time. "Because Slovenians deserve a dignified and safe life throughout their whole live," said the Prime Minister at the first meeting. Today, the second such meeting took place to discuss the content, solutions and financial structure of the Long-Term Care Act, thus bringing Slovenians one step closer to living a dignified and safe life, regardless of their age or financial situation.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Janez Cigler Kralj, the head of the vaccine advisory group Dr Bojana Beovič, Deana Potza of the Health Inspectorate and Deputy General Director of Police Tomaž Pečjak.

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by the minister without portfolio responsible for development and European cohesion policy Zvonko Černač, State Secretary at the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy Monika Kirbiš Rojs, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology Simon Zajc and Director of the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food Tjaša Žohar Čretnik.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša paid a working visit to Paris at the invitation of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. This visit will contribute significantly to the deepening of the dialogue with the French Republic at the highest political level.

The Government Communication Office (UKOM) is concerned about the situation in which the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) has been placed by individual supervisors of STA and the director Bojan Veselinović. Despite calls for a new contract, with which legal financing of liabilities that STA must carry out in line with the Slovenian Press Agency Act would be ensured, Director Veselinović keeps rejecting the deal with the Government Communication Office as the representative of the founder and continues to send invoices to UKOM. Despite warnings that UKOM has no business relationship with STA as of 1 January 2021, Director Veselinović submitted the invoice for the alleged performance of public service in March to UKOM. Due to the above facts, UKOM rejected the March pay-out.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan participated in an informal video conference of the EU Foreign Affairs Council attended by EU development ministers. They discussed the future of the European financial architecture for development.

Today Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the unveiling of the memorial commemorating the 30th anniversary of the DEMOS coalition meeting at which the commitment to realise the plebiscite decision regarding the independent and sovereign Republic of Slovenia was confirmed and it was determined to accelerate the key steps in the process of Slovenian independence.

The Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, met with Krum Garkov, the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) in Tallinn, Estonia, today, as part of the preparations for the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The Government adopted the national Recovery and Resilience Plan and authorised Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy to submit the document to the European Commission by 30 April 2021.

Today's press conference about the current situation related to COVID-19 featured Eva Grilc, an epidemiologist of the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ), and Aleš Rozman, the director of the University Clinic for Pulmonary Diseases and Allergies Golnik.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project “Hydraulic improvements in municipality Brežice and municipality Bistrica ob Sotli – DRR”. The project worth EUR 8 million will be implemented by municipality Brežice and municipality Bistrica ob Sotli in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Posavje Region and will receive a good EUR 4 million of Cohesion Fund support.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EU funding for the project “Reconstruction and new construction for hydraulic improvements of water supply system Mrzlek”. The project worth EUR 2.6 million will be implemented by municipality Renče-Vogrsko in the framework of the Agreement on the Development of the Goriška Region and will receive EUR 1.3 million of Cohesion Fund support.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the state ceremony at Mala gora near Ribnica to mark Slovenia's Day of Uprising against Occupation. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia took this opportunity to lay a wreath at the TIGR monument. The ceremony focused on the purity of thought and spirit expressed through the poetry by the little-known or even somewhat disregarded authors France Balantič and Lojze Grozde, as well as by the established author Karel Destovnik Kajuh.

The Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik, delivered a video address this morning at High-level thematic debate on digital cooperation and connectivity, held by the United Nations (UN).

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved funding for the project “Cycling routes Gornja Radgona, Phase I”. The project implemented by municipality Gornja Radgona under the Agreement on the Development of the Pomurje Region is worth EUR 308 thousand with the European Regional Development Fund contribution standing at EUR 96 thousand.