News

Slovenia provided a humanitarian contribution of 40,000 euros to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for urgent humanitarian aid to Iraq, thus meeting its commitment made during the International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq in Kuwait in February 2018.

State Secretary Matej Marn attended the EU General Affairs Council discussing the negotiating framework on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) within the preparations for the European Council meeting. The compromise proposal presented by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is unfit for Slovenia as it fails to address the country's key negotiation priorities.

During today’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting, the Member States discussed strengthening relations between the EU and the African Union, the situation in Libya and closer relations between the EU and India. Before the meeting, the Italian Foreign Minister, Di Maio, hosted an unofficial breakfast with the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, while a working lunch was intended for talks about EU-India relations with the External Affairs Minister of India, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

At the 56th Munich Security Conference, Minister Dr Miro Cerar participated at the round tables on security in the Western Balkans and the Three Seas Initiative. On the margins of the conference, the Minister held bilateral meetings on current international topics with the foreign ministers of Iran, Egypt, Georgia and Croatia, as well as with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić. The Minister also attended the bilateral meeting of Prime Minister Marjan Šarec with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.

The Government took note of the corona virus situation in the People’s Republic of China and decided to send the People’s Republic of China, on the basis of a request submitted through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, material assistance in the form of protective masks, cover 25% of transport costs (to the maximum amount of 20,000 EUR), and grant a contribution of 60,000 EUR to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for emergency humanitarian aid.

Slovenia joins the efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus by sending assistance in kind (1.2 million facemasks) to the People’s Republic of China, thus being among the first countries to respond through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by providing the most generous donation per capita. In addition, Slovenia will also allocate a EUR 60,000 donation to the World Health Organisation.

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 call for proposals Promotion of cultural and creative industries – Centre for Creativity 2020–2021 which will be published by the Ministry of Culture. The call for proposals makes a total of EUR 2.21 million available for projects; EUR 1.63 million comes from the ERDF.

State Secretary Dobran Božič attended a meeting of the Slavkov format composed of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Bratislava today. For the first time, the Slovenian and Croatian state secretaries joined their counterparts in the Slavkov trilateral format for a meeting.

State Secretary Matej Marn held political consultations on current EU issues with the Hungarian Minister of State for EU Affairs, Attila Steiner, in Budapest today.

Elan Ski Day, an economic and promotional event co-organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Elan company, took place in Kranjska Gora today. Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Miro Cerar addressed the participants of the event, intended for foreign diplomats accredited in Slovenia.

During his working visit, State Secretary Dobran Božič held bilateral talks with representatives of the US Administration. He addressed principal issues of common interest, including bilateral political and economic cooperation, NATO, EU-US relations, and individual regional issues, with particular emphasis on the Western Balkans.

Slovenian citizens are advised to postpone all unnecessary travel to China due to the novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV epidemic and related restrictive measures taken by the Chinese authorities. It is also not recommended to travel into Chinese provinces, where a quarantine or transport limitations and restrictions have been introduced, such as Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Guangdong and Zhejiang.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Marjan Šarec, met today with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in Brussels. The discussion focused on the negotiations regarding the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2021-2027 period. Over the past week President Michel has been holding bilateral talks with the EU-27 Heads of State and Government, on the basis of which a compromise agreement should be reached on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2021-2027 period. To this end, a special European Council meeting will be held on 20 February 2020.

On the occasion of the Slovenian national holiday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened the “Between the Sky and the Earth” exhibition mounted by the students of the Faculty of Architecture. At the same time, the Ministry presented Slovenian priorities for international cultural cooperation for 2020: research as art, intercultural dialogue, European cooperation, and cultural and creative industries.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the project Development of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along the Gregorčič alley. The project budget amounts to EUR 580,000; the Cohesion Fund will contribute over EUR 240,000 under the ITI mechanism.

The Slovenian Foreign Ministry welcomes today's proposal of the European Commission on new enlargement methodology, aiming for a more efficient, transparent and credible enlargement process.

Today, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry hosted bilateral political consultations between Slovenia and Ethiopia, headed by the Acting Director-General for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Anita Pipan, and the Director-General for European and European Union Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ato Mehreteab Mulugeta. They addressed bilateral cooperation, including in economic matters, as well as cooperation at the multilateral level.

The eighth session of the Intergovernmental Slovenian-Belarusian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held at the Brdo Congress Centre today. It was headed by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Dobran Božič, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Oleg Kravchenko.

Today, the State Secretary, Dobran Božič, took part in a working meeting of State Secretaries and Secretaries-General of EU Member States' Foreign Ministries, hosted by the Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helga Schmid.

Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg delivered its judgment on the admissibility of the Slovenian action against Croatia for infringements of EU law resulting from Croatia’s refusal to implement the Arbitral Award on the border between the countries declaring that it lacks jurisdiction to rule on the action.

Students participating in the first project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘Young Women Ambassadors’ completed the informal educational programme on 30 January 2020. They were received by the President of the Republic and presented with project certificates.

On 30 January 2020, the Slovenian Government approved the report about the oral hearing of Slovenia in the third UPR cycle, which took place in Geneva on 12 November 2019. At the same time, it approved the report of the UPR Working Group on the basis of which Slovenia decided on the recommendations of other countries in the third UPR cycle. The decision will be published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

An amendment of the Visa Code (Regulation (EC) No 810/2009) enters into force on 2 February 2020. As a result, some of the rules governing the issuing of Schengen visas will change.

Today, the day before the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, Minister Dr Miro Cerar held talks with the British Ambassador to Slovenia Sophie Honey. They agreed on the excellent bilateral relations and stressed that despite Brexit, Slovenia and the UK will continue to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in economy, tourism, investment, science, education and culture, and the cooperation within multilateral forums. The countries will pursue their endeavours in all areas of common interest, including in South-East Europe.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the call for proposals Design and testing of services promoting social inclusion of people with disabilities which is to be published by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The call for proposals, which makes a total of EUR 1.15 million available, will receive over EUR 921,000 from the ESF.

Today, the State Secretary, Dobran Božič, took part in a working meeting of State Secretaries and Secretaries-General of EU Member States' Foreign Ministries, hosted by the Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helga Schmid.

Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a round table discussion ‘Slovenia for the Rights of the Child - How to Improve the Situation of Children Worldwide’ that marked the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 20th anniversary of its Optional Protocols. The aim was to highlight the breadth of international activity of different Slovenian stakeholders in the field of children's rights, for which Slovenia is known in the international community.

Slovenia remains committed to the activities aimed at achieving comprehensive, just and long-lasting peace in the Middle East, including the establishment of the State of Palestine and bearing in mind Israel’s security concerns.

Between 27 and 29 January, a Slovenian delegation participated in, and co-hosted an informal consultation on the preparatory work for the new international convention on international cooperation in investigations and prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, known as the MLA initiative.

Today, State Secretary Matej Marn attended the General Affairs Council. While the participants were informed of the priorities of the Presidency, which is held by Croatia for the first time, the discussions centred mainly on the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the project “Development of the northern connection road and associated cycling and pedestrian infrastructure”. The project budget amounts to EUR 1.65 million with the Cohesion Fund contributing a little under EUR 429,000.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Birkenau death camp and other Nazi and Fascist concentration camps and persecution and execution sites. Slovenia joins in the Holocaust remembrance, commemoration of war victims and honouring of those who helped the victims of persecution survive. During the war, a great number of Slovenes, Slovene Jews and Roma of both genders were forcibly taken to concentration camps, with many never to return.

Prime Minister Marjan Šarec has announced he is stepping down in a bid to push for a snap election, saying he could not achieve what he set out to do with the current minority coalition.

The Government adopted a nomination of the buildings and urban development works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Government entrusted the Ministry of Culture with the implementation of activities and coordination of procedures for the preparation and submission of the Nomination File, which is the responsibility of the Republic of Slovenia as a signatory of the Convention Concerning Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The Government instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present the Nomination File for the inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage Lists to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris by 31 January 2020 at the latest.

Today, a business event was held as part of the series of events for “Business-to-Diplomacy” (B2D) organised by the Directorate for Economic and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the French Embassy and Renault-Revoz at the seat of Renault-Revoz d.d., Novo Mesto.

On the second day of the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum taking place in Davos until 24 January, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec took part in a panel debate entitled Unlocking Public Sector Artificial Intelligence.

During the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec attended a working lunch where a discussion on 'Generating Growth for Central and Eastern Europe' took place. The main emphases included the economic situations in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The discussion partners spoke about issues concerning necessary measures by governmental decision-makers and businesspeople directed at promoting sustainable development and the ability to adjust economies to new driving forces of growth that must be closely linked with the transition to a low-carbon society.

Minister without portfolio responsible for development, strategic projects and cohesion Dr Angelika Mlinar has concluded her two-day visit to Brussels. Today was the first time the Minister met with European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira. Commissioner informed the Minister that the European Commission (EC) is withdrawing its warning of potential suspension of payments of European Cohesion Policy funding which is made from the EU budget into Slovenian budget. The EC announced its warning last July due to the e-MA IT-related problems. The Minister was happy to announce that “the European Commission acknowledged Slovenia’s progress in further developing the e-MA information system which is the result of the hard work of my staff and the staff of other ministries. The information system works and enables smooth implementation of European Cohesion Policy in Slovenia. We will continue to create the best user experience.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Miro Cerar, and the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, co-chaired the session of the Economic Internationalisation Council today. The Council acts as a link in the partnership between ministries and business representatives, contributing significantly to the shaping of policies for economic internationalisation and concerted efforts in third markets.

Prime Minister Marjan Šarec is attending the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos at the invitation of its founder and Executive Chairman, prof. Klaus Schwab, on 21 and 22 January 2020.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, has issued a grant decision for the project “Wastewater collection and treatment in the Dravinja basin – Municipality Rače-Fram”. The project is worth a little under EUR 5 million and will receive European Regional Development Fund support in the amount of almost EUR 1.4 million.

The situation in the Sahel, Libya and climate diplomacy were among the topics on the agenda today at the January Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, attended by Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar.

Based on the Association Agreement between Slovenia and the European Space Agency (ESA), which enables employment of Slovenian citizens in the ESA, three Slovenian experts will be seconded to the ESA centre in Noordwijk in the Netherlands for up to one year.

The Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar met with the Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson on 17 January 2020 during her visit to Slovenia. “The Commissioner has taken over a key portfolio, one that comes with great expectations from Member States and citizens. Security, asylum and migration are among the greatest challenges the EU has faced in recent years,” said Poklukar when stating the importance of the meeting.

As part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week held on 11–18 January, Minister Cerar took part in the Future Sustainability Summit today. At the panel titled “Technology vs. Policies: What will unlock climate action?” the Minister underlined the importance of a steadfast fight against climate change, which requires a broader economic and social transformation.

Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar took part in the Extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, convened by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, due to increased tensions in Iraq and Libya.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Miro Cerar called for all possible activities to prevent further escalation of tensions and violence in the Middle East. Slovenia remains a trustworthy member of the Global Coalition against Daesh and continues with its participation in the operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. The next contingent of Slovenian Armed Forces instructors will be deployed to Erbil by 1st February.

On 9 January 2020, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Strategy for the Co-operation of the Republic of Slovenia with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) until the end of 2022. The proposal of the Strategy is based on the experience gained during the first nine years of the Slovenia's membership in the OECD, current priorities of the Organization, and interests and the needs of the Republic of Slovenia arising from the national development priorities of the country. The purpose is to make better use of the benefits of Slovenia's membership of the OECD.

At it's session, the Government adopted the wording of the proposed Court of Audit Act, which facilitates the auditing of the correct and prudent use of public funds and increases its efficiency. The act also expands the range of entities that may be audited by the court.

Slovenia condemns the Iranian missile attack on Iraqi military bases where the Global Coalition against Daesh forces are stationed at the invitation of the Iraqi government, and calls on all parties involved to refrain from any activities that could lead to further escalation in the region.