Minister Jože Podgoršek attended a joint Slovenian-Japanese online event on smart agriculture. The event, which is the continuation of the online AGRI-TECH event held in March last year, was intended for representatives of ministries, scientific research and educational institutions, and the interested public. The eminent Japanese expert in smart agriculture Prof. Noboru Noguchi, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Hokkaido University and Chair of the Japanese Society of Agricultural Engineering, participated in the event, which was organised by the Embassy of Japan in Ljubljana.

State Secretary Aleš Irgolič attended the second conference of agriculture ministers from the Visegrad Group extended to Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia at the invitation of the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture István Nagy. Ministers continued the dialogue, which began in September last year in Budapest, and sought a common position on the European common agricultural policy among the V4 countries.

Minister Jože Podgoršek attended via video conference an extraordinary meeting of EU agriculture ministers, which was convened by the French Presidency of the Council of the EU in light of the war in Ukraine. Ministers exchanged views on the situation and impacts of the war in Ukraine on EU's agricultural markets and sought solutions for mitigating the consequences.

State Secretary Aleš Irgolič attended the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels. Ministers exchanged views on better coherence between the Green Deal, the common agricultural policy and trade policy to ensure the transition to sustainable food systems. In the afternoon, they discussed the Regulation on the making available on the Union market as well as export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation. They also discussed the situation in agricultural markets. On the Austrian initiative supported among others by Slovenia, the Council held a debate on a fair income for farmers. In the margins of the Council, State Secretary Irgolič participated in a working meeting of the 4Forests initiative, which brings together forestry ministers from Finland, Sweden, Austria and Slovenia.

On the second day of the visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Minister Jože Podgoršek met with the UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Ms Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri. The ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the ministries in the field of sustainable development and food systems. "The signing of the Memorandum marks a new political step towards better cooperation between our two countries in sustainable food production and the promotion of Slovenian food in UAE," said Minister Podgoršek. Minister Podgoršek attended today the region's largest speciality food fair Gulfood together with the representatives of Slovenian agri-food companies and the Chamber of Agricultural and Food Enterprises of Slovenia.

Minister Jože Podgoršek begins today a working visit to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The first day of the visit was devoted to supporting Slovenian companies and promoting business cooperation between the two countries with a view to enable the Slovenian food industry to break into the United Arab Emirates market. "Today, we are seeking new business opportunities on these markets together with a delegation from the Slovenian food-processing and beverage industry. Slovenia offers first-class products. We follow very strict European rules for food safety and quality along the entire agri-food chain. Natural and structural conditions largely dictate the orientation of the agricultural production. In recent years, more and more Slovenian producers decide to take on organic food production," stressed Minister Podgoršek.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry of the Italian Republic, Stefano Patuanelli, paid a visit to Slovenia at the invitation of his Slovenian counterpart, Jože Podgoršek. The two ministers discussed topics of mutual interest. After the meeting, they attended the unveiling ceremony of a monument commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Zvonimir Simčič, the father of Rebula wine and for many years the director-general of the Goriška Brda Cooperative Wine Cellar. The honorary speaker at the event was the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor.

The Republic of Slovenia issued an open call for the 2022 Golden Bee Award. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the Republic of Slovenia has issued an open call to citizens, legal entities or other organisations for candidates for the 2022 Golden Bee Award, which is awarded by the Golden Bee Award Committee

As part of the Slovenian delegation visiting the Expo 2020 in Dubai, State Secretary Anton Harej attended the presentation of the Slovenian wood industry.

Minister Jože Podgoršek attended the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels. It was the first Council meeting under the French Presidency. The meeting focused on the presentation of the French Presidency's programme in agriculture, food safety, fisheries and forestry, the presentation of the Commission's Communication on sustainable carbon cycles, the situation on agricultural markets and trade-related issues.

On Tuesday, 11 January 2022, the European Commission published draft guidelines and regulations to govern state aid in agriculture, forestry and fisheries for 2023–2027. It also invited all interested parties to submit to it, as part of a public consultation, their comments on these proposals by 13 March 2022.

At an online press conference, the Slovenian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Jože Podgoršek, presented the main activities in agriculture, forestry and fisheries during Slovenia's EU Council Presidency. As the key achievements he highlighted the adoption of legislative acts of the common agricultural policy, the adoption of the Council conclusions on the new forest strategy and negotiations on fishing quotas for the year 2022.

The Council has approved an agreement between the EU and the UK on fishing opportunities for 2022, paving the way for EU fishermen and women to exercise their fishing rights in the Atlantic and the North Sea. The decision determines fishing rights for around 100 shared fish stocks in EU and UK waters, including the total allowable catch (TAC) limit for each species.

The first international Golden Bee Award was awarded today in the House of the Carniolan Honey Bee. Prof. Lucas Alejandro Garibaldi from Argentina received the award. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food and Chair of the Golden Bee Award Committee Jože Podgoršek announced the winner of the award. President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor presented the award, which was collected by a representative of the Embassy of Argentina on behalf of the award winner.

The development of rural areas requires coherent and integrated rural development approaches. Combining different European funds offers opportunities to invest in infrastructure, technology and people for resilient, inclusive and prosperous rural areas.

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.

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.

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.

Yesterday, Minister Jože Podgoršek in his capacity as Chair of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council took part in a high level stakeholder conference entitled "EU animal welfare today and tomorrow". The conference organised by the European Commission presented an opportunity for stakeholders to express their views on the Commission’s main ideas regarding the revision of the EU’s animal welfare legislation in the context of the public consultation launched by the Commission in October.

Minister dr. Jože Podgoršek assumed the presidency role at the Council for Agriculture and Fisheries at the French assembly for the rural areas yesterday, an interest grouping that unites representatives of local authorities, parliament members, academics and researchers. The central focus of the meeting was on the development of the rural areas for the further development of the common European agricultural policy. It was on this occasion that he gave Joël Giraud, minister of rural affairs, the beehive as the symbol of the Slovenian countryside.