From tomorrow until the end of this week, Slovenia's coastal town will be hosting representatives of 21 Mediterranean countries at the 23rd Meeting of Member Parties to the Barcelona Convention, COP 23 – the Conference for the Mediterranean, taking place under the slogan "Green Transition in the Mediterranean: from decisions to actions". Here, Slovenia will take over the two-year presidency of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Regions of the Mediterranean (the Barcelona Convention).

Next week, Slovenia is hosting the 23rd Meeting of the Member Parties to the Barcelona Convention, COP 23 – the Conference for the Mediterranean, in Portorož, under the auspices of the United Nations. Slovenia is taking over the two-year Presidency of the Convention, and the programme and objectives were presented at today's press conference by H.E. Minister Ms. Alenka Bratušek.

The Resolution on Nuclear Safety was adopted in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. The Resolution is a programming document representing the fundamental guidelines and long-term commitment of the Republic of Slovenia to nuclear and radiation safety. Its content observes the fundamental standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Representatives of the 21 Mediterranean countries – signatories to the Barcelona Convention, which commits them to the maintenance of healthy, safe, clean and biodiverse Mediterranean sea and coasts – will meet in Portorož early in December. This meeting highlights the importance of education and young people as key agents in the efforts for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean. At the meeting, Slovenia will take over the presidency of the group of countries from Türkiye, passing it on to Egypt in 2025.

Slovenia will host the 23rd Meeting of the Member Parties to the Barcelona Convention, COP 23 – Conference for the Mediterranean, in Portorož between 5 and 8 December 2023, marking the second time in history that Slovenia has held the two-year Presidency of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean. The meeting will be held under the slogan “Green transition in the Mediterranean: from decisions to actions”.

Only one more month separates us from the 23rd Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention COP (COP 23). The meeting of Mediterranean countries, hosted by Slovenia, is set to place in Portorož in the week of 5-8 December 2023 – and, for the second time in history, Slovenia will assume the two-year presidency of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean, better known as the Barcelona Convention.

The Slovenian-Italian application to the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) Secretariat for the establishment of the Julian Alps Transboundary Biosphere Reserve was officially submitted yesterday in Paris. The application proposes a merger of the existing national biosphere reserves – the Slovenian Julian Alps Biosphere Reserve and the Italian Julian Alps Biosphere Reserve.

At its meeting today, the Government adopted the preliminary programmes for the repair of direct damage to property caused by the flooding on 4 August 2023, by the storm with flooding between 12 and 13 July 2023 and by the storm with flooding between 17 July and 3 August 2023.

In Istanbul, Turkey, the last intensive preparations are underway for the 23rd Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (COP23). Slovenia will host the 23rd meeting in December 2023 and take over the two-year presidency of the Barcelona Convention for the period 2024-2025.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has set out the text of the draft Act Determining Intervention Measures for Flood and Landslide Recovery of August 2023 and is sending it to the National Assembly for consideration under the urgent procedure. The adoption of the draft Act will allow for the taking of urgent and effective measures to deal with the consequences of floods and landslides.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob, today visited the Upper Savinja Valley as part of his working visits to the areas affected by the severe natural disaster.

Prime Minister Robert Golob, together with Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning Uroš Brežan and Commander of the Civil Protection of the Republic of Slovenia Srečko Šestan, visited the areas affected by the flood in three municipalities in the Gorenjska region – Škofja Loka, Radovljica and Medvode.

At the invitation of the Alpine Convention under the Slovenian presidency, a delegation from the Andean Mountain Initiative is on a study visit to Slovenia to take the idea behind the Alpine Convention to the seven countries of the Andean Mountain Range.

Prime Minister Robert Golob, Minister of the Environment, Climate and Energy Bojan Kumer and Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning Uroš Brežan visited Krško today.

The Minister for Natural Resources and Spatial Planning Uroš Brežan attended the Bled Water Festival, at which he spoke about the importance of water as a key commodity for life. Slovenia is rich in water resources, and its mission is to manage them in a comprehensive way, with the aim of protecting them and using them sustainably, thereby preserving them for future generations.

It is because of the importance of the oceans to our planet and the importance of protecting and preserving them that the United Nations has declared 8 June World Oceans Day.

Four important days dedicated to nature conservation will be celebrated shortly, i.e. World Bee Day (20 May), European Natura 2000 Day (21 May), International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May) and European Day of Parks (24 May).

The Government has adopted decree designating 411.36 hectares of the Češeniške and Prevojske gmajne area as the Češeniško Prevojske gmajne Landscape Park.

In March, the Government adopted the starting points for the preparation of proposed adjustments to the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which will, among other things, address the objectives of the REPowerEU plan to reduce dependence on Russian energy. Government representatives today discussed the starting points for the new chapter of the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan with the interested public at a public consultation.

Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning Uroš Brežan actively participated in the UN 2023 Water Conference, which took place in New York from 22 to 24 March 2023.