The Director of the Government Communication Office (UKOM) Uroš Urbanija and the Acting Director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) Igor Kadunc signed a public service contract for the STA this year.

Throughout his life, Alfred Brežnik - Fredi, an electrical engineer, a businessman and a long-term Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Slovenia in New South Wales, Australia, has been promoting Slovenianness and his home country with dedication and sacrifice. He moved to Australia in 1959. Together with other compatriots in Australia, Brežnik was particularly active during Slovenia’s independence process. Prior to that, he held intensive discussions with Australian politicians regarding the recognition of Slovenian independence. And also thanks to him, Australia was the first overseas country to acknowledge Slovenia as an independent state in January 1992.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the Budapest Demographic Summit. The summit is an annual event hosting top-level speakers, members of the EU and national parliaments, former ministers, senior religious leaders, civil society representatives, academics and journalists.

The Communication Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia (UKOM) has sent the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) the final version of the public service contract.

Today, the Government Communication Office (UKOM) sent the second draft of the contract to the Slovenian Press Agency that provides for the financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), a public service, as defined by the Slovenian Press Agency Act. Numerous details were coordinated at yesterday’s coordination meeting. Currently, there are two elements that have yet to be coordinated. In the Slovenian Press Agency Act, it is stated that all content created as part of a public service must be freely accessible to all under equal conditions. Irrespective of this legal provision, the STA’s director Bojan Veselinović insists on continuing to sell certain services on the free market that are part of a public service and, in doing so, is in clear violation of the law, because those paying for the service would have different access to these services than those not paying for it.

In line with the tradition of the presiding countries, Slovenia has hosted correspondents from Brussels accredited at the EU institutions at the beginning of its presidency. The correspondents spoke to the highest representatives of the Government about the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency, and had an opportunity to experience Slovenia as a boutique, sustainable and safe tourist destination.

In 2019, the world honey yield was 173% higher than in 1961. In 2019, 10,145 beekeepers in Slovenia were taking care of 208,000 hives (3,245 organic), each an average of 21 hives. In 2019, Slovenian beekeepers produced 650 tons of honey, 63% less than in 2018.

The District Court in Ljubljana annulled the enforcement orders for the recovery of EUR 169,000.00 for January 2021 and EUR 169,000.00 for February 2021, issued by the District Court in Ljubljana against the Government Communication Office (UKOM) on the basis of the motion for enforcement filed by Slovenska tiskovna agencija, d.o.o., represented by Bojan Veselinović through the law firm Kozinc and Partners o.p., d.o.o. They also added that the court will decide on the claim and costs in civil proceedings before the District Court in Ljubljana.

We, too, would prefer that the events that occurred in the Slovenian Press Agency had never happened. Unfortunately, they did happen, and they should serve as a reminder and warning to all so that something similar never happens again.

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.

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.

The press conference on the current situation regarding Covid-19 was attended by the Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Dr Simona Kustec, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Franc Vindišar, and Director of the National Examinations Centre, Darko Zupanc.

According to the vice-rector of the University of Maribor, Zoran Ren, the Vega supercomputer, which was officially launched at the Institute of Information Sciences in Maribor on Tuesday, places Slovenia in stride with the world's superpowers in terms of computing power, thus enabling Slovenian and European scientists to make extraordinary discoveries.

This week, the well-known American television network CNN published on its website an article entitled The Mini Venices around Europe, describing two Slovenian cities, Piran and Koper, as being among the most atmospheric towns that were once part of the Venetian Republic.

The press conference on the current COVID-19 situation was attended by the state secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ), Cveto Uršič, and the director of the Trbovlje General Hospital, Dr Romana Martinčič.

After reviewing the documentation, the Government Communication Office (UKOM) received only one new document from the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), although it was understood from the letter which Bojan Veselinović, Director of the STA, sent on Monday that the entire documentation requested would be delivered.

Today, before the European Council meeting, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended a videoconference with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

Marta Grgič Vitek, the national coordinator of the vaccination programme at the NIPH, presented the results of vaccination in the country.

On 27 January 2021, the Communication Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia (GCO) fulfilled all of its obligations to the Slovenian Press Agency (SPA) arising from the public service contract.

Celebrated around the world on 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.