State Secretary dr. Branko Lobnikar inaugurated the eighth annual meeting of the Pompidou Group’s South-East Europe Airports Group with an opening address. The two-day meeting held in Ljubljana was organised by the Council of Europe and the Slovenian criminal police, current holder of the Group’s presidency.

Minister for Development and European Cohesion Policy, dr Aleksander Jevšek, attended the Szentgotthárd/Monošter Forum and underscored the importance of cross-border (Interreg) programmes in overcoming administrative, language and other barriers people in cross-border regions face.

Today, we celebrate World Animal Day. It is intended to raise awareness among the general public about animals as sentient beings and the necessity of caring for them responsibly and in a way that does not cause them pain, suffering and fear.

With today's successful tourism-promotional, cultural and culinary event entitled "In Honor of Slovenia", which took place after the screening of the film "Emerald Paradise" at the opening of the Chagrin Falls Documentary Film Festival 2022, we concluded this year's "Slovenian Days in Cleveland 2022".

Prime Minister Robert Golob visited the Maribor First Grammar School today. With students he discussed the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, energy self-supply, renewable energy sources and investments in solar panels. The discussion, for which the students were well prepared, took place in a relaxed atmosphere. After a pleasant conversation with the students, the Prime Minister signed the memorial book in the school library. He encouraged the students, "Trust in yourself and in your virtues. Then only the sky will be your limit."

The UN has published the latest global E-Government Survey. This is a regular and respected publication that the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) has prepared every two years since 2001. According to the E-Government Development Index (EGDI), Slovenia comes 21st out of 193 countries, and progress is evident in all components of the survey.

The Prime Minister, Dr Robert Golob, today addressed the participants of the For a Better Future for Children consultation at the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. At the consultation, various stakeholders, from NGOs to deputies and representatives of ministries, discussed solutions to improve the situation of children with special needs and children living in poverty and threatened by violence.

Development council of cohesion region Vzhodna Slovenija today met at the Rajhenburg Castle in Brestanica and approved Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027.

After 18 months of safe and stable non-stop operations, a scheduled overhaul will take place at Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NE Krško) from 1 October to 2 November.

As part of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe, a conference entitled 'No safe haven: Integrated prevention measures to end domestic, sexual and gender-based violence' was organised in Dublin between 29 and 30 September 2022. The conference was attended by Minister Luka Mesec who, in his message, highlighted as the central objective, "A Europe with zero tolerance for violence against women, whether taking place publicly, at work or within the family."

Heavy rainfall, which again hit Slovenia in recent days, caused additional damage to the already affected and waterlogged areas in south-eastern Slovenia. Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec and his colleagues visited the Municipality of Osilnica, which was among the most affected by the flash floods in mid-September. The Slovenian Armed Forces will again help to remedy the consequences of the rainfall, the swollen Kolpa River and torrent streams.

In the first half of September, the Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Agricultural Markets and Rural Development (ARSKTRP) started paying aid to the agricultural and fisheries sectors, which are facing increasing costs of production and processing due to the rising prices of fuel, electricity and intermediate goods. By 30 September, almost EUR 22.2 million of aid was paid out from the anticipated EUR 22.3 million.

This year’s International Day of Older Persons, celebrated on 1 October, is dedicated to the resilience and contributions of older women. The discrimination and inequalities that women face can increase with age. For this reason, the contributions and experiences of older women, who play an important role in social, political, economic and cultural life, often remain disregarded.

An international research group has succeeded in identifying the most distant globular star clusters ever discovered using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Switzerland has retained its top spot among the world's most innovative countries, a position it has held for almost a decade. Slovenia has dropped one place in this year's ranking to 33rd out of 132 countries.

Every friday the Slovenian Weekly Newsletter brings you the latest updates on the work of the Slovenian Government.

At its meeting by correspondence, the Government again discussed the draft Implementation of the Republic of Slovenia Budget for 2023 and 2024 Act. As per the draft Act adopted on Wednesday, the Government restructured the article referring to the payment of the annual allowance for pensioners. The amounts of annual allowance will increase by EUR 5 as per 2021 in all grades.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended the international conference in Gorizia held under the title European Cultural Links - Cross-border cities as European meeting points. In a panel entitled How to further define cross-border cooperation and remove barriers: policy instruments and territorial perspectives, he highlighted the European Capital of Culture 2025 project and the successful partnership between Nova Gorica and Gorizia as outstanding examples of cooperation between the two border towns.

Today, Sanja Ajanović Hovnik, head of the Government negotiating team and the Minister of Public Administration, and the heads of negotiating teams of representative public sector unions, Branimir Štrukelj and Jakob Počivavšek, initialled the agreement after several negotiating sessions.

The EU Competitiveness Council met today in Brussels, attended by State Secretary Matevž Frangež on behalf of Matjaž Han, the Minister of Economic Development and Technology. The meeting took place in the light of the exacerbated energy crisis and the Member States displayed a great degree of unity in all key decisions. The ministers supported the proposal of the new crisis instrument to protect the internal market.