News

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan and Chairwoman of the German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK) Gertrud Rantzen, who is ending her longstanding term of office, welcomed the high level of economic relations between Slovenia and Germany.

Op-Ed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Anže Logar, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Heiko Maas, Minister of State and for Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese Republic Dr Augusto Santos Silva and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan met with Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner, Minister of Federal, European and International Affairs of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The main topic of the talks was the strengthening of cooperation in the light of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Acting as Minister for Development Cooperation, State Secretary Dr. Stanislav Raščan held a telephone conversation with Martin Jäger, the German State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan attended the handover of the Trio Presidency of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in the format of development cooperation ministers. The meeting took the form of an audio-video conference and was attended by the Portuguese State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Francisco André, and the German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Martin Jäger.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar visited Munich today, where he met with Bavarian Minister for European and International Affairs Melanie Huml. They discussed the activities for enhancing political and economic relations between Slovenia and Bavaria in the light of the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

Director-General for European Affairs Barbara Sušnik participated in a videoconference meeting of the EU Council Presidency Trio of Slovenia, Germany and Portugal, presenting the priorities Slovenia will pursue during its Presidency.

On the second and concluding day of his working visit to Berlin, Foreign Minister Anže Logar met with President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble. He highlighted the excellent cooperation between the two parliaments and outlined the priority tasks of Slovenia's EU Council presidency. He exchanged views with the German side on topical issues and gave an overview of the European perspective of the Western Balkans.

As part of the regular political dialogue, Minister Logar met with his host, German Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. They talked about activities aimed at enhancing political and economic relations between Slovenia and Germany, with particular focus on strengthening cooperation within the framework of the EU in the light of the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

On Wednesday, 12 May 2021, the second round of consultations between the Slovenian and German international humanitarian law (IHL) committees was held in a virtual format. The first round took place in November 2018.

Prime Minister Janez Janša had a videoconference talk today with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They discussed the state of pandemic, which is slowing down in both countries, the vaccination process as well as future challenges. Of particular importance among the latter are combating the new mutations, facilitating the logistics of vaccine distribution and implementing vaccination in less developed countries when there is a plentiful supply of vaccines, a situation which is expected towards the end of this year.

Prior to the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan held videoconference consultations with Miguel Berger, State Secretary at the German Federal Foreign Office, who is responsible for political sectors and European policy, relations with the United States, the Russian Federation, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik attended a videoconference of the EU Council Presidency Trio of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar held talks via videoconference with the Bavarian State Minister for European and International Affairs Melanie Huml. Their discussion focused on the activities aimed at strengthening political, economic, and regional cooperation with Bavaria in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming Slovenian EU Council Presidency.

Ten years ago, millions of Syrians took to the streets of Dara’a, Aleppo and Damascus, calling for democracy and respect of their fundamental rights and basic freedoms. The brutal response by the regime triggered over the span of a decade one of the most serious criminal enterprises and humanitarian crises since the Second World War resulting in more than 400 000 deaths and in countless violations of human rights.

Today, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan delivered the opening address at the “E-Mobility: Slovenia–Germany” web conference organised by the Slovenian E-mobility Association. In his address, he emphasised the great importance of economic cooperation between the two countries, above all in the automotive industry, which accounts for more than a quarter of total bilateral trade.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan took part in a handover workshop of the trio Presidency of the EU Foreign Affairs Council attended by development cooperation ministers. The workshop took place in the form of an audio-video conference with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Francisco André, and the German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Martin Jäger.

On 24 November 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum, which was organised by the Körber-Stiftung foundation in Berlin together with the German Foreign Ministry. The Forum was opened by the foreign ministers of the Trio Presidency of Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia.

At the invitation of Michael Roth, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office, a video conference meeting of state secretaries for EU affairs of the Trio presidency Germany-Portugal-Slovenia was held tonight. The state secretaries exchanged views on the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and called for further coordinated action at Union level, particularly with regard to the vaccine and testing. The latter will also be the topic of a video conference meeting of Heads of State and Governments to be held on 19 November.

Prime Minister Janez Janša held a videoconference today with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Their discussions focused on the serious spread of the coronavirus.