Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 disease was attended by Marija Magajne from the Ministry of Health, Prof. Dr Borut Štrukelj, psychologist Dr Andreja Poljanec, and the government spokesperson Jelko Kacin.

At the invitation of Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, the first meeting of foreign ministers of the three countries was held today in Trieste, and focused on the joint management of the Adriatic Sea. Bordering the same sea, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia share a vision of the Adriatic Sea as a bridge uniting the people of the region and as a source of prosperity for all.

At a session, the Government issued the Ordinance on the declaration of the COVID-19 epidemic in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and published it in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. By this ordinance and on the basis of the Communicable Diseases Act, an epidemic of the COVID-19 communicable disease was declared in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia. The ordinance shall enter into force on 18 December 2020 and remain in force for 30 days.

On Thursday, 17 December, in the Presidential Palace, the President of the Republic of Slovenia and Commander-in-Chief of the Slovenian Armed Forces Borut Pahor promoted Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Robert Glavaš, to the rank of Major General.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today addressed the participants of the 15th Slovenian Economy Summit via video. He said, among other things, that the victors of tomorrow are those who are flexible, creative, curious, and dare to think outside the established frameworks. In order to succeed, we need the know-how that is connected with digitalisation and innovation. Skills in artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, and quantum computers are necessary.

State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs attended an event that was part of the Zlati pogovori cycle, which takes place on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Zlati kamen event. In the virtual conversation “How to get funds for municipalities after 2020?”, State Secretary underlined that municipalities and development regions are important partners in the process of planning the use of European Cohesion Policy funds for the period 2021-2027 as well as the funds available under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The EU Environment Council, attended by the State Secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Metka Gorišek, reached an agreement on the EU Climate Act, which sets out the long-term goal of EU's carbon neutrality until 2050 at the EU level.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today held a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla. The ministers reviewed bilateral cooperation, especially on the economy, which has an important place in bilateral relations. They also discussed measures to stem the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its consequences and went on to discuss current regional themes.

At its 44th regular session, the Government adopted many acts related to the COVID-19 epidemic. It therefore extended the epidemic by one month, kept the measures at border crossings, and adopted some changes on the green and red lists of countries.

Prime Minister Janez Janša today presided over the session of the Government Council for Slovenians Abroad. The Council is a consultative body of the Government, and participates in the formation and implementation of policies and strategies of the Republic of Slovenia for Slovenians abroad. The session participants thanked the Prime Minister for the meeting and for the expressed concern and interest of the Government for Slovenians abroad.

Today, the European Court of Human Rights published its ruling on Slovenia's inter-State application against Croatia with respect to the Ljubljanska banka claims against Croatian companies. The Court decided it had no jurisdiction to examine the inter-State application under Article 33 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms since Ljubljanska banka, in view of the Court, was not a "non-governmental organisation" for the purposes of Article 34 of the Convention.

Today’s press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 will be attended by the head of the Clinic for infectious diseases and fever conditions, Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, deputy head of the Centre for Infectious Diseases at the National Institute for Public Health (NIJZ), Nuška Čakš Jager, and the government spokesperson, Jelko Kacin.

The EU Ministers responible for agriculture and fisheries met yesterday and today at the last session of the EU Council of the year under the presidency of Germany. State secretary mag. Miran Mihelič attended the session for Slovenia. As is traditional for the end of the year, negotiations on fishing opportunities for the next year were at the forefront of the meeting, which are faced with additional challenges due to United Kingdom’s exit from the EU. Discussion on the proposal of a uniform voluntary marking of nutritional values on the front of packaging was also at the forefront, which resulted in the adoption of resolutions of the presidency, as well as the discussion about an all-European marking on animal well-being on foods of animal origin. During lunch, the German presidency presented to the Ministers the advancements in negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy after 2021, which, following the adoption of the General Approach of the Council, are now continuing with the European Parliament in the form of so-called trialogues.

During today's working visit to The Hague, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar met his host, Stef Blok, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The two ministers confirmed the excellent and friendly relations between their respective countries, advocating for the further strengthening of cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Prime Minister Janez Janša presided over the session of the Government Council for Slovenians in Neighbouring Countries today. He initially assessed the future of Slovenians in neighbouring countries, and continued to talk about the preservation of the Slovenian language and identity, reinforced cooperation of cultural institutions on both sides of the state border, about young people who must be a priority in all activities, and on the strategic relationship of the Republic of Slovenia in this area.

During today’s visit to The Hague, Foreign Minister Anže Logar held a meeting with the President of the International Criminal Court Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji. They highlighted the importance of constructive cooperation in fighting impunity and the crucial role of an independent judiciary.

NIJZ provided some more up-to-date information for the press conference. There are currently 20,970 confirmed coronavirus cases in Slovenia, said Ms Bratuša, the 14 day incidence is 1,006 positive cases, and the 7 day incidence is 1,477 such cases.

Prime Minister Janez Janša participated at the meeting with ambassadors of the EU member states today at Brdo pri Kranju, which was organised as an event in the framework of the German presidency of the EU Council. The Prime Minister answered the questions of the ambassadors, and talked about the recent meeting of the European Council, the challenges that await us in the following year, and the preparations for Slovenia’s presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2021.

Today in The Hague, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Anže Logar met with Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Fernando Arias. This is the first visit of a Slovenian foreign minister to the seat of the Organisation. The talks mainly focused on an assessment of global progress in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and a review of cooperation between Slovenia and the OPCW, particularly in the light of Slovenia’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2021.

Director-General for EU Affairs Barbara Sušnik today held virtual consultations with Andreas Riecken, Director General for the European Union and Economic Affairs at the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. They discussed bilateral cooperation, exchanging information on the state of play in their respective countries in relation to curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and on topical issues within the EU.