As part of the bilateral technical assistance offered to Montenegro, Slovenian representatives are visiting Montenegro from 9 to 11 October 2019 to present the eUprava (e-Government) portal, the building blocks of data exchange and other solutions for users developed by the Ministry of Public Administration.

On 10 October, Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar attended the fourth edition of the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean. The Regional Forum is the annual meeting of foreign ministers from the northern and southern Mediterranean countries, co-chaired by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, and Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Josep Borrell.

Slovenian prime minister Marjan Šarec is paying a return visit to Skopje today at the invitation of North Macedonian prime minister Zoran Zaev. The Slovenian PM’s visit to North Macedonia represents a continuation of the regular intensive political dialogue between the two countries.

Slovenia is deeply concerned about the Turkish military operation in north-east Syria. The operation could threaten the stability of the wider region and the progress achieved in the fight against Da'esh and other terrorist organizations, as well as undermines the political process to find a solution to the Syrian crisis. It also threatens the lives of the population and further exacerbates the humanitarian situation in the country, which could provoke further displacements.

On Thursday, 10 October 2019, the Ministry of Public Administration received representatives of the Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich), a Polish non-governmental organisation.

On today’s World and European Day against the Death Penalty, Slovenia, a vocal opponent of this kind of punishment, calls for it to be abolished worldwide, and applauds Europe (with the exception of Belarus) as first continent to have done so.

On his working visit to North Macedonia in Gevgelia, prime minister Marjan Šarec and North Macedonian prime minister Zoran Zaev reviewed the conditions on the North Macedonian-Greek border with respect to the challenges of illegal migration on the so-called Balkan route, and visited a migrant transit centre on the country’s south-eastern border. On the occasion, he met with six members of the Slovenian police who are participating in the joint surveillance of border crossings on Macedonian territory as part of joint measures for managing the increased flow of migrants.

Minister Dr Miro Cerar hosted Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Stef Blok on an official visit to Slovenia today. The two ministers confirmed the excellent bilateral relations between their countries, which have been developed in both politics and business, noting with pleasure their similar views on numerous current European and global topics. Slovenian racing cyclist Primož Roglič, who is part of the Dutch team Jumbo–Visma, is yet another example of Slovenian–Dutch partnership, inspiring cycling fans both here and in the Netherlands.

The prime minister Marjan Šarec hosted a visit by the Belgian prime minister and newly elected President of the European Council Charles Michel. The visit by this senior European politician is part of his preparations prior to assuming the role of President of the European Council, having previously paid visits to Berlin and Rome. Mr Michel was elected to the post on 2 July and will start work on 1 December.

Acting Director-General for EU Affairs, Ambassador Barbara Sušnik, took part in bilateral consultations in Norway today. She and her counterpart, Director General of the Department for European Affairs Niels Engelschiøn, exchanged views on topical bilateral, European and international issues.

State Secretary Dobran Božič addressed participants in the Slovenian–Jordanian Business Forum held at the Grand Hotel Union today. The Forum seeks to present opportunities for cooperation in various business areas and for networking between Slovenian and Jordanian companies. The ten-strong business delegation of the Jordan Europe Business Association is composed of representatives of companies engaged in defence, security, aviation, electrical appliances, the food industry, smart energy solutions, construction materials and equipment, the cosmetics industry and spa tourism.

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, the Managing Authority for ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, has issued grant decisions for two projects promoting conservation of natural and cultural heritage in the Drava River basin, which fall in the scope of the Natura 2000 Management Programme. Both project budgets amount to over EUR 8.2 million; the projects will receive a contribution of EUR 6.5 million from ERDF (European Regional Development Fund).

At the end of the previous week, on 5 and 6 October 2019, the "My Safety and Mobility" hackathon was held at ABC Accelerator in Ljubljana. The event brought together 48 participants who developed their ideas on the subjects listed in the public competition for the selection of the "My Safety and Mobility" concept, announced by the Ministry of Public Administration.

You are cordially invited to attend the opening of the exhibition Slovenians in the United States Today, which will take place on October 9th, 2019 at 1 p.m. in the park in front of the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia.

The latest Report on the Implementation of EU Cohesion Policy in the Period January 2014-June 2019 and the Report on the Implementation of the Action Plan to Accelerate the Spending under the Operational Programme for the Implementation of EU Cohesion Policy in the Period 2014-2020 were presented to Slovenian Government. The Government will submit the documents to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.

At the invitation of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Warsaw Security Forum, State Secretary Dobran Božič is attending this year’s Forum, taking place on 2 and 3 October.

At its session today the government approved draft amendments to four tax, adopted the Draft Act amending the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, defined the text of the Draft Act amending the Labour Market Act and adopted a draft amendment to the text of the Aviation Act.

An international conference on the public administration challenges facing the Western Balkan countries held in Ljubljana concluded yesterday. The conference was organised by the ReSPA (Regional School of Public Administration) and hosted by the Slovenian Ministry of Public Administration. The participants were addressed by Slovenian Minister of Public Administration Rudi Medved.

Minister Dr Miro Cerar hosted Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and Minister of Immigration and Asylum of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn on an official visit to Slovenia today. The counterparts confirmed excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, based on common European values, the rule of law and similar views on current European and global issues.

For nearly 30 years, 1 October has been celebrated as the International Day of Older Persons. This year’s celebration is held under the theme ‘’The Journey to Age Equality’’ and is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 10. In Slovenia, numerous measures promoting employment of older workers and active and healthy ageing are supported by the European Social Fund (ESF).