Accounting and Finance Service
It manages the financial operations of the Ministry, including the financial operations of Slovenia's representations abroad, ensures the legality of financial operations, and carries out appropriate supervision of financial operations and the use of budgetary funds. It prepares reports for the Bank of Slovenia on balances in the foreign currency accounts of Slovenia's representations abroad.
It monitors and is actively involved in the preparation of financial regulations of the Republic of Slovenia and amendments thereof. It prepares reports, information and analyses and makes proposals to the Minister, the Government and the National Assembly.
The Ministry is actively involved in the planning and raising of European financing for projects (co-)financed by EU funds such as the Internal Security Fund, the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy, and the Recovery and Resilience Plan. It monitors spending and makes claims for the reimbursement of allocated funds from the EU to the national budget.
It keeps a record of concluded contracts and monitors the fulfilment of financial obligations under such contracts, prepares proposals for programmes evaluated in financial terms, issues order forms, keeps a record of received invoices, prepares payment orders for the payment of the Ministry's obligations towards suppliers or contractors and payment to public employees on the basis of travel orders.
It keeps an inventory of newly purchased movable and immovable fixed assets and is responsible for increasing the book value of fixed assets whose value has increased following a public procurement procedure.
It ensures the financial and material conditions for the work of Slovenia's representations abroad. On the basis of source accounting documents, it keeps a financial and material record of transactions of representations abroad, supervises the correctness of accounting records of revenue and expenditure and, on such basis, prepares secondary accounting documents – financial reports of representations abroad, which are then submitted to the Public Accounting Directorate of the Ministry of Finance.
It monitors the assumption of liabilities by representations abroad and maintains a list of contracts concluded by individual representations and, on such basis, makes an assessment of the necessary annual funds.
Managing EU Funds
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs takes part in the following EU funding programmes:
External Borders Fund (2008–2013) – Archive website
Internal Security Fund (2014–2020) – borders
The Ministry executed projects to support the implementation of the Common EU Visa Policy, (co-)financed by the EU, such as: development of a revised Visa Information System (VIS), provision of quality connectivity to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, purchase of hardware and software to support the processing of visa applications, purchase of fingerprinting equipment, purchase of equipment for the detection of forged documents, adaptation of VIS to EES requirements and other IT systems, improvement of security standards, functions and processes at representations in third countries, EES (Entry-Exit System) – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, standard consular training and language courses for employees of consular departments.
The programme documents of the Internal Security Fund and substantive and financial data on its implementation are available at the website of the responsible body of the fund, i.e. the Ministry of the Interior.
Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (2021–2027)
In the current financial perspective of the European Union the Ministry continues to implement projects, (co-)financed by the EU, Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy as part of the Integrated Border Management Fund, to support the implementation of the Common EU Visa Policy. Projects include the provision of quality connectivity, purchase and maintenance of ICT hardware and software, including licences, to support the processing of visa applications, improvement of security standards, functions and processes at consular posts of the Republic of Slovenia abroad, staff costs at selected diplomatic missions and consular posts, ensuring the competence of staff involved in visa issuing processes, including through consular training, and pilot development and deployment of biometric data capture kiosks. New projects to support further digitalisation and proofing of documentation in the visa procedures are also foreseen.
The Instrument’s programme documents and the substantive and financial data on its implementation are published by the Instrument’s governing body, i.e. the Ministry of the Interior, on the portal: evropskasredstva.si.
Recovery and Resilience Plan (2020–2026) – development area: Digital Transformation
The Ministry participates in the investment “Modernising the digital environment of public administration” with a digitalisation project in the area of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, which comprises five activities:
- Digitalisation of processes in implementing development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects,
- Public portal for development cooperation and humanitarian aid (MRSHP),
- Digitalisation of the eTurist form,
- VisaApp mobile application for visa applications via mobile devices,
- Science Diplomacy portal of the Republic of Slovenia.
The Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience acts as the national coordination unit.
