Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dimitrij Rupel signed in Lisbon on 13 December the new riform treaty of the EU. Jansa hailed the document as crucial for Europe in taking on the challenges of globalisation. "It gives Europe the power to take part in shaping globalisation instead of just fearing it or adapting to it" the Prime Minister said. According to Jansa, Slovenia has made it a priority of its six-month stint at the helm of the EU next year to be a custodian of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, and it plans to be among the first member states to ratify the document to serve as a role model for the other member states.
The Prime Minister added that in other countries, too, there seemed to be no major concerns about the ratification process. He said that efforts would be made by the countries that ratify the treaty quickly to help those with complicated parliamentary procedures or those opting for a referendum.
The majority of the Slovenian parties welcomed the signing of the treaty and also supported its speedy ratification.
Interior Minister Dragutin Mate and Justice Ministry State Secretary Robert Marolt took part in an EU-US ministerial on justice and interior affairs in Washington on Tuesday. Topping the agenda were EU-US relations, legal aid, extradition treaties, data protection and reciprocal visa regime. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa and French President Nicolas Sarkozy discussed the tasks of their successive EU presidencies in 2008 as they held a meeting on Monday, in particular the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, a priority for both countries. "It will be one year, two presidencies and one task," Jansa told reporters in Paris after the talks. More »
The fourth National Council held its maiden session on Wednesday and elected Blaz Kavcic its new president in a secret ballot. After taking over, Kavcic said that he would strive for constructive cooperation. More »
The average net wage in Slovenia amounted to EUR 846.38 in October, which was 3.2% more than the previous month, and up 8.9% year-on-year, the Statistics Office said on Monday. More »
Defence Minister Karl Erjavec received on Wednesday a wooden relay baton from his Portuguese colleague Nuno Severiano Teixeira in what was a symbolic hand-over of the presidency over the EU Council in defence matters. Erjavec took the opportunity to reiterate Slovenia's EU priorities in this field. More »
Finance Minister Andrey Bajuk met in Rome on Monday his Italian counterpart Tomaso Padoa-Schioppa and Italian central bank governor Mario Draghi and presented Slovenia's priorities for the EU presidency in the first half of 2008 regarding the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). More »
Slovenia has entered key talks on the reform of the EU's wine sector with two objections: the labeling of added sugar and financial package, a senior Agriculture Ministry official said as EU ministers in charge of agriculture started negotiations on Monday. More »
In Lisbon Today, Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitrij Rupel attended the ceremony of signing new European agreement, so-called Lisbon agreement. More »
Today, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia attended the traditional December meeting of the European Council in Brussels, which focused on the Kosovo question, the global challenges facing Europe and its international role. More »
Following a meeting with the EU's Special Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina Miroslav Lajcak in Ljubljana on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel welcomed the recent initialing of the Stabilisation an Association Agreement between Bosnia and the EU and reiterated Slovenia's wish for a European future of the Western Balkans. More »
Slovenia's EU presidency will have its work cut out with the ratification of the recently signed Lisbon Treaty, as EU leaders called on Friday for a swift completion of national ratification processes with a view to allowing the treaty to enter into force on 1 January 2009. More »
Today the Prime Minister of the republic of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, met the European Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson, who was visiting Slovenia during the closing stage of preparations for the EU Presidency. The PM and his guest exchanged views on key issues of trade policy, which the European Union will have to negotiate in the first half of 2008. One of the main challenges will be to conclude negotiations on the liberalisation of international trade, which WTO members initiated in 2001 in Doha, as soon as possible. More »
Slovenia could become a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in less than two years, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said in Paris on Monday after meeting Prime Minister Janez Jansa. He added that quality was more important that speed and that Slovenia had so far implemented "very important changes" in all reform processes. More »
Anton Tomaz Linhart (1756-1795), the man credited with bringing the Slovenian language on stage, now has his own permanent exhibition in his hometown of Radovljica. The show opened on Tuesday evening at the Radovljica mansion, which is also home to the famed Museum of Beekeeping. More »
Slovenian swimmers Peter Mankoc and Anja Carman won the gold medal at the 11th European Short Course Swimming Championships in Hungary's Debrecen. More »
Slovenian households will next week receive an information booklet on Slovenia's accession to the Schengen zone entitled "Slovenia, a Schengen Novice", the Interior Minister Dragutin Mate told the press in Ljubljana on Friday. More »