Slovenian Agriculture Ministry

Ljubljana/Rome – Italy’s allegations about Slovenia’s violations of EU legislation on geographically protected balsamic vinegar are unfounded, the Slovenian Agriculture Ministry told the STA on Thursday as it responded to recent reports that the Italian government is demanding infringement proceedings against Slovenia.

Strasbourg – EU agriculture ministers, including Slovenia’s Jože Podgoršek, learned on Monday about a low-carbon farming project and the work of France’s Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAe) in the field of viticulture, as part of a two-day informal meeting hosted by the French EU presidency.

Dubai – Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek met in Dubai on Tuesday Saif Mohammed Rashid Saeed al Shara, a high representative of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE. The pair talked cooperation in agricultural and food products and the transfer of knowledge, especially in terms of cooperation of expert institutions.

Ljubljana – Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek and the ministry’s state secretary Aleš Irgolič participated on Wednesday in a meeting of agriculture ministers of the Visegrad Group, plus Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. The meeting was dedicated to challenges facing farmers and the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy.

Ljubljana – The Slovenian Agriculture Ministry has temporarily protected Istrian honey under the Slovenian-Croatian brand Istrski med/Istarski med at the national level using a protected designation of origin, as Slovenia and Croatia have decided to submit a joint application to the European Commission to register the honey.

The international day acknowledging the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem is observed on 20 May, the birthday of Slovenian Anton Janša, the pioneer of beekeeping, born in 1734.

Both sides agreed at the session that there is a progress in bilateral trade in agricultural and food products.

The session also discussed possibilities for cooperation in technology exchange and research. The Chinese side proposed direct dialogue between expert institutions and exchange of experts, and cooperation in research related to beekeeping and honey production.