Prime Minister Golob: The leaders are determined to find a way, and I am confident that we will succeed

SLOVENIA, December 19 - In his statement to the media upon arrival at the meeting, Prime Minister Golob summarised yesterday's EU-Western Balkans summit and expressed his satisfaction, noting that talks with the EU candidate countries showed significantly more optimism than two years ago: "The European Commission's plan for development and cooperation with the Western Balkan candidate countries has yielded concrete results," the Prime Minister said. He added that a gradual approach, dialogue, and implementation of the plan are giving cause for optimism not only in the EU but also in the countries that are reaping tangible benefits from it.

The Prime Minister went on to highlight financial assistance to Ukraine as the central theme of this summit, emphasising that Slovenia is committed to achieving lasting peace in Ukraine and that all efforts must be made to bring Russia to the negotiating table. According to the Prime Minister, frozen Russian assets are the EU's most powerful instrument for achieving this goal. He added that Slovenia is in favour of finding solutions, but will not go against Belgium's reservations. Belgium is discussing possible solutions with a smaller group of countries, with which Slovenia is also coordinating. "The decision will be made on the basis of the relevant explanations we receive today from all these countries," said the Prime Minister, adding that other options should also be explored, but a solution within the European budget would be less complicated for all countries. "I believe that the leaders are determined to find a way, and I am confident that we will succeed," concluded the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Golob also took questions from the press. He commented on the EU-Mercosur agreement negotiations and emphasised that while it is in Europe's interest to open up new markets, it is equally important to ensure that these markets operate under the same conditions, so that our food producers and industry are on an equal footing. He also pointed out that the agreement already includes a number of safeguards to protect the agricultural sector.

Slovenia advocates an ambitious scope for the future multiannual financial framework, which will enable adequate funding for both key traditional EU policies – such as cohesion and the common agricultural policy, which are extremely important for Slovenia – and new priority challenges, with a focus on strengthening competitiveness. "Slovenia has been highly successful in making use of so-called centralised programmes, a fact that is often overlooked. The new financial framework provides for their strengthening and Slovenia will have significantly more funds available in this area. This makes it all the more important to determine the rules according to which companies, individuals, and institutions can access these central funds. The main battle for Slovenia's interests will be over the rules. Success will depend on ensuring that the rules applied, for example, in the Horizon Europe programme are also applied in the central funds," said Prime Minister Golob regarding the European Commission's proposal, which foresees significantly more funding over the next seven-year period for so-called centralised programmes aimed at strengthening competitiveness.

At this summit, leaders are expected to discuss further EU enlargement, the EU’s geo-economic situation and the competitiveness of the European economy. These are strategic issues that are closely linked to the future functioning of the European Union. The summit agenda also includes discussions on the situation in the Middle East, strengthening European security and defence, and migration.