Prime Minister Dr. Robert Golob met on July 21st with European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.
The two leaders devoted the main part of their talks to current European topics, with an emphasis on the recently published European Commission proposal for the EU’s multiannual financial framework 2028-2034, strengthening competitiveness and the state of the EU enlargement process.
At the press conference after the meeting, the Prime Minister said that he and European Commissioner Kos had an in-depth discussion on the current situation in the world. “The situation in the world brings us many challenges, which is why it is all the more important that we focus on issues such as the long-term view of the future, how we can jointly ensure security on the one hand and the competitiveness of the European economy on the other,” he stressed.
Regarding the recently presented first draft of the EU’s multiannual financial framework, Prime Minister Dr. Golob pointed out that it represents an appropriate starting point for Slovenia for the upcoming negotiations. The negotiations will be long-term and most likely also tough. “However, the amount of funds allocated to both cohesion and agricultural policy is something that Slovenia can be satisfied with,” he said, adding that the increase in funds for competitiveness and enlargement is also particularly important for us.
The Prime Minister went on to specifically highlight the competitiveness of the economy. “What is particularly important for Slovenia is the availability of funds to increase the competitiveness of the economy. This is where the greatest progress would be made in the multiannual financial framework. Not least because a competitiveness fund is being established, and access to funds from this fund will also be enabled or facilitated for small and medium-sized and mid-cap companies,” Prime Minister Dr. Golob continued.
The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of linking security and the economy. “I believe that security can also be an opportunity to enable our companies to access both fresh capital and European funds to support new projects,” he said. “We have a challenging half of the year ahead of us, but I believe that by December, when the European Council will discuss both enlargement and the multiannual financial framework, we will have made some progress,” concluded Prime Minister Dr. Golob.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also highlighted in a statement to the media that the European budget does not only include funds for cohesion and agricultural policy. “A lot of funds will be available for competitiveness, where Slovenia can obtain a lot of funds with good projects. This is where competitiveness and security would be linked. This will be a new European budget in which investment in our European resilience and security will also be highlighted, and we want expenditure related to the defence industry to promote industrial systems at the level of the entire European Union, while at the same time it should be accessible to medium-sized and small companies, as well as niche manufacturers, of which there are quite a few in Slovenia,” she emphasized.
Commissioner Kos continued by saying that the focus should be on dual-use, including cybersecurity and infrastructure. “In this context, it is important that the EU budget increases funding for security in the broadest sense of the word,” she said, highlighting that, according to a Eurobarometer survey, a larger share of Slovenians expect the EU to provide security.
The Commissioner also stressed the importance of linking the EU enlargement sector with security. “I see enlargement as much more than just increasing the EU’s territory or population. For me, enlargement is again a peace project, the most important peace project on our continent,” she said, emphasizing that we must do everything possible to ensure that the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as Ukraine and Moldova, become members of the EU as soon as possible.
In her statement, Commissioner Kos also highlighted the current geopolitical situation and external forces that want to prevent the enlargement process. “These external forces are using various approaches, including hybrid warfare. “I think it is very important, not only for the European Union, but also for Slovenia, that when we talk about security, we also bear in mind that there is more and more disinformation circulating among us and that we must prepare for this,” concluded European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.
Source: Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Communications
