In Berlin today, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša attended the international conference of leading European politicians in the WDR Europe Forum, entitled “Rethinking Europe! The Globalisation of the EU”. As the Prime Minister said after the meeting, his appearance was additionally motivated by the fact that a similar event will be organised in Ljubljana  during Slovenia’s presidency next year. 

 

(Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

 

Also present at today’s meeting were the Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Dr Alfred Gusenbauer, Franz Müntefering, the Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and Matthias Wissmann, the Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs of the German Bundestag. The participants talked about the current challenges facing the EU and spent most of their time on how to solve the institutional crisis, and the prospects for the EU summit in June. They also exchanged views on the European social model and the future of a Union facing globalisation.

 

Prime Minister Janez Janša emphasised that, regarding the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Slovenia is seeking a solution to the issue this June. But Slovenia has no desire to see a reopening of questions regarding the constitution as coordinated in the Treaty. In his opinion, this would prevent a solution any time soon or in the period before the European elections in 2009. He expressed the wish that as much as possible be preserved of the EU Constitution proposal, the content of which was agreed upon by all countries, at the end of the intergovernmental conference. “In view of Slovenia ratifying the whole document, this is an understandable wish, and, at the same time, it is also the position of most EU member states, as most of them have ratified the EU Constitution,” said the Prime Minister.

 

In a discussion between representatives of the so-called old and new member states, a somewhat different view on the current challenges of the EU came to light. As regards Slovenia, the current state is less problematic, because EU membership is a new challenge for the country, as is entering the euro zone and the forthcoming entry to the Schengen Zone. “Thus, in Slovenia, we do not see the EU as being in some sort of stagnation,” emphasised the Prime Minister. He added that the view of the founding states and the countries that entered the EU quite some time ago is somewhat different. They primarily see a standstill in the current situation, which is why they expect concrete solutions. The Forum participants agreed that the EU is in a different place today than it was 20 years ago, and that global circumstances have changed. It is also a fact that the EU is decidedly larger and more complex, which is why different solutions are needed.

 

According to the Prime Minister, such different views appeared in all the discussions on the various aspects of the EU’s future in which speakers from the so-called old and new member states participated. But, in his opinion, this is perfectly normal, because the richness of the EU lies in the coexistence of different practices and different views and, therefore, also competition within the EU on the basis of which the best solutions can be found.