Today, the leaders of political parties (SDS, SD, NSi, SLS, DeSUS) and the group of unaffiliated MPs, and representatives of ethnic minorities signed the Agreement on the Cooperation of Political Parties, the Group of Unaffiliated MPs, and the Representatives of Ethnic Minorities in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. This is intended to facilitate the successful realisation of preparations for the presidency of the European Union, and the presidency itself.

(Photo: Nebojša Tejić/Salomon 2000)

On signing the agreement, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, said that this agreement continued one of the key positive traditions in the history of democratic Slovenia. “This cooperation started with the first free elections, with the agreement of the political groups of the time to hold free and democratic elections. It continued with the agreement on the plebiscite for an independent Slovenia, demonstrating unity at a time when this decision faced historic challenges; and later, during the formation and international recognition of the Slovenian state and when signing two important agreements when we joined forces for Slovenia to join the European Union and NATO."

(Photo: Primož Lavre/Salomon 2000)

According to the PM, the fact that today's agreement, like others, was signed by the large majority of parliamentary stakeholders guarantees that when carrying out this demanding task, Slovenia will bring together not only MPs, but also the intellectual potential of the institutions most responsible for carrying out the task well. The PM stressed that this is a positive signal to the international community, showing that Slovenia takes its responsibilities seriously, and will act accordingly.

“The agreement is binding in the same way on the coalition and opposition parties and also, of course, the government. The sole purpose of this agreement is to join forces to tackle the challenge in the best way we can and as we have already proven we can.”