The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and current President of the European Council, Mr Janez Janša, and the President of the European Commission, Mr José Manuel Barroso, this afternoon attended a conference on the ‘Advantages and Achievements of an enlarged Europe in global competition’.

 

(Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

 

According to the Prime Minister, the European Union and the USA need to join forces in tackling global challenges, such as climate change, energy consumption, security, poverty and food prices. “In these fields, one country alone cannot do enough,” he stressed, going on to add that energy and security issues had been one of the key topics at all the summit meetings between the European Union and other global partners held during the Slovenian EU Council Presidency, including today’s EU-US Summit meeting. Expectations of the forthcoming EU-Russian Federation Summit meeting, to be held at the end of this month, are similar.

 

In the Prime Minister’s opinion, EU citizens do not go in for entrepreneurship enough, compared to US citizens. Reversing this trend, along with ensuring a more entrepreneurship-friendly environment is, the PM is convinced, one of the key challenges to be addressed by the EU-27. The Premier also stressed that there were no successful countries without successful businesses, and no successful businesses without good staff. “It is very significant that, at the Tripartite Social Summit this spring, you, the European social partners, employers and trade unions, endorsed the Lisbon Strategy,” he said to the employers’ representatives present at the conference.

 

(Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

 

Prime Minister Janez Janša took the opportunity to stress that during its EU Council Presidency, Slovenia had been especially committed to assuring the Western Balkan countries of a future in Europe. He said that Slovenia’s decision to pay particular attention to this region had been the right one. “Undoubtedly, there are still certain challenges ahead,” he noted.

 

The Slovenian Prime Minister and President of the European Council, Janez Janša, said he was convinced that, in assuming the responsibility of holding the EU Presidency, Slovenia had blurred the symbolic distinction between old and new Member States.  In his opinion, Slovenia is providing France, which will take up the Presidency baton at the end of June, with a good starting position for further work.