Prior to his departure for the Informal Meeting of EU Heads of State or Government in Lahti, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, presented the main topics of the meeting at today's press conference. The Prime Minister particularly emphasized that Slovenia will persist in its view that joining the Schengen area should be ensured when individual countries meet the required criteria.
PHOTO: Office of the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister stated that the focal point of the informal EU Summit will be EU energy policy. The main objective in this area is convergence of opinion within the EU. By pursuing a joint energy policy, the Member States have the potential to ensure a sustainable and less expensive supply of energy. "Europe depends largely on imports of energy products, and this dependence will further increase in the years to come," asserted the Prime Minister. According to Janez Janša, the purpose of the discussion on this topic will also be the convergence of views of the Member States before the meeting with the President of the Russian Federation. This cooperation in the field of energy is extremely important. Europe needs Russian energy sources, and, on the other hand, the Russian Federation needs the EU market. "This is a strategic partnership the strength of which depends on the definition of the views of the partners," declared the Prime Minister.
According to Prime Minister Janez Janša, the second objective of this discussion will be the tightening of environmental criteria when it comes to the use of fossil fuels and promotion of research and the introduction of environment-friendly sustainable energy. "Slovenia has been devoting a great deal of attention to this issue in the past few months. Currently, Slovenia's overall electricity production satisfies slightly less than one-fourth of its energy requirements from sustainable sources, including hydroelectric power. The percentage of Slovenia's sustainable energy will be increased in the following years. With this intention in mind, we included a special sustainable energy and hydrogen economy project worth EUR 3.9 billion in the Resolution on national development projects. One part of these funds will be allocated to research, while another will be used for implementation,", added the Prime Minister.
An additional focus of this Informal Summit will be innovation. The Prime Minister mentioned that in the future the EU will do more in the area of protection of intellectual property, which is one of the initial conditions for making innovation worthwhile. This is the only way to motivate those capable of innovative thinking, since their results will be properly protected.
On this occasion, participants in the meeting will also touch on the topical problem of illegal migration. The Prime Minister stressed that he will point to the importance of expanding the Schengen area at this Summit. "Slovenia still insists on the view that each country should be granted the real possibility of joining the Schengen area when it meets the required criteria. Technical reasons cannot play the central role in this regard, since today, in the 21st century, technology can work wonders. One has only to be willing," concluded Prime Minister Janez Janša.
