NEWS

Prime Minister Borut Pahor meets French Minister of State

On 5 March 2009, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, held a meeting with the French Minister of State responsible for European Affairs, Bruno le Maire. They discussed preparations for the G20 meeting in London on 2 April 2009; the meeting is expected to focus on possible solutions in the area of financial mechanisms. Coordinating European economic policies is vital to tackling the economic crisis.

 

(Foto: Tina Kosec/Bobo)

 

Mr Pahor explained that the Eurogroup has the right and duty to coordinate financial policies. For this purpose, the French Minister of State called for a meeting of the Eurogroup countries at the level of prime ministers to be held as soon as possible. Mr Pahor and Mr le Maire advocated speeding up the process of bringing those Member States which have not yet introduced the single currency closer to joining the eurozone, while strictly respecting the existing criteria.

The Minister of State welcomed the proposal of Prime Minister Borut Pahor for occasional meetings within the European Union between representatives authorised by prime ministers to coordinate measures to tackle the crisis.  Mr Pahor and Mr le Maire also touched on the state of play in relations between Slovenia and Croatia. Mr Pahor confirmed that Slovenia in principle accepts the proposal by the European Commission to solve the border dispute between the two countries by mediation. In this regard, Mr le Maire noted that France understood the Slovenian position.