NEWS

Prime Minister Pahor attends the New Era for the Balkans conference

The Slovenian Prime Minister, Borut Pahor, today attended the "New Era for the Balkans" conference in Brussels. The main topics of discussion were the future of the Balkans in the next decade, enhancement of responsibility, promotion of regional co-operation and local capacities, and of the opportunities for this region in times of economic crisis.

 

Participants in the discussion, entitled Making 2010–2020 the Decade of the Balkans, and prepared by the European think tank Friends of Europe, included several key political leaders from the Western Balkans. In his speech at the conference, Prime Minister Pahor recalled that, while focusing on the financial and economic crisis, the European Union should not forget enlargement. Mr Pahor advised leaders from the region to undertake the resolution of those bilateral issues still open as soon as possible.

 

"At this moment, rather than considering enlargement, the European Union is focused on tackling the crisis. Nevertheless, the Lisbon Treaty was brought in, and we must now return to the issue of the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans," said Mr Pahor. During the discussion, in which the Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović and the Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski also participated, Mr Pahor highlighted the attention that the EU must pay, in his view, to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently, this country is not among the priorities of the EU, as is shown by the list of countries for which visa liberalisation will enter into force in December. The Dayton agreement indeed secured peace, but it does not suffice to provide stability and development. In order to make further steps oriented towards the future, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs stimulation by the EU and the United States.

 

Prime Minister Pahor went on to say that the leaders of the Balkan countries should not wait until the last minute, but should resolve any open issues bilaterally and as they emerge, while, if necessary, also seeking the assistance of the European Union. As an example, Mr Pahor mentioned Slovenia and Croatia, which were faced with a sensitive border issue for no less than 18 years. This year, however, they managed to solve the problem by considering European values, trust and patience, and signed the Arbitration Agreement on 4 November in Stockholm.

 

In the afternoon, Prime Minister Pahor had a working meeting with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. Among other matters, they discussed the priorities of the European Commission, and thus also of the EU, for the next five-year period.