NEWS

Prime Minister on visiting Triglav crew: "I am proud that Slovenia is part of this mission."

 

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Alenka Bratušek, and the Minister of Defence, Roman Jakič, visited the Slovenian contingent serving on the Triglav patrol boat deployed off the coast of Sicily. The vessel is taking part in the Mare Nostrum, a  military and humanitarian operation of the Italian defence and security forces.  

 

The Prime Minister expressed support for 39 members of the Slovenian Armed Forces, commending them for rapidly establishing operational preparedness for the most demanding tasks and congratulating them on work well done, something that was also highlighted by Italian colleagues.    In a statement to the media, she stressed: "This is not only Italy’s concern, and it was our duty to help and participate in this operation."

 

In the morning, the Prime Minister also visited the centre for immigrants, who see Italy as a door to Europe. She emphasised that this was not only Italy’s problem, but all of Europe’s.  In this light, she thanked Italian friends for "all they are doing on behalf of the EU".

 

The Slovenian delegation and their Italian colleagues also exchanged views on the pressing issue of migration in the Mediterranean, and on the response of the EU and other international organisations to the crises and armed conflicts in the Arab world and Africa.

In their talks, the Prime Minister highlighted two issues that are of particular importance for Slovenia and Slovenians, namely the wish for a suitable memorial at the Fascist concentration camp Visco, Northeast Italy, where many Slovenians lost their lives, and the issue of the Italian election legislation. As for the latter, she said that Slovenia hoped that it would be in compliance with the minority act, "which provides for facilitating the representation of minorities in the parliament".