Committees in Favour of Slovenia's 2006 EU Activities

Ljubljana, 17 March

The parliamentary foreign policy and EU affairs committees endorsed on Friday the amended government proposal on Slovenia's activities in EU institutions in 2006.

The proposal was presented to the foreign policy committee by FM Dimitrij Rupel, who said that the country's priorities include Slovenia's preparations for its 2008 stint as EU president.
He moreover stressed the importance of building links with the states that will precede Slovenia at the EU's helm, namely Germany (to chair the EU in the first half of 2007) and Portugal (in the second half of 2007).
The German presidency could bring important shifts in several areas, while the Portuguese might result in new proposals. Slovenia could meanwhile be faced with "a large chunk of EU issues", he said.
Slovenia's priority tasks will include the EU's constitution and the continuation of the enlargement process, where the "EU expects a lot from Slovenia," he said. Meanwhile, energy issues and cross-cultural dialogue will also form an important part of Slovenia's agenda, he revealed.
Slovenia continues to be in favour of accession of the Western Balkan states, Rupel reiterated. He reiterated that he sees the EU accession talks as a chance to solve bilateral issues with Croatia.
During the talks Croatia could prove its credibility. Moreover, a lot of bilateral issues stem from the discrepancies between Croatian and EU legislation, Rupel believes.
Such issues include the access of European banks to the Croatian market, nuclear waste storage and fishing. "Slovenia has no special interests regarding Croatia. It only wants to ensure that EU legislation is respected," Rupel claimed.
The foreign policy committee adopted two amendments to the declaration, calling on the government to actively help Bosnia-Herzegovina in concluding a stabilisation and accession agreement with the EU and to ensure that Slovenia is active in the Barcelona process.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary EU affairs committee, which also endorsed the government's plan, was addressed by the deputy head of the Government Office for European Affairs (SVEZ) Katja Rejec Longar.
Rejec Longar said that the government will also be active in the process of establishing the bloc's outer border and in implementing the revamped Lisbon Strategy.

Committees in Favour of Slovenia's 2006 EU Activities

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