PM Says His Line-Up Fit to Lead EU
Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Tuesday Slovenia was prepared for its stint at the helm of the EU at least as well as other countries. "We are fully in line with the timetable, somewhere even ahead of it," Jansa said as he addressed the press on the second anniversary of the inauguration of his government.
Asked by a reporter whether his ministerial line-up was fit to preside over the EU in the first half of 2008, Jansa said he did not expect the presidency to pose any problem for his administration, which had been involved in various EU bodies for two years.
"The essential thing is that the contents are well prepared. The organisation and running of various bodies within the EU is largely a routine. Things are running smoothly, it is contents where Slovenia can add value, and this is what we have focused on," Jansa said.
Touching on the issue of personnel, Jansa said training was under way. "None of those who will be assigned responsible jobs during the presidency have done this before, this will be new for everyone, which is why this is getting much more attention."
Jansa noted that the 18-month presidency plan of the next presiding troika - Germany, Portugal and Slovenia - was ready.
According to him, the government will step up the preparations for the presidency next year, as well as the efforts to meet all the requirements for Slovenia's entry into the Schengen zone. We expect Slovenia to be a full-fledged member of the border-free zone during its EU presidency, Jansa said.
The head of the deputy faction of coalition New Slovenia (NSi) said last week Jansa was considering the replacement of a further three or four ministers as he doubted whether they were fit to head their departments during the EU presidency.
While Jansa denied this, Alojz Sok insisted that was what he understood from the prime minister's meeting with the NSi deputy faction over the dismissal of Janez Drobnic as the minister of labour, the family and social affairs.
Responding to suggestions from the opposition ranks that his cabinet was not competent enough to preside over the EU, Jansa said he would prefer EU presidency were not a matter of political prestige.
Non-governmental organisations have meanwhile said that Slovenia cannot preside over the EU until it has tackled the issue of the erased.
In retort Jansa said: "There are thousands of NGOs in Europe. It has already been decided whether Slovenia will preside over the EU or not. Slovenia will preside over the EU and it will do the job well."
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