Minister: France Wants Slovenia to Prove Itself
French Minister of State responsible for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet said in Ljubljana on Thursday that France was standing by Slovenia and wanted the country's presidency over the EU to be another successful chapter in Slovenia's EU history.
Jouyet, speaking to the press after meeting his counterpart, European Affairs State Secretary Janez Lenarcic, added that France would help Slovenia in its stint at the helm of the EU in the first half of 2008. Lenarcic meanwhile said that Slovenia's and France's priorities - France will succeed Slovenia at the EU's helm - overlapped to a large extent. The countries hold nearly identical positions on the Intergovernmental Conference and hope that it will be concluded during Portugal's spell as EU president, he said. Both countries also want the procedure of ratification to end quickly and before the 2009 European parliamentary elections. Slovenia and France also share the view that all countries of Western Balkans have a chance of joining the EU, however, must achieve accession under the agreed procedures and fulfill the necessary criteria.
France also offered to take over the chairing of the working group on agricultural produce on 1 January 2008. While Slovenia will chair over the majority of the 200 working bodies, it will seek help from other member states in presiding over some of the specific ones, Lenarcic said.
Jouyet, who is on a two-day visit to Slovenia, also offered the assistance of France's diplomatic network and the country's help in some of the technical aspects of the presidency. Probed by a journalist, he said that France had no intention of undermining the independence of the European Central Bank (ECB). Indeed, Jouyet finds it insulting that anybody could think that France wanted to exert influence over the decision makers at the ECB. France, on the other hand, wants to discuss the issues of joint interest with its European partners and the ECB within the framework of the bloc's founding treaties. He believes that there exists a discrepancy between the economic results of some EU members and the euro's exchange rate which is very high in relation to EU's main trading partners.
Jouyet also met Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel for talks on cooperation between the two countries during Slovenia's preparations to chair over the EU, the situation in the Western Balkans and the accession of the countries from the region to the EU and NATO. Rupel called for close cooperation between the two countries during Slovenia's stint, the Foreign Ministry wrote in a press release. Rupel also said that Slovenia would consult France on the policy towards Western Balkans and added that Slovenia wanted to abolish visas for the countries in the region. The interlocutors also discussed Kosovo, with Rupel stressing the need of the EU over the issue.
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