Slovenia and Italy share close cooperation and amicable relations
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, has been hosting Romano Prodi, the President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy on a two-day visit. PM Prodi also met the President of the National Assembly, France Cukjati, and representatives of the Italian minority in Slovenia.
PM Janez Jansa expressed satisfaction over the fact that this visit, the first official visit of an Italian Prime Minister to Slovenia, has occurred while Slovenia is preparing for the EU Presidency, as the experience of Italy, which has presided over the EU several times and is one of the EU's founding members, is particularly valuable. "During the visit, we also exchanged views on key challenges awaiting Slovenia and Europe in the first six months of next year, when Slovenia presides over the European Council," said the PM.
With regard to bilateral relations, PM Janez Jansa and his guest continued the intensive dialogue which has strengthened over the course of this year. They also focused on economic cooperation, as Italy is Slovenia's second largest trade partner. In 2006, trade in goods between the two countries amounted to over €5.5 billion. "Trade in goods is becoming more and more balanced, while trends are also encouraging. In comparison to 2005, last year saw an increase of over 15 per cent," said the PM, stressing the significance of the Slovenian economic representative office which was opened this year in Milan and which will facilitate even closer collaboration. The two PMs also discussed the situation of the countries’ respective minorities. Mr Jansa welcomed the progress that has been made lately, particularly the approval of the list of thirty-two municipalities in which the Regulations for the Protection of the Slovene Linguistic Minority of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region would be implemented, and the establishment of a bilingual school in San Pietro al Natisone. With regard to the Italian minority in Slovenia, PM Janez Jansa stressed that when Slovenian regional legislation was being drawn up, a political consensus had been reached to ensure the Italian minority direct representation and also the possibility of exercising all minority rights that can be exercised at the regional level.
They also discussed future cooperation with regard to significant issues such as transport and energy. "When Slovenia joined the EU, new opportunities were created to shorten transport and energy product routes. This is the direction our future collaboration in many different projects will take," said the PM.
PM Janez Jansa and PM Romano Prodi agreed that Slovenia and Italy have an additional responsibility to the Western Balkans. "I am pleased to say that we share similar views on how to resolve issues in the future in order to carry out the Thessaloniki Process, which provides the prospect of full EU membership to the countries of the Western Balkans," said the PM.
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