STA, 26 February 2019 - Frans Timmermans, the lead candidate of the Party of European Socialists (PES) for president of the European Commission, argued in an interview with the STA that the European Commission had been "crystal clear" in its reaction to the Slovenian-Croatian border dispute. He also warned against the instrumentalisation of history by politicians.

The first vice-president of the European Commission, who is to visit Slovenia on Thursday as part of the EU election campaign, does not share the view that the European Commission allowed politics to get in the way of law in the case of Croatia's refusal to implement the border arbitration award.

"Thank you for this open and very unbiased question... First of all, this is a bilateral matter. Second, we've been very clear the award needs to be implemented," the Dutch politicians said, arguing that Slovenia and Croatia could "not discharge responsibility and say the Commission should resolve this".

"This is not our role," he added, also dismissing claims about the Commission completely ignoring the opinion of its legal service that confirmed a link between the arbitration award and EU law.

"This is an oversimplification. The link is that if you don't have clarity on the border, you have problems with EU policies, such as fisheries and other policies. This is the link with EU law. These are the consequences of the award not being implemented and the parties should start implementing the award."

"The Commission has been crystal clear about that and I really don't understand why our position is not understood."

Commenting on the state of social democracy in Europe, Timmermans said he does not "believe this doom and gloom about social democracy".

"There's a more general point that the traditional popular parties on the centre left and centre right are both no longer the huge parties they used to be. It's not just a problem of social democracy but of the European People's Party (EPP) as well. So we are not alone in that.

"I want to warn about the temptation in both, centre left and centre right, to think that you can regain your position by going to the extremes. I don't agree with that analysis because if you want to go to the extremes there's already somebody there and they are the original.

"Or you stay true to your own soul and you stay centre left and that's what we are. Looking at Europe today, the central left is staying more in the course of the lines we believe in than the central right which is courting to the extreme right everywhere," Timmermans said, adding he was constantly warning the EPP against getting its soul changed by extremes.

Tajani wrong to rewrite history

Asked in this context about the statements by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani that were understood as Italy's territorial claims against Slovenia and Croatia, Timmermans said he hates it when politicians start instrumentalising history or rewriting history.

"And this is what Tajani did. I disagree with him fundamentally. I'm not asking for his resignation but I want to make it clear that I strongly disagree with him.

"As Churchill put it, the history of Europe is written by rivers of blood and we overcame rivers of blood after the Second World War...Please, please leave history to the historians, they deserve to be writing history not the politicians."

Timmermans, who said he was aiming for the post of European Commission president and had, contrary to rumours in Brussels, "no interest whatsoever in being the EU's high representatives for foreign affairs", also elaborated on his call for a new social contract for Europe.

Tech firms must be taxed

"We're in the fourth industrial revolution, everything is changing, which means the relationship between people and states also needs to change and adopt to this new reality," he said.

People across Europe feel "that our society is not fair for many reasons", he said, listing fairer taxation as the first step towards changing this.

"It's completely inadmissible that the biggest corporations in the world would make profits here but don't pay a single euro of tax. You don't allow your local café to live like that, so why would you let Google, Facebook or Amazon do it?"

Other necessary steps listed by Timmermans include fair minimum wages in all members state, EU legislation that would secure fair job contracts for the young, and affordable housing.

STA, 25 February 2019 - Slovenian President Borut Pahor will be received by Queen Elizabeth II as he makes an official visit to Britain from Wednesday to Friday designed to enhance the friendly relationship between the two countries ahead of Brexit.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his trip, Pahor said one of the main reasons for the visit was that Slovenia would like to continue to foster the excellent relationship with the UK after the country leaves the EU on 29 March.

The UK remains an important partner and a close ally of Slovenia as well as a reliable advocate of the rule of law and multilateralism in the world, the president's office said, expressing the hope that the visit would give fresh impetus to bilateral relations.

Pahor will start the visit on Wednesday with a meeting with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who visited Slovenia last week. After talks with his Slovenian counterpart Miro Cerar, Hunt said the two countries were trying to protect the status and the rights of both countries citizens in case of a hard Brexit.

Pahor is scheduled to meet Slovenians living in the UK on Thursday. Data from the Slovenian Foreign Ministry size the Slovenian community in Britain at around 5,000.

The Slovenian president will discuss the challenges that the European continent is facing as well as his vision for the global positioning and future of Europe in a lecture at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, on Wednesday.

On Thursday, he will be received by Queen Elizabeth II, the world's longest serving monarch, who has been on the throne since 1952 and who, as Pahor told reporters during his recent visit to Brussels, co-shaped the post-war period.

Pahor understands his meeting the British monarch as an expression of respect for Slovenia. Queen Elizabeth II visited Slovenia on a state visit in 2008.

Pahor will also meet several members of both chambers of the UK Parliament, the House of Commons and House of Lords, on Thursday, including House of Commons Speaker John Bercow.

It is possible that he will also meet Prime Minister Theresa May, expectedly on Friday, provided the developments related to Brexit will allow such a meeting.

On Friday, the final day of his visit, Pahor will visit the City to ring the bell of the London Stock Exchange and meet key financiers. He expects them to assess how Brexit will affect City's role as a major global financial centre.

Apart from Brexit, other topics of the visit will include the future of Europe, the prospects of membership of the EU and NATO for West Balkan countries and global challenges, in particular migration, new security threats and climate change.

All our stories on Slovenia and Brexit are here

STA, 24 February 2019 - Slovenia's Foreign Minister Miro Cerar has expressed regret after UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt described Slovenia as a former "Soviet vassal state" during his visit to Ljubljana last Thursday.

Hunt made the comment as he commended on Slovenia's progress over the past 30 years during a joint press conference with Cerar.

Another example of @Jeremy_Hunt being out of his depth, saying that Slovenia was a "Soviet vassal state", apparently unaware of the history of Yugoslavia. pic.twitter.com/ApWt5pli6x

— Property Spotter (@PropertySpot) February 22, 2019

"I'm really happy to be here, because as a fellow European country the UK is very proud of the transformation there has been in Slovenia over the last 30 years.

"A really remarkable transformation from a Soviet vassal state to a modern European democracy, a member of the EU, a member of NATO, a country with a flourishing economy, growing its tourism year in, year out, and this is really an example of Europe at its best," Hunt said.

Before declaring independence in 1991, Slovenia had been one of the six republics of the former Yugoslavia, a socialist country that was not part of the Soviet bloc but formed part of the Non-Aligned Movement.

It was Cerar's former party colleague and former speaker of the National Assembly, Milan Brglez, who spoke out to criticise both Cerar and Hunt for what he called an "arrogant insult".

In a post on his Facebook profile, Brglez, an MP for the coalition Social Democrats (SD) after defecting from Cerar's Modern Centre Party (SMC), said the minimum he expected of the country's representatives was a prompt and adequate reaction to insults directed at the country and its citizens.

In a press release issued by his party on Sunday, Cerar said that Hunt came to Slovenia to discuss the UK's future relations with Slovenia and other EU countries after Brexit and the rights of Slovenian citizens living in Britain and British citizens living in Slovenia.

Cerar noted that Hunt complimented Slovenia on its transformation and that he also talked about Slovenia as a partner country from the perspective of the UK as an architect of peace after Second World War.

"This is why during his public address at the press conference I didn't want to respond and interrupt him as a guest.

"Unfortunately, the Soviet vassal assessment was an inappropriate and inaccurate one ... at the first opportunity with my British counterpart, on the sidelines of the EU ministerial meeting, I will talk with him about the matter and instruct him about our past. I believe there will be no similar rhetorical awkwardness in the future," Cerar said.

This was not the first embarrassing error for Hunt. During his debut visit to Beijing as the UK foreign secretary last year, he referred to his Chinese wife as Japanese.

TSN seems to have broken this story in the English-language media, which soon ended up in The Guardian, Independent, Daily Mail and other sources. Read our original article here

Jeremy Hunt – the British Foreign Secretary who replaced the gaffe-prone Brexit-booster and serial adulterer Boris Johnson in mid-2018, the latter resigning to spend more time with his latest mistress and snipe at the government from the side-lines for being unable to enact the have cake, eat cake policy he promoted for nakedly careerist reasons – visited Slovenia on Thursday for bilateral talks on Citizens’ Rights. The headline result was a pleasing one, with assurances from both sides that as much continuity as possible would be provided in the event of a deal or no-deal Brexit.

However, Mr Hunt, a man who by now is surely well aware of the dangers of a slip of the tongue, perhaps failed to make the best impression while on the Sunny Side of the Alps. Indeed, it seems that while travelling from Berlin he and his team did little to prepare for the trip, making at least two unforced and undiplomatic errors in public, and who knows how many more in private.

First the tweet marking his landing in Slovenia referred to the country’s Foreign Minister as Karl Erjavec, the man who left this position after last year’s election to be replaced by the former Prime Minister, and Mr Hunt’s supposed focus for the day, Miro Cerar.

The tweet was deleted, and this screenshot comes from the excellent Pengovsky, who you really should be reading, with his take on the incident here.

But these things happen – after all, Mr Hunt once referred to his Chinese wife as Japanese – and the tweet was soon corrected. More serious, in terms of being indicative of the lack of preparation or historical and geopolitical understanding that seem to surround the entire Brexit project, was what came in the public statement that Mr Hunt made while standing next to Mr Cerar:

Another example of @Jeremy_Hunt being out of his depth, saying that Slovenia was a "Soviet vassal state", apparently unaware of the history of Yugoslavia. pic.twitter.com/ApWt5pli6x

— Property Spotter (@PropertySpot) February 22, 2019

This is my first visit to Slovenia as Foreign Secretary, not the first in my life but my first in a professional capacity. And I’m really happy to be here, because as a fellow European country the UK is very proud of the transformation there has been in Slovenia over the last 30 years. A really remarkable transformation from a Soviet vassal state to a modern European democracy, a member of the EU, a member of NATO, a country with a flourishing economy, growing its tourism year in, year out, and this is really an example of Europe at its best.

Now leaving aside the general patronising tone here – why is the UK proud of Slovenia? – or that while being a leading Brexiteer Mr Hunt seems to suggest that being a member of the EU is a good thing, there’s the simple factual error that Slovenia, even when part of Yugoslavia, was never a Soviet vassal state.

Thursday was not the first time Mr Hunt made use of the USSR to insult his negotiating partners

During the Second World War Yugoslavia was occupied by the Germans and Italians, but the partisans, led by Tito, managed to liberate the country with little help from the Russians, and thus the land was never part of the of the Soviet empire. And while in the immediate post-war period there was seen to be an uneasy alliance between Stalin and Tito, this broke in 1948. From then on Yugoslavia took a famously independent approach, receiving aid from the Marshall Plan as well as founding the Non-Aligned Movement. In short, Yugoslavia was never a Soviet vassal state, while Slovenia was always the most open of the socialist republics that made up the federation, a matter not only of historical fact but also considerable pride.

Of course, Mr Hunt’s statement did not go unnoticed in the country, once again proving that just because British politicians can’t understand what foreigners are saying, this doesn’t mean that foreigners can’t understand what they’re saying. For example, Milan Brglez, former Speaker of the National Assembly, made the following comment on Facebook that was then widely reported in the media:

Loosely translated:

Dear citizens,

Take a look at the footage below (somewhere around 14:30). A guest (the British Foreign Minister) comes to us with a request (to discuss with our Foreign Minister how to avoid a hard Brexit if the UK doesn’t sign the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU) and arrogantly insult. We have never been "the vassal state of the Soviet Union".

At a minimum what I expect and demand in international relations from my representatives (diplomats and those who have general powers to represent and bind the state under international law – i.e. the president, prime minister and foreign minister) is that they will react immediately when someone insults the state and its citizens. And not that they are meekly silent, perhaps not even noticing the insult.

With President Borut Pahor due in the UK next week, and Britain in desperate need of friends and allies as the March 29 Brexit deadline looms, one can only hope that his hosts in London are a little better informed, and a little better prepared for his visit.

All our stories on Brexit and Slovenia can be found here.

Mladina: Šarec's popularity result of well-placed ideology

STASTA, 22 February 2019 - The weekly Mladina says in its latest editorial that the growing popularity of Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, his party and the government is a success of an ideology which avoids declaring the state of emergency and portraying leaders as messiahs.

The high popularity "deserves a serious analysis: what we can see is not popularity, not someone being sympathetic, but a success of an ideology of a certain authority, which is fitting very well with the state of society."

In order to understand what is going on, one needs to use political and ideological glasses, not marketing or some other glasses used by the media. "It is about politics and ideology," editor-in-chief Grega Repovž adds in Victory of an Ideology.

He notes that Šarec has, probably not deliberately, abandoned certain concepts which had marked the work of governments for a long time, including in particular portraying the situation as catastrophic while at the same time playing messiahs.

"Up to and including the government of Miro Cerar (2014-2018), all governments were building their image on attempts to normalise allegedly horrific situations which they had inherited, to prevent the worst from happening, to save us, the country and the world, to be our saviours."

This concept is always comfortable and comes in handy, but people actually do not like to live in an abnormal state, as this causes stress and anxiety. What is more, they feel it as a threat, an actual political mobbing of the nation, Repovž writes.

He argues that the Šarec government has not significantly changed the ideological framework of operation, it is still a slightly leftist government, but predominantly neo-liberal. The essential difference is that it does not harass the citizens and create a state of emergency.

"What people feel and how they respond is the ideological framework of that government. Only when one acknowledges this enables the understanding of the political changes we are witnessing. This is why the first catastrophist in the country is losing support," Repovž says in reference to Democrat (SDS) president Janez Janša.

Demokracija: Macron & Merkel Threaten EU

STA, 21 February 2019 - The right-wing magazine Demokracija claims in the latest issue that the only real danger to Europe at the moment is the "multi-cultural axis Berlin-Paris", arguing that the only way for the EU to survive is as a formation of nation states whose sole interest is to create prosperity based on economic cooperation.

Writing under the headline Sixth Reich, editor-in-chief Jože Biščak dismisses the controversy provoked by Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament, in his Foibe Victims Remembrance Day address, asserting that no one in the EU truly cares about what he said.

Instead, Biščak is more concerned about German Chancellor Angela Merkel's stating that "Nation states must today be prepared to give up their sovereignty".

He says that few expressed indignation or protest at her statement and that "no one warned that they will not push their nation into dependence from a new, so far still imaginary sixth reich ... which would give rise to new Europeans, a mix of natives, camel shepherds and Negroids."

Biščak launches an attack on the Brussels bureaucracy, European Council President Donald Tusk and French President Emmanuel Macron, whom he says the nationally minded French consider to be a German vassal.

"Macron is a man who, without asking anyone, put Germany in a position to lead the EU. And the European army. This means that he will hand over to it nuclear arms that only France and the UK among EU countries posses."

Biščak says that the obstacle to these plans is Brexit, arguing that the UK saw through it on time and decided to leave the EU. He says that it will be no disaster for Britain regardless of whether it will be a hard or soft Brexit.

"They can merely encourage to leave the countries which are resisting the senseless EU bureaucracy even now. These are Italy, Hungary and Poland, the targets of the strongest desire for control.

"Only a thorough change of priorities and a rethink about the future can save the EU. It can only be a formation of free nation states whose sole interest is to create prosperity based on economic cooperation."

All our posts in this series can be found here

February 22, 2019

In a public appearance in Miami last Monday aiming to support USA foreign policy on Venezuela, Melania Trump introduced her husband’s speech with the following words:

“I am proud to be here with you in the United States of America as your First Lady. Many of you in the room know what it feels like to be blessed with freedom after living under the oppression of socialism and communism.”

Various Slovenian media reported on her statement from different angles, and the comments on social media exploded, especially among those who felt that she was also claiming first-hand experience of such oppression.

A tweet from POP TV’s news programme, 24UR, decided to avoid the issue, leaving Mrs Trump’s personal experience out of the story’s headline and just giving a general idea of Melania’s concern for the victims of Venezuela’s socialist regime.

Translation: She expressed hope that Venezuelans will soon be freed from socialism.

Melania condemned “oppressive” socialism in Venezuela. The First Lady of the USA Melania Trump introduced her husband in Miami and condemned oppressive socialism and communism. She expressed hope that Venezuelans will soon start living their lives in freedom….

Some online commentators joined the Sevnica native’s condemnation of oppressive socialist regimes, claiming that Melania had some personal experience of such systems.

Translation: Melania knows what socialism is and empowers Venezuelans.

Translation of the retweeted summary of the right-leaning weekly Reporter’s article: Melania enthuses the Venezuelan diaspora in Miami: You have tasted freedom after the oppression of socialism and communism. The First Lady of the USA Melania Trump in Miami first visited child patients and then at the rally with her husband Donald encouraged Venezuelans to persist since freedom is close.

The left-leaning Mladina, however focused mainly on Melania’s implication of first-hand experience of socialist oppression.

Translation: Melania Trump on oppression in socialism and communism. The American media presented the First Lady’s performance with the comment that she was born in “communist” Slovenia, while she herself stressed that many in the audience know how it is to be blessed with freedom after living under the oppression of socialism and communism.

Since many in Slovenia interpreted the First Lady’s words as suggesting that she had lived under similar conditions in Yugoslavia, commentators, both professional and amateur, weighed in with their opinions.

Some focused on technical issues, such as the improper use of “communism” when talking about such regimes and the functional nature of political rhetoric.

Translation: Do you find this statement abnormal ? It is crystal clear to her that this is what she is supposed to say. After all, she is married to an ultra-capitalist and there’s no room there for socialism and similar matters…

Translation: No system so far practised communism. We lived in socialism, thank God.

The fact that the Yugoslavian regime was socialist (a planned economy with private property) not communist (no private property rights) should be pretty clear to Melania, as Marxist historic materialism was once part of the elementary school history classes.

Most of the social media comments, however seemed to be inspired by an attempt to visualise Melania’s alleged personal experience of the hardship of oppression on her way to the freedom she eventually found in her marriage to Donald Trump and the US citizenship which followed.

Translation: She survived socialism.

Translation:

- I hope she writes a book about her thorny path to freedom

- Yes, the title: On the catwalk to freedom

- … and beyond without the Iron Curtain

- Jokes are just writing themselves: How I came out of dissidence and ended up on a catwalk, which was the only way out from oppression and poverty

- Comment under some of her pictures: Communism stripped me naked

Translation: Poor girl. After her dramatically illegal life [meaning the life of a dissident] she managed pass deadly traps and spies and leave communist Slovenia in secret. The story of this escape to freedom, full of tragic twists, loss of memory to trauma and immense efforts will be immortalised by action movies. The word is out there that she will be played by Angelina J.. She is now sending her regards from a place of freedom to the Slovenian people, who continues to live in trauma.

Several of the commentators also made reference to the variety of goods on offer in earlier days, with a focus on yogurt.

Translation: She might also have found the range of yogurts insufficient.

Translation: Actually, she is right – it really was difficult living in a country with such a poor choice of (artificial) yogurts.

The last two comments come in a reference to a failed attempt at criticism of the former Yugoslav regime by the Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović. Her statement on the lack of yogurts under Tito prompted some in the Croatian media to even pull out of the archives a 1975 study titled “Organoleptic quality of Yugoslavian yogurts and other fermented milk products”, proving that there were over 300 varied items of this kind on the Yugoslav market at the time.

You can see all our stories on Slovenia and Venezuela here, and all our stories on Melania Trump here

STA, 21 February 2019 - The government confirmed on Thursday the financing plan for public healthcare in 2019, which includes additional funding and incentives for reducing waiting lines and an extra EUR 104m to cover the recent pay rise for healthcare staff.

The government confirmed what is termed "the general agreement for healthcare" and the financial plan of the healthcare purse ZZZS which envisages revenue and expenditure to level out at EUR 3.054bn. The figure is EUR 172m higher than in 2018.

A total of EUR 55m has been earmarked - coming on top of EUR 35m left from last year - to address waiting lines, which have been the main and persistent issue of the public healthcare system.

The funding framework adopted today was presented as giving the green light to some of the measures meant to cut the waiting times, one novelty being bonuses for hospitals and health centres for every medical examination beyond the number set down by standards.

"These examinations will be paid separately. They can start with them immediately, they just need to increase the number of doctor's offices ... I know that the system is rigid and that things will take time. But progress can be reached within a year," Health Minister Samo Fakin told the press.

He added that the results will be most obvious if the waiting lines are tackled at the country's largest hospitals, in Ljubljana, Maribor and Celje. If the response is slow, private providers will show interest, Fakin warned.

The ZZZS budget for 2019 envisages EUR 2.14bn going for healthcare services, 5.6% more than this year.

The financial plan entails an expansion of the primary healthcare network, providing funds for more GPs and paediatric surgeries since access varies greatly across the country.

The plan earmarks EUR 366.6m for sick pay (+7.5% over 2018), while EUR 54.2m is to be spent for healthcare provided abroad (+2.4% y/y).

Moreover, the insurer wants to preserve the same level of accessibility to innovative drugs. In total, EUR 444.5m will be available for drugs, medical aids and vaccines next year, 7% more than in 2018.

The government was also briefed on a report on the year-long project aimed at cutting waiting times that was adopted by the previous government as part of a strike deal with doctors and concluded on 31 March 2018.

The report found that out of EUR 18m earmarked for the purpose only EUR 8.15m was actually spent. The money went for performance bonuses for doctors and other healthcare staff putting in extra work to reduce waiting times and provide better care to patients.

All our stories on healthcare in Slovenia can be found here

STA, 21 February 2019 - The government has decided against sealing a EUR 306m deal to acquire 48 eight-wheeled Boxer armoured personnel carriers from the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR), Slovenia's biggest defence purchase in a decade.

The army does not have a comprehensive tactical study showing exactly what capabilities Slovenia needs and the procurement documentation is based on a tactical study made in 2005 that does not represent an appropriate basis for the purchase, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said after the government session on Thursday.

The minister ordered the army to carry out a new tactical study that will determine whether it needs new eight-wheeled personnel carriers, which vehicles would be best, how they will be maintained, and how staff will be trained.

Erjavec said this did not mean that the purchase has been terminated. "We will have to buy eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers sooner rather than later, but first we need to define exactly what we need."

The decision was expected given weeks of rumours about there being something wrong with the proposed deal, most recently expressed by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec in an interview with Večer last weekend. He said his government "did not want to embark on an adventure, we had certain indications things are not acceptable."

But it casts doubt on the country's ability to meet the pledge given to NATO that it will have one battlegroup ready by 2022 and a second one by 2025.

Erjavec was sanguine about that, noting that it was already clear the first battlegroup will not be ready by 2022. "Even if we signed the purchase agreement today, we would not be able to do everything," he said. The effort would be hampered not just by long delivery times but also by staff shortages and lack of investments.

The planned purchase is being closely watched in Slovenia given the parallels to the previous mega defence deal, the 2006 contract with Patria on the purchase of 135 infantry vehicles at that time worth EUR 278m.

The Patria deal, signed the first time Erjavec was defence minister, devolved into years of court drama involving senior politicians.

Erjavec repeated today that the mid-term defence programme and the white paper on defence would be revised. Pointing to Slovenia's commitments to NATO about increasing defence spending, he said the 2020/21 budget would be "the moment of truth."

"I expect that in 2019, 1.1% of GDP will be allocated to defence, 1.2% in 2020, 1.3% in 2021, 1.4% in 2023 and 1.5% in 2024. These are the commitments that were made orally for now when NATO secretary general visited the country last year," Erjavec said.

Today's government decision on cancelling the EUR 306m deal was welcomed by the opposition Left. "After two years of opposition (to the purchase) we have finally managed to persuade the government that the purchase of the eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers did not make sense," said MP Miha Kordiš.

All our stories on defence and Slovenia can be found here

STA, 21 February 2019 - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and his British counterpart Jeremy Hunt said after a meeting in Ljubljana on Thursday that their respective countries would do everything possible so that the rights of Slovenian and British citizens did not suffer in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

Cerar said that Slovenia wanted a Brexit scenario with an agreement, adding that both sides had agreed that Slovenia and the UK must make sure that the status of their respective citizens did not deteriorate after Brexit.

Za recipročno ohranitev pravic in ureditev statusa okrog 700 britanskih državljanov v SLO bomo poskrbeli tudi na naši strani / #Slovenia will continue to grant the UK citizens a possibility to reside and have equal access to the rights they had so far. @MZZRS @UKinSlovenia

— dr. Miro Cerar (@MiroCerar) February 21, 2019

"They need to enjoy the same rights and they need to preserve their status," the Slovenian foreign minister said, adding that reciprocity would be secured with legislative changes which were already being prepared in Slovenia.

The British foreign secretary added he agreed with Cerar about proceeding on the basis of reciprocity and that Slovenian and British citizens would enjoy all rights, including in the event of a no-deal scenario.

Slovenia has "confirmed that the rights of British citizens will be preserved", Hunt said, adding that one of the most important things was that individual citizens' rights did not suffer and that they could continue with their daily lives.

???? Danes gostim zunanjega ministra Združenega kraljestva Velike Britanije in Severne Irske @Jeremy_Hunt. Govorila bova o #Brexit, evropski perspektivi držav Z Balkana ter krepitvi vladavine prava in multilateralizma. @MZZRS @SLOinUK @UKinSlovenia @vladaRS pic.twitter.com/HklrqV6Oc2

— dr. Miro Cerar (@MiroCerar) February 21, 2019

Cerar added that Slovenia did not want a no-deal Brexit because both sides would suffer damage in other fields as well. "There would be negative consequences in the economy," he said, estimating that Slovenia's GDP would drop by 0.25%.

Asked about the no-deal scenario, he said that ministries were preparing legislative changes in the fields of social rights and insurance, and potential changes to the citizenship act as British nationals would become third-country citizens.

Hunt expressed the hope that a Brexit deal to mutual satisfaction would be reached, also because of what are some 5,000 Slovenian citizens living in the UK, who are "contributing to the UK economy and social life".

Cerar stressed that Hunt's visit confirmed the excellent relations between Slovenia and the UK in politics and economy, as they were friendly countries which were also allies within NATO.

"The things are developing well in the field of economy," he said, adding that Slovenia remained open to and invited British investors to continue making "healthy investments with a good business model" in Slovenia.

Slovenia and the UK need to continue to cooperate also because of the security challenges and illegal migrations, Cerar said, adding that he had also discussed with Hunt other EU topics and the Western Balkans.

He said that they agreed that the EU must remain open to enlargement to the region provided that the Western Balkan countries meet the conditions, while the EU must provide economic and security assistance.

Hunt praised the transformation of Slovenia in the last 30 years into a modern democracy and a growing economy, noting that the UK had excellent bilateral relations with Slovenia.

"We will continue to provide strong support to Slovenia's efforts to preserve peace in the Balkan region," Hunt said, while also welcoming Slovenian President Borut Pahor, who is to pay a visit to London for bilateral talks next week.

All our stories on Brexit and Slovenia can be found here

STA, 21 February - President Borut Pahor wrapped up his two-day trip to Brussels with a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk on Thursday. Pahor expressed great satisfaction with his stay, saying was not a classic visit dictated by protocol.

He was especially pleased that Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker accepted his invitation to a Three Seas Initiative conference in June and that High Representative Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini accepted an invitation to the next Brdo-Brijuni conference.

Good meeting with President @BorutPahor to discuss the situation in the Western Balkan region, the future of Europe and the Brdo-Brijuni conference. pic.twitter.com/u750yLKWrM

— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) February 21, 2019

"Slovenia is wholeheartedly a part of the western world, sharing in its opportunities and worries. This is about being able to position oneself in complicated circumstances that see the western world changing in face of contradiction."

Tusk tweeted that he had a good meeting with Pahor and that they discussed the situation in the Western Balkans, the future of Europe and the Brdo-Brijuni conference.

As regards the Western Balkans, Pahor underlined it was key the EU does not let Northern Macedonia hanging dry, with Juncker ensuring him that they were doing everything to set a date to launch accession talks in June.

President ⁦@JunckerEU⁩ welcomes ⁦@BorutPahor⁩, President of the Republic of #Slovenia. Focus on cooperation and dialogue across the Western Balkans, the next Three Seas Initiative Summit in Ljubljana and the #FutureofEurope #Road2Sibiu. pic.twitter.com/AY1CXlrXe7

— Margaritis Schinas (@MargSchinas) February 20, 2019

Juncker expressed support for the Three Seas Initiative, promising he would do everything to attend the next meeting, hosted by Slovenia in early June.

Responding to criticism that the initiative was too pro-American, Pahor said that Russia and China were also trying to carve out a part of the market for themselves and he sees no reason why US investments should be any less welcome, after all the US business model and culture are closer to Europe's.

The president believes that the conference will be a great opportunity for Slovenia because it would feature the heads of large banks. He also sees it as an opportunity for port operator Luka Koper, but would not go into detail.

The US is also amidst serious preparations for the conference, but it is not yet sure who would represent the country, said Pahor.

Juncker's confirmation adds leverage to hopes that "maybe we could get a high [US] representative, maybe even the highest," said the president but added that he did not wish to increase expectations.

The president said he told Juncker once again that the Commission missed an opportunity in the border arbitration process between Slovenia and Croatia to underline the importance of the rule of law and honouring one's obligations.

Juncker replied, according to Pahor, that the EU did not have a duty but the right to join Slovenia's lawsuit against Croatia, which it chose not to do.

He also underlined that the arbitration pact was co-signed nearly four years ago by the then Swedish Prime Minister and Council President Frederik Reinfeld and that the EU had political and legal obligations not to discard efforts to uphold the pact that laid out the course of border arbitration.