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.
