STA, 17 May 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša held a videoconference call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday to discuss the coronavirus pandemic and vaccination. The pair also talked about Slovenia's EU presidency, the Conference on the Future of Europe and the Western Balkans, the offices of both Janša and Merkel said.
The pair discussed the epidemiological situations that have been improving in Germany and Slovenia as well as the course of vaccination drives.
They also touched on future challenges. In that light, particularly important are the fight against the new coronavirus variants and challenges regarding vaccine distribution and rollout in less developed countries when there is enough vaccines, expectedly towards the end of this year, Janša's office said in a press release.
.@JJansaSDS z nemško kanclerko Angelo Merkel o #koronavirus, poteku cepljenja in izzivih v prihodnosti. Pogovor tudi o nacionalnih načrtih za okrevanje in odpornost. ????https://t.co/l40Y404m2k pic.twitter.com/vEPj4rZXkw
— Vlada Republike Slovenije (@vladaRS) May 17, 2021
Janša and Merkel agreed that EU member states should ratify the own resources decision as soon as possible and that national recovery and resilience plans should be reviewed and endorsed promptly as well.
That would enable drawing EU funds and the necessary support for the economic recovery and relaunch, the prime minister's office said.
Janša informed Merkel of the priorities of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU, which starts in July. The pair also focused on the Conference on the Future of Europe. This year's Bled Strategic Forum, expected to be attended by a number of European leaders, will be dedicated entirely to the discussion on the bloc's future, the press release reads.
The office also said that Janša and Merkel discussed the Western Balkans. Merkel's office confirmed this, adding that the pair exchanged views on the EU perspective for the Western Balkan countries. Slovenia is to hold a special summit dedicated to this issue in October during its presidency.
Janša and Merkel also talked about the agenda of the coming summit of EU leaders that is to focus on climate change, both offices said. The summit is scheduled for the beginning of next week.
