WEBVTT

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Good morning. -Morning.
-How are you? -All right.

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Sleepy?
-Very, certainly more than you.

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Go ahead. -Yesterday you suspended
the discussion on migration ...

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The discussion on migration
actually concluded.

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The Council did not come
to any specific conclusions,

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they were instead
drafted by the President.

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There were differences
in reaching conclusions,

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but not in the discussion.

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More importantly, the discussion
was very substantive and good.

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We have made a leap forward
in understanding

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how the EU should
tackle migration successfully.

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The common conclusion was that
once someone is already in Europe,

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it is already too late

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and finding common solutions
unanimously is very difficult,

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as how to apply solidarity
is always an unknown.

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However,
we can find common solutions

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while the refugee or migrant
is outside the border

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if we respond
together and decisively.

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Yesterday's debate was on how
the EU and the Member States

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should respond
outside European borders

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in order to manage migration flows
easier and better.

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Where did it go wrong then?

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Conclusions were expected,
but apparently there were none?

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The conclusions have been
summarised in the president's draft.

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The snag we hit
was in the understanding

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whether the subject of migration,
in internal affairs as well,

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should be decided on
by a unanimous or majority vote,

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as was the case in the Home Affairs
Ministers Council meeting.

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Because certain countries were
reliving past traumas in a way,

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they tried to have the whole
subject removed from the agenda.

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This was of course impossible,

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but we reached
no common conclusions.

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Have Poland's and Hungary's demands
been met in the draft?

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No, of course not. The draft
covers external relations,

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so, how the EU manages migration
issues outside its borders.

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An additional point
notes that Hungary and Poland

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generally do not agree
with the way

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the migration issue is being
handled in the European Union.

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Did your suggestion to Croatia

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to send a Frontex unit
to the Croatia-Bosnia border

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receive any support
from others?

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Within the frame of these external
relations the European Commission

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adopted an action plan
for the Western Balkans.

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Certain measures
have already been implemented

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and agreements for the deployment
of Frontex are being prepared

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with all of the countries
of the Western Balkans

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Yesterday we proposed
that these processes be accelerated

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and that Frontex be used across
the entire Western Balkans route,

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which begins in Greece
and extends to all other countries.

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If we can implement Frontex
as the institution

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that will monitor illegal
migration flows in this corridor,

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there may
no longer be any need

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to conduct any special activities
on individual borders.

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Are China and the security
of economic relations

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still on today's agenda?

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What direction do you expect
the debate on this to go in?

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Yes,
it is still on the agenda.

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China is a very important
foreign trading partner to the EU.

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We will once again try to find
a common foreign trade policy

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toward China
as a major partner.

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There will likely
be many proposals

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and some countries
may try to go solo again,

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but the conclusions are clear
and we expect no interference,

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but, as we have seen yesterday,
let's wait.

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Why is Slovenia advocating
for China and these relations?

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We believe that China
is such a major economic power,

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that we need to have
an active dialogue with it.

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Slovenia will strive
for this dialogue to strengthen

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at the bilateral
and multilateral level

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and for Europe to find its place
within this dialogue

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and behave as independently
as possible.

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If you will allow me a question
on domestic policy,

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a vote of no confidence has been
filed against Minister Loredan.

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What is your comment on this?
-I have not read it yet.

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We finished it yesterday at 2 a.m.,
I haven't been able to read it yet.

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I will probably
get it on the airplane,

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I am currently focusing on this,
so I would rather not comment.

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Do you still
support the Minister?

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I get this question
every other day.

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I have not even talked
to the Minister about this yet.

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In truth, nothing has changed
since I was first asked this.

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Last question.
Yesterday, before the summmit,

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political parties
had their own meeting.

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The EPP issued
an official statement

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saying that the rule of law
in Slovenia is disintegrating

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and that the media
is being taken over by politics

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through absolute control
over RTV.

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I will dare
to venture a comment.

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Some political groups, especially
the more conservative ones,

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live in the past. This statement
would have been fitting

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15 months ago, but they missed the
opportunity to make it. Thank you.

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Based on yesterday's discussion,
to what extent do you think

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it is likely to reach
an agreement on migration?

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I don't think there is going
to be another push for that.

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Yesterday the conclusions
were that the ...

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The Council
made no conclusions,

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but the President of the Council,
Mr. Charles Michel,

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is going to issue
his own statement,

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meaning that during the discussions
we were all on board

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that we need to bring
the management of the migration

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out of the internal borders,

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that we need to do more
on the external dimension of it.

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There was no dissent on that,

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meaning that
everyone agreed on that.

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The real trouble began
because two Member States

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didn't want to have
any conclusions at all.

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That's why we decided not to push
and try to find consensus

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on something that individual
Member States oppose in principle.

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Still,
the discussion was very lively

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and there was a common agreement
that the only way forward,

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if we want to effectively
manage migration flows,

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we need to focus
on the external dimensions.

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So,
there will most likely

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be no reference to migration
in the conclusions

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and Charles Michel will make
a separate statement? -Correct.

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Okay. What was the specific request
from Poland and Hungary?

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There was no specific request.
Hungary was totally adamant,

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saying they will not vote
for any conclusions at all,

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they don't want to see any.

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It was not about
doing it this way or that,

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they don't want
migration mentioned at all.

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So they weren't repressing ...

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No, it seemed that way
at the beginning of the discussion,

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but as it developed, we reached
a point where they wanted none.

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Thank you.
-You're welcome.