Dear Prime Minister, dear Kyriakos, dear friend,
I'm honored to be here today at the Delphi Economic Forum
and especially to participate in the meeting during which
we discussed a variety of issues. As you said,
the links between Greece and Slovenia are very old.
Some originated in the mists of history millennia ago.
Some are very fresh.
All known data speaks about friendly relations.
I'm glad we were able to discuss the priorities
of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU,
set to take place in the second half of this year.
We share common approaches
toward the main challenging we are facing
as EU member countries.
I congratulate you
for dealing with the Covid situation
very successfully.
We learned some things from your measures
and we strongly support your initiative to issue the Green Pass,
which will make free movement among EU member states
possible even before we completely defeat the epidemic.
I think that the citizens of EU member states
deserve this after the suffering of the epidemic,
and it's our duty to make this possible.
We'll fight on the European level to make this possible
as soon as possible.
We also discussed the Western Balkans.
This is the region between Greece and Slovenia.
I started to deal with enlargement issues
in Salonica in 2003 when the historic decision was made
by the European Council for the Western Balkans countries
to be granted EU membership when they fulfill the conditions.
Since then, this is the most important drive toward implementing
EU standards and reforms in the region.
We have to do two things. First, to keep this drive alive.
There are some signs of fatigue in this process.
The second goal is to keep it real and to fulfill the promise.
It's time now after the EU has faced different crises
over the past 15 years: economic, financial, and migration crises,
the pandemic, and Brexit. Now it's time to recover
as quickly as possible and then to focus on the strategic issues
that are of crucial importance to the EU.
Among the first on the list of priorities is enlargement.
We still have to fulfill the old dream of a Europe
that is whole and free and in peace with itself.
This noble goal is not fulfilled until
all European countries are a part of the European Union,
at least those that wish to be, and the wish is very strong.
This is why Slovenia is making the European path
of Western Balkan countries one of our priorities.
As Kyriakos just said, we're panning to organize
an unofficial summit between EU members countries
and the Western Balkan countries. This will take place
this October in Slovenia. I thank you for some good ideas
on how to tackle this issue with the ultimate goal
to make the European perspective of those countries
a real goal to be fulfilled sooner
than anyone could have predicted even a year ago.
There is still a way to go.
Some homework still needs to be done,
not only by the Western Balkans, but also by the EU.
We have to fulfill our 2003 promise from Salonica.
Thank you for also briefing me on the Cyprus issue
and some details regarding the situation
in the Eastern Mediterranean.
This is not only a problem for Greece and for Cyprus.
It's an European issue. As I've said,
the two-track approach is workable and real
when the EU acts as a family.
The more we can unite behind our colleagues
from Greece and Cyprus,
the sooner we can fulfill the goals we set in March
in the conclusion of the EU Council Summit.
At the end, I also want to thank you for your support
in bringing Slovenia into the Med-7,
the family of Mediterranean countries, where we belong.
Slovenia is a mixture of Alpine, Pannonian, and Mediterranean
regions, and we think this is something very precious.
We don't want to lose any part of this jewel. Thank you very much.
We're also prepared to share the responsibility
for solving ecological and security questions in the Mediterranean.
Finally, Slovenia is celebrating 30 years of independence,
and Greece is celebrating 200 years of independence.
As I said during the Delphi Economic Forum,
we still have a real feeling of change,
but we also see in Greece the moment
when a nation is gaining independence
is for the second time in history.
We have to remember and celebrate this.
It doesn't matter which EU member country
is celebrating its birthday, because all this diversity
is enriching us.
We're all Europeans because we are Greek, because we are Slovenian,
because we are German, because we are French.
Thank you very much. I really enjoyed our discussion.