WEBVTT

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First of all, thank you
to Andrej for the hospitality

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on the occasion of this
important conference

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and congratulations to Croatia
for the excellent organization,

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as well as for the tourist season
that is close to the record

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in terms of visitors from Slovenia
during the summer season.

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This proves that even in times
marked by Covid-19,

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good organization can help
revive various affected sectors.

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We expect that we'll also
be able to jumpstart

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our winter tourist season.

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We're looking forward to
visitors from Croatia.

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Since we have both joined the EU,

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numerous unexplored opportunities
await us in the tourist industry,

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where we can combined
the summer and the winter seasons.

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As Croatia proved
during the summer season,

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the use of Covid passes enabled
by the European Digital Certificate

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revived activities that were,
as recently as last year,

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impacted, discontinued,
or strictly limited.

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As for the topics, I believe
Andrej mentioned all of them.

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It's all about continuing
our dialog,

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which isn't just about bilateral
issues, but also the coordination

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of our positions
on EU-wide topics.

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This is particularly important
to us at a time

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when Slovenia is holding
the EU presidency

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and when we're dealing
with difficult issues

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that require coordination
and international alliances

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for us to reach an effective
compromise or consensus.

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In terms of tourism,
which was today's topic,

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it's important that Croatia enters
the Schengen Area

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and the European Monetary Union
as soon as possible.

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These two issues are not just
about formalities

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and the interests of both
governments.

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The two issues also directly
affect the interests

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of people in both countries
and the EU as a whole.

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These things make their lives
easier and more secure,

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which are the benefits
of a single European currency.

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Thank you.

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Just one question please.
You were talking about the border,

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so how do you see the incident on
the border with Croatia,

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in which a group people violently
chased migrants from the border?

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Since this has been discussed on
the EU level, are you familiar

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with this incident,
and how is Slovenia dealing

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with illegal immigration?

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The Slovenian-Croatian border
is still the Schengen border.

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It's not the EU's external border,
but it's the Schengen border.

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Our wish is for the EU and
the Schengen borders to become

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one and the same
as soon as possible.

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We believe that the current
situation is both irrational

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and unjust to the countries
that have met all the conditions

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to enter the Schengen Area
but are still waiting

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for the political decision.
I believe it will come sooner

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than we expected a year ago.
As for the incident you mentioned,

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I'm not familiar with the details.
It wasn't a major topic

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at the EU Summit. It wasn't
brought up by the press

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or by the representatives
of other countries.

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Unfortunately, this
does happen

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because the EU still doesn't
have all the necessary mechanisms

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that it needs to protect both
the Schengen border

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and its own external border.
It's now debating

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the Immigration Act with six
provisions

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that will significantly upgrade
the Schengen system

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and strengthen control of the EU's
external borders.

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Slovenia is trying to take
this legislative process as far

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as possible, but different members
have very different positions,

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so we'll be successful if we manage
to pass just some of the acts.

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It's crucial that we get a formal
distinction between refugees

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and illegal migrants and that this
is then taken into account

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at the external EU border.

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Another related question.

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We have reports of these violent
incidents on the border.

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Croatia has been criticized
by various organizations

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for its policy of deep deterrence.
Has this policy

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been recognized as the only
solution on the EU level?

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Our goal is not for such policies
to become acceptable or widespread.

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We want to create a situation
that would prevent such incidents.

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In this case, Bosnia-Herzegovina
should take on some responsibility.

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The problems should not be solved
by passing it on to others.

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One of the key problems
that result in such situations

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is the lack of a clear distinction
between NGOs, which organize

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humanitarian aid to migrants,
and human traffickers.

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In some cases, we're dealing
with coordinated activity.

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This year, Slovenian police
cracked down on 150 such networks.

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Not all of them we connected
with NGOs, but some of them were.

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We need to be careful when dealing
with such events because sometimes

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they can be intentionally launched
or fabricated

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to conceal criminal activity,
namely human trafficking,

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that is estimated to bring in €10
billion on the Balkan route alone.

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A question about bilateral
relations, if I may.

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Since you mentioned fishermen,
is there a solution that would

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prevent fishermen from both sides
from getting fines that are later

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paid by their respective
countries in their name?

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I hope that the answer is yes.
We talked about this, and there are

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some proposals, but we can't
discuss specific solutions

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until the process is completed.
But we're working on this.

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At the forefront of this issue
is our interest

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that people affected by these
unresolved problems don't suffer.

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-Any other questions?
-I thought you might have a comment

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about the border? Could these fines
stop being issued?

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You know what the current
border regime entails.

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We're dealing with it in such
a low-key way

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that people aren't even aware
of the problem. If the fishermen

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do get fined, the government
refunds their expenses.

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We have some ideas on how
to prevent this because

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the purpose of all this
is questionable,

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as is the expense, since it all
gets refunded in the end.

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It's an unnecessary process.
We're discussing a solution

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that would be acceptable to both
sides and prevent such situations.

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I hope we'll come to an agreement.
-Thank you.