WEBVTT

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Good evening and welcome those
of you who have just logged in

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to the fourth day of the
Delphi Forum live transmission.

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As the things are coming to a close
in the next few hours,

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I would once more like
to thank the organiser

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of this extremely
successful event

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that the Delphi Economic
Forum has been again.

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I don't want to take any
more time from our discussion.

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Today, we have the privilege
of hosting Mr. Janez Janša,

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the Prime Minister of Slovenia.

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Mr. Prime Minister,
thank you very much for being here.

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Thank you for the invitation
and good afternoon.

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For those of you watching us
via the internet, we have to say

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that his country

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has been celebrating 30 years
of independence for the past year.

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One of the most experienced
politicians

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not only in Slovenia, not only in
the Balkans, but in the wider region.

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I want to start by asking you

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what is your view of the Russian
invasion and the war in Ukraine,

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which has been raging
for the past six weeks.

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I guess in Slovenia as well,
like in Greece, people are asking

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when and how this thing
is going to end.

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Well...

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First of all, on February 24,
the world has changed,

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especially for those of us who live
on the European continent.

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Of course, it changed dramatically
for Ukrainians, but also for us.

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We are not aware enough

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of how these
changes are affecting all of us

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and how they will affect
everything in our future.

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I think that after
the fall of the Berlin Wall

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and the collapse of the Warsaw
Pact and the Soviet Union,

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we lived in a world

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where we thought

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that Europe would be united
and democracy

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and the free market economy
would spread across the continent.

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That we just needed to wait
for another decade

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or for the next generation to come

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and the world

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far away from the Cold War era

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would somehow be created, but...

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Because of this wishful thinking,
we...

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By we,
I mean the European Union

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or the Western part of the world,
the Euro-Atlantic community.

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Because of this wishful thinking,

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we neglected to answer
the strategic challenges.

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One of the answers that we only
implemented halfway is enlargement.

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I'm speaking mostly
about the enlargement of the EU.

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During the recent period,

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we didn't take it very seriously.

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Not only regarding
the Western Balkans,

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but especially
our Eastern neighbourhood.

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Now we see that

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if the EU does not enlarge,

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somebody else will.

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Now we are paying the price.

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I think that currently
the destiny of the...

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The peaceful future
of the European continent

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is currently
being decided on in Ukraine.

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I was there
in the middle of March

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together with my Czech
and Polish colleagues,

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Mr. Fiala and Mr. Morawiecki.

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When you go to Ukraine,
when you go to Kyiv,

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when you see first-hand
what's really happening there,

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when you feel the war,

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you can really judge

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the determination and bravery
of Ukrainians.

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I think that this moment is
the rebirth of the Ukrainian nation

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and we have to help them
accelerate their EU membership

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despite the current
war situation

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and we also have to
give them all possible help

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for Ukrainians
to defend themselves.

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As Josep Borrell said yesterday
when he also visited Kyiv

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with the President of the European
Commission Ursula von der Leyen,

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he said the war

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in Ukraine will end when Ukraine
will be able to defend itself.

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And this is why I think now
of course, we have to help refugees,

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we have to think about
the reconstruction after the war,

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but first of all, we have to give
them all kind of military help

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because this
is actually protecting lives

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and this will
also end the war.

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I am sure that Mr. Zelensky
has told you, as he has asked

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from the EU and NATO and Slovenia is
both the EU and NATO member state,

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for more severe sanctions.
I would like your point of view

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if the sanctions that
have been imposed so far are enough,

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if they are working
and if you need more sanctions.

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Are you willing to vote
for more sanctions?

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Yes. Slovenia voted
for all packages of sanctions.

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We are also cooperating
with the European Commission

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now when they are imposing
the sixth package.

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We all know what the main problem
is. The main problem is

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dependency of the vast part
of the EU

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on Russian energy sources,
especially gas and oil,

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also coal.
Coal is not such a problem.

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I think oil
is also not a problem

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because the supply sources
could be

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easily, not overnight but still in
the short term replaced by others.

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The real problem is gas, but I will
quote the Italian PM Mario Draghi

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who said:

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Here we have on the table
two things. One is lives

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of Ukrainians
which are destroyed

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and on the other side of the table
is air conditioning.

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So are we prepared
to sacrifice

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some part of our comfort

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and the economic price
we will surely pay

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if we implement sanctions
on Russian gas in the short term

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and with this, we will stop the
financing of Russian war machine.

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Or we just stick
with the sanctions

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which will maybe work long-term,
but short-term, we are still paying

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€1 billion for Russian
energy sources every day

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and Kremlin is using
this money

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to finance
the Russian war machine.

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I think this is the main dilemma
now on the table

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in front of all EU member states
and I think

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that we have to answer
to this dilemma yes.

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We have to do it
as soon as possible.

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So you believe
that we are ready to do that?

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Make a few sacrifices?
-I don't know, but we have to do it.

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We know the impact

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of this kind of sanctions
is asymmetric and this is a problem.

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Not all countries
are in the same position

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and every time
this happens in the EU,

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we need some time
to coordinate ourselves.

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I think that all 
those visits which have

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followed our first visit
in the middle of March...

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I think that today
the Austrian Chancellor is in Kyiv.

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And especially the visits by the
President of the European Parliament,

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the President
of the European Commission

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and the High Representative
Josep Borrell.

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I think that all those visits
clarified the picture

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and the insights

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of the people with the greatest
responsibility in the EU

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will accelerate the negotiations.
I think that

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the embargo on Russian gas is sure
to arrive with lightning speed.

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You talked about the possibility
of EU integration of Ukraine.

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I want to ask another question
about EU accession.

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Slovenia was the first
from the ex-Yugoslavian countries

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to join the EU.
Croatia followed.

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The others plus Albania
from the Western Balkans

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are still knocking on EU's door,
hoping not to get a membership yet,

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but a time frame.

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How is the integration
of the Western Balkans into EU going?

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What needs to be done?

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During the EU Summit
in October of last year,

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when Slovenia presided
over the Council of the EU,

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we proposed conclusions

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which were unfortunately
not agreed upon with consensus,

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but they got the support of more
than 20 EU member countries.

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We proposed a creation
of a strict timeline

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for the accession of the Western
Balkan countries into the EU

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by 2030,
within the next nine years.

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I think we have to decide
on this as soon as possible.

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The Russian aggression
on Ukraine

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only underlined the need

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to find answers
to the strategic questions.

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Ukraine should be included
into the same timeline.

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As well as Moldova
and Georgia.

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Both countries also applied for
a fast-tracked EU membership.

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I think we have to deliver this.

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It's not possible overnight,

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but it is possible
within this decade.

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The acceleration process...

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The real progress

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is also something that would help
stabilise the Western Balkan region,

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but also
the Eastern neighbourhood.

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But first of all,
we have to stop the war in Ukraine.

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We can only stop the war

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with a strong military help
on one side

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and on the other side
with effective sanctions

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that will help stop
the Russian war machine.

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What about the question of Ukrainian
refugees? Is Slovenia taking them in?

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Will you cap that or can you
accommodate as many as possible?

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So far we accepted
everyone coming from Ukraine.

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We are prepared
to assist further.

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We are also helping
their bordering countries,

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Poland, Slovakia,
Romania and Hungary,

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which are full of refugees.

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We are also collecting
humanitarian aid for those countries

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and help

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for the people
displaced within Ukraine.

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But I don't think
that this is a solution.

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We have to do it,

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but this is not our goal.

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Our goal is to stop the war
and the flow of refugees

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and to establish the conditions
for those who escaped

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to be able to return to their homes
as soon as possible.

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We have to be concentrated
on fixing the problem.

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Let's jump to another issue.
Last year in Athens the EU Med 7

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became the EU Med 9.

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Slovenija was one of
the two countries that

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joined this coalition
for the first time here in Athens.

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What do you think,
what is this coalition exactly?

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Can it turn into an alliance?

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What do the countries have in common
besides enjoying the Mediterranean Sea?

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We have a common responsibility
for the Mediterranean Sea.

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We are very glad
that Slovenia joined the club.

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We are grateful to Greece and
all the other old members

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of the club who support
our and Croatian membership.

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But we don't only share
this responsibility.

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We have also somehow
similar positions regarding

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some development issues,

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and how some yet non-agreed
things should be solved in the EU.

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We had very similar positions
when we negotiated for the RRF fund

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after the pandemic
in the summer of 2020.

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Living in the similar area

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is not only influencing
ecological and other issues,

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it also influences a specific

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was of approach when we are
seeking common solutions in the EU.

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You know very well that for the
past two years Greece and Italy

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have been fighting to change
the rules of the Dublin Treaty

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for the way the EU
handles the issue of migration.

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The countries have been saying
that they can't share the burden

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for the whole of the EU.

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There needs to be some kind of
relocation schemes, burden sharing.

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What is your view on this?
It's an ongoing dialogue.

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There has to be burden sharing.

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We are not very far away
from agreeing on this position.

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The main dispute was about
the obligatory immigrant quotas.

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But now I think that
this pressure

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has somehow balanced
inside the EU.

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This war in Ukraine
is overwhelming

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the Eastern and Central Europe
with the refugees.

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And now the understanding
of the problem is balanced.

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I hope that this new situation...

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Not only hope,
I think that it will help us

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to conclude the procedures
on those

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acts which are still pending.

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We need to strengthen
our Schengen area.

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We also need to enlarge it.

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We have to do everything
that all those countries

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that are members of the EU,

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and share our external border,

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should ender Schengen area
and take full responsibility for it.

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I don't think that this double
position is good for anybody.

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Mr. Prime Minister,
thank you very much.

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It was a great discussion
and it was an honour having you here.

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Thank you and congratulations
for very good debates.

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Some of them I was able to follow
during this session. -Thank you.