WEBVTT 00:00:00.375 --> 00:00:05.400 Greetings to all those present, and my special thanks to my dear 00:00:05.520 --> 00:00:12.150 colleague, the Prime Minister of the Duchy of Luxembourg, Bettel, my dear 00:00:12.270 --> 00:00:14.371 friend Xavier. 00:00:14.520 --> 00:00:18.500 In fact, this visit is a continuation of the very good cooperation that I 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:23.280 established with my colleague Mr Bettel at the European Council. 00:00:23.400 --> 00:00:28.300 I think it was a very easy decision to first invite him to Ljubljana and 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:30.660 then to continue in Luxembourg. 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:35.670 Because we have all been able to see together that, precisely in the 00:00:35.790 --> 00:00:40.760 debates on how to make Europe not only stronger but better, we need to 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:46.110 be based on common values, and these values are definitely shared by the 00:00:46.230 --> 00:00:51.400 Duchy of Luxembourg and, above all, by the Prime Minister, and we share 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:56.600 the same views on most, if not all, of the challenges that the European 00:00:56.720 --> 00:01:02.300 Union is really facing in these complex times. 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:07.110 If I said that our visit today is a continuation, I would also like to 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:11.060 underline that a lot has already changed since February. 00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:14.710 We had hopes to establish closer cooperation with Luxembourg, 00:01:14.830 --> 00:01:18.970 including bilateral cooperation, because Luxembourg, as has been said, 00:01:19.090 --> 00:01:23.240 is the second largest investor in the Slovenian economy, which is no small 00:01:23.360 --> 00:01:27.600 thing, especially given the distance. From this point of view, trade 00:01:27.720 --> 00:01:32.420 between the two countries is also something that we want to promote, 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:36.560 and especially trade in this positive development sense. 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:42.610 Three areas already identified during the February visit are being 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:44.180 revisited today. 00:01:44.300 --> 00:01:48.660 The most and the fastest, which is logical in its own way, things are 00:01:48.780 --> 00:01:51.890 advancing in aerospace, in high technologies. 00:01:52.010 --> 00:01:55.310 We also have a memorandum to be signed today. 00:01:55.430 --> 00:02:00.060 It is in the area of cooperation between economies, between the 00:02:00.180 --> 00:02:03.450 business worlds of Slovenia and Luxembourg. 00:02:03.570 --> 00:02:07.720 In the field of space technologies, we have high hopes, not least because 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:11.780 Luxembourg is a kind of front man, a real forerunner, a pioneer in this 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:17.600 field. Our industry is also keeping pace very well with developments in 00:02:17.720 --> 00:02:23.510 some niche areas and I believe that together they will be able to shape a 00:02:23.630 --> 00:02:26.370 success story at European level. 00:02:27.060 --> 00:02:29.400 We have high hopes for this. 00:02:29.521 --> 00:02:34.410 On the other hand, Slovenia has great potential in the timber industry, 00:02:34.530 --> 00:02:39.530 since, after all, almost 60 % of our land area is covered by forests, 00:02:39.650 --> 00:02:43.590 which is in fact still underused in a positive sense. 00:02:43.710 --> 00:02:47.010 And it is precisely the higher value-added products and investment 00:02:47.130 --> 00:02:50.670 in this part of the wood processing industry that definitely represent a 00:02:50.790 --> 00:02:54.880 great potential for Slovenia in the future. And, as has been said, we are 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.810 delighted that in two days' time on Thursday, a direct link between 00:02:59.930 --> 00:03:05.260 Luxembourg and Ljubljana will open, which will also allow tourism to move 00:03:05.380 --> 00:03:10.230 up a gear. That is also why we have representatives of our national 00:03:10.350 --> 00:03:15.620 tourism organisation, the STO, with us, in order to present Slovenia in 00:03:15.740 --> 00:03:20.910 Luxembourg to the wider population and not only to the business world, 00:03:21.030 --> 00:03:26.370 which obviously knows it well, given the level of investment Luxembourg 00:03:26.490 --> 00:03:27.620 has in Slovenia. 00:03:27.740 --> 00:03:32.830 A large part of the discussions today was also devoted to the European 00:03:32.950 --> 00:03:37.210 scene, not so much because of the elections, we have more or less 00:03:37.330 --> 00:03:40.950 avoided the topic this time, but mainly from the point of view of what 00:03:41.070 --> 00:03:45.360 are the changes that Europe will have to make, on the one hand, in order to 00:03:45.480 --> 00:03:49.610 face the challenges of the future more easily, and, on the other hand, 00:03:49.730 --> 00:03:54.630 what is our attitude, in particular, towards the enlargement process. Last 00:03:54.750 --> 00:03:59.040 but not least, we are all aware that expectations in the neighbourhood are 00:03:59.160 --> 00:04:02.960 very high, both on the Western Balkan side and on the Ukrainian and 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:07.180 Moldovan sides, and I think that we in Europe have a duty to respond. The 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:10.210 answer can be positive, it can be negative. But we have a duty to give 00:04:10.330 --> 00:04:17.120 it. The situation that we have seen in the Western Balkans over 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:24.050 the last 20 years, where for various reasons there has been a 00:04:24.170 --> 00:04:30.580 delay in giving an answer on the way forward, is the worst 00:04:30.700 --> 00:04:33.070 possible situation. 00:04:33.190 --> 00:04:35.960 I think we share a common view. 00:04:36.080 --> 00:04:39.600 If I say that enlargement is practically impossible under the 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:43.800 existing conditions, that is to say, if we want to create an enlargement 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:48.070 of the European Union to new members, then we will have to reform inward in 00:04:48.190 --> 00:04:52.270 some way, or find a new formula for enlargement, and not just the formula 00:04:52.390 --> 00:04:56.210 by which, for example, Slovenia entered. There is a fairly strong 00:04:56.330 --> 00:05:00.440 consensus on this at European level, but we do not yet have solutions. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:03.630 This will be a topic that will be discussed in the coming months and 00:05:03.750 --> 00:05:07.360 most probably at the December summit in Brussels. We may already have an 00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:11.220 answer. This was one of the important topics, but of course not the only 00:05:11.340 --> 00:05:17.780 one. I agree that the place we are to going now, which is Schengen, is a 00:05:17.900 --> 00:05:22.370 place that is in a way ours, because of the rights we get as citizens, by 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:26.110 being able to move freely around Europe, It is a place that is really 00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:30.190 close to us. That is to say, when we hear about Schengen, we all warm to 00:05:30.310 --> 00:05:34.200 it because we believe that it is one of the key foundations for the 00:05:34.320 --> 00:05:37.250 successful functioning of the European Union. 00:05:37.370 --> 00:05:40.810 The free movement of people and, of course, consequently the free 00:05:40.930 --> 00:05:44.680 movement of goods is what Europe is based on, one of its foundations, and 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.550 I believe that any closures within Europe are not only unnecessary, but 00:05:48.670 --> 00:05:52.300 counterproductive, because they do not really achieve the declared 00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:56.110 objectives, and they definitely make it more difficult for nations to 00:05:56.230 --> 00:05:59.950 cooperate with each other. And this is something that goes against the 00:06:00.070 --> 00:06:03.780 basic European idea. And I myself believe that any closure or 00:06:03.900 --> 00:06:08.420 abandonment of Schengen, or regression in this area, is something 00:06:08.540 --> 00:06:11.960 that should be avoided at all costs and by all means. 00:06:12.080 --> 00:06:16.610 But I look forward to visiting Schengen, maybe we can get some 00:06:16.730 --> 00:06:21.710 inspiration to do better in the future, and I believe that we should 00:06:21.830 --> 00:06:25.010 have more stories like Schengen in Europe. 00:06:25.130 --> 00:06:30.330 I am also looking forward to more contacts between our people, both in 00:06:30.450 --> 00:06:35.840 terms of student exchanges, business exchanges and, as I said, tourism 00:06:35.960 --> 00:06:39.760 exchanges. And I believe that after this, everyone will be able to see 00:06:39.880 --> 00:06:43.180 for themselves that it is very easy to be friends with someone from 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:47.840 Luxembourg. Just as I found out when I met my colleague Bettel. 00:06:47.960 --> 00:06:54.290 It is not difficult to like you and I believe that this will continue. 00:06:54.972 --> 00:06:56.562 Thank you very much.