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Greetings to all those present, and
my special thanks to my dear

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colleague, the Prime Minister of the
Duchy of Luxembourg, Bettel, my dear

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friend Xavier.

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In fact, this visit is a continuation
of the very good cooperation that I

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established with my colleague Mr
Bettel at the European Council.

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I think it was a very easy decision
to first invite him to Ljubljana and

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then to continue in Luxembourg.

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Because we have all been able to see
together that, precisely in the

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debates on how to make Europe not
only stronger but better, we need to

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be based on common values, and these
values are definitely shared by the

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Duchy of Luxembourg and, above all,
by the Prime Minister, and we share

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the same views on most, if not all,
of the challenges that the European

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Union is really facing in these
complex times.

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If I said that our visit today is a
continuation, I would also like to

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underline that a lot has already
changed since February.

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We had hopes to establish closer
cooperation with Luxembourg,

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including bilateral cooperation,
because Luxembourg, as has been said,

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is the second largest investor in the
Slovenian economy, which is no small

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thing, especially given the distance.
From this point of view, trade

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between the two countries is also
something that we want to promote,

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and especially trade in this positive
development sense.

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Three areas already identified during
the February visit are being

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revisited today.

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The most and the fastest, which is
logical in its own way, things are

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advancing in aerospace, in high
technologies.

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We also have a memorandum to be
signed today.

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It is in the area of cooperation
between economies, between the

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business worlds of Slovenia and
Luxembourg.

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In the field of space technologies,
we have high hopes, not least because

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Luxembourg is a kind of front man, a
real forerunner, a pioneer in this

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field. Our industry is also keeping
pace very well with developments in

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some niche areas and I believe that
together they will be able to shape a

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success story at European level.

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We have high hopes for this.

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On the other hand, Slovenia has great
potential in the timber industry,

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since, after all, almost 60 % of our
land area is covered by forests,

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which is in fact still underused in a
positive sense.

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And it is precisely the higher
value-added products and investment

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in this part of the wood processing
industry that definitely represent a

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great potential for Slovenia in the
future. And, as has been said, we are

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delighted that in two days' time on
Thursday, a direct link between

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Luxembourg and Ljubljana will open,
which will also allow tourism to move

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up a gear. That is also why we have
representatives of our national

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tourism organisation, the STO, with
us, in order to present Slovenia in

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Luxembourg to the wider population
and not only to the business world,

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which obviously knows it well, given
the level of investment Luxembourg

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has in Slovenia.

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A large part of the discussions today
was also devoted to the European

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scene, not so much because of the
elections, we have more or less

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avoided the topic this time, but
mainly from the point of view of what

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are the changes that Europe will have
to make, on the one hand, in order to

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face the challenges of the future
more easily, and, on the other hand,

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what is our attitude, in particular,
towards the enlargement process. Last

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but not least, we are all aware that
expectations in the neighbourhood are

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very high, both on the Western Balkan
side and on the Ukrainian and

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Moldovan sides, and I think that we
in Europe have a duty to respond. The

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answer can be positive, it can be
negative. But we have a duty to give

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it. The situation that we have seen
in the Western Balkans over

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the last 20 years, where for various
reasons there has been a

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delay in giving an answer on the way
forward, is the worst

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possible situation.

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I think we share a common view.

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If I say that enlargement is
practically impossible under the

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existing conditions, that is to say,
if we want to create an enlargement

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of the European Union to new members,
then we will have to reform inward in

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some way, or find a new formula for
enlargement, and not just the formula

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by which, for example, Slovenia
entered. There is a fairly strong

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consensus on this at European level,
but we do not yet have solutions.

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This will be a topic that will be
discussed in the coming months and

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most probably at the December summit
in Brussels. We may already have an

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answer. This was one of the important
topics, but of course not the only

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one. I agree that the place we are
to going now, which is Schengen, is a

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place that is in a way ours, because
of the rights we get as citizens, by

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being able to move freely around
Europe, It is a place that is really

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close to us. That is to say, when we
hear about Schengen, we all warm to

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it because we believe that it is one
of the key foundations for the

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successful functioning of the
European Union.

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The free movement of people and, of
course, consequently the free

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movement of goods is what Europe is
based on, one of its foundations, and

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I believe that any closures within
Europe are not only unnecessary, but

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counterproductive, because they do
not really achieve the declared

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objectives, and they definitely make
it more difficult for nations to

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cooperate with each other. And this
is something that goes against the

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basic European idea. And I myself
believe that any closure or

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abandonment of Schengen, or
regression in this area, is something

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that should be avoided at all costs
and by all means.

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But I look forward to visiting
Schengen, maybe we can get some

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inspiration to do better in the
future, and I believe that we should

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have more stories like Schengen in
Europe.

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I am also looking forward to more
contacts between our people, both in

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terms of student exchanges, business
exchanges and, as I said, tourism

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exchanges. And I believe that after
this, everyone will be able to see

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for themselves that it is very easy
to be friends with someone from

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Luxembourg. Just as I found out when
I met my colleague Bettel.

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It is not difficult to like you 
and I believe that this will continue.

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Thank you very much.