The event was hosted by Pierpaolo Roberti, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Councillor for Local Self-Government and Minority Languages.

Minister Arčon welcomed today’s symbolic and indeed important step in establishing the EGTC Kras Carso. He opened by saying that “today is a historic day for this area”. The grouping will connect and unite the border area and further strengthen the collaboration within the common Slovenian national area. The Minister stressed that the mayors know best the cross-border area and how valuable and important it is. He underlined: “By establishing the EGTC, you are giving your cooperation a seal of approval and creating a platform for new ideas.” He himself was actively involved in the establishment of the EGTC GO in Gorizia a few years ago. The Minister shared some of his experiences with the participants and highlighted the numerous positive effects border cooperation has on the development of the area. He stressed the advantages of setting up the territorial grouping, which will be the common management body of the Karst region, but also pointed out some aspects to which they should pay particular attention. The Slovenian minority in Italy living in these areas is a clear added value, the Minister added.

In his address, Minister Jevšek stressed that today’s signing of the Letter of Intent to establish the EGTC Kras-Carso is proof that we are friends and that we are aware of the importance of cross-border integration and cooperation. “The EGTC brings together development projects from both sides of the border, and this mechanism is extremely important in the field of cross-border cooperation as it is a creator of development and harmonious regional development on both sides of the border. Cross-border cooperation is also an important mechanism in the field of civil protection and rescue.” The almost 90 European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs) set up across the European Union show that in Cohesion Policy implementation, this mechanism is the right approach to tackling the challenges in border areas as it takes into account, through a bottom-up approach, the needs of smaller areas on both sides of the border, which would otherwise be much more difficult to address at local, regional and national level.

Regional Councillor Roberti also shared a few words at the signing ceremony. The objectives and purpose of the EGTC Kras-Carso were presented by the President of the Local Action Group (LAG) Kras, David Pizziga, and an example of good European practice - the EGTC GO - was presented by its President, Paolo Petiziol. The strong institutional presence at the event is a testament to the importance of cross-border ties and their impact on economic and wider social development in ethnically mixed areas. The economic development of minorities is one of the main focus areas of the Office under the leadership of Minister Arčon. The Minister for Slovenians in Neighbouring Countries and Slovenians Abroad and the Minister for Cohesion and Regional Development have held several discussions on the topic of cross-border development with Slovenians in Italy, Austria and Hungary, which goes to show that the two ministries are working very well together on this development-related issue.

The Letter of Intent was signed by the Mayor of Divača, Alenka Štrucl Dovgan, the Mayor of Hrpelje-Kozina, Saša Livec Svetelšek, the Mayor of Komen, Erik Modic, the Mayor of Miren-Kostanjevica, Mauricij Humar, the Mayor of Sežana, Andrej Sila, the Mayor of Trieste, Roberto Dipiazza, the Mayor of Devin-Nabrežina, Igor Gabrovec, the Mayor of Dolina, Sandy Klun, the Mayor of Repentabor, Tanja Kosmina, the Mayor of Zgonik, Monica Hrovatin, the Mayor of Ronke, Mauro Benvenuto, the Mayor of Zagraj, Marco Vittori, the Mayor of Sovodnje ob Soči, Luka Pisk, the Mayor of Foljan - Redipulja, Cristiana Pisano, Fabio Vizintin, the Mayor of Doberdob, the Councillor of the Municipality of Tržič, Paolo Venni, and the Councillor of the Municipality of Milje, Andrea Mariucci.

The EGTC is an important mechanism for cross-border integration, especially in areas inhabited by the Slovenian minority. The establishment of the EGTC is the objective of the Karst-Carso II project, which is one of the three strategic projects under the cooperation programme Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia for the 2021-2027 period.