Prime Minister Golob: "The key thing is to ensure Europe's long-term security and competitiveness"

The two devoted the main part of their talks to current European issues, focusing on the European Commission's recently published proposal for the EU multiannual financial framework for 2028–2034, strengthening competitiveness and the state of the EU enlargement process.

At a press conference after the meeting, the Prime Minister said that he and European Commissioner Kos had had an in-depth discussion on the current situation in the world. "The situation in the world presents us with numerous challenges, which is why it is all the more important that we focus on issues such as the long-term outlook and how we can work together to ensure security on the one hand and the competitiveness of the European economy on the other," he emphasised.

Regarding the recently presented first draft of the EU multiannual financial framework, Prime Minister Golob emphasised that it represents an appropriate starting point for Slovenia in the upcoming negotiations. The negotiations will be lengthy and most likely tough. "However, the amount of funds allocated to both cohesion and agricultural policy is something we can be satisfied with in Slovenia," he said, adding that increasing funds for competitiveness and expansion is also particularly important for us.

The Prime Minister went on to highlight the competitiveness of the economy. "For Slovenia, access to funds for increasing the competitiveness of the economy is particularly important. This is also where the greatest progress would be made in the multiannual financial framework. Last but not least, a competitiveness fund is being established, and access to its funds will also be enabled or facilitated for small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-cap companies," Prime Minister Golob emphasised.

The Prime Minister also underlined the importance of linking security and the economy. "I believe that security can also be an opportunity to enable our companies to access both fresh capital and European funds to support new projects," he said. "We have a challenging half-year ahead of us, but I believe that by December, when both the enlargement debate and the multiannual financial framework will be on the table at the European Council, we will have made further progress," concluded Prime Minister Golob.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also pointed out in a press release that the European budget is not limited to funds for cohesion and agricultural policy. "A lot of funds will be available for competitiveness, where Slovenia can obtain significant resources with good projects. Here, I would link competitiveness and security. This will be a new European budget, which will also reflect investment in European resilience and security, and we want defence-related expenditure to stimulate industrial systems across the European Union, while at the same time being accessible to medium-sized and small enterprises, as well as niche manufacturers, of which there are quite a few in Slovenia," she emphasised.

European Commissioner Kos went on to say that the focus should be on dual use, including cyber security and infrastructure. "In this context, it is important that the European Union budget increases funding for security in the broadest sense of the word," she said, pointing out that, according to a Eurobarometer survey, a large proportion of Slovenians expect the European Union to ensure security.

The European Commissioner also emphasised the importance of linking the enlargement portfolio with security. "I see enlargement as much more than simply increasing the territory of the European Union or its population. For me, enlargement is the most important peace project on the continent," she said and stressed that we must do everything we can to ensure that the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as Ukraine and Moldova, become members of the European Union as soon as possible.

In her statement, European Commissioner Kos also highlighted the current geopolitical situation and external forces seeking to prevent the enlargement process. "These external forces use various tactics, including hybrid warfare. I believe that it is very important, not only for the European Union but also for Slovenia, that when we talk about security, we also bear in mind that there is an increasing amount of disinformation circulating among us and that we need to be prepared for this," concluded European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.