Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob: When like-minded countries and friends come together, good things can happen

As the holder of the MED9 Presidency in 2025, the Republic of Slovenia brings together a forum of like-minded Mediterranean EU Member States – Cyprus, France, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Spain – and Portugal. The MED9 Group was established to promote closer cooperation and coordination on current issues within the European Union and across the Mediterranean region. Today’s Leaders’ Summit marked the culmination of Slovenia’s Presidency, which was entrusted to the country in October 2024 in Cyprus. This was one of the largest international events organised by Slovenia in recent decades.

During the working session, the leaders placed the competitiveness of the European Union at the forefront of their discussions, particularly in view of the challenges related to the region’s energy independence, the innovation gap, and the enhancement of legal migration pathways to Europe. The leaders also held an initial exchange of views on the proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which will feature prominently on the agenda of the December meeting of the European Council.

As part of the Summit, Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob held three bilateral meetings. In his meeting with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the two discussed competitiveness and the situation in the Middle East, in the context of the MED9 discussions and the forthcoming European Council meeting. They also exchanged views on the Western Balkans from the perspective of EU enlargement. President von der Leyen arrived in Portorož following her tour of the Western Balkan countries, and the meeting provided an opportunity to further exchange views on the situation in the region.

Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob also met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II. The counterparts discussed the situation in the Middle East and the deepening of bilateral relations. They agreed to promote closer political and development cooperation, enhance economic and trade links, and strengthen ties across a broad range of areas.

In his meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, Prime Minister Dr Golob discussed the priorities of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

At the press conference, Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob summarised the outcomes of the Leaders’ Summit: "The Summit consisted of two parts. In the first, we held a discussion together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on a highly topical issue – the competitiveness of the European economy – which was addressed last year in an important study and report prepared by Mario Draghi. Competitiveness is crucial if we are to maintain social welfare and prosperity in the years ahead. While the topic of competitiveness encompasses many areas, we can summarise that we must act immediately to bridge the innovation gap through substantial investment in research and technology, and, even more importantly, by creating an enabling ecosystem that supports the transfer of innovation from research into the economy," the Prime Minister said.

He added that the leaders had also discussed energy infrastructure, as well as the green transition and investment in renewable energy sources, which he described as the most rational way forward. This, he said, would ensure security, independence and European autonomy, while also helping to lower energy prices. "We discussed the green transition and the decarbonisation of industry, while advocating a more flexible, sectoral approach, with particular attention to the automotive industry," said the Prime Minister. The leaders also discussed the European Commission’s proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, ahead of the upcoming discussions on the topic.

During the working lunch, the leaders were joined by King Abdullah II of Jordan. Their discussion focused on the highly critical situation in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank.

"We fully recognise the stabilising role that Jordan plays in the region. Jordan enjoys our full support – not only at present, but also with regard to its future development. Together with Jordan, Europe wishes to play an even more active role in the region," the Prime Minister concluded. "We all welcome the recent ceasefire and the peace plan presented in Sharm el-Sheikh by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. We would like the plan to be implemented in full, not only in its initial phase. In this context, we discussed a number of specific measures through which individual Member States – and we as a group – could support further development and, above all, continued progress towards peace in the region. We highlighted several concrete steps, including the preparation of a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the immediate deployment of stabilisation forces and setting out a clear mandate for the peacekeeping mission to ensure the full implementation of the agreement," Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob said, summarising the MED9 leaders’ conclusions.

He added that the leaders had called for the immediate release of all humanitarian aid to Gaza, emphasising that there is absolutely no justification for anyone to obstruct such assistance. "We fully expect the Government of Israel to open the Rafah border crossing, as well as other crossings, to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza. We believe that the best possible solution would be to deploy our people, particularly journalists, to Gaza, as this would help ensure that the agreement is respected by all parties – not just by one or two."

As part of the MED9 Summit, the leaders adopted two documents: the MED9 Summit 2025 – Portorož Declaration and the Joint Statement on the Middle East by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan and the leaders of the MED9 countries.

"It is always a pleasure to host a group of friends – a group of like-minded countries – and today’s discussions have shown that good things can happen among friends. I look forward to the steps ahead," said Prime Minister Dr Robert Golob.