News

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, today attended the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tivat, Montenegro, where the leaders of the European Union Member States and the Western Balkan countries discussed the further strengthening of cooperation between the European Union and the region.

The Berlin Process, established in 2014 as a platform to strengthen regional cooperation and support the Western Balkans in their path towards EU accession, was hosted by Montenegro for the first time. On behalf of Slovenia, Peter Pogačar, Director-General of the Public Sector Directorate at the Ministry of Public Administration, attended the meeting of ministers for public administration and other high-level representatives.

The Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, participated in the Foreign Ministers Meeting of the Berlin Process in Belfast at the invitation of UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

The Minister of Public Administration, Franc Props, received Ambassador of Montenegro to Slovenia, Dragan Tufegdžić, for a courtesy visit. The two discussed the bilateral cooperation between Montenegro and Slovenia on public administration matters.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar hosted the Brdo Process Ministerial Meeting. Alongside Minister Poklukar, the meeting was opened by Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, and Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration.

On the margins of the official opening of the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025, Minister of Culture Asta Vrečko hosted a working meeting of the Ministers of Culture of the Western Balkans at Villa Vipolže in Goriška Brda. The meeting was also attended by the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and the Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon participated in the EU-Montenegro Intergovernmental Conference, where Montenegro provisionally closed three negotiating chapters. Speaking on behalf of Slovenia, Austria and Italy, Minister Fajon commended Montenegro's progress on its European path, expressing hope that the country will sustain this momentum and become the next EU member state.

During her visit to Podgorica, Minister Tanja Fajon officially opened the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre, an initiative of Slovenia, France and Montenegro. She also signed the new development cooperation programme between the Slovenian and Montenegrin governments and met with senior Montenegrin officials.

The Government Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Information Security (GISO) organized a workshop in Podgorica, bringing together cybersecurity experts from Western Balkan countries. The event, which took place on November 6 and 7, was hosted by the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C).

The Ministry welcomes the European Commission’s Enlargement Package, which provides assessments of the progress made by the countries of the Western Balkans, the Eastern trio and Turkey on their path towards the EU. The package contains a comprehensive analysis of each country's reform efforts and plays a key role in monitoring and promoting the countries' progress and strengthening their European perspective.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended a regular meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels. European affairs ministers focused on preparations for the October European Council and the horizontal dimension of the Commission's 2024 Rule of Law Report, which for the first time includes Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar paid a two-day work visit to the Minister of the Interior of Montenegro Danilo Šaranović.

At the Intergovernmental Conference with Montenegro, participants discussed the state of play of the accession process and confirmed the steps Montenegro needs to take to close key chapters on the rule of law. The Conference recognises Montenegro's track record in this area and provides an impetus for further reforms with a focus on closing the negotiating chapters.

The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, together with the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organised the first regional conference of the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) in Podgorica, Montenegro.

The first bilateral economic consultations at Director-General level between Slovenia and Montenegro were held on the sidelines of the official visit by the President of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, to Podgorica.

The delegation responsible for implementing forestry policy in Montenegro started its visit to Slovenia on Monday. During its visit, the delegation met with the representatives of the Slovenian ministry responsible for forestry, the Slovenia Forest Service and the Slovenian Forestry Institute. They were shown examples of various forestry practices on the ground.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon received an official visit from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Filip Ivanović. They confirmed their mutual interest in further strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, particularly in the economy. They focused on Montenegro's progress towards EU accession and the current situation in the Western Balkans.

In Rome, State Secretary Štucin met with Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Edmondo Cirielli to discuss the strengthening of bilateral relations between Slovenia and Italy. He also participated in a meeting of the Friends of the Western Balkans and presented a joint Slovenian-German initiative to improve the efficiency of decision-making in the enlargement process.

On the margins of the EU General Affairs Council, State Secretary Marko Štucin took part in the EU-Montenegro Intergovernmental Conference, where participants took stock of the overall accession process and provided political steer for future work. The Conference is a recognition of the results achieved by Montenegro and an encouragement to continue reforms, with special focus on the rule of law.

During his visit to Podgorica, State Secretary Marko Štucin met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Filip Ivanović, Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević, and Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro Oana Cristina Popa. He held political consultations with Milisav Raspopović, State Secretary at the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs.