On the 20^th anniversary of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Thessaloniki, Slovenia pledged its further support to the region. "The Western Balkan countries that wish to join the EU can count on Slovenia now and in the future," assured the country’s President Pirc Musar, Prime Minister Golob and Foreign Minister Fajon in a statement on the 20^th anniversary of the summit. Next Wednesday marks the 20^th anniversary the EU-Western Balkans summit. On the occasion of this historic event, the European Union and the then accession countries and potential candidate states from the Western Balkans made commitments to each other. At the summit, the EU reaffirmed that the Western Balkans’ future lies in the EU, and the countries of the region supported the common EU values.

Today is the last day in class for Slovenia’s schoolchildren in this school year, and they will also receive their report cards. Now they will be able to forget about school for about two months and enjoy the long-awaited carefree holidays. Today, schools will hold a celebration on the eve of Statehood Day.

Slovenia will be celebrating Statehood Day this coming weekend. On Sunday, it will be 32 years since the then Assembly adopted the key independence documents. Shortly before Statehood Day, the national statistical office reported that, last year, Slovenia’s population had grown 5.4 percent since it gained independence. Other indicators are favourable as well: the share of tertiary educated population has been increasing, the country’s GDP has increased five-fold, and there has been a constant increase in the value of exports and imports.