Date of release : 24-03-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration and current President of the Council of the European Union, arrived in Ljubljana on 24 March 2005 for an official visit to Slovenia.

Minister Asselborn was officially received by President Janez Drnovšek and met with Prime Minister Janez Janša, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dimitrij Rupel and the President of the National Assembly France Cukjati.

The talks focused on the conclusions of the European Council of 22 and 23 March, and particularly the relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy and the creation of a "task force" for Croatia. The two sides also touched on the European Union’s financial perspectives for the period 2007-2013, the issue of enlargement and cooperation between the OSCE and the European Union.

During the meetings, Jean Asselborn reiterated the need to reach an agreement on the financial perspectives under Luxembourg Presidency. "If we don’t reach an agreement before the end of June, it will be difficult to ensure a timely launch of the Commission’s programmes scheduled for the period in question", warned the Minister.

Asked about the economic cohesion policy within the European Union, the President of the Council stated that "since its inception, the European Union has always been a community characterised by solidarity - between small and large countries, and between the richer and less rich countries - and I hope that we will maintain this feeling of solidarity."

On Croatia, Jean Asselborn announced that the "task force" approved by the last European Council and bringing together the Luxembourg Presidency, the United Kingdom, Austria, the High Representative for the CFSP and the European Commissioner responsible for Enlargement would hold consultations with the Croatian authorities and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia towards the end of April. "We shall then report to the 'General Affairs' Council on the efforts made by Croatia to fulfil the conditions stipulated by the European Council of December 2004", explained Minister Asselborn. He added that "the keys for opening negotiations are in Croatia’s hands, and the country must make further progress in its cooperation with ICTY."

Furthermore, the two parties discussed the issue of political cooperation between the European Union and the OSCE. Slovenia holds the rotating presidency of the OSCE during 2005. The President of the Council and his Slovenian counterparts shared the view that the complementary efforts of the two organisations in several regions around the world, and most notably in the Western Balkans, had contributed towards stability and the democratic process in the countries concerned.