Slovenia seeks to remain core EU country but reserved about reform proposals
Ljubljana, 5 December - Slovenia has spent 2017 reiterating that it wishes to remain at the core of integration efforts in the EU, as the bloc grappled with the worst existential crisis since its inception after the UK's decision to leave, though it was reluctant to explicitly back any of the reform scenarios that EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled just a day before he visited Slovenia in March.
Brdo pri Kranju
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (left) and Slovenian PM Miro Cerar.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
Juncker was told by both President Borut Pahor and PM Miro Cerar that Slovenia wished the EU to survive and thrive, whereby Pahor said he was a bit disappointed with the plans. Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec explicitly expressed displeasure with all five plans.
The proposals initiated a period of in-depth reflection for the EU and reform, if any; it also dominated the agenda of EU summits and triggered a diplomatic offensive of sorts. Juncker paid his first visit to Slovenia in his capacity as Commission president the same day as European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, with EU Council President Donald Tusk coming a month later, in April.