By: Domen Mezeg / Nova24tv
“This is a region that will face global change, where global warming will endanger life on the African continent, and the countries of the Mediterranean region are the first point of contact for the EU,” explained Foreign Minister Anže Logar in Slovenia’s accession to the Mediterranean group EU Med (formerly Med 7). Croatia also joined the group.
“On Friday, Slovenia joined the group of Mediterranean countries and southern European EU members Med 7. According to Prime Minister Janez Janša, membership in this group is a good opportunity for Slovenia, which holds the presidency of the EU Council,” Rosvita Pesek, the host of the show, said in the show Odmevi on national television. In addition to Slovenia, Croatia also joined the group. The leaders of Greece, Cyprus, France, Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Croatia, and Slovenia wrote in a joint statement that they need to tackle the growing climate and environmental crisis more than ever and create a safe, prosperous, just and sustainable future for people.
“We are asking Foreign Minister Anže Logar what Slovenia can expect from membership in this union,” Pesek asked the Foreign Minister, whom she hosted in her studio via video link. At the beginning, she was interested in why Slovenia’s membership in the already mentioned group is so important and what Slovenia can expect from it. Logar: “This is a region that will play a very important role in the next decade, also for the reasons you stated in the previous announcement in the joint statement. It is a region that will face global change, where global warming will threaten life on the African continent, and it is the countries of the Mediterranean region that are the EU’s first point of contact.”
It is important that Slovenia has its own place at the table and in this way also asserts its interests. Pesek reminded that this connection has existed for eight years, and Slovenia has been striving for membership in this group for six years. “Why did we succeed only now?” Pesek was further interested. Logar explained that with the arrival of the current government, the Prime Minister and he himself, as Foreign Minister, had strongly devoted themselves to this strategic interest – to bring Slovenia into this group of Mediterranean countries, so diplomatic efforts were redoubled. At the same time, Prime Minister Janša managed to convince the persons concerned that the group of these countries had expanded.
“And with that, its voice in Brussels has significantly strengthened. This is also evidenced by the change of name, which turned from Med 7 into EU Med, which means the European alliance of Mediterranean countries, and in this way it is now possible to defend Slovenia’s position in this community as well as in the EU.” Pesek further touched on Slovenia’s new formal status within this association. She wondered if that also mattered. As Logar explained, it is about sitting at a common table and being present when looking for answers to the various challenges that the EU will face in the future, i.e. migration, the way the African continent develops through development aid and technology development, and at the same time, with our knowledge and experience, we help to participate in the development of this region.