STA, 17 December 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša presented the results of Slovenia's six-month presidency of the EU Council after the summit in Brussels on Thursday. He noted it was the fourth presidency during the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing to the efforts to hold meetings in person, which contributed to successful closure of some difficult dossiers.
Janša, as is tradition, took part in a press conference together with the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, while also attending was French President Emanuel Macron, representing the next EU presiding country.
Council President Charles Michel thanked the Slovenian prime minister for the presidency and cooperation, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanked Janša for the excellent cooperation and highlighted the "great successes of the presidency".
Macron, too, thanked Janša for cooperation and for important achievements in the field of health, digital dossiers and social affairs, and for his constant availability.
???? @JJansaSDS: Slovensko predsedstvo je bilo četrto predsedstvo Svetu EU v času Covid-19. Kljub temu smo se trudili, da je bila večina srečanj izvedenih fizično, kar je pripomoglo k temu, da smo uspešno zaključili dosjeje, ki so prej nekaj časa čakali na to priložnost. pic.twitter.com/2TNEE1lw3E
— Vlada Republike Slovenije (@vladaRS) December 17, 2021
Janša noted the overall cooperation and thanked all participants in the outgoing EU Council presiding trio of Portugal, Germany and Slovenia.
The Slovenian prime minister said that a total of 21 trialogues with the European Parliament had been successfully completed, including on some difficult issues, expressing the hope that another one could be concluded by the end of the presidency.
There have been some unforeseen events, with Janša noting the migration crisis on the border with Belarus, withdrawal of the allied forces from Afghanistan, growing energy prices and tensions over the build-up of Russian forces along the Ukrainian border.
As strengthening resilience was an important priority of the presidency, Janša noted that the member states had adopted resolutions in November that had established strong foundations for further strengthening the resilience of the EU.
He also highlighted the December resolutions on food security, and major steps made in healthcare and digitalisation.
Janša noted the agreement on digital markets and services and the trialogue on the enhanced role of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the amendments to the regulation of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Recovery was also an important priority, with 22 national recovery plans being approved during the Slovenian presidency, he said, expressing the expectation that the remaining five, including those of Poland and Hungary, would be approved as soon as possible.
Janša also noted the agreement on mobile roaming, the joint position for the Glasgow climate conference, the Conference on the Future of Europe, agreement on the key features of the European Sports Mode and decisions on Croatia's Schengen accession.
There has been no breakthroughs in negotiations on the new migration pact during the Slovenian presidency, though, but Janša said that this had not been expected.
The presidency has hoped that progress would be made regarding the EU fingerprint database (EURODAC), with Janša noting that there were many dilemmas related to this, so this would probably be a tough issue for the French presidency to resolve.
There will apparently be no progress in the EU accession negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania during the Slovenian presidency, either.
Nevertheless, Janša noted the "important signal of the EU-Western Balkans summit" in Brdo pri Kranju in October regarding the membership prospects of the countries in the region and the importance of the enlargement resolutions adopted on Tuesday.
Janša gives Macron Elan skis as Slovenia hands presidency over to France
STA, 17 December 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša gifted on Thursday folding touring skis produced by Slovenia's Elan to French President Emanuel Macron as Slovenia symbolically handed over the EU Council presidency to France.
The Ibex Tactix Carbon Ion 12 skis is a "top technological innovation from Elan, a global manufacturer and supplier of sports equipment that is committed to advanced design through advanced technologies", the government said.
Macron was also presented with folding ski poles along with the skis, the government said on Twitter, attaching a photo of Janša and Macron chatting.
The two leaders met as the regular December EU summit was held in Brussels yesterday, the last during Slovenia's six-month presidency of the EU Council, with France taking over for its half-year stint in January.
