Slovenia and Germany have prepared a non-paper which will provide that in the pre-accession process there will be no possibility of veto and blockade due to bilateral issues with neighboring countries, announced the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia, Tanja Fajon.
"It is an initiative to speed up the entire enlargement process, i.e. the pre-accession accession process, so that we will not have too many opportunities to veto the blockade of neighbors due to bilateral issues and to use the possibility of qualified majority voting (QMV) multiple times in addition to the process itself," said Fajon in an interview with the MINA agency. .
When asked to comment on Croatia's non-paper sent to Montenegro, Fajon said that Slovenia's experience shows that bilateral issues should always be resolved in a good-neighborly spirit, and that this should be resolved before joining the EU.
"I hope that Montenegro and Croatia will have such good relations that they close the bilateral issues, and that these issues will not complicate the entire process of enlargement and approximation of Montenegro to the EU," said Fajon.
She also pointed out that Slovenia and Croatia had similar difficulties.
"Croatia was the last country to join the EU, now it needs to be a sincere partner to all the countries of the Western Balkans," said Fajon.
She said that Montenegro has made significant progress in recent years.
"Slovenia supports the closing of four chapters and I hope that next Monday will be a positive story and a positive message to Montenegro and its authorities," said Fajon.
She pointed out that it is positive that everyone, the Government, society, wants the European path and the reform agenda and that it is a common opinion.
"Slovenia supports the expansion to the Western Balkans and Montenegro is one of the countries that has good chances, good opportunities to perhaps take that step for EU membership during the mandate of this European Commission," Fajon believes.
She said that Montenegro closed the last chapter in 2017, and that if everything goes well, closing the four chapters expected by the end of the year will be the first significant step.
Fajon assessed that this will also be a message that Montenegro has a great ambition to close all chapters by the end of 2026.
"This is very important when we talk about expansion, because there is a geostrategic moment, we are all ready that Europe should be expanded, that it should be stronger by the end of this decade. I hope that these promises are not just promises when we talk, but that they become concrete with reforms," said Fajon.
Asked what she sees as the biggest challenges in the next two years, Fajon answered that it is the closing of all the chapters that are necessary in the enlargement process.
"Whenever the report of the European Commission is mentioned, we need a country that is attractive for foreign investments, so the rule of law, an independent judiciary, independent media, efficient public administration, the fight against corruption, the fight against organized crime," said Fajon.
She added that these are all things that every country that enters the EU should agree to do, that we have common goals.
"I am convinced, as someone who comes from Slovenia, that we need the Western Balkans," said Fajon.
She said that we are living in a time of great challenges, not only because of the war caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine, but also because of economic instability, migration, security and climate change issues.
"All these are things that we need to fight against together. No country can fight such challenges alone, and that's why I am convinced and believe that the Western Balkans will also become part of the EU, and I hope that Montenegro will be that which makes a good model", said Fajon.
When asked how much the events in France, the strengthening of the right, can influence the climate change in Brussels when it comes to enlargement, Fajon stated that her recommendation is "let's deal with ourselves".
"If we are honest, reforms should be made to improve life. So, I think we are very aware that we need a united, strong and expanded Europe," said Fajon.
Speaking about the other countries of the Western Balkans, Fajon pointed out that Slovenia is the frontrunner for supporting the expansion to the region.
"This is our neighborhood, these are countries that have always been part of Europe in the past and will always be part of Europe. That is why we offer support to everyone in the reform process. It is important for us that all countries work to become members of the EU one day," said Fajon.
According to her, the faster a country meets the conditions, the faster it will enter the EU.
"My opinion is individual for each country. The reforms themselves and that the very opening and closing of negotiations is not so much a technical but rather a political process," said Fajon.
She believes that the opening of the Center for Cyber Capacities of the Western Balkans is historic for Montenegro, Slovenia and France.
"We have experts, we have potential and we need to work together in the entire region of the Western Balkans," said Fajon.
As she stated, they are proud in Slovenia because they are part of that story.
Speaking about the awareness of the danger of cyber attacks, Fajon recalled the experience of Montenegro from a few years ago, when it was exposed to a large cyber attack.
"I know that then they took the first, really concrete actions and measures to combat cyber attacks. We do the same in Slovenia," added Fajon.
As she said, when the country enters European and Euro-Atlantic integration, it may become a target of similar attacks.
Fajon assessed that there is too little awareness of the danger of cyber attacks.
"That's why actions like this, joint cooperation, are very necessary," concluded Fajon.
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