📋 Tender Overview
Ministers and State Secretaries for European Affairs made preparations for the March European Council at the General Affairs Council meeting held on the day four years have passed since the Russian aggression against Ukraine. They exchanged views with the European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, McGrath, regarding the Center for Democratic Resilience, which was launched today.State Secretary Neva Grasic at a meeting of the Council for General Affairs Author: EU
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As part of the preparations for the European Council meeting, which will take place on March 19 and 20, State Secretary Grasic advocated for the unity of the EU, which must develop from a symbolic one to a strategic and operational one. She emphasized that the security of Ukraine and the EU are connected and assessed that EU enlargement must remain one of the key priorities. Slovenia supports a fast and efficient enlargement process with equal conditions for all candidate countries. On the sidelines of the session, the State Secretary also held a conversation in the office of the President of the European Commission on the topic of enlargement.
She also drew attention to the still disastrous situation in Gaza and expressed her concern about renewed tensions in the West Bank. Slovenia firmly rejects all actions that lead to the possible annexation of the West Bank - the expansion of illegal settlements threatens the chances of achieving a two-state solution.
State Secretary Grasic also emphasized the necessity of revitalizing the competitiveness of the EU and the single market, which must remain at the center of the European agenda. In light of the current geopolitical situation, it is crucial that the EU acts quickly, comprehensively and uniformly, especially in the advancement of the single market for services, solving high energy prices and accelerating the introduction and development of new technologies, she added.
Regarding the future multi-year financial framework, State Secretary Grasic supported the planned discussion on key open horizontal issues and the ambitious timeline of negotiations, with the goal of concluding the latter by the end of the year.
European Commissioner McGrath presented the initiative for a European Center for Democratic Resilience, one of the key proposals under the European Democracy Shield against Foreign Interference. State Secretary Grasic emphasized in the discussion, also in light of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Slovenia, that we support all initiatives included in the shield that could contribute to building the analytical capacities of member states and monitoring long-term trends and added that the center must build on existing instruments, which will contribute to strengthening joint efforts instead of duplication. Slovenia supports the idea of the center focusing on the exchange of information between EU member states and partner countries, and particularly welcomes the inclusion of candidate and potential candidate countries in this framework, the State Secretary emphasized.
