Prime Minister meets European commissioners and leaders of political groups in the European Parliament

SLOVENIA, February 5 - The working breakfast was attended by Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Cohesion and Reforms Raffaele Fitto, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius and the leaders of political groups in the European Parliament Iratxe García Pérez (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats) and Valérie Hayer (Renew Europe). Manfred Weber (European People's Party) sent his apologies for his absence.

The discussion focused on exchanging views on how, in a time of great change in the international community, joint efforts could be made to strengthen the competitiveness of the European Union, making it more effective, more cohesive and stronger.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Golob said that he believes in bringing together all constructive forces for the advancement of society. "We had an exceptionally lively discussion with the commissioners and the representatives of the European Parliament, particularly on Europe's strategic autonomy and the competitiveness of our economy as the foundation upon which strategic autonomy can be built," said Prime Minister Golob. He added that the debate was particularly interesting as it involved various commissioners from different portfolios and party affiliations.

"The debate was very informative in terms of where Europe needs to go, even if it may move too slowly on occasion. It was also an excellent introduction to next week's European Council meeting, which will focus precisely on concrete measures to improve the competitiveness of the European economy," the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister also noted that over the next two months there will be two elections in Europe that are of great interest to the EU, namely, those in Slovenia and Hungary, countries that are more closely connected, from a European standpoint, than is often assumed. "Janez Janša and Viktor Orbán are not only connected by what we already know, namely Hungarian money invested in the SDS party's media. They also share virtually identical views on European values, which is a cause for concern for many in Europe. That is why the focus is on both elections," said Prime Minister Golob.

As a result, there is a great deal of interest in the elections in Slovenia and, a month later, in Hungary. Prime Minister Golob said, "Interest in Slovenia is high because what is truly being defended here is not merely the current government and coalition, but, above all, true European values."