The April session of the Core Working Group for the EU Presidency, headed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, was devoted to material on the preparations for the Slovenia's EU presidency in the first half of 2008.

 

(Photo: Office of the Prime Minister)

 

The main focus of the meeting was on reviewing the contents of more burdensome issues, which in accordance with the inherited agenda, will influence the final selection of priorities of the Slovenian presidency. On the basis of in-depth discussions a preliminary draft of the six-month presidency will be drawn up by autumn. As planned, the final proposal will be approved by the government at a November session, while the priorities will be presented to the European public at the January session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg by the Prime Minister.

 

The participants discussed and approved an updated calendar of events during the Slovenian presidency which, in accordance with the EU practice, has to be forwarded to the General Secretariat of the Council seven months before the beginning of the presidency, that is by 1 June this year.

 

The working group also looked at the substantive and organisational issues related to declaring 2008 the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. To that end, the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the European Commission and the European Parliament will draft a programme of the opening ceremony, which will coincide with the visit of the college of the European Commission to Slovenia at the beginning of January 2008.