Remarks by President Charles Michel after his meeting with the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob

• European Council
• Statements and remarks
• 5 December 2022
• 17:00

Remarks by President Charles Michel after his meeting with the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob

Thank you, Prime Minister, my dear Robert,

I would first like to thank you for your extremely warm welcome. It was a great pleasure for me this morning to have the chance to discuss a number of topics with you, in detail and face-to-face - topics that you have already outlined and which are on our agenda. For my part, I would like to touch upon four points.

The first is the Western Balkans and our involvement here, with the summit that will take place tomorrow. This is highly symbolic, in that the summit is to be held in Tirana, at the heart of the Western Balkans. That demonstrates the great change that has come about in recent months in terms of the atmosphere, in terms of involvement, in terms of commitment.

Remember that in June, plain speaking and truth came to the fore at our summit in Brussels with the Western Balkans. Since then, we have managed to initiate processes with Albania and with North Macedonia. Since then, we have managed to draft a declaration that will be tabled tomorrow and which lays out our ambition to forge even closer ties between the Western Balkans and the European Union without waiting for the accession process to be finalised in full.

As has been pointed out, Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the agenda because in the coming weeks, first at ministerial level in Brussels on 13 December, then perhaps also at the European Council, depending on what the ministers decide, the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina's future will also be on the table. I thank the Prime Minister and his government for their ongoing involvement in informing the European Council about the importance of encouraging more integration within the Western Balkans and now building connections between the Western Balkans and the European Union in various dimensions, ranging from energy infrastructure to economic infrastructure. These are the areas that are essential to the European Union's future.

The second point that will feature on the agenda of discussions in Europe in the coming weeks and months is Russia's war against Ukraine, which will still require considerable action on our part. Full political, financial and military support for Ukraine. In the coming weeks we will continue to set out in detail how we will help Ukraine, particularly in the area of macro-financial assistance, and what action we will take during these tough weeks now that winter is upon us.

Russia has made the decision to indiscriminately attack infrastructure, not only in order to exploit energy and food as weapons of war, but also to weaponise the winter as a way of putting pressure on the people of Ukraine. We will be there to support Ukraine and strongly condemn Russia with an additional package of sanctions which is being prepared, as you know.

My third point is the twofold issue of energy and the economy. I believe this point is crucial because once again we are seeing the European Union put to the test. Is the European Union a political project capable of protecting our citizens, our families, and our companies, whether small, medium-sized or large? The current energy shock comes as energy is being instrumentalised as a weapon of war.

As the European Union, we have tools and means to act, to respond, to protect our citizens and to safeguard our economic model. A few weeks ago, in October, we had a very productive meeting of the European Council. The Heads of State or Government together defined a decision in principle on a package of measures to be brought into force in order to produce a positive effect in two areas: security of supply - ensuring that we secure our supplies for the weeks, months and years to come (in the short, medium and long term) - and an impact on prices. It is clear that speculation leading to dramatic increases in gas prices is having a major negative impact on our families and our businesses. The price of electricity is set by taking into account the price of gas - another factor which complicates the energy issue even further.

We will work hard by supporting the work of energy ministers, who will have to meet again in the coming days before the European Council. I hope that it will be possible, before the European Council, to implement at ministerial level the operational decisions drawn up by the Heads of State or Government at the October summit. The fourth point I would like to mention is linked to the issue of migration. We know that migration-related issues are always sensitive and tricky to tackle in political, democratic debates. And if we observe the reality - because we always have to look at the facts - we are once again witnessing strong growth in terms of movements and migration to the European Union, both through the Central Mediterranean route and via the Western Balkans.

We must therefore adopt a responsible and effective approach to that issue. One of the topics discussed with the Prime Minister this morning concerns the issue of aligning the visa procedures for persons travelling from the Western Balkans with European principles. We are making active efforts in that regard. Our diplomatic teams are in contact with authorities in the Western Balkans. This will certainly be among the items on tomorrow's agenda.

I am confident that rapid progress can be made in that area so as to enable us to implement one of the measures - not the only one of course - that can help us provide the best possible response to the issue of migration.

And that is not all. In our session this afternoon, we will have an opportunity to continue to discuss the various topics in detail with the teams on both sides, and to jointly prepare for the meetings that will take place over the next few months at European level to try to address the many challenges we are facing.

I would like to conclude by thanking you personally, Prime Minister - Robert - for your very close involvement in the dynamics of the discussions within the European Council. We have seen this in particular as regards the energy issue, in respect of which you have a very specific degree of expertise that makes itself clearly felt around the table. And it is obviously of added value to the European Union to have you among us at the European Council table, thanks to your constructive and positive approach, which is founded on a deep knowledge of and expertise in the subjects to which you refer. Thank you very much.

Press contacts

Barend Leyts Spokesperson for the European Council President +32 486 22 68 65 +32 2 281 5150 @BarendLeyts

If you are not a journalist, please send your request to the public information service.

×

Subscription options