STA, 17 September 2021 - Slovenia officially became a member of the club of Mediterranean EU countries henceforth known as EU Med, which has grown from seven to nine members with the inclusion of Slovenia and Croatia at a summit in Athens on Friday.
Prime Minister Janez Janša said after the meeting that it was a great honour for Slovenia to join the group, which was expanding at a crucial time during Slovenia's presidency of the EU. "This gives Slovenia a new opportunity for coordinating all open issues on the agenda."
Janša said a variety of important issues had been discussed affecting not just the Mediterranean member states but the entire EU, including major things that fit into the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe, including strategic autonomy, climate change, green transition, migrations, security, Covid-19, recovery and resilience.
"Slovenia is a Mediterranean country and in this Med context it will strive for realisation of presidency slogan Together. Resilient. Europe.," he said.
Slovenia has long lobbied to become a member and its formal application dates back to 2015. Janša's office said prior to the summit that Slovenia's inclusion was the result of its long-standing efforts to increase its presence in the Mediterranean area and forge closer links with Mediterranean countries.
Earlier this year, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said that participation in the group would benefit Slovenia and increase its political weight in talks with other EU member states.
