Statement by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor

"Trust and Responsibility".

Five years have passed since Slovenia became a full member of the European Union. As is the custom on such anniversaries, this one, too, is a great opportunity to reflect on the journey so far, to contemplate the present and make plans for the future. Slovenia’s accession to the esteemed union of European countries was a result of years of work by the Slovenian politicians, civil society, many intellectuals and numerous social groups and institutions. That spring of 2004, with the final preparations coming to an end, there was belief that we need Europe to develop further. It was this very belief that, day by day, fuelled a broad consensus, so that we could take a determined step towards our European future.

Consensus and conviction were behind all our future successes. We presided over the Council of the European Union, joined the Schengen area, and adopted the European currency and the Lisbon Strategy. As an active member of a number of European institutions, and through the work of our MEPs in the European Parliament, we continue to demonstrate that we are an important member of the European family.

For five years, Europe has been part of our everyday lives, and this is why we see it in so many different ways. If we only pursue short-term, individual goals and aim for quick success, we are soon disappointed. But when we learn about its mission and recognise our role in it, we begin to discover the long-term advantages. The conviction that we are building Europe together, step by step, must become the cornerstone of Slovenian and European identities.

Europe is largely preoccupied with debates about the financial and economic crisis – in economic, banking, social and even ethical contexts. Although we now live in different times, we are again standing at the very same crossroads, as did the generation of Europeans immediately after the Second World War. We must prevent the unease that is spreading across Europe because of this crisis from becoming a reason for closing our national borders. This is why today, perhaps more than ever before, we need to raise the cry ‘For Europe!’. We leaders of the EU-27 thus face the difficult task of having to take responsibility for measures that will strengthen our economies and thus rebuild the trust in European integration; with people at the forefront of our endeavours. Trust and responsibility, then!

Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia

Borut Pahor