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Good afternoon, everyone.

Today we are hosting the President of the European Council here in Slovenia. I would like to welcome him. It's not his first time.

The last time the weather was much worse, wasn't it? This nice weather. It also illustrates in a way. How our discussions went?

Thank you, of course, we discussed the 7 year financial perspective of the EU.

We are at a very decisive moment when it comes to the negotiations and preparation of an agreement.

As far as I am concerned, this is the 4th time.

That I'm negotiating on behalf of Slovenia and I'm trying to help. So that an agreement can be reached.

And every time these negotiations are taking place, there is a different situation.

After Slovenia first became an EU member and negotiated for its share,

that was a golden age of the EU full of optimism.

The net contributors to the EU budget were quite generous at the time.

Fully So that was an era that we thought would go on and last forever for the entire life of the EU,

but then the economic crisis hit and we were happy that there was no agreement at all.

Then there was the COVID period we negotiated for 4 days and 4 nights,

looking for solutions within the 7 year financial framework that is now coming to.

An end, so we had to respond to the crisis and now again we are in a situation.

Where challenges have changed, certain priorities have intensified, become clearer, and, as far as we are concerned,

it is quite clear that the key priorities or the key challenges.

That the EU member states, including Slovenia, must respond with the seven year plan as well,

food security, energy security, cyber security, defense as well.

I Although I have to say that at the moment, this latter challenge can only be met working with because most Members are also NATO members,

so they can only be met within the NATO alliance.

These 3 or 4 priorities must also be reflected to a great extent in the MFF.

It's quite clear that competitiveness, innovation, industrial transformation are also our priorities, because without new value, if there is no money,

then there will not be enough resources for the 1st 3 or 4 priorities I have mentioned.

The bottom line is That we must secure security and the conditions for a normal development,

that is the role of the budget.

Now, as for the instruments that are usually at the forefront when trying to achieve an agreement about the 7 year plan,

including cohesion, innovation, these are important this time as well.

Speaking about cohesion, it is an instrument helping less developed Member States to catch their breath.

It is also an instrument that helps build unity within the EU.

And it is also very important to tap the potential that we have, because if you have big differences in the level of development among Member States,

then it's quite clear that you are not able to fully tap the potential of the EU.

Based on our discussion, the deliberations that we had today,

it is quite clear that enlargement of the EU is one of the strategic priorities.

It is also addressed in the framework of the MFF.

So we are speaking firstly about the strategic response to the changing geopolitical situation, and I'm speaking about the Ukraine war and so on, and secondly,

It is also about completing the fundamental goal on which the EU was built,

and that is that the entire European continent should live in peace and be united.

So we are talking about fulfilling the fundamental mission of the EU.

So these are the priorities of both Slovenia and the EU. Slovenia is part of the EU. Is this For us, both matters.

It is very important that in this 7 year plan,

the interests of Slovenia, when it comes to cohesion policy, CAP, innovation.

Be present and be taken into account in a fair way,

and we all know that all Member States are striving to achieve that. Equally important or even more important.

The overall MFF, the 7 year financial plan, should be such as to respond to these challenges and to take into account the priorities, because if these priorities are not addressed,

then the net position of any individual Member State can be ideal,

but nothing will happen if We don't take care of the issues that can be better addressed together or addressed together at all.

With enough resources, nothing will happen, and this is something that has to be taken into account.

So this is our experience, this is what we can say,

speaking from experience as a government and also based on the negotiations taking place in the past.

This is something that also has to be explained to the public at large across the EU.

The last negotiating framework that we have from the time of the Cyprus Presidency.

It is much better for Slovenia than was the initial document proposal from the European Commission,

and now, on this basis, we are trying to achieve consensus.

We are still waiting for the Irish Presidency and then, under the Guidance Of the President of the European Council, we expect that an agreement on own resources will be achieved in October,

bearing in mind the different interests and different circumstances of the Member States will have to strike a compromise,

find enough money to repay the liabilities assumed in the past, and then to focus in November. At an extraordinary European Council on other. Pending issues.

Speaking from experience, I would say that given The negotiations went quite well,

we are quite optimistic and we expect that an agreement can indeed be achieved by the end of the year and that this will be a nice Christmas gift for the Europeans. Thank you, President of the European Council. Thank you, Mr.

Costa, for the efforts that you have invested.

Slovenia is the 2nd Member State that he is visiting today. Yesterday he visited 3.

This is the only way we can in fact strike an agreement that,

at the end of the day, will bring a consensus, something that is acceptable to Olof us.

On the other hand, The budget must make sure that all priorities can be funded,

that are important for all Member States and the EU as a whole. Thank you very much.

Prime Minister Diane James, first of all,

thank you for welcoming me here in Ljubljana as I conclude the 2nd week of my round of visits of European leaders in their Member States.

Hearing your views directly is truly useful to properly prepare the upcoming meetings of the European Council.

The European Union is a union of nations,

and our unity can only be built by respecting and bringing together the national positions and interests of all 27 member states.

Our unity will be key to delivering on one of the most important tasks that lie ahead for us in the next months,

the agreement on our next European budget covering the period 2028-2034.

We are operating in a fundamentally different geopolitical environment from the one we faced when we approved the current budget in 2020.

This new reality calls for a new approach to our budget.

With a new structure and a new way of allocating our resources completely different to the previous ones.

Our next budget must deliver on the shared priority set by the European Council competitiveness,

defense, security and resilience, and we must.

To do this while preserving our agriculture and cohesion policies which have proven to be essential to the prosperity and the balanced development of every European region. We don't have time to lose.

We must reach an agreement on our long term budget by the end of this year. Postponing would lead to interruption in funding.

It could result in farmers waiting for payments, businesses without contracts,

students without grants, or laboratories without the means to work. So our timeline is clear. Agree in 2026. Legislate and prepare in 2027. Deliver the funding. Since 1 January 2028.

Ljubljena brings me close to the halfway point of this year's round of visits in the capitals,

and I can tell you that I am encouraged by leaders' commitment to reaching an agreement by the end of this year. One last important element to this discussion.

Like national budgets,

the European budget must deliver on its priorities within the limits of finite resources.

Most of it is financed through Member States' national contributions,

which we need to keep within reasonable limits.

That is why new own resources,

new revenue streams at European level will also be a crucial element of the overall package.

They will help reduce national contributions while supporting ambitious investment.

Moving to other topics that we address also during our talks today. Today we also discuss.

Enlargement This year,

the enlargement process has moved forward decisively and demonstrated real momentum. Reforms by candidates are paying off.

We have begun drafting Montenegro's accession treaty,

and Albania has opened the next phase of its accession process.

I want to thank and commend Slovenia for its steadfast and coherent support for enlargement.

Not just in the Western Balkans, but also to Moldova and Ukraine.

Because supporting these countries on their path towards membership of the European Union is an investment in Europe's security and prosperity,

and we need to continue working with the candidates through a merit based process.

The geopolitical developments in recent years have shown us think clearly.

Europe needs to accelerate its path towards greater strategic autonomy,

and we are doing it.

The most important condition for greater European autonomy is our own unity,

and that was the main purpose of today's meeting with the Prime Minister and of the talks I will have with the European leaders in the next weeks to foster unity. Jane, thank you for your openness today.

I look forward to continuing our work together at the next European Council meetings. As one of the most senior.

Member of the Council, it is a huge responsibility for you,

and you count with your wisdom and your experience to help us to move forward in our European unity. Thank you very much.

We still have time for a brief question. Erik Müller, National Radio Radio TV.

Prime Minister, you are quite optimistic about the agreement,

but it seems that the differences are still quite big, which are the red lines for Slovenia?

That Slovenia is not willing to cross when it comes to expenditure,

and also when it comes to new own resources. There are 8 on the table.

Do you expect an agreement in October,

which ones are acceptable for Slovenia in terms of taxes and other own resources?

Thank you Costa, there is a lot of concern in Slovenia as to whether research institutions and businesses from small Member States will have equal access,

practically speaking, when it comes to the European Competitiveness funds, and not just on paper. Have you addressed this question?

Have you found a safeguard that will guarantee fair play for small countries as well? Mr.

As regards expenditure, the budget and the contributions, like I said before.

I mentioned that maybe jokingly before, but the total. Budget, if you take the net contributions.

From individual Member States,

it's difficult to say who is the net contributor and who is the net user because there are also the internal market effect.

So I remember with the last negotiation 2020, this debate was much more balanced and quite different, but Like I said before,

as long as the negotiations are underway,

I know that the journalists have been writing a lot about the total volume and all the billions.

The magic threshold used to be EUR 1 billion, now we are beyond that,

but then, once the agreement is achieved,

I don't remember any country, any Member State.

Negotiated to have as low contributions as possible,

I don't remember anybody saying that the budget is too small.

Once the agreement is found, everybody is saying that the budget,

the European budget is too small, so I would say more than figures.

And the calculations from the past, thank God this is no longer the case.

We used to calculate what is the net position of an individual country, so instead of that, I think we should ask to what extent the key priorities are represented and taken into account in the budget,

because if they are, then the taxpayers in individual member countries will know where their money goes.

And I think that the share of the GDP that we are merging at the EU level,

compared to the share of GDP that we are collecting as taxes and levies for the national budget,

I would say that the EU share is still relatively low. You mentioned the red line.

When it comes to attempts to strike an agreement about an instrument that is unique on the whole planet.

I'm speaking about this 7 year financial perspective of the EU.

It's a unique instrument and it's about negotiations, and you know that every Member State will fight to have a fair allocation, a just, a balanced allocation,

and on the other hand,

we all have to Bear in mind that there are certain things that cannot be allocated to individual countries,

for example, security.

How are we going to allocate security to a single country, but we all know that it is in our interest to live in peace,

so it's difficult to say, well, this is the red line and we are not going to retreat.

From my experience, I can say that in the final stage of negotiations, frequently innovative solutions appear, and Olof a sudden what used to be a red line is no longer a red line,

because there may be a new proposal,

there may be proposals that put individual Member States in a different position,

better or worse. If I just mention the customs duties.

It's not in the interest of Slovenia for this percentage collected by Slovenia to be reduced. We are in a slightly different situation.

We have a port and port also involves quite a lot of administrative burden,

so we are in a different position as somebody else who doesn't have the door leading to the European customs space.

So it's quite clear what are the things that are in our interest,

but Slovenia is not drawing any red lines, because I think we have to be flexible. When I compare.

My talks this year with the Mood 7 years ago.

The fact is nobody is drawing red lines.

Everybody is aware of the challenges that we are facing.

We are not talking only about cohesion and agriculture,

but everybody understands that we need to preserve cohesion and agriculture.

But we have new challenges on security, on defense, on competitiveness.

And of course we need to have A budget fit for for for this purpose to deliver in Olof these different directions.

And to boost our competitiveness, we need to support excellence.

This is the basis to mobilize it and to boost competitiveness,

but when you talk about excellence, we cannot talk about 23 or 4 countries.

We need to talk about the 27 member states.

Look, it is not difficult to imagine how it works.

When we look for the car industry, for instance, we have basically a car industry in Germany,

in France, in Italy, but if you look for What we call a German car.

Last part of the spa parts are produced in countries like Slovenia or Portugal or everywhere. Then we need to integrate. And create real European supply chains. We need to promote consortiums.

We need to promote research networks in order to Mobilize all the European talent to boost our competitiveness. Sometimes some people talk about European champions.

I like the idea of the European champions, but they must be European. And even the look.

Last year, the European champion was Paris Saint-Germain.

But even Paris Saint-Germain cannot only play with French players.

They need players for the other countries,

and we need to look for the example of Paris Saint-Germain and to see how we can create real European champions.

The teams need to be open for all the other 27 nationalities.

This is the only because we need to mobilize the best talent in all Europe.

Thank you, unfortunately, we are running out of time for any additional questions.

I think they were comprehensive enough. Thank you very much, both Presidents. Thank you, thank you.