Slovenia to help prepare Balkan states for EU membership

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Bozur Membrum Posts: 150 (9/21/04 6:14 pm) Reply	Slovenia to help prepare Balkan states for EU membership Slovenia to help prepare Balkan states for EU membership 18 September 2004 Slovenia, the only former Yugoslav state that is a member of the European Union, has announced it will help other Balkan countries prepare for EU accession. "Slovenia knows and understands the situation in Western Balkans. We share a common past with this region, had the same legal system... and we face smaller cultural and language barriers," Slovenia's EU minister Milan M.Cvikl said. He was speaking on Friday during a Ministerial Conference on EU Integration Support in Brdo Pri Kranju, just north of capital Ljubljana, at which Slovenia announced the creation of a special centre dedicated to the task. The conference, attended by representatives from EU accession candidate states as well as from those that are still waiting to start negotiations, agreed the centre should provide the know-how and training needed for negotiating and preparing for EU membership. "While the European Commission's assistance often goes through long-term programs, we will try to provide short-term programs through the exchange of concrete experiences, chances for practice, short-term visits," Cvikl told AFP at the end of the conference. Slovenia, the first former Yugoslav state to join the EU last May, shares a border with Croatia, another former Yugoslav state that has been given the go-ahead to start accession negotiations. Besides speaking a similar Slavic language and sharing over 70 years of common history within the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia currently has strong economic relations with its former fellow-republics Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Macedonia. Cvikl explained the Center for EU Integration Support, founded with a one million euro contribution by Slovenia, does not aim to replace any of the European Commission's enlargement activities but rather a complimentary institution. "Through this political process we promote the need for further EU enlargement as a way to grant long-term economic stability in the south-east of Europe," Cvikl said, adding that Brussels has welcomed the initiative. Dutch ambassador to Ljubljana Jan C. Henneman said "Slovenia has found a niche by choosing to play an active roll in the southeast of Europe." The conference was attended by representatives from 30 states, including EU members, EU accession candidates (Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia) and other hoping to join such as Albania, Turkey, Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia. "The countries from the region are in different stages of EU accession, which means that we have specific needs," Croatia's European Integration Minister Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic warned and added Croatia itself would like to be an example of successful accession to other states from the region. Text and Picture Copyright © 2004 AFP.
Unknown (6/14/05 8:58 pm) Reply	Unknown (This post is missing and can not be restored)
Unknown (6/14/05 8:58 pm) Reply	Unknown (This post is missing and can not be restored)
MacedonianStriker Registered User Posts: 40 (12/3/05 7:35 pm) Reply	Re: Unknown Slovenia is helping Macedonia and i respect that. Good neighbourly relations are a win win situation, and bulgaria/serbia/greece need to learn that. If you may recall, albania is having an energy crisis right now because of droughts, and Macedonia offered help by sending electricity through our hydroelectric and natural gas power plants. This is a sign of good neighbourly relations, and it should be a model for other balkan countries. Slovenia is helping Macedonia with trade, and also with lobbying in the EU. This is good for Slovenia, because she gets more money from trade with us, and yet she makes Macedonia a closer friend because of the help

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