Weekly Briefing, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Sl), June 2021
Vademecum to the Slovenian EU Presidency
Summary
Slovenia, which celebrated its 30th anniversary of independence on June 25, will assume the presidency of the European Union Council for the second time on July 1. For several reasons, the second presidency will not be as special as the first one thirteen years ago; circumstances have changed and expectations are lower. Government officials claimed that they approach it as a regular task that comes up every few years, and not just as an opportunity to establish the country on the international stage, which was the goal of the first presidency. Nevertheless, it seems that Slovenia wants to take advantage of the six-month exposure in terms of protocol and promotion and present at least some of its most important brands to the world public.
Priorities of the Slovenian Presidency
Slovenia has organised its six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union around four priority areas. Under the slogan “Together. Resilient. Europe.”, Slovenia will work for EU recovery and resilience, reflection on the future of Europe, strengthening the rule of law and European values, and security and stability in the European neighbourhood.
The large-scale emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affects all member states, which are unable to respond adequately on their own and require a joint response at EU level. Therefore, strengthening European Union’s resilience is a fundamental priority for Slovenia.
In order to strengthen the role of the EU and equip it with more effective tools to protect the health of European citizens, Slovenia will focus in particular on building the European Health Union during its presidency. It also intends to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy and increase its capacity to ensure the availability of medicines and medical devices and to accelerate their research, development and production. To this end, it will promote an ambitious proposal to establish a new Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority – HERA.
Building on the experience gained during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, it will seek to stimulate further reflection in all relevant areas of EU activity and ensure that the EU is better prepared to face the various challenges in the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic, where life and work have moved online, has also increased vulnerability to cyber-attacks. Therefore, strengthening European cyber resilience will be at the heart of Slovenia’s efforts. It will therefore develop mechanisms for better preparedness and a more coordinated response to possible large-scale cyber attacks.
At the same time, it will not forget the importance of sustained recovery in all areas of the economy and social life. Therefore, in order to mitigate the social and economic consequences, one of Slovenia’s key tasks will be the effective implementation of the Next Generation EU instrument and Recovery and Resilience Facility. It will work to use their implementation to accelerate the green and digital transition that will create jobs, increase the resilience of our societies and ensure a healthy environment.
The European Union commits to achieving the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. In line with this goal, Slovenia will strive to translate it into binding European legislation during its presidency.
The digital transformation that the EU was leading even before the pandemic has only accelerated this process. Digital technologies have become indispensable for work, business, learning, social contact and access to everything from health services to culture. As current legislation no longer meets the current challenges, progress needs to be made in regulating digital services and markets, which will see the EU set new standards in the use of digital platforms. In the next 6 months, Slovenia will strive to make Europe digitally sovereign and will address the ethical use and development of artificial intelligence, which, in the context of the availability of big data, offers itself as one of the key technologies of the future.
Protocol gifts in line with the strategic priorities of the presidency
In line with the described priorities of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU, the promotion will also take place. The selection reflects two themes: the fact that Slovenia is a European gastronomic region this year, and sustainability, which has been taken into account in the quantity and selection of gifts. The highest protocol gift for presidents, prime ministers and heads of EU institutions will be the facsimile of Zdravljica, a poem by the Slovenian poet Dr France Prešeren, written in the autumn of 1844, whose text had a European dimension even then and still does today. Because of its strong message, it was awarded the prestigious European Heritage Label on 31 March 2020 by the European Commission. The seventh stanza of the poem is the anthem of the Republic of Slovenia. The facsimile of the Zdravljica as a protocol gift builds on the first Slovenian Presidency. In 2008, Slovenia erected a monolith on the square in front of the Justus Lipsius Palace in Brussels, on which the first stanza of the Slovenian anthem “All Peoples Live” could be read in the official EU languages of the time. Facsimile of the Zdravljica has been translated into 24 official EU languages. The gift thus underlines the commitment of Slovenian Presidency to respect the values of European integration.
Slovenia will present high-ranking political representatives with scarves and ties. In addition to the scarf, the presidents will also receive an EQUA smart bottle, which will remind them to drink water regularly with light reminders and, in conjunction with the mobile app, that measures the amount of water they drink each day. The EQUA smart bottle is sustainable and replaces 217 disposable bottles annually.
In addition to the tie, the presidents will receive cufflinks with a panther motif. The gift is symbolically connected with this year’s celebration of the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s independence.
Gastronomic promotion of Slovenia during the presidency
Participants in the meetings will receive gastronomic packages consisting of authentic Slovenian gastronomic products and a book of Slovenian traditional recipes.
The gifts will include packages of Piran salt, pumpkin, honey, the Istrian truffle and traditional Slovenian potica, a special culinary treat
Despite its small size, Slovenia is an extremely diverse and fertile country, which is why many culinary specialties have been included in the selection of promotional gifts. The gift box with salt, salt with spice mix and chocolate with salt is a real “Slovenian classic”, which comes from Slovenian salt pans. In 2014, the European Commission approved the registration of Piran salt in the Register of Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications, which is the highest protection in the European system for the protection of agricultural products and foodstuffs. Piran salt is produced according to a confirmed traditional process using only traditional tools, following a tradition that is more than 700years old. The salt is not ground, it is light, not refined, its taste is complemented by the water trapped in the crystals and it has on average a richer mineral composition than other salts.
The production of pumpkins and pumpkin oil, which will also be included in the promotional gift packs, is typical of the flat part of Styria and Prekmurje in northeastern Slovenia, where the tradition of extracting pumpkin oil began in the 18th century. Styrian-Prekmurje pumpkin seed oil is one of the Slovenian and EU protected agricultural products and foodstuffs.
Slovenia was the initiator of the proclamation of May 20 as World Bee Day, and beekeeping has a long tradition in Slovenia. Slovenia is at the top in terms of the number of beekeepers per capita, and Slovenians are the only ones who have protected the autochthonous bee species – the Carniolan lavender, which means that bees of other breeds cannot be bred here. Honey will therefore be the focus of one of the packages too.
Along with the gift pack with Slovenian truffles and oil, Slovenian potica is undoubtedly one of the most important symbols of Slovenian gastronomy. Potica is a traditional and most famous Slovenian festive dish and dessert. It is often filled with walnut paste. According to tradition, rubbing walnuts also rubs away problems, while the shape of the cake symbolizes infinity and perfection. Potica has recently acquired the brand guaranteed traditional specialty.
Conclusions
In the program of the six-month presidency, Slovenia stressed the importance of rapid recovery in all areas of the economy and social life. An important priority for Slovenia will be the effective implementation of the instrument “Next Generation EU” and the program “Recovery and Resilience Facility”. This point of the program mentions the green and digital transition, which the state sees as a means of promoting job creation, the resilience of society and ensuring a healthy environment.
In addition to the commitments, the presidency of a member of the Union brings increased attention. The experience of 2008 was positive for Slovenia, after which the country’s visibility and reputation increased, and the economy also felt the multiplier effects. Slovenia will use the second presidency to further increase its visibility, especially its national brand I feel Slovenia. One of the main objectives of the promotional activities that will be carried out during the presidency is to give a positive message from Slovenia to Europe, highlighting Slovenia’s success stories and Slovenia’s contribution to the common EU goals. Special attention will be paid to presenting Slovenia as a sustainable country.