At the meeting, Minister Logar presented the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency in the second half of this year. He also stressed the importance of strengthening the Union’s resilience to crises such as pandemics and pointed out the need to enhance security, including measures to defend against cyberattacks. Economic and social renewal of the European Union through green and digital transformation will also be a priority. He felt that the Union should be a reliable partner to the countries in the neighbourhood and went on to stress the importance of strengthening transatlantic relations.

The ministers exchanged information on measures to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite restrictions on non-essential travel, the free movement of goods and services must continue to be ensured within the Single Market. A priority in the coming weeks and months must be to speed up the production and distribution of vaccines, including the vaccination itself. The ministers also discussed the future of transatlantic relations under the new US administration and later focused on relations with China. They shared the view that EU-US cooperation is necessary to ensure the stability of the rules-based international order, which is particularly important for small countries.

As regards EU-China relations, the ministers agreed that member states should strive to establish successful cooperation despite certain differences between the two sides, which must be managed in a constructive manner. As to future EU-UK relations, there was consensus that the next challenge is the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. It is in the Union’s best interest to ensure that it is as smooth as possible.

The ministers also discussed economic cooperation between countries and in the region.