In his statement to the press after his arrival at today’s meeting, Prime Minister Janša said that yesterday’s discussion on Belarus showed that the EU stood firmly by its values. "The fact that we put human rights and the political freedom of the individual, the human being, at the forefront is the right response to what has happened," said the Prime Minister, who continued that all their efforts to bring about change for the better in Belarus and to "ensure that similar acts of terrorism or acts of domestic terrorism, such as the hijacking of a European plane in Belarusian airspace, will not happen again", are concentrated in the personal freedom and human rights of Roman Protasevich.

"All our activities have to focus on the protection of human rights and the political freedom of individuals, as human rights and political freedom are about the individual and their rights and not about the rights and freedom of the institutions," stressed the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Janša also said that he was pleased that yesterday’s discussion on EU–Russia relations had been very frank for the first time in years. "While differences emerged, it has been clearly stated in the search for a strategic response that the EU’s key strategic response to these challenges is enlargement," said the Prime Minister, who continued that this meant the enlargement of the EU, the enlargement of the single market, and the enlargement of a space with high standards of protection of human rights and democracy. "Today, I expect that we will spur on the Commission and other institutions in their joint European efforts for an end to the epidemic and for a swift and efficient recovery without bureaucratic obstacles and that the national recovery plans will be approved by the Commission as soon as possible, with the resources for their implementation also promptly available," concluded the Prime Minister.