The ceremony was opened by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Marko Štucin, who gave a welcoming address, stressing that "In Slovenia, we have a strong commitment to sustainability as we seek to preserve the beautiful nature of our country for future generations. The choice of thematic priorities for the Slovenian EUSALP Presidency is, therefore, logical: the circular economy, the transition to a water-smart society and the quality of life for young people in the Alps”.

Slovenia will therefore work to steer its policies towards the transition to a green economy in the Alpine region by creating sustainable solutions for more efficient resource management, decarbonisation and the promotion of innovation. It will seek to strengthen the focus on the sustainable management of water resources and to engage young people in substantive debates in order to involve them in shaping the future of the Alpine region.

Addressing local and foreign guests gathered in Postojna, State Secretary Štucin underlined the importance of EUSALP: "Macro-regional cooperation makes it possible to find solutions that would otherwise be more difficult to achieve in more formalised structures. EU macro-regional strategies facilitate the implementation of key European and global policy initiatives in our territories and allow for faster coordination with regional and local initiatives". Therefore, the Slovenian Presidency will pay special attention to closer cooperation with the actors in the region, which will help find the right solutions to the current challenges in the region.

The audience was also addressed by Director of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) Sławomir Tokarski and by Member of the European Parliament Matjaž Nemec.

Slovenia holds the EUSALP Presidency from 1 January to 31 December 2024, under the leadership of the national coordination for EU macro-regional strategies at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. The final event of the Presidency, the EUSALP Annual Forum, will be held in Brdo pri Kranju on 14–15 November 2024. 

politiko (DG REGIO) Evropske komisije Sławomir Tokarski in poslanec v Evropskem parlamentu Matjaž Nemec.

Slovenija predseduje EUSALP od 1. januarja do 31. decembra 2024 pod vodstvom nacionalne koordinacije za EU makroregionalne strategije Ministrstva za zunanje in evropske zadeve Republike Slovenije. Zaključni dogodek predsedovanja bo Letni Forum EUSALP, ki bo potekal 14. in 15. novembra 2024 na Brdu pri Kranju.