The meeting and dinner focused on security and stability in the 14-country Danube Region and on the EU enlargement process. During the discussion at the meeting of Danube Foreign Ministers, which took place in the framework of the 13th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), State Secretary Štucin underlined that in the new geopolitical context following Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the debate on EU enlargement has gained renewed relevance.

Recalling the importance of a secure, stable and integrated Western Balkan region, State Secretary Štucin welcomed the opening of the negotiation process with Ukraine and Moldova and the encouragement of Georgia's further steps towards the European Union. He also commended the convening of an Intergovernmental Conference with Ukraine and Moldova to open accession negotiations and of the EU-Montenegro Intergovernmental Conference to take place in Brussels on 26 June. "The enlargement process must be accelerated as it is of strategic importance for both EU Member States and candidate countries. Cooperation among candidate countries and the transfer of knowledge and best practices need to be improved, and cooperation in the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region can contribute significantly to this end," he told the meeting in the Austrian capital.

The State Secretary also referred to the Slovenian-German initiative to make the enlargement process more effective, which provides for the use of qualified majority voting for certain intermediate technical steps in the area of enlargement related to decisions on the opening of negotiating chapters.