Minister Jože Novak at the Environment Council meeting on the urgency of action in the Mediterranean
Minister Jože Novak and Maša Kociper, State Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office
The development of tools for integrated coastal management and spatial planning at sea was highlighted, as was the implementation of the source-to-sea principle, which links the various programmes of regional conventions and thus reduces the burden on the marine ecosystem. Ministers were also invited to a special event that Slovenia, together with the Barcelona Convention Secretariat, France and Spain, is preparing for the Third United Nations Conference on the Ocean, to be held in Nice in June 2025.
The Mediterranean countries welcomed Slovenia's efforts to step up its activities in the Mediterranean and to promote global efforts for sustainable oceans. The European Commission stressed the importance of regional cooperation and underlined that the Barcelona Convention represents a great regional perspective, ambitiously pursuing the objectives of a healthy and sustainable Mediterranean.
On the margins of the Environment Council, Mr Novak also held a bilateral meeting with Marija Vučković, Minister of Environmental Protection and Green Transition of Croatia. The two officials discussed in particular joint projects on border watercourses and agreed to hold an operational meeting in Slovenia in the near future, at the invitation of Minister Novak.