President Pahor discusses a uniform policy for addressing the refugee crisis with other European presidents

At the invitation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Joachim Gauck, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Borut Pahor, is attending a meeting with presidents of ten European countries in the German federal state of Thuringia. The President of Slovenia will devote the meeting especially to bilateral and multilateral talks about the present refugee crisis and call for prompt development of the joint policy towards this issue.

Meeting in Erfurt are the host and the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck, President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, President of the Republic of Austria, Heinz Fischer, President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, President of the Republic of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Väinämö Niinistö, President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, President of the Republic of Latvia, Raimonds Vçjonis, President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, President of the Portuguese Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, and President of the Republic of Malta, Maria-Louise Coleiro Preca.


Photo: Andrzej Hrechorowicz
In the framework of working meetings with presidents, President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, will exchange positions and views on the issues that are currently topical in their countries, in the European Union and around the world.

Prior to the official beginning of the presidents' meeting, President Pahor had a bilateral meeting with Polish president Andrzej Duda, which was their first after Duda took up the presidency of the Republic of Poland. The Presidents assessed the relations between Slovenia and Poland as being very good and friendly, without any open issues. They agreed that the relations between the two countries could be improved, also in the regional and EU framework. President Pahor mentioned especially the possibilities of strengthening economic cooperation and pointed out transport and logistics, where cooperation is rather modest, but which has great potential. Among other things, the two presidents pointed to tourism as an area offering ample opportunities for cooperation.

The two Presidents devoted a lot of attention to the current refugee crisis. President Pahor stressed that this is the greatest global challenge in contemporary history and the European Union’s greatest test so far. The scope of migration is such that it can only be addressed comprehensively; in President Pahor's opinion, it requires a partnership of all countries, especially those with common borders. He went on to emphasise that a prompt agreement at the EU level is necessary. President Pahor asked the President of Poland for understanding and cooperation in creating a uniform EU policy.

According to the President of Slovenia, facing the migrant wave in the European Union should not discourage us from addressing the problem where it occurred, as it is clear that the European Union member states, which are the final destination of migrants, will not be capable of absorbing such a number of migrants alone.

President Pahor also met with Austrian President Heinz Fischer; they concluded that the estimates about the refugee crisis that they had made at the European Forum Alpbach at the end of August had unfortunately proven correct. They expressed hope that the European Council meeting to be held on Wednesday would result in a common agreement or uniform policy for resolving this issue.

In the framework of discussion on the future of Europe and the historical influence of the Reformation on European thought and essential values, the presidents attempted to integrate the central topic of the Reformation thought into the current events, in the world of today, and stressed that we are witnessing an unusual parallelism of two phenomena: while religion is losing its political influence and importance in developed western democracies, some other parts of the world are encountering a growing religious fanaticism that pushes people to commit the worst kind of violence in the name of religion. Therefore the central focus of the Reformation thought has remained highly relevant, stressed Professor Thomas Kaufmann, as he recalled Martin Luther, whose 95 theses from 500 years ago underlined the need for human understanding, reflection, opinion forming and education in order to reach the mutual tolerance and respect that can lead people to accept different opinions. In the first part of discussion the Presidents focused on the issue of Europe’s cohesion, addressing the ethical context of the European Union, respect for fundamental rights, values and the rule of law.

Tomorrow, President Pahor will attend the second part of the meeting entitled "Education and Participation". The meeting will be followed by a joint statement of the presidents. In the afternoon, the President of Slovenia will meet the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.