President Pahor with German President Gauck and Chancellor Merkel in Berlin

The President of the Republic of Slovenia is on a two-day visit to Berlin, where he met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck.

President Pahor and the German Chancellor had a long and very constructive discussion on the future of the European Union and multilateral topics regarding security and political issues.


Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA

President Gauck received President Pahor at Bellevue Palace. The presidents spoke about the current challenges in the international community, particularly in the European Union and resolving crises in its neighbourhood. They agreed that those who believe in the European Union must now stand together and make an effort for its further development. In this context, President Pahor introduced to his German counterpart the Ljubljana Initiative for a change in the institutional framework of the European Union.

President Gauck was interested in the political situation in Slovenia and he again emphasised that Slovenia and Germany were on friendly terms with excellent economic, scientific and cultural cooperation and the potential to further upgrade their relations. The presidents exchanged their positions also on the situation in the neighbouring region of the Western Balkans and they agreed that the region deserved more attention from the EU. The German President inquired about President Pahor’s assessment of the impact of the new situation in the world on the political development of events.


Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA

In a special statement for the Slovenian media, President Gauck highlighted friendly relations between the states and assessed that the visit by the Slovenian President, which was the last visit to Berlin by any statesman before he completed his term as president, signified an additional, ‘new confirmation’ of the excellent relations. He added that he and President Pahor had also discussed the conditions in Europe and said, “It is good to have friends with whom you agree on important issues.”

In the statement after both meetings, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, said that discussions with Germany were of major significance for Slovenia. “Not only because Germany is by far our most important economic partner but also because it is an important and very influential European country, which is currently dealing with many European issues and also solutions,” he explained. Slovenia wished to participate in the discussion and resolution of those problems as much as possible since they were not only German or European, but they were our problems, stressed the President.

President Pahor ended the first day of his visit by attending a reception at the embassy in Berlin, commemorating the Slovenian Culture Day. In the company of Slovenians who live in Berlin, he visited the exhibition of photographs about the 25 years of Slovenia’s independence. The author of the photographs was Arne Hodalič.

Tomorrow, the Slovenian President will meet the journalists and editors of the main German media, and in the evening, he will attend the opening of Berlinale, one of the most important international film festivals, as a special guest at the invitation of President Gauck.
Slovenian