PHOTO: Parliament of Austria. Austria’s President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka (left) meets Slovenian Speaker of Parliament Dejan Zidan (right) on the sidelines of the Salzburg Festival on August 18, 2019.
Slovenian Parliament Speaker Dejan Zidan paid a two-day official visit to Salzburg, Austria on August 18-19, 2019. He held working meetings with his Austrian counterpart Wolfgang Sobotka on August 18.
The two Speakers discussed the Western Balkans, the future of the EU, climate change and a possible joint project with historians from both countries examining the nations’ shared history.
Speaker Sobotka said that parliamentary relations between the two countries were boosted in 2019, with the two politicians meeting for the fourth time already this year. "In 2019, we have given new impetus to the parliamentary relations between Austria and Slovenia," said National Council President Sobotka. "This is a clear sign of the more intensive neighborhood dialogue that we have agreed for this year and next."
Speaker Sobotka also concerned with “using the dialogue also for a new look at the common history". According to Sobotka, the two countries should agree on chapters of their common past - chapters that connect the two countries and those that separate them. Under the patronage of the parliaments of both countries, a new attempt will be made to explore history together. For this purpose, historians from both countries will be invited. The two Speakers agreed to hold talks with the respective academies of science to promote the initiative. A first symposium is planned for next year.
"With Slovenia we are united by the support for the approach of the Western Balkans to the EU," said Wolfgang Sobotka. He also underscored that reform progress in the Western Balkan countries would have to be recognized: "this is a question of credibility; Austria would therefore continue its strong commitment to opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania by October.”
On the second day of their visit, Sobotka and Zidan visited the garden of the eco-pioneer Karl Ploberger in Seewalchen am Attersee, to use this example to explore possible cooperation between Austria and Slovenia in terms of climate protection at the grassroots level.
https://english.sta.si/2667990/speaker-wraps-up-visit-to-austria
https://science.apa.at/rubrik/kultur_und_gesellschaft/Oesterreich_und_Slowenien_starten_Dialog_ueber_gemeinsame_Geschichte/SCI_20190819_SCI39351351650104424
https://www.total-slovenia-news.com/news/4338-morning-headlines-for-slovenia
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
