Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance at the 15th Bled Strategic
Forum was higher than ever before. Two presidents,
seven prime ministers, six foreign ministers, a high representative of the EU
and many others discussed the future of the EU after the pandemic
and Brexit. The opening panel, attended by Prime Minister Janša,
the prime ministers of Hungary, Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Poland and Bulgaria and the president of Serbia in person,
and by the prime minister of Italy and director of the International
Monetary Fund through a video conference, focused on the future of Europe
after the COVID-19 pandemic and seeking solutions to overcome future crises.
In this respect, new EU Member States have shown more confidence
and even provide their own solutions.
Slovenia is open. As you know, it hosted the US Secretary of State
for the first time in more than two decades. In any case,
I can say that in the last five months we have put Slovenia's
foreign policy back on the diplomatic map.
The leaders stressed the importance of a joint
agreement on the creation of a €750 billion pandemic recovery fund,
approved by the EU summit in mid-July. In their discussion, the foreign ministers
emphasised that the crucial focus of the activities in the coming months
should be on the recovery of those economies
severely affected by the pandemic. Josep Borrell, High Representative
of the Union for Foreign Affairs, emphasised the importance
of the fund for the reconstruction of Europe
and the final approval of the fund as the key measure.
The key message is that we are all aware
that we are at the turning point where we have to decide
how the EU will work together in the next six months,
the next year as well as the next decade.
And it is successive crises, first the financial crisis and then
the health crisis, that have shown that the EU is not as prepared
for crises as it should be, which is why we need
a general, common agreement on how to simplify
individual procedures to let us breathe freely.
The forum also highlighted digitalisation, especially as
the driver of economic recovery.
I come from the IT sector and am very happy that
our Government decided to make digitalisation and
cybersecurity one of its tasks, also in framework of the
presidency of the Council of the EU .
Without digitalisation, we will not get very far,
as far as COVID and other issues are concerned.
The coronavirus crisis has once again highlighted
the importance of digitalisation, and this process will also be crucial
in the recovery of the economy after the crisis. The development
of digital tools also increases the need for cooperation,
which must be based on trust.
We were able to continue working because Telekom’s operators
did their job well, because the infrastructure functioned properly.
We were able to get food by ordering it digitally,
so digitalisation should not be just a side topic in relation to
the basic strategy. They are now one and the same thing, so it is
fantastic that digitalisation is the topic at such an important event.
The panellists agreed that the coronavirus crisis
greatly accelerated digitalisation. Some have managed to make
the same progress in a matter of months that would otherwise have taken years.
A number of measures have been taken over the years,
and one of the results is that it is now easier
to set up a business than ever before.
According to Marko Grobelnik, herald of digital technologies
from the Jožef Stefan Institute, crises propel progress.
Never waste a good crisis, he stressed, and also pointed out
numerous challenges brought by the development of artificial intelligence.