The Slovenian Presidency put forward five priority areas:

1. the future of the Union and smooth entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty
   
   
2. the successful introduction of the new Lisbon Strategy cycle
   
   
3. a step forward in combating climate change and energy-related issues
   
   
4. new attention focused on the Western Balkans
   
   
5. promotion of dialogue between different cultures, beliefs and traditions in the scope of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

Programme of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU: Sinergy for Europe

Official site of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU EU2008.si

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE SLOVENIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICE FOR LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT AND REGIONAL POLICY DURING THE SLOVENIAN PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU

The activities of the Government Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy (GOSP) took place along the lines of the motto of the Slovenian Presidency – Si.nergy for Europe; the same principle also guided us in discussions on EU policy-making.

Even though Slovenia is a new member state it already has considerable experience in the field of cohesion policy. Wu thus attribute great importance to it and its smooth implementation. The principle of solidarity and the contribution of cohesion policy in strengthening the competitiveness of the EU as a whole surely make it one of the fundamental EU policies. It is our common duty to enable cohesion policy to prove itself with concrete results, which requires sufficient political attention as well as facilitation activities, for example the exchange of best practices and transfer of innovative solutions implemented in individual regions and cities.  

The challenges that cohesion policy currently faces in this framework are not so much legislative in nature, but rather refer to the issue of its structure and functioning. Our activities in the field of cohesion thus focused on three main areas:

1. the debate on the future of cohesion policy
   
   
2. the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy
   
   
3. the territorial dimension.

The ambition of the Slovenian Presidency regarding the future of cohesion policy was to take forward the debate launched by the Commission at the Fourth Cohesion Forum in September last year, continued at the informal ministerial meeting at the Azorean conference in November. The debate and findings thus far have mostly dealt with global issues of cohesion policy without going into the more specific issues at hand. It is the latter that is at the forefront of the Slovenian Presidency.

The Conference on the future of cohesion policy took place in April in Maribor, Slovenia, its main topic being the discussion on the principles of cohesion policy in terms of structure, scope and objectives as well as cohesion policy delivery modes. 

In terms of the territorial dimension, the Slovenian Presidency continued the work undertaken by its predecessors. In order to strengthen the decentralised modus operandi and contribute to a more structured discussion the annual stakeholder conference of local and regional authorities the Territorial Dialogue 2008 provided an overview of the inclusion of these authorities in the preparation of different steps in cohesion policy implementation, especially in the field of Lisbon strategy implementation.

An event on the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation, the instrument that will facilitate and promote cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation with the objective of strengthening social, economic and territorial cohesion, was also organised. Considering the fact that Member States and the local and regional authorities undertake different approaches to implementing the said instrument, the Presidency , together with the European Parliament, the Commission and the Committee of the Regions, organised a Conference on the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation with the objective of discussing the state of play of this new instrument and the steps to take for its effective enforcement.

The integration of third countries on the basis of the above-mentioned instrument may make a contribution to stability in the Western Balkans, the latter being of great importance for the security and prosperity of the Union. In the course of the Slovenian Presidency and in cooperation with the Committee of the Regions, a RELEX conference on national minorities in the Western Balkan Countries took place in the beginning of June. The conference highlighted the issue of the Western Balkans, which in fact constitutes one of the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

One of the important themes during the Slovenian Presidency was also the issue of youth, therefore, the Conference on the European Social Fund was organised which mainly focused on the question of how the fund can most effectively contribute to permanent and efficient addressing of the issues the young face nowadays, namely the transition from the level of education to labour market, raising the level of education and qualification of youth, lowering the level of early school leavers and the social inclusion of youth.

During the Slovenian Presidency the Bureau of the Committee of the Regions, a meeting of the representatives of regional and local authorities from the entire Europe, also took place. The meeting saw the adoption of political priorities and the work programme for the following mandate 2008-2010; the adoption of the resolution on the inclusion of regional and local authorities into the national programmes for the Lisbon strategy implementation and the individual substantial items in the framework of the Committee of the Regions’ routine work.

At the end of June 2008 a Meeting of the Committee of the Regions Commission for Territorial Cohesion COTER took place including a seminar in its framework. The Meeting and the Seminar was attended by the representatives of the EU institutions and other organisations – and also the representatives of civil society and local authorities from the Western Balkan countries. Both the Meeting and the Seminar represented an opportunity to discuss territorial cohesion and especially to present suggestions on how territorial cooperation can contribute to achieving a stronger territorial cohesion. The objective of the event was, among others, to try to comprehend all the dimensions of territorial cohesion and territorial cooperation in the enlarged EU. 

In the document Mission Statement (Cohesion Policy under Slovene Presidency)  the following are specified: the key themes of cohesion policy during the Slovenian Presidency, the concept of solidarity and the principle of subsidiarity, the vision of Europe without borders, the planned events in the framework of GOSP and, last but not least, who is who in the GOSP Slovenian Presidency project group.

In cooperation with the Committee of the Regions, Government Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy prepared a brochure The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Committee of the Regions.

During the Slovenian Presidency the Government Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy worked closely with the EU consulting body, namely the COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS.