Official opening of the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-regional Strategies Week 2019

Today's press conference announced the official opening of the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-regional Strategies Week 2019 and its programme.

The aim of the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-regional Strategies Week, this year held under the slogan SEA4FUTURE, is to raise awareness of the importance of the sea and coast for the quality of life in Adriatic-Ionian region with highlighting the personal attitude and associated responsible behaviour of each individual towards the environment.

"We are not reinventing the wheel, but moving forward and building on the existing knowledge," was a view on macro-regional processes presented by the Slovenian National Coordinator at Andreja Jerina from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs #SEA4FUTURE press conference with its main message of the EUSAIR Strategy: "All 8 EUSAIR participating countries are managing the Adriatic-Ionian sea together and on equal terms." She explained the important role of Slovenia in the implementation of the strategies: “This year, the event highlights cooperation within the Adriatic-Ionian Strategy. Its central themes will be also highlighted through the eyes of other existing macro-regional strategies. This is how we build synergies and partnerships for the future of Slovenia and the European Union. Which gives us a good start for the next year, when Slovenia will lead the presidency over the Adriatic-Ionian Strategy.”

This was followed by the official opening of the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-regional Strategies Week, attended by a number of speakers from both the local and national and European backgrounds. Slovenian high level representatives' opening remarks proved the accomplished Macro-regional break-through.

State Secretary at the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy dr. Nevenka Ribič stressed an excellent opportunity of the event for an open dialogue on how to address the shared challenges of our common sea more effectively: "With macro-regional cooperation, we are paving the way for our common future and a better tomorrow. In the past, our Office have been entrusted with a dual supportive role for the complex macro-regional processes, namely through the EUSAIR Facility Point strategic project and Facility Point Plus project. I am pleased to know that you have been able to form close connections and communication throughout the whole Adriatic-Ionian region. The support has already contributed to the process and representatives of all eight countries have agreed on quite a few project ideas, as well as unanimously proposed common future priorities. This proofs that, despite sometimes seemingly slow processes, the effort is not in vain and that confidence level is rising, both among institutions in Slovenia as well as throughout the whole region. I believe that the most effective solutions to the common challenges will find their place in key development documents in the region.”

State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning Mr Marko Maver confirmed: "Macro-regional Strategies are influencing the development of a new form of more responsible local, regional and natonal cooperation."