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Summit excursion to Borrell and Janša, for fun, photos… and politics (v2)

(B2) While in the valley, the controversy swells between the European Commission and the Slovenian EU Presidency, the Slovenian Prime Minister, Janez Janša, took the High Representative of the EU, Josep Borrell hiking in the Slovenian mountains

J. Borrell, U. Bacovnik (J. Janša's wife) and J. Janša (credit: Janša Twitter account)

Mountain hiking

Josep Borrell during the climb in the rocky passages (credit: twitter Janša)

Objective: the Kredarica plateau and the Triglavski refuge in the Triglav natural park. The top has a special importance for the country, it is a symbol of independence (1). The climb is quite demanding, on a landscaped and marked path, with scree, via Ferrata type, rated T2 to T4 in the topos mountain (depending on where you are starting from). The Slovenian Prime Minister loves these mountain hikes. The whole thing was documented by numerous photos posted by the Slovenian's twitter account. A habit. Last September, he invited his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz to come and trek in the mountains, as told by the Slovenian news site siol.net. Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU, also loves spending time in the mountains. And mixing politics and nature is not displeasing to him; He went on a hike last year with Serbian President Aleksander Vučić in Serbia.

A very political discussion

The meeting between the two men, one socialist, the other past in the conservative ranks was apparently sympathetic according to the images broadcast by the Slovenian. And it may seem surprising. But it has several very real foundations. The two men have a rich political past and can say certain things to each other.

Several topics of conversation

The Vice-President of the European Commission was there, certainly to send a message, to coax Janez Janša a little during the time of the Slovenian presidency. And there were also a number of diplomatic subjects to discuss, starting with the Balkans. The head of European diplomacy also wants to avoid any parallel policy of Ljubljana in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, of the initiative type aimed at redrawing the borders of the region. The meeting was however already planned in advance, since last September during their meeting at the Bled Strategic Forum, according to our information. Generally, " informal occasions such as sporting events or hikes provide a useful opportunity to discuss many issues in depth in a more relaxed setting, including problematic or difficult topics where opinions may differ, but engagement is the best way to treat them “Josep Borrell spokesman Peter Stano shared with B2.

J. Janša and J. Borrell at the table of the refuge, one of the largest in Slovenia (credit: Janša Twitter account)

A very open exchange

« [We had] an open and in-depth exchange of opinions and views on the most pressing issues of EU foreign and security policy says Janez Janša. Among others: the Sahel, the Mediterranean, the migration issue, the Balkans, enlargement, the eastern neighborhood and the rule of law.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde, with Aurélie Pugnet)

  1. The peak has symbolic meaning for Slovenia, it is a national symbol, of state sovereignty, and it appears on the national flag. It is said that every Slovenian should climb Triglav at least once in their life) and it is a national tradition to climb it.

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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