Minister Rifelj in Dublin: The green transition cannot be successful without European solidarity

SLOVENIA, July 24 - On the margins of the ministerial meeting, Minster Rifelj also met with the European Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, and the Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Climate Action, Kurt Vandenberghe.

During the ministers' discussion on decarbonisation and EU competitiveness, Rifelj stressed that, in addition to green transition measures, the EU must pay particular attention to competitiveness, fairness and solidarity among its Member States. Slovenia supports the recently published European Commission's proposal for the revision and further development of the emission trading system (EU ETS). However, the revised system must retain solidarity mechanisms for the countries dealing with great development and investment challenges, which Slovenia is also facing.

Rifelj stressed that Slovenia will endeavour to remain a beneficiary of the Modernisation Fund and other solidarity instruments envisaged in the proposal. She said that this is an important factor in maintaining public support for EU climate policy at a time of major investments in the electricity network, renewable energy sources and coal phase-out.

At a separate meeting with the European Commission's Director-General for Climate Action, Kurt Vandenberghe, Rifelj presented Slovenia's views on the EU ETS revision and emphasised that, in addition to setting out ambitious climate goals, the revised system must ensure sufficient funds for industry decarbonisation and energy transformation.

In the discussion on circular economy, Rifelj highlighted that circularity is no longer only an environmental policy but an important aspect of ensuring competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy of the EU. Future EU legislation on circular economy to be published by the European Commission in autumn must cover the entire life cycle of products – from their design to reuse and recycling – and promote a longer service life of products, more efficient use of resources and development of a single EU market for raw materials.

At a working lunch dedicated to the topic of international negotiations concerning the environment, Slovenia highlighted that the EU must maintain a leading role in international environmental and climate negotiations despite the changed geopolitical situation. Among key priorities, Rifelj highlighted the consistent implementation of already adopted climate commitments, increased support to the Member States in fulfilling these commitments and closer integration of environmental policies, where waters are a particularly important linking element.

At the first bilateral meeting with the European Commissioner Jessika Roswall, Rifelj presented the priorities of the reorganised Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. Roswall and Rifelj discussed the drafting of new EU legislation on circular economy and future EU environmental policy orientations.

A significant portion of the discussion was also devoted to infringement procedures pending against Slovenia. The Minister informed the Commissioner of actions aimed at resolving these issues as soon as possible, including the protection of the shag and the project of waste water discharge and management in the area of Ljubljana. Rifelj highlighted Slovenia's commitment to compliance with EU legislation, scientifically founded solutions and the continuation of close cooperation with the European Commission.

After the ministerial meeting, Rifelj said that Slovenia remains a reliable and constructive partner in drafting EU environmental and climate policies. "The green transition will only be successful if it is ambitious, competitive and fair. EU climate policies must provide equal conditions for Member States to transform their economies, as this is the only way to maintain public support and the long-term competitiveness of the EU," said Minister Rifelj.