On Wednesday, as part of our Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Slovenia and the Atlantic Council organised a ministerial conference called the Digital Agenda for Boosting the European Economy. The meeting was attended by the Ministers of the Three Seas Initiative, responsible for digitalisation, who specifically focused on the development of the single digital market and transatlantic cooperation. Slovenian Minister Mark Boris Andrijanič was very pleased with the meeting, as the event strengthened Slovenia’s position as the new digital star of Europe. “This feels fantastic, as it shows that we are becoming the new digital star of Europe. We have achieved a lot with this meeting.”
During the discussion in Brdo pri Kranju, Minister Mark Boris Andrijanič expressed his belief that the Three Seas Initiative will play a special role in the EU’s digital transformation. Considering that this was the first time Slovenia hosted a conference of the ministers for the digital transformation of the Three Seas Initiative, Adrijančič said that this feels fantastic, as it shows that we are clearly becoming the new digital star of Europe. “On the one hand, we have exchanged a bunch of good practices in the field of digitalisation of health, economy, education and public administration, and on the other hand, we have started to work more closely together, also in terms of European digital policies and strengthening transatlantic relations.”
The Minister also announced the names of the new Strategic Council members, including Gregor Benčina, Blaž Brodnjak, Borut Florjančič. “These are eleven outstanding experts. I am very proud that the strategic world has been strengthened in such numbers. There are also some experts in the field of green technologies among them, and there is a good reason for that. Namely, we want to set up a new working group within the strategic council in the near future, which will be dedicated to the digitalisation of the green transition.”
Electronic vignette
The Minister also attended the purchase of the first electronic vignette in the digital centre on Wednesday at midnight. As they say, this is an actual small revolution in the field of tolling. “Today, I will join my ministerial colleague Jernej Vrtovec at the presentation and opening of the new e-vignette system. This is a turning point; we can say that it is a digitalisation or digital solution tailored to citizens, as it will save us a lot of time and worry. It is nice to see new technologies push the old ways of scraping old vignettes off our windshields into the past. Many thanks to Minister Vrtovec and the entire team at the Ministry of Infrastructure, as well as Dars (the Motorway Company of the Republic of Slovenia) for such a successful project, which puts Slovenia alongside the most digitalised countries in Europe.”
What will the process of buying an electronic vignette look like?
Minister Andrijanič said that the process of buying an electronic vignette is very simple. “On the one hand, you will be able to buy an electronic vignette on the website, or at one of the existing points of sale, meaning at practically any petrol station. And each vignette will be linked to the car’s registration number,” Andrijanič explained.
Anita Gužvič
