This year’s Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), the 16th in a row, will certainly prove to be outstanding due to the highest number of participants in the history of the forum, which includes both foreign as well as domestic politicians, businessmen and experts. In the sixteen years of its existence, the forum has more than obviously established its importance and developed into the leading international conference in Central and South-Eastern Europe, according to the long-time diplomat and expert on international politics, Dr Božo Cerar. The impressive number of guests this year also shows that the ruling government has brought fresh impetus to the field of foreign policy. The purpose of the forum is to bring together participants from different fields with different knowledge and encourage them to exchange views and find solutions, which the ruling government has definitely managed to achieve, both this year and last year. The same could not be said for the previous governments, though, as participation of foreign guests was pretty modest before the new government took over, especially in 2018 and 2019, during the government of Marjan Šarec, when participation was absolutely terrible. “This year’s high turnout is obviously proof that our foreign policy is more active than it has been in the past,” Cerar believes. Which also represents foreign policy success and a return to the diplomatic map for Slovenia.
This year’s main topic is the Future of Europe, which, according to Božo Cerar, is a perfect choice, as it is important for the EU Member States to address challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the post-Taliban takeover situation in Afghanistan and the impending new wave of refugees and migrants that will soon hit our south-eastern borders, and also the economic recovery as a result of the covid crisis. All of these are questions that are asking, screaming at us to wake up, to come to an agreement on how to proceed, Cerar believes. “These are issues that all of us Europeans, members of the European Union, need to address at this time. The fact is that many things in the European Union are not okay, in terms of developments in the internal field, as well as in the European common foreign and security policy,” he added.
An increase in the number of participants at the Bled Strategic Forum means that the forum has now become an established event, but of course, it is still very important how the forum itself is approached, and it also matters a lot what our activity in the field of foreign policy is, Cerar believes. “The fact is that this government has provided fresh impetus to the field of foreign policy, as it is active and has good proposals, contributions to the formation of positions, and is not afraid to speak either at the Bled Strategic Forum or in the European Parliament.” The results of active politics become apparent when you bring new proposals to the table, as well as a fresh perspective, and this is reflected in the number of participants itself, which is also proof that our foreign policy is more active than it has been in the past, and is therefore also much more interesting, says Cerar.
The participation of representatives of the European Union is a positive message
Several representatives of the European Union are coming to the Bled strategic forum, in addition to the Slovenian political representatives, led by President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Janša. “The participation of representatives of the European Union, from the President of the European Council, Charles Michell, to the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, is incredible, but it also makes sense that they are involved. As I have already said, discussions about the future of the EU will be on the agenda,” Cerar expressed his satisfaction. The European Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, as well as the European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, have already arrived in Slovenia.
Ten foreign prime ministers and several ministers of foreign affairs from other European countries are also coming to Slovenia. Many other important guests will also participate in the event, including the Secretary of State of His Holiness, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is considered the head of the Vatican administration. The forum will also be attended by five former prime ministers or heads of state. The list of special guests also includes the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovska. In total, around 170 panellists from all over the world will take part in the forum panels on Wednesday and Thursday.
Due to the long reach of Slovenian diplomacy, guests are also coming from the West: From Portugal, France
This year’s turnout is impressive, “given that people are coming from all around – from north to south, from the Polish Prime Minister to the Greek Prime Minister and a number of statesmen in between. Not only that, the list does not only include the representatives of Central and Eastern Europe; the number of representatives from the countries of the European Union is also amazing. I am also pleased that representatives from the western countries of our continent will be present – I am, of course, referring to the Portuguese Foreign Minister and the French Minister of Defence. In short, this is proving to be a serious opportunity and a serious forum, and what we need now is a good discussion and concrete results,” Cerar believes.
The importance of the Western Balkans
Cerar also emphasised the importance of including the Western Balkans – the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as well as Albania, in the Bled Strategic Forum. Namely, all the Prime Ministers of the Western Balkan countries are coming to Bled, and the participation of all three members of the Bosnia and Herzegovina presidency has also been announced. In light of this, the forum will also be a preparation for the informal EU-Western Balkans summit, which Slovenia will host in early October. One of the topics will also be a discussion on the EU enlargement process, which is one of the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. “This is very appropriate, as we are on the edge of this area, and it is important that we ask those questions. It is also an introduction to the summit that the EU will hold on this subject as part of our Presidency in October, and we are hoping that certain milestones will be achieved. The stalemate has been dragging for too long now, and it is only fair that these countries get the chance to move forward in the direction of the EU; and Slovenia’s support is important and welcome, and I hope it will also prove to be effective.”
Guests on the first day of the Bled Strategic Forum
The first panel, entitled The Future of Europe – To Stand and Withstand, will offer eleven speakers. In addition to Michel, Sassoli and Janša, the list of speakers also includes Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, the Cardinal, the Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Greece. The Vice-President of the European Commission will also take part in the panel, which will be followed by a panel of former leaders. It will include former Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok, former Slovenian Prime Minister Alojz Peterle, former Slovakian Prime Minister Miklauš Dzurinda, former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and former President of the Austrian National Council Andreas Khol. Former Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio and political scientist Jacques Rupnik will also participate in the panel via teleconference.
This will be followed by a discussion on the economic recovery following the covid-19 pandemic, which will be attended by the Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Klaus Regling, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso, and European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova. Slovenian Minister of Finance Andrej Šircelj and Governor of Slovenia’s Central Bank Boštjan Vasle, as well as three other Ministers of Finance – Valerio De Luca, Miroslav Singer, and Laszlo Wolf – will also take part in the discussion.
A debate on EU enlargement will follow. The debate will include leaders from all Western Balkan countries. The Prime Ministers of Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, and Northern Macedonia are also attending. The Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki, the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, and the new High Representative of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt will also take part. Moldovan President Maia Sandu will also take part via teleconference. Svetlana Tihanovska, the leader of the Belarusian opposition, will be the keynote speaker. After dinner, a “night debate” will follow, and this year, it will be dedicated to digitalisation. The main guests will be Associate Professor Jure Leskovec from Stanford University and Facebook High Representative Nicholas William Peter Clegg. The Minister responsible for digital transformation, Mark Boris Andrjanič, will also take part in the discussion.
Past attendance of foreign leaders
All of this confirms that to reach such a high number in terms of participation of foreign leaders, businessmen and politicians, strong diplomacy is needed, which is something that the previous governments did not have. This is also evidenced by the data that shows the participation of foreign leaders in the Bled Strategic Forum during the time of the previous governments. During the government of Marjan Šarec, as we have already reported, a single Prime Minister attended the forum – and it was Šarec himself. The situation during the government of Miro Cerar was similar. Although we often hear Tanja Fajon say that “Slovenia’s reputation is rapidly deteriorating abroad,” all of this is proof that the previous governments’ foreign policy was modest. We can confirm without hesitation that this government, as Božo Cerar put it, has brought fresh impetus to the field of foreign policy, which is especially important during the time of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
One of the highlights of the Slovenian Presidency
This year’s Bled Strategic Forum will be one of the highlights of Slovenia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union and is expected to offer answers and solutions in the debate on the future of Europe. This is one of the reasons why the Slovenian government decided to bring a number of high-ranking guests to Bled.
Anita Gužvič
