German and Slovenian Foreign Ministers to meet
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is expected to meet her Slovenian counterpart today.
Baerbock and Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon will have a bilateral meeting in Ljubljana with the aim of broadening German-Slovenian political dialogue as well as exchanging views on current European and international issues. In July 2022, both foreign ministers signed a joint action plan to intensify bilateral cooperation during the period of 2022-2024, specifically with the aim to strengthen cooperation on foreign, economic and environmental policies.
This plan was signed during the early months of the Russia-Ukraine war, which catalyzed both NATO members towards a more unified strategic policy. Recently, however, the Israel-Gaza war has exposed the differing levels of support for Israel. This is exemplified by Germany’s near-unconditional support for Israel in the conflict, whilst Slovenia has been far more balanced in its support, indicative of the split within the EU over the past two months over Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Expect both foreign ministers to give an update on their economic and security pillars of the joint action plan, however, these security updates will only be concerning the Ukraine War. Given the volatile situation in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Slovenia and Germany will look to demonstrate that both EU members are still maintaining unified foreign strategic goals. However, both nations have been at opposite ends of support within the EU for Israel, with no change in sight from either Berlin or Ljubljana. So, expect any joint statement to be focused on a support for the observance of international humanitarian law.