SLOVENIA, May 1 - Since joining the EU, Slovenia has benefited from numerous incentives and advantages for both the country and its citizens. It has become part of the EU single market, which today gives Slovenian businesses access to around 450 million consumers, stimulates economic growth and creates new jobs. More than 15,000 projects have been carried out in Slovenia through EU funding, elevating living standards and bolstering Slovenia's all-round development. Moreover, EU membership has opened up opportunities for Slovenian citizens to pursue employment and education in other Member States. In 2007, Slovenia further solidified its integration with the EU by adopting the single European currency as the 13th member and joining the Schengen area, which makes it easier for European citizens to travel within the EU.

As an EU member, Slovenia upholds and advances some of the world's highest standards in environmental protection and food and product quality. EU membership empowers Slovenia to actively contribute to shaping common European policies across diverse domains, spanning from foreign policy and security to migration, science and technology, environment and energy. This increases Slovenia's influence on the international stage, ensuring its interests are duly considered in EU decision-making processes and enabling more effective engagement in addressing global challenges such as climate change. Slovenia successfully held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2008 and the second half of 2021.

Today, Slovenia is part of a community comprising 27 EU Member States that are bound together by economic, social and political ties. In recent years, the EU has faced numerous crises, underscoring the strength of close European cooperation and solidarity. In Slovenia, this solidarity has been particularly evident during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, including its economic consequences, mass migration, as well as natural disasters like the ice storm, the Karst fire and the floods of 2023. In the recent floods that affected almost two thirds of the country, the European Commission and the Member States demonstrated remarkable solidarity.