On April 26, the Programme’s team met with Slovenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Ljubljana to discuss the potential for a regional collaboration to support Western Balkans countries in their EU accession process.

With the participation of Ambassador Edvin Skrt and other key figures, the meeting was aimed at exploring collaboration mechanisms and operational arrangements to promote EU Accession  knowledge transfer between Slovenia and the programme countries . A significant part of the discussion was to consider Slovenia's accession experience as a potential tool for assisting neighboring countries. 

Both parties showed a strong enthusiasm for the potential partnership, with the Slovenian MFA reiterating its support to the EU accession efforts of partner countries in the region.

The parties discussed a potential collaboration framework, which includes initiating various Technical Support Assignments (TSAs) through key implementation partners over the next two years. The implementation of this collaboration will depend on future assessments of capacity and needs.

One main priority, throughout a future possible collaboration will be to ensure effective communication and public engagement around the shared goal of supporting Western Balkans countries in their journey towards EU membership. This will be done by leveraging Slovenia's experience and promoting regional development through shared expertise and resources.