On June 12th, H. E. Ms. Natasha Bergelj, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Slovenia to Bulgaria,

hosted a reception at her residence in the St. Mary Magdalene complex in Simeonovo to mark the national holiday of the Republic of Slovenia. Statehood Day has been celebrated on June 25th since 1991. This date commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The reception was attended by officials, ambassadors, members of parliament, diplomats, cultural figures, journalists, and friends of Slovenia.

The Slovenian quartet "Ingenium Ensemble" performed the anthems of Slovenia, Bulgaria, and the EU, after which Her Excellency thanked her guests for their presence and delivered a welcoming speech:

Thank you for joining me and my team for the celebration of the National Day of Slovenia.

This year my country will turn 33 years old, meaning that we have  already entered the productive stage of our statehood in the sense of delivering to our people, to the supranational organizations, members of which we are as well as to the international community as a whole.

This year we celebrate 20 years of our membership in the EU and NATO. To explain the true historical value of implementing these two most important national priorities since our independence in 1991 I will quote my President Mrs Pirc Musar, who upon invitation by the President Mr Radev was on an official visit in Bulgaria in February this year.

At the national celebration, marking 20 years of Slovenia’s membership in NATO, the Slovenian President said the following, however her message applies to our EU membership as well.

"The decision we made was the right one. Through membership, we gained not only entry into the defense alliance, but also recognition that we are part of an environment based on democracy as a way of life, the rule of law, respect for human rights and territorial integrity and sovereignty.

We got an equal voice at the common table with our allies and the possibility of negotiating with each of them individually and with all of them at the same time. We managed to start living better and safer".

Honestly, already back then we had no real alternative, to neither the EU nor NATO. This is even clearer today. We are aware that the current global trends demand certain changes in the EU, which will require wisdom and courage by the EU leaders but also a wide support and participation of our citizens.

The level of participation at the recent European elections has never been higher in Slovenia and the duty of every government is to encourage people to actively care about the future of our society and our global role.

We will have another very important national voting this year back home – a consultative referendum on the nuclear future of the country. It is not a black and white issue and it is by way the biggest investment in Slovenia’s history, which will affect many future generations. Because of that, a detailed, fair and unbiased public discussion of the project as well as its alternatives is imperative.

Let me finish with yet another anniversary, where I know the participation of my compatriots in Slovenia will not be an issue at all – that is the 30 th anniversary of the most popular and major international cycling event in Slovenia called the Tour of Slovenia. It actually starts today.

The Tour of Slovenia proved to be one of the central drives of the Slovenian cycling scene, which has significantly contributed to our development into one of the world cycling powers.

At the end, Her Excellency once again thanked her guests for their presence and wished them to enjoy the celebration.

Photos are provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in the Republic of Bulgaria. Above: H. E. Ms. Natasha Bergelj, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to the Republic of Bulgaria. Below: moments from the reception.