Alexander Van der Bellen received the new Slovenian president Nataša Pirc Musar with military honours. Above all, protecting the climate should be at the heart of the meeting. But there’s probably no escaping a topic that has recently caused irritation.
The new Slovenian president Nataša Pirc Musar (54) will pay her inaugural visit to Vienna on Monday. “It is an honor to receive Slovenia’s first female head of state in Vienna today,” Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen said on Twitter.
“We are more than neighbours, we share a long common history, European values, ideals and goals. Together we thrive,” continued the 79-year-old.
Climate as a focus
Van der Bellen received the political career changer with military honors in the courtyard at 10:30 am. At noon, the two wanted to appear together before the press in the Hofburg. The former information officer sees Van der Bellen as a political role model. In the run-up to the visit, she had emphasized climate issues as a priority, but she also wanted to raise the rights of the Slovenian minority.
The meeting with Van der Bellen “should focus on issues that are important for the secure future of both states, their people, the European Union and the planet,” Pirc Musar said beforehand. The two heads of state also take similar positions on Ukraine and the Western Balkans.
Border controls caused tensions
Recently, there has been irritation between Ljubljana and Vienna over the extension of Austrian border controls to Slovenia, which the neighboring country considers unjustified and contrary to European law.
Pirc Musar and Van der Bellen first met in December, a few days before Pirc Musar took office. In Ljubljana, the Austrian president said goodbye to outgoing president Borut Pahor, with whom he had a close working relationship. The new Slovenian president also wants to see the Klimt exhibition in the Untere Belvedere on Monday and meet Slovenes who live, work and work in Vienna. Pirc Musar was once there herself, after all she obtained her PhD in law at the Vienna Juridicum in 2015.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
