Among the set of priorities, the Netherlands wants to open up digital opportunities in Europe. Which areas/sectors do you want to digitalise?

In the first place, it is very important for Europe that we have a common digital market and that means that the majority of the fields we are dealing with in our day-to-day life should be digitalised. However, as the Presidency, we can put some subjects on the table but, at the end of the day, it is on the Member States to decide upon those subjects and then the European Commission has to work out a set of rules and regulations. For us, it is very important to digitalise in the field of smart industry. Since the fourth industrial revolution is coming, production processes are being linked to the internet and therefore we should work out the rules and regulations to facilitate the process. The second field is services, which is not yet as developed as the European Union market for goods. Thirdly, of course, geo-blocking is the area we put a special focus and finally the sharing economy, collaborative economy where digitalisation can also facilitate the whole process.

An informal meeting on competitiveness was held in Amsterdam at the beginning of this year, where both the Slovenian and the Netherland's perspective on this issue were brought forward. Minister Kamp noted that the worldwide web has made the world smaller, but it has also created new, virtual borders. What is the plan for the removal of these virtual barriers between countries within the EU market?

When we talk about digitalisation within the EU, we are talking about creating trust, choices and protection. Although the markets grow, as Minister Kamp says, there is still a lot of barriers in the sense of discrimination. For instance, a holiday package could be much cheaper or more expensive for certain people from certain countries. It might be that a German tourist pays much more for the same package deal in a certain European country than his French or Greek counterpart and that, of course, should be equalised. The same also for certain goods that could be bought on the Internet, but cannot be transported and delivered in another country. Today, when we can reach every corner of the world with the Internet, we should make it equally accessible for all consumers.

The priority of the Dutch EU Presidency is also 'strengthening democratic legitimacy' through an 'active involvement by people and civil society organisations' in policy debates and to promote transparency in the EU decision-making process. How will you improve this?

An example would be by including NGOs in the discussion during informal Council meetings. For us, one of the key elements is an EU that connects - with people, businesses and with institutions and organisations, but also connects with parliaments. Therefore, it is important that national parliaments are also included in the discussions when we are deciding about Europe. The idea of the Dutch Presidency is to stimulate this exchange of ideas of all the stakeholders who are, at the end of the day, the consumers of the EU but also the decision-makers of the EU, as they should come together and discuss the future of the EU.

Extra focus is being put on the approach to migration and international security. The increased influx of people seeking a safe haven makes it clear that a common border, asylum and migration policy is needed. How is the Dutch Presidency addressing this topic?

The migration crisis and all the consequences thereof are the top priority within our EU Presidency. It is our clear conviction that the only solution is a common solution, made by all 28 Member States of the EU respectively all 26 States of the Schengen area. It is important to focus on a common solution for the acceptance and relocation of the refugees who are in Europe, a common solution to protect our outer borders and a common solution to tackle the root causes in the countries where the migration crisis originated and then, in particular, looking at the situation in Syria.

What is the structure of the abovementioned common solution?

We have made a very significant agreement with Turkey, unfortunately but very understandably, the Turkish Prime Minister could not attend the last meeting because of the attacks in Turkey. We are looking forward to continuing the discussion in March in presence of the Turkish prime minister. Hopefully a solution can then be found to curb the influx of the migrants into Europe. In the meantime, we have to convene repeatedly with our international partners to tackle the root causes of the migration, especially in the countries on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea.

The migration crisis has revealed various shortcomings in the areas of freedom, security and justice that require action. Slovenia and the countries of the Western Balkans are severely affected by the current migration. What is the action plan for Slovenia, candidate Member States and potential Member States to deal with this challenge?

There are many countries affected by the migration crisis. The first are Turkey and Greece, receiving so many migrants at the same time and trying to take care of them. Then we are talking about the countries of the Western Balkan and Slovenia that are doing absolutely their very best to accommodate the stream of migrants, however they are not the destination countries. So then, we have destination countries which, at the end of the day, will have the biggest burden in the long term. For those, as already said, only a common solution will work. How the solution will be for the non-Member States, that is of course another chapter and we have to look into that too, but first we have to find a solution within the EU. If we will have this, it will positively affect other countries. However, the specific measures only for specific countries like Slovenia and the Western Balkan countries you are asking for, are not, per se, the aim of the Presidency, since we are looking for a common solution by all EU-member states in favor of all affected countries.

There is only a certain number of people which Europe can accept. Are you already dealing with this?

This is definitely a question that we, as the Presidency, will put on the table however it is not up to the Presidency to decide how many people will be granted access to Europe. The European Union is one of the biggest economic and political blocs in the world - we are talking about 500 million people. How many migrants may be accepted, this is up to the Members States and will be decided by European Council.