Issues related to the Slovenian ethnic minority in Austria and the German-speaking community in Slovenia as well as the situation in the Western Balkans were in focus as Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon met her counterpart Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna on 25 April.

Austria's new government included bilingual education in its coalition agreement, which Fajon welcomed. She said bilingual education should be available from preschool to secondary school.

"Quality education in a minority language is key to preservation of the language, culture, identity and to securing the future of the minority," Fajon told the press at a joint press conference with Meinl-Reisinger.

She called for the completion of a justice reform in the province of Carinthia, home to most members of the Slovenian minority in Austria. The reform would enable minority members use their language in courts.

Fajon expressed the expectation that Austria meet all of its obligations toward the minority stemming from the 1955 Austrian State Treaty.

Meinl-Reisinger admitted that the situation could be improved, but also pointed to the German-speaking community in Slovenia, which is not recognised as an official minority. The Austrian government sees strengthening this community as important.

"It's a mutual responsibility for the wealth of different languages, cultures and best practice of living together," she said about the countries' responsibility for minorities on both sides of the border.

Keeping focus on Western Balkans

Discussing the Western Balkans, the ministers advocated for the region to remain on the EU's agenda.

They each intend to contribute to keeping the focus on the Western Balkans with visits to the region. They mentioned the possibility of a joint visit to one of the countries.

Meinl-Reisinger said the Western Balkans was important to Austria in terms of security and stability.

Both ministers expressed concern over separatist rhetoric of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their shared view is that the best option would be to adopt coordinated measures at the EU level.

However, Meinl-Reisinger admitted that this was impossible at the moment due to Hungary's opposition.

While Austria, as well as Germany, barred Dodik from entering the country, Fajon said Slovenia remained open to all options.

The importance of EU enlargement to the region was also discussed at a two-day international conference in Ljubljana, organised by Friends of the Western Balkans, a non-profit think tank founded by former Slovenian President Borut Pahor.

The conference heard warnings from Pahor about a deteriorating situation in the region. Fajon urged the EU to invest significantly more in gradual integration of new members where candidate countries should participate in the bloc's key policies before they join as full members.

Meanwhile, Fajon and Meinl-Reisinger discussed a number of other topics as well. They noted the close and friendly bilateral relations and shared views on multilateralism and dedication to the rule of law.

However, Fajon once again criticised the right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ) in the province of Styria for its attempt to enshrine the provincial anthem in the provincial constitution. Written in 1844, the song talks about Styrian territory stretching well beyond the borders of modern-day Austria.