He added that Slovenia understands the political motivation to conclude the negotiations quickly, but urges greater caution, as the content of the agreement should take priority. The minister told the commissioner that in accordance with Slovenia’s position in the negotiations, the negotiations should make sure that the current level of protection of the health of people, animals and the environment is preserved by not lowering EU standards in these areas. In this respect, he said: “Slovenia will advocate giving member states’ the possibility to decide on prohibiting or restricting the cultivation, placing on the market and labelling of genetically modified products.”
The commissioner took part in dialogue with citizens on the free trade and investment agreement between the EU and the USA entitled ‘TTIP: what does the free trade and investment agreement between the EU and the USA bring?’ She called on opponents of the agreement to show her a more transparent one from the past and stressed that the debate about "the ambitious agreement between two of the world’s biggest economic” is significant.
The opponents of TTIP were most concerned about the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, which they believe superfluous between the two most regulated legal systems in the world. The Commissioner also said that the present agreement has existed since the 1950s, so the Commission is seeking an amendment.
In general, Slovenia believes that the mechanism in its present form is not necessary. According to the State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Aleš Cantarutti, the government supports the Commission’s wish for change. "We support changing the mechanism and hope that, once presented, public debate about it will be held,” he said, adding that Slovenia wants a mechanism that would keep up with the times.