Slovenia & EU

Perhaps I should share these two news with you because they are actually very important for Slovenia as a country:

1. On 21st December 2007 Slovenia joined the Schengen area which actually means that borders to other EU countries don't exist anymore for the Slovenian citizens. I am very happy about this. Since I was about 14 years old I have always claimed that I am Slovenian before telling people that I come from Yugoslavia (luckily we haven't been part of it anymore since 1991). I am very proud of being a Slovenian. There are only about 2 million Slovenians in the world and we have achieved so much! After being part of so many countries (Austria, Italy, Hungary, Yugoslavia) we still have our own written and spoken language!
   
2. On 1st January 2008 Slovenia took over the EU Council Presidency. It will last half a year and Slovenia is the first of 10 new member states who joined the EU in 2004 to have this role. This also means a lot of extra work for the organization I work for but perhaps our nature will gain something from this as well.