Slovakia trained over 1000 employees for EU Presidency

Civil servants are well prepared for Slovakia's Presidency of the Council of the EU, claims a report from Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák - discussed in the Cabinet on Wednesday. Over the past two years, Slovakia trained over 1000 employees from 27 central bodies of state administration for the purpose of dealing with its EU Presidency in the second half of this year. This number is 20 percent higher than the one envisaged in the original national project. The staff underwent an institutional-procedural course in which they improved their knowledge of the functioning of the Council as well as of other EU institutions and bodies. They also received training in communication and negotiating skills and took English and French language courses. The training courses were financed via a grant worth over €1.6 million from the European Social Fund.