Emmanuel Macron in Bratislava

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron came on an official visit to Slovakia for the 100^th anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia. He met with President Andrej Kiska to discuss the future of the EU, the current situation in Europe and current developments in the region. Emmanuel Macron also met with Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini to discuss bilateral ties. Shortly ahead of his official visit, French President spoke to some central European media. In an interview for the SME daily, he said that the murder of the investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fianceé Martina Kušnírová had been a great shock. According to him, threatening and attacking the media and murders of journalists directly attack the roots of democracies. "I will, however, forever remember the reaction of Slovaks. Citizens showed to what extent they care about freedom of speech and press freedom. Their meetings were full of European flags," stated Emmanuel Macron. The French President is also to take part in a public debate on the future of the European Union to be held in the Mirror hall of the Primate's Palace where, in the presence of France, the Peace of Pressburg was signed more than 200 years ago. Macron's visit is the third by the French president in Slovakia.