Prime minister praises commission chief in Brussels

The future European Commission, which will begin working as of November 1, has a strong desire to stand up against the major challenges currently experienced by Europe, said Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) after meeting designated Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Wednesday. He was reportedly told by von der Leyen that these major challenges include climate change and the EU's goal to see carbon neutrality by 2050. Pellegrini noted here that Slovakia is the only Visegrad Four (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) country that has vowed to achieve this goal, partly also due to a gradual run-down of coal mining by 2023. He commended von der Leyen for her drive to ensure a leading role for the EU in protecting the environment and in modern technologies.