A strong topic of the forthcoming French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which begins on January 1, 2022, is post-pandemic cooperation and investment. Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced this following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Budapest on Monday. Heger also stressed that the French president has Slovakia’s full support in this. Heger and Macron, who met at the French embassy's residence in Budapest, agreed on an alliance over the use of nuclear energy as a carbon-free source to generate electricity. The Slovak prime minister and the French president also opened the topic of the protection of journalists.
On Monday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron met with the premiers of the Visegrad Four (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary). Migration, the rule of law, the Western Balkans, the energy sector and nuclear energy were high on the agenda of their summit. The leaders also addressed the EU’s objectives, maintaining that their goals must take into account their impact on the most vulnerable groups of people, so that they may be protected. As for the rule of law, the French president remarked that it’s an extraordinarily sensitive topic. "Given the fact that France is set to hold the presidency of the Council of the EU, I’ve come to listen and take note of different views," said Macron.
