“Slovakia and the Czech Republic are united in European politics by their clear support for respect for the rule of law in the EU”, said the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok on Monday following his meeting with his Czech counterpart Mikulas Bek. Bek's first bilateral foreign trip follows visits paid to Slovakia by the new Czech top constitutional officials in December 2021 and in January. Korcok and Bek talked about this year's presidencies that Slovakia and the Czech Republic will take over as of July. Slovakia will preside over the Visegrad Group (V4 - Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) as well as the Slavkov format (S3 - Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic). Bek familiarised Korcok with preparations for the six-month Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU. According to Korcok, the Czech Republic is taking over the Presidency of the Council of the EU at a very important time, and Slovakia wishes it success for this.
The two ministers also dealt with the tension on the eastern border of Ukraine and concurred that diplomacy is the only tool to settle the situation, however, without questioning the fundamental principles of European security architecture.
During his visit to Slovakia, Bek also discussed the current events in the EU with Foreign and European Affairs Ministry's State Secretary Martin Klus. "I am pleased that we have found agreement with minister Bek on many priorities of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU, such as cyber security, the fight against deforestation and the protection of journalists," stated Klus.
Source: TASR
