Twelve foreign ministers meet in the High Tatras

Slovakia is hosting a meeting of foreign affairs ministers from the Visegrad Four (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary) and Nordic-Baltic Eight countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in the High Tatra Mountains on Thursday and Friday, making it one of the largest meetings as part of Slovakia's presidency of the V4. The ministers are to debate current issues, among them the EU's energy security, Ukraine, issues pertaining to Eastern Partnerships in view of the upcoming summit in Riga, and the fight against terrorism. "The format is interesting, as it puts together EU and NATO member countries that have more or less a similar size - with the exception of Poland - while all these countries are in a certain way on the Eastern wing of both NATO and EU", stated Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák.