Slovakia 'Semi-presiding' over Council of EU now

Slovakia has been in a sort of 'semi-presidency' position at the Council of the European Union since January 1, according to the Head of Slovakia's Permanent Representation to the EU Peter Javorčik. Its tenure at the helm of the Council of the EU begins in July. Slovakia is now partaking in the drafting of European policies in the so-called presidency trio along with the Netherlands and Malta. "Some predictions can be already made. The summit in December produced agreement on establishing a European border and coast guard. Member countries intend to agree during the current Dutch presidency on what this guard will look like. The Slovak presidency will then be tasked with bringing the concept to fruition and striking agreement with the European Parliament", said Javorčik. The priority areas for the Slovak presidency will mainly feature the Energy Union concept and the digital agenda. The former area requires a debate on energy security, while the latter encompasses efforts to focus more on e-commerce and barriers in this regard between individual EU-member countries.