The EU's future in light of Brexit and the upcoming Slovak presidency that starts on Friday were the main topics that Slovak Prime minister Robert Fico discussed at the EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday. According to him no one has any interest in revising the fundamental agreements that govern the inner workings of the EU and the external state of affairs. "We want to talk about policies; about what the EU does well and what it does poorly. The messages are quite clearly outlined: we need to pay attention particularly to policies aimed at improving the lives of people in the EU," said the Slovak Prime Minister. Slovakia waited for this summit to shape its priorities for the upcoming presidency and plans to approve them on Thursday. Besides the presidency, Slovakia will also host the EU Summit in September. Fico emphasized he is glad that Slovakia will host the summit as it is not customary for EU leaders to meet in a city other than Brussels.
Regarding the outcome of the British referendum, Robert Fico said that Britain needs some time before beginning its exit from the EU and could officially announce the beginning of the process in September or October. However, he also added that the date could still be changed. "Britain obviously doesn't know what it wants concerning Brexit, while the rest of the European Union doesn't have any legal tools to force it to act immediately," explained Fico. What adds to the uncertainty is the fact that Britain should preside the EU Council in the second half of 2017. Even though the process of the UK's 'divorce' with the EU should take two years, the Slovak premier believes that under these conditions Britain shouldn't assume the Presidency.
Fico concluded that other EU countries don't have any reason to be nervous or panicky at the moment and expressed his pleasure about the tone of the debate at the Summit which was, as he said "absolutely factual and without any emotion."
