Ivan Korčok's tenure as Deputy Foreign and European Affairs Minister is slated to end on August 31, the Government decided at its session on Wednesday. Korčok filled in for Miroslav Lajčák at the helm of the ministry during Lajčák's stint as UN 72nd General Assembly president.
Ivan Korčok was Deputy Foreign Minister for 3 years, dealing mainly with the EU matters. "I came during the Greek crisis while the migration crisis was at its peak," said Korčok for the SITA press agency, evaluating his mission. According to him, Brexit is a blow to the existence of the Union while he highly appreciates the joint stance of the member states voicing which way the United Kingdom should leave. "We are trying to close this issue as soon as possible so we can focus on the future. We are managing it with the reservation that Britain's withdrawal is a huge loss," stated Ivan Korčok. As he added, his toughest experience during his 10 years within the EU was the crisis of the EURO and the point when the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that they would either save EURO or let the European Union break down.
He will now take up the post of Slovak ambassador to the United States. "As Slovak ambassador to the USA, I'll promote our Slovak interests. However, I'll also actively promote the interests of the EU, as this also defends the interests of the Slovak Republic as a fully-fledged member of the European community at the end of the day," stated Ivan Korčok. As he added, after his 5-year mission, he would like to come back to a Europe which would be a stronger and more respected global player.
