Slovakia has its stable part in Europe, stated the head of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker in an exclusive interview for RTVS. The interview was conducted by the RTVS correspondent in Brussels, Peter Majer, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Slovakia becoming an EU member state.
"Not for even one second have I ever regretted Slovakia entering the European Union," said Juncker, who was leading the government in Luxembourg in 1997, when the country also presided the Council of Europe. "I remember some of the old 15 EU members were not that happy about Slovakia applying for membership, because of the undemocratic currents in its then political leadership. I helped to explain that it is not their political representatives, but Slovaks, that we should take into consideration," explained Jucker, looking back at the 15 years during which Slovakia has been part of the EU.
Jean Claude Juncker thinks that it was the migration crisis that showed that Western and Eastern part of Europe are not yet on a common ideological and cultural base. Yet he gladly observed the situation becoming less heated over time. Moreover, Juncker praised Slovakia for its pro-European attitudes and willingness to fight corruption. This showed especially after the tragic murder of the journalist Ján Kuciak and his fianceé in February 2018.
"We were dealing with this murder intensively in Brussels. I was glad to see that this act not only appalled Slovaks, but also made them active in addressing political corruption. The freedom of journalists and police investigators is crucial. The way Slovaks approached this issue didn't make me change my positive view of them."
And what is the European Union going to look like in 15 years? Juncker smiles that if he knew it, he would have been a Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
"I wish we would stop dividing Europe into two parts, even though there might be differences between the members. Europe needs both parts of its lungs to breathe well, and to secure that, our Central European friends need to come closer and we need to learn to understand them better," concluded Juncker, adding that without Slovakia, Europe would be poorer.
