Foreign Policies

Fico: Disrespect for EU Prevails in European Society

Bratislava, April 24 (TASR) – Europe is the best place to live and a place that can build up on excellent results, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said in a speech he delivered at the conference of EU parliamentary chiefs at Bratislava Castle on Monday.

Despite this we must state that a disrespect for the EU and its authorities prevails in European society, along with an inclination towards cheap extremist and populist solutions, said the Slovak prime minister. “Therefore, the question arises here: are we doing enough? Are we doing our utmost? We could work together to do the whole list of important activities we are offering the public. The question is whether people understand what we are talking about; however, there are a whole lot of these activities,” he said.

Fico asked the delegates whether the answers and activities of the leaders have been sufficient. “Have we offered only a kind of template solution to the European public? Has the EU grown lazy? Has it fallen in love with itself?” asked Fico.

In Fico’s words, we are all looking at Chinese investors with jealousy, since they are able to buy anything they point a finger at in Europe. “Maybe soon we will find out that there are also other regions in the world that are better than the EU in terms of competitiveness. Aren’t we losing authority, if we are unable to adopt joint positions on principal issues? I am asking whether we are not losing authority also because we do not all share the same opinion on foreign-political issues,” said Fico.

Fico sees the future of the EU chiefly in there being a deeper mutual respect among member states. “We lack the spirit of Europeanism in the documents we are adopting. It is often just a collection of member states’ individual interests,” said the Slovak prime minister.

Fico said that it has never been his role to lecture. “I’ve always respected different opinions and traditions. Please, let’s make use of this variety to return the European spirit to our lives,” he added.

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