Fico: Slovakia Has No Other Option than Being in EU Core
Nitra, October 2 (TASR) – Slovakia should be part of the EU core despite many issues to be resolved, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said during a debate at the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra on Monday.
“I don’t see any better solution for this country. It’s an opportunity to make another leap forward in developing this country,” said Fico, who bemoaned the lack of consensus among parliamentary parties on foreign policy.
“There are political entities claiming that the core isn’t a good solution, while others say that not even the EU is a good solution. We’re missing support that allows us easier movement in this space. Perhaps I’d expect more engagement from other constitutional officials,” said Fico.
“We can’t go against the stream. Integration so far has appeared as absolutely beneficial for us. We’re in the Schengen zone, in the EU and we have the common currency. We’re now at a crossroads and I believe that there’s no other way than that of the strongest in the EU,” stated Fico.
According to the prime minister, the EU will soon have to resolve some grave problems, including migration and the related growth of terrorism in individual EU-member countries.
“Hundreds of thousands of people have come unchecked into Europe; it’s to be expected that terror cells have thus been strengthened,” said Fico.
Meanwhile, the EU is also facing a global economic debacle, warned Fico.
“The Lisbon Strategy envisaged the EU and Europe to become the world’s best region by 2010. We found out in 2010 that it wasn’t true, so we threw the strategy into the trash bin and instead invented a new strategy called Europe 22. I’m afraid that it will have the same fate. We notice China, which currently has a far bigger economy than the EU, we see the United States’ ambitions and also the global role played by Russia. Can a split Europe be a real competitor?” stated Fico.
