Pellegrini: Slovakia Ready for Carbon Neutrality by 2050
Brussels, December 12 (TASR-correspondent) – Slovakia is ready to join the carbon-neutral economy initiative by 2050, said Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) before the start of the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.
“Slovakia will join a majority of European countries because I personally think that the European Union must be a leader. Only then will we be able to persuade other countries such as China and India,” said the premier, adding that one of the conditions is clearly declared technical neutrality.
“Of course, we have some conditions. One of the fundamental ones is that technical neutrality must be clearly declared, that is, each country can decide on its energy mix, what technology to use, to have some basics of economic transparency, and that we shouldn’t be forced into costly investments in renewable resources that would increase energy costs in an extreme way,” said the prime minister.
On the issue of the EU’s multiannual financial framework, he said that a proposal has been submitted, which he assesses very critically. “I regret most that the proposal doesn’t take into account the stance of the Friends of Cohesion. One must realise that these are more than half of the EU countries that met in Bratislava last autumn, and now we’ve met in Prague, where we all provided a clear statement on how we imagine those parameters. Unfortunately, I don’t see any of our comments there,” said the premier, adding that Slovakia’s stance is clear. He expects that the most difficult and at the same time the most specific debates will take place during the Croatian presidency in the first half of next year.
