Lajcak: We Don't Dramatise Any Lack of Agreement in V4
Bratislava, March 15 (TASR) – We never dramatise it if the Visegrad Four/V4 (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) doesn’t agree on something, said Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak on Wednesday in reference to the recent re-election of European Council President Donald Tusk despite the contrary opinion of his own country’s Government.
The Polish Government supported Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski instead.
“The Polish side explained its arguments to the three remaining V4 members in a calm manner, without any pressure. We also calmly spoke about our good experience with Donald Tusk, plus the importance for us of seeing the European Council president coming from our region, pointing out that were afraid to engage in experiments with the post, as this could have resulted in the election of someone who wouldn’t have such a relationship with this region,” said Lajcak.
He confirmed that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told chairman of Polish party Law and Justice (PiS) Jaroslaw Kaczynski that Slovakia had a different opinion on the issue, but this didn’t mean that it should have an adverse effect on the countries’ relations. At the same time he noted that the V4 doesn’t operate on the basis of absolute unity on everything.
Polish Government spokesman Rafal Bochenek earlier in the day also stated that Tusk’s re-election wouldn’t have any impact on cooperation within the V4, calling on the press not to “demonise” the matter, making it an issue within the V4.