ENERGY, the fight against tax evasion and water issues may well be among the priorities of Slovakia’s 2016 EU presidency, according to Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, the TASR newswire reported on January 12.
“These are the issues interesting for Slovakia,” Lajčák said after his meeting with representatives of political parties Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), Most-Híd, and Sieť.
On July 1, 2016, Slovakia will replace the Netherlands that will preside over the EU as of January. According to EU rules, the presidency always falls under the remit of a group of three states for the duration of 18 months. Slovakia will assume this responsibility along with the Netherlands and Malta.
Such meetings are held for individual political parties to know how preparations for the 2016 presidency are faring.
“It’s important for us to have the programme conceived as a product of a society wide discussion, with contributions from all parties of the political spectrum,” said Lajčák, as quoted by TASR.
Lajčák intends to continue meetings with representatives of political parties, as he wants to keep them informed in order to prevent any doubts being raised about, for instance, public procurement processes surrounding the presidency. Political parties also receive materials for comments.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Roman Cuprik from press reports
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