Foreign Ministry State Secretary and Government Proxy for Slovak Council of the EU Presidency Ivan Korčok. (source: SITA)
Ministry State Secretary and Government Proxy for the Slovak Council of the EU Presidency, Ivan Korčok passed a hearing by members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) on Monday, September 5. After the hearing, he informed the media about the issues MEPs questioned him on, mainly the informal EU summit in Bratislava to be held in mid-September and one of its probable topics, the Brexit.
“I have a good feeling because I see that it has caught the attention of everyone who works in European politics, and it is a tremendous honour and responsibility for us,” said Korčok, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
However, the EU is only at the beginning of the debate about what actually happened in the UK and what it means for the future of the entire block, Korčok said.
“We do not forget that the British referendum will have a huge impact and in Bratislava we are going to talk openly about our future answers,” said Korčok.
Korčok opined that though the opening of such a critical discussion at the Bratislava summit is surely a great success, there is no need to expect quick and easy solutions and miraculous plans. Moreover, representatives of EU members will discuss openly the question of why people have lost confidence in the EU.
“Bratislava will surely be remembered as the moment when the EU poured pure wine,” Korčok said.
Besides Brexit, the Bratislava summit would contain dialogue about basic topics such as security and migration, and also economic topics. Korčok also awaits talks about the issues of global trade and global trade agreements which have become subject to residents’ criticism, especially the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the USA.
In contrast, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said after the meeting with the President of the European Council Donald Tusk on September 2 that TTIP should not be a central topic of the Bratislava Summit, TASR reported.
