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| The agreement on the future EU |
| Bratislava, 23.11.2020 |
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| “The veto by Hungary and Poland complicates the agreement on the future budget of the European Union and the extensive recovery package. Our citizens and companies expect that we will act as quickly as possible. We are in the midst of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and we are facing an economic and social crisis. The money we all are desperately waiting for is at stake. The threat that the EU will have to work with a temporary budget or that the drawing of the funds will be delayed is the last thing we need.”
This was stated by the State Secretary of the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry of the Slovak Republic, Martin Klus, in Bratislava on Tuesday (17 November 2020) when he attended a video conference of the Ministers and State Secretaries for European Affairs of the EU member states. The online talks, due to the pandemic measures, replaced the regular meeting of the General Affairs Council (GAC) in Brussels.
One of the main topics of the video conference was the preparation of the European Council session, which is to be held on 10-11 December 2020. At the December summit, the EU leaders will delve into improving the coordination in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 disease, as well as increasing climate objectives, trade and security policies, along with a spectrum of foreign policy issues including the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the relations with the African Union and the EU Southern Neighbourhood.
“Slovakia is ready to support more ambitious EU climate goals. However, the agreements must guarantee the principle of technological neutrality and should also include the details of the supporting framework to achieve these goals. We consider the carbon tariff to be one of the necessary instruments, which will protect the competitiveness of our industry,” stated the State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry, Martin Klus.
In reaction to the agenda of the December summit he also asked for the strengthening of the active approach towards the fight against disinformation on social networks that are active on the European market.
“This is a question of social responsibility. We need to know more about how the social networks meet their commitments related to the spread of the harmful content on the internet. We must not allow that disinformation, especially in the time of the pandemic, be purposefully, knowingly and uncontrollably disseminated in the online space, without any reaction,” underlined Klus.
Another serious topic of discussion at the online the General Affairs Council (GAC) was the development in the negotiations on the future EU budget and the recovery plan. The process of the adoption of the agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021 – 2027, including the Next Generation EU (NGEU), has for now been blocked by two member states, Hungary and Poland. Slovenia has also criticized it. Therefore, the negotiations under the German Presidency in the Council of the EU continue.
“Slovakia welcomes and fully supports a compromise agreement including the important condition of applying the principles of the rule of law. This is not about any ideology. Europe stands on clear rules and values of democracy, which are binding for the member states. The lack of support for this package would lead us into an even deeper crisis, while we are already in the middle of the worst ever economic decline in the history of the EU,” State Secretary Klus warned his counterparts. He added that if we don’t agree in the EU, this can have an unimaginable political and economic impact.
As for the negotiation frameworks of the European Union that are necessary for opening accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, the member states have not yet reached an agreement. Bulgaria has refused to adopt the EU negotiating framework for North Macedonia.
“Bilateral disputes cannot be made into a reason for blocking the opening of the accession talks. Recently in March we all agreed about the EU enlargement process to be more credible, dynamic and foreseeable. I hope that we will move from words to actions. A divided European position on the enlargement policies has a negative impact on the Western Balkans region,” stated Klus. He further added that if the EU fails in this, it will be a lost opportunity.
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Address : Euro-Brew Ltd., Hlboká 22, 917 01 Trnava, Slovakia
Tel. : +421 33 53 418 53, Fax : +421 33 53 418 52, E-mail : info@eurobrew.sk |
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