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Slovakia to Take Over V4 Presidency as of July 1
Wednesday 09 June 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, June 9 (TASR) - During its upcoming one-year presidency of the Visegrad Four group, Slovakia wants to continue the successes achieved by previously presiding countries, according to the V4 presidency programme proposal that was approved by the Slovak Government on Wednesday.
Slovakia will take over the rotating presidency as of July 1, meaning that it will overlap with Hungary's EU presidency in the first half of 2011.
According to the V4 presidency programme proposal, under the slogan 'Effective Visegrad – Continuity, Cohesion, Solidarity and Awareness', Slovakia's main objective is to show itself to be a constructive partner both in the regional context and in relation to its strategic partners in the EU and NATO. "At the same time, we'll do our utmost to advocate our economic and regional interests," stated the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
In terms of international politics, Slovakia will focus on improving co-ordinated V4 approaches within the European Union in order to push forward common interests and conventional matters successfully.
Several V4 summits are set to take place over the upcoming year, with the V4 presidents scheduled to meet in Karlovy Vary (the Czech Republic) on November 5-6, 2010. In addition, the prime ministers will meet at two summits, one in late November and early December 2010, and the other in Slovakia in June 2011. The foreign affairs ministers are set to meet this October to discuss issues relating to the Western Balkans, while in the spring of 2011 they will focus on the Eastern Partnership.
During Slovakia's presidency of the V4, the four member countries (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) will observe the 20th anniversary of the group's founding.
Following Slovakia, the V4 presidency will pass to the Czech Republic.
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