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Radicova and Necas: Stability in Central Europe Necessary for Economy
Monday 19 July 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, July 19 (TASR) - Stability and co-operation in Central Europe is important in terms of coping with the effects of the economic crisis and strengthening the eurozone, said Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova during talks with her Czech counterpart Petr Necas on Monday.
Radicova ahead of her visit to Budapest on Tuesday further said that any bilateral tensions weaken the entire region and the interests of the countries concerned.
The Slovak premier stressed that Slovakia's negative stance towards Hungary's dual-citizenship legislation hasn't changed even after the change in government following the June election.
"We'll attempt in talks to achieve restored observance of the international bilateral treaty, active work by working commissions and a subsequent reduction in potential tensions between [Slovakia and Hungary]," said Radicova.
The Czech premier said that his Cabinet has a great deal of sympathy for Slovakia. "We're convinced that unilateral steps taken by anybody, in this case by Hungary, don't contribute to the stability of bilateral relations or the stability of the entire region," said Necas, adding that political instability can easily be reflected in the economic sphere. "That's one of the reasons why we are interested in maximum stable relations within the Visegrad Four [Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland]," he stated.
At the meeting, Radicova apologised to her counterpart that her first foreign trip was to Brussels and not to Prague as has been the tradition since the two countries split in 1993. [Radicova was in Brussels for talks regarding the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the loan to Greece. - ed. note.]
"I promise that this was the first and last exception," said Radicova, smiling. At the same time, the two premiers agreed to meet informally more often.
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