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Dzurinda: Ukraine Should Be Mentioned More Often at European Table
Friday 27 August 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Vysne Nemecke, August 27 (TASR) - Voices speaking on behalf of Ukraine at the European roundtable should be heard more often, said Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Mikulas Dzurinda at a briefing in Vysne Nemecke (Kosice region) after returning from a visit to Uzhgorod, Ukraine earlier on Friday.
According to Dzurinda, his visit to the Ukrainian border town fulfilled its goals. "I had two intentions: firstly to encourage the Slovak community in its efforts to finish the reconstruction of their elementary and high school in Uzhgorod, which is, as well as children with Slovak heritage, also attended by Ukrainian children. Another goal was to show Slovakia's serious interest in Ukraine, our biggest neighbour, and at the same time the only neighbour that is not an EU member," explained Dzurinda.
Dzurinda noted that it is necessary to strive for removal of barriers related to granting visas to Ukrainians (it is not reciprocated, so Slovaks do not need a visa to visit Ukraine - ed. note). "These technical obstacles need to be removed. However, there is also a more fundamental solution - Ukraine's EU perspective. If Ukraine becomes an EU member, no visa will be needed," he explained.
Head of Slovak diplomacy stated that Ukraine is not mentioned often in talks at the EU level. "Apart from other countries, it is also Slovakia's task to make Ukraine's voice heard," he added.
Dzurinda also commented on another problem - the long queues at the Slovak-Ukrainian borders, stating that the blame for the situation most likely is attributable to too much bureaucracy.
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