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Lajcak: Slovakia Yields Its OECD Presidency to Italy
Sunday 27 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 25 (TASR) - Slovakia has handed over its presidency seat in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to Italy, TASR learnt on Sunday.
Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak stated that the move was based on an agreement that Italy will back other candidacies that were important for Slovakia.
"There were several reasons behind our decision. We've considered all the pros and cons, and we've come to the conclusion that this will be the best option," added Lajcak.
As regards the reasons, a year-long presidency seat in the OECD's ministerial council would have overlapped with the peak of the campaign ahead of Slovakia's general election due in June 2010. Second, Italy backed Slovakia's stance on certain issues, such as Bratislava's bid to become the seat of the EU's Agency for the Co-operation of Energy Regulators (ACER), although Slovakia eventually lost the contest to the Slovenian capital Lubljana.
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