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Korcok: Lisbon Treaty Makes EU Members Work on Common Objectives
Tuesday 01 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava/Brussels, December 1 (TASR) - With the Lisbon Treaty coming into force on December 1, the European Union is gaining the opportunity to devote itself to issues via which it can specifically explain the importance of the EU to its citizens, said Slovak ambassador to the EU Ivan Korcok on Tuesday.
Eight years of attempts to reform the EU have cost a great deal of political energy. Now when the Lisbon Treaty is in effect, a period has begun in which the EU can use its energy on other efforts, said Korcok.
"Citizens, of course, expect much more tangible things from the EU, as we have seen in the case of the Schengen zone, the European Monetary Union - all this is understandable for EU citizens. But first we need calm in the institutional sphere if we want to face new challenges, and this is provided by the Lisbon Treaty," argued the Slovak diplomat, speaking about great relief, as the ratification process was complicated.
"I personally think that that we should for some time resist the temptation to improve things, because if we raise one thing, we're opening up the whole Treaty," claimed the ambassador.
According to Korcok, the Lisbon Treaty requires only a minimum transfer of powers to the EU in the case of new member states, including Slovakia. "From our point of view, the Lisbon Treaty really is much more about consolidating the EU's own basis than about the further transfer of powers," he said, adding that the Lisbon Treaty makes it possible to reduce tensions within a diverse society and forces all countries to work on the same objectives.
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