Ministry of foreign affairs of Slovak Republic : State Secretary Korčok and Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic Marinakis discuss timely EU challenges

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Korčok, received Maria Louisa Marinakis, the Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to the Slovak Republic, today (17 January). The partners in the meeting made a positive evaluation of the lasting friendly bilateral relations between their countries and discussed timely foreign policy developments, with special focus on the area of European policies.

State Secretary Korčok presented to the ambassador the key outcomes accomplished by the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU and they then jointly evaluated the prospects of development of European policies, with emphasis on migration and the single market. The partners acknowledged that the main challenge in the next period will be the negotiations on the United Kingdom's departure from the EU that are expected to start shortly after the assumed March notification by the United Kingdom of its intention to leave the EU. Besides the Brexit process the EU's internal reflection process has already been ongoing and the process includes also considerations of its future functioning following the departure of the United Kingdom.

Both partners reiterated that the main role in this regard is the ability to materialize European policies into specific outcomes that will be palpable and comprehensible to the citizens of the Union. In this regard State Secretary Korčok reminded that this ambition had been embraced also by the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU and in several areas such as the Digital Single Market and the Energy Union it has been successfully fulfilled.

Korčok also reiterated in the meeting that the Slovak Republic will continue supporting Greece in challenges it is facing, especially with regard to its position as a country exposed to migration flows heading to the EU. In this respect the partners also touched on the concept of effective solidarity that the Slovak Presidency prepared as a foundation for a future compromise in matter of the EU's migration and asylum policy.

With regard to bilateral relations the partners were in accord that even with the current high standard there still is space for boosting mutual cooperation, inter alia, in areas such as economy, tourism and education.