Following the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of the European Union session in Luxembourg today (22 April 2024), Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár confirmed the information that Slovakia will get less financial resources for the military aid, which the previous governments had provided to Ukraine since 2022 from the stocks of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic.

State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Rastislav Chovanec held a working visit to the Prešov region on 18-19 April 2024. He discussed with Prešov university students about the advantages of the SR membership in the European Union, and also visited companies that, in addition to their export activities, have an important position in the region.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, participated in an informal discussion of Foreign Ministers of the European Union Member States on the emergency situation in the wider Middle East via videoconference today (16 April 2023). He endorsed the EU's united response, which must actively contribute to calming the situation following Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel, and stressed the need for a return to the peaceful settlement of disputes.

The Slovak Republic unequivocally rejects the new European migration and asylum policy, the so-called Migration Pact, which includes the mandatory redistribution of irregular refugees. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, made this statement in the context of the draft legislative framework, approved by European MPs despite not having full support on Wednesday 10 April 2024.

In Ljubljana a meeting of foreign affairs ministers of the informal C5 Group (C5) initiative was held today (26 March 2024). The invitation by Slovenia's chief diplomat Tanja Fajon was also accepted by Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár who attended the negotiations, along with his counterparts from the Czech Republic (Minister Jan Lipavský), Hungary (Minister Péter Szijjártó) and Austria (Minister Alexander Schallenberg) as well as Slovenia (Minister Tanja Fajon).

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár welcomes the decision by leaders of the European Union member states on opening EU accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina. He emphasized that it is an important step for strengthening stability, economic prosperity and a European perspective for the Western Balkan countries. The Union enlargement with Bosnia and Herzegovina is also in the interest of Slovakia and its integration into the EU is something that the Slovak Republic has long promoted.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union (GAC) in Brussels on 19 March 2024. The main topic of the meeting was the preparation of the March European Council, starting this Thursday in Brussels that will have a rich foreign policy agenda.

On Monday, 18 March 2024, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, held a telephone conversation with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova for European Integration Cristina Gherasimova. The main topic of the talks was Moldova's integration into the European Union.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár attended the opening of the European Humanitarian Forum and then the March Foreign Affairs Council of the EU in Brussels on 18 March 2024. The main topics of the negotiations among the EU chief diplomats were the ongoing assistance for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and in Belarus.

The decision to remove Slovak citizen Jozef Hambálek from the European Union's sanctions list enters into force as of Thursday, 14 March 2024. All EU Member States have supported the activities of Slovak diplomacy, which has been working hard to have the Slovak citizen removed from the sanctions list since the new Slovak government took office under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Fico and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanár.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Marek Eštok paid a planned working visit to the Czech Republic, Prague, on 11 March 2024. He was received by the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and also held talks with the Sherpa* of the Prime Minister for EU Matters and National Security Advisor to the Government of the Czech Republic, Tomas Poyar, as well as with the Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Eduard Hulicius. They discussed, in particular, topical issues on the EU agenda in preparation for the March European Council.

Today (5 March 2024) the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok (who also acts as the Slovak prime minister's sherpa*), participated in a meeting between Prime Minister Robert Fico and Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute and the former Prime Minister of Italy. At the meeting, the participants reviewed the main challenges of the European Union's single market and focused on experiences and conditions within the Slovak economy.

The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Slovak Republic and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Bratislava organised a gala concert this evening (4 March 2024) in the Mirror Hall of the Primate's Palace in Bratislava, as part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Slovakia's accession to the European Union. The event, which featured "Modern Opera Voices of Bulgaria" and highlighted the mutual Slovak-Bulgarian relations within the framework of the two countries' presence in the European Union, was opened by the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, together with the Bulgarian Ambassador to Slovakia, Vassil Petkov.

State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Marek Eštok represented Slovakia at the negotiations held by the leaders of European foreign affairs ministries today. He attended the session of the General Affairs Council of the EU in Brussels on 20 February 2024.

State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Marek Eštok attended the session of the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU (FAC) in Brussels on 19 January 2024. Main topics of the talks by EU foreign affairs ministers were the situation in the Middle East, as well as developments in Ukraine and the African Sahel region.