Aktuality

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.

On 5 February 2024, Marek Eštok, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic and sherpa* of the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, chaired a meeting of the Strategic Commission for European Affairs in Bratislava. The meeting was attended by State Secretaries of all Slovak ministries. Marek Eštok informed them about current European issues that require inter-ministerial cooperation.

On 2 February 2024, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Marek Eštok attended the third India-Pacific Forum of the European Union in Brussels.

State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Marek Eštok attended the session of the General Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels on 29 January 2024.

On 22 January 2024, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, attended a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels. The main topics of the meeting of the EU chief diplomats were the situation in the Middle East and aid to Ukraine.

On 30 December 2023, the EU Member States unanimously approved the agreement on the partial integration of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen zone. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, welcomed the decision, which will include the two countries into the Schengen open-borders area by air and sea as of March 2024. Negotiations about land borders are set to continue at the European level next year.

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