Off the wire
• Tanzania records more child sexual abuse cases  • Urgent: Gravitational wave detected for a second time: scientists  • Pakistan, Afghanistan border forces observe ceasefire after clashes  • Myanmar, Mongolia sign MoU on cultural exchange  • Spanish stock market rises 1.53 pct, closes at 8,250 points  • Commentary: Washington should stop playing "Tibet card"  • Romania 1 Switzerland 1 - latest  • News Analysis: S. Sudan seeks to transform agriculture to improve food security  • Slovakia snaps historical win in Euro 2016  • Turkey performs observation flights over Russia  
You are here: 　 Home

Slovakia to be honest broker during EU Council Presidency: PM

Xinhua, June 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Slovakia during its EU Council Presidency wants to be an honest broker, said Prime Minister Robert Fico after meeting his Dutch and Maltese counterparts, Mark Rutte and Joseph Muscat, respectively, here on Wednesday.

"This means looking for solutions, and where we don't find decisions together, we'll at least create scope for expressing individual opinions," said Fico.

The dominant issues of the Slovak presidency will be dealing with the result of the Brexit referendum and migration.

"I believe that I can say on behalf of all three prime ministers that we hope that the British people want to remain in the EU. Nevertheless, even a positive result of the British referendum will involve much work, as we'll have to implement a new agreement between Britain and the EU," said Fico.

According to Rutte, Britain's EU membership is beneficial for both sides, with both Britain and the EU gaining substantively from both the geopolitical and economic perspectives.

The three prime ministers also discussed the issue of migration, with Fico stating that he expects major decisions on the issue to be made at the EU summit later this month.

Rutte noted that at Wednesday's meeting they agreed on the need for reducing the influx of migrants to the EU, defending its borders, implementing the agreement with Turkey and engaging African countries in this.

The Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta make up a Trio of presiding countries in the EU in January 2016-June 2017. Endit