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Norwegian model could inspire Britain-EU cooperation after Brexit: Slovak PM

Xinhua, August 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Norwegian model could serve as an inspiration for cooperation between Britain and the European Union (EU) following Brexit, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said at a press conference after meeting Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg here on Tuesday.

Fico said he was pleased that Slovakia appears to be attractive for Norwegian students, as there are more than 700 of them studying medicine and veterinary in Martin and Kosice, for example. At the same time, he appreciated Norway for creating good labour conditions for Slovaks in Norway.

Solberg said the two countries are cooperating in many sectors, even though Norway isn't a member state of EU. However, both Norway and Slovakia are NATO member states.

"Small countries, such as ours, must cooperate - otherwise big countries will decide for them," said Solberg. Norway's population stands at about 5.2 million, compared to Slovakia's 5.4 million.

"We feel strongly about seeing proper relations between Norway and the EU," stressed Solberg, adding that her country prefers continuing in dialogue with the bloc as part of the existing Norway-EU partnership.

Slovakia has acquired 113.1 million euros (127.9 million U.S. dollars) for various projects from the Norwegian funds, while the contribution for 2009-14 represented more than 80 million euros, official figures show. Enditem