V4 Premiers Should Meet in Budapest on Thursday

Bratislava/Skopje/Prague, June 12 (TASR) - Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) should meet on Thursday in Budapest, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday in Skopje at a press conference held with North Macedonian Premier Zoran Zaev, TASR learnt on Wednesday. "We've agreed with the V4 premiers that we'll meet in Budapest on Thursday, as key talks are underway on the filling of the most important EU posts," Czech Prime Minister told a press conference. The meeting is set to start at 11 a.m. No press conference is scheduled after it is completed. Neither the Hungarian nor the Slovak side wanted to comment on the meeting. The Polish government press department confirmed the meeting for TASR. "As the government spokeswoman has reported on a social network, Prime Minister [Mateusz Morawiecki] will attend a V4 meeting in Budapest, with the main topic being the issue of filling posts in the European Commission and other European institutions," said the press department. According to the information in the media, the premiers are slated to discuss joint candidates for high-level posts in the EU to have a common position at the summit to be held in Brussels on June 20-21. At the end of May, information leaked to the public that a V4 joint candidate for one of EU's high positions should be current EC Vice-president for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic. Babis later denied this information. Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said that Maros Sefcovic is only one of the candidates whose nomination to the post of EC president is being supported by the V4 countries. Candidates for EC president are proposed by leaders of member states who must take into account the European Parliament elections, and their proposal is voted on by the European Parliament. am/mcs