EU20: Blanar: EU Was Built on Foundations of Peace

Bratislava, April 30 (TASR) - The EU was built on peace and this value should serve as its guiding principle also in the present, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) declared on Tuesday to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of Slovakia's joining of the EU. Blanar pointed out that Slovakia has been a fully-fledged EU member for two decades. He called the EU a community of states that share values and goals such as peace, freedom, democracy and respect for the diversity of its members. "We reject any impugning of Slovakia's EU membership. We're part of a strong European family and, yes, in every family some problematic issues arise, but these must be addressed in a mutual dialogue. We must address also issues that are difficult but important for the EU's future and not forget the strong foundations based on peace, for which the EU received the Nobel Peace Price in 2012," said the minister. Blanar underlined that the membership of the EU has brought plenty of benefits to Slovakia such as EU funds, more job opportunities, the common European currency, the ability to travel freely, and involvement in education-support exchange programmes such as Erasmus. He noted that for Slovakia the EU is a vital living space. mf/mcs