President: Slovakia's EU Membership Gaining More Significance in Changing World

Bratislava, May 1 (TASR) - We are currently witnessing global changes of a scale not seen in decades, making our membership in the European Union (EU) more meaningful, valuable, and forward-looking than ever, said President Peter Pellegrini on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of Slovakia joining the EU, while also noting that some of the Union's economic and environmental initiatives have proved overly ambitious. "We're living in times when the rules that took decades to establish are changing overnight in the global order. The law of the strongest is re-emerging, and international law is being pushed into the background. In these difficult times, small countries such as Slovakia, which are economically and in terms of security vulnerable, must rely on their partners and allies. Without them, we would be left at the mercy of those who recognise no rules," the president noted, adding that from this perspective, Slovakia's EU membership is of enormous importance. Pellegrini stated that the EU also has its shortcomings. "We can certainly criticise the Union for many things. From excessive bureaucracy that unnecessarily deals with issues that don't require attention, to several major economic and environmental initiatives that have proven overly ambitious and, without cooperation from the rest of the world, nearly impossible to fulfil," the head of state added. According to Pellegrini, EU solutions have often failed to uphold the core pillars on which the European community was built, namely peace, economic cooperation without unnecessary barriers, and border security. Nevertheless, he sees Slovakia's future within the EU. "Despite these shortcomings, the European Union today is above all our space of shared values, civilisation, and increasingly, security. It is a civilisational anchor, grounded in principles we can rely on. It is also a common table where we want to sit as a full and responsible partner, so we can help shape Europe for the better," he added. At the same time, the president called on the people of Slovakia to focus above all on those values that unite them with their European partners, rather than those that divide them. lin/mcs