Blanar Rejects Chancellor Merz's Statements, Calls for Protection of Sovereignty

Bratislava, 27 May (TASR) - According to Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's reasoning is unacceptable; if any country raises reservations, it does so because of its sovereign position, and then there's a need to negotiate, not seek coercive mechanisms, TASR was told by the ministry's communications department on Tuesday. "The Slovak Republic is a full-fledged member of the European Union, where decision-making isn't guided by the statements of bigger countries, but by seeking consensus. For this reason, Slovakia has repeatedly emphasised that it's against scrapping the veto and replacing unanimous voting with a mere qualified majority, which would put some countries in a disadvantageous position in which they would have to accept decisions that could fundamentally affect the country itself and its inhabitants," said Blanar. The Slovak minister believes that only hypothetical statements were in the frame. He stressed the need for joint communication and equal positions for the member states, a principle on which the Union was founded and which allows acceptable solutions and consensus to be sought. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday (26 May) said that that Germany will consider proposing in Brussels that EU funds to Slovakia should be cut if it continues to deviate from the Union's common direction. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has protested against his statements as well, calling them unacceptable in a modern Europe. ko/df