Taraba: Slovakia and Czech Republic Seek Tandem Approach in Brussels

Prague/Bratislava, 30 January (TASR—correspondent) – Slovakia and the Czech Republic want to act in tandem in Brussels, not fearing to raise certain topics and to defend the interests of both states, claimed Slovak Environment Minister Tomas Taraba at a joint press conference with his Czech counterpart Petr Macinka and Czech government commissioner for climate policy and the European Green Deal Filip Turek in Prague on Friday. Taraba stressed that the two countries don't want to create conflicts but to debate constructively, however. "My positive expectations from the talks have been met. At the head of this ministry [the Czech one] are people who perceive priorities not only of environmental policy but also of industry. Today, an environment ministry is no longer just about the environment; it regulates almost everything – people's everyday lives, transport, industry and tourism. We need to start telling the truth to each other across many agendas," said Taraba. He noted that this was his first official visit to the Czech Republic in more than two years in office, adding that this didn't reflect the relations between the two countries. He expects the Slovak and Czech governments to cooperate closely in the field of the environment. According to Taraba, the Czech Republic has proposed the creation of a group of EU states pushing "for competitiveness", and Slovakia wants to be part of it. "We want to be a tandem that isn't afraid to raise various topics, not to create conflicts in Brussels, but to defend the strength of the EU and especially of our two states, so that industry can flourish and sectors suffering from pointless bureaucracy and regulation can breathe, function and employ people," said the Slovak minister. Czech Minister Macinka considers Taraba's visit to be confirmation that the Czech Republic and Slovakia have exceptionally close relations. He added that the main reason for the meeting was to prepare a programme for a joint session of the Czech and Slovak governments to be held at the end of March. mf/df