KDH: PM Fico Should Present Slovakia's Plan for EU Summit

Bratislava, 9 February (TASR) – Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) hasn't yet provided any information about what he intends to promote at the upcoming informal summit in Brussels on the EU's competitiveness, nor what Slovakia's plan for the summit is, the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) warned on Monday. According to KDH MPs, the prime minister should inform the public about his intentions, and they offered him several agenda issues he should push for. "What is the plan of the Slovak Republic for this summit? With what is our prime minister going to this summit – will he say again that it amounts to an expensive dinner or an expensive lunch? Slovakia doesn't want that, and it won't help anyone," said KDH MEP Miriam Lexmann. She stated that the solutions that should be discussed at the summit are very important for Slovakia, as its industry is coming under enormous pressure caused by legislation, high energy prices and a lack of critical raw materials. The Christian Democrats offered the prime minister several key issues, such as addressing the shortage of critical raw materials, completing the transformation of the EU internal market, abolishing legislation that hinders competitiveness, reconsidering the introduction of ETS 2 emission allowances, and changing the approach to trade agreements by excluding agriculture from them. MP Branislav Skripek (KDH) stated that MPs probably won't learn the prime minister's stance before the summit, but at the same time he acknowledged that as it's an informal summit, the prime minister isn't obliged to inform the House committee for European affairs about Slovakia's stance. Nevertheless, he expects the prime minister to explain his positions and views ahead of the meeting. "After all, we're a parliamentary democracy, and the European committee is one of our most important ones," stressed Skripek. mf/df