Pavel: It's Good That Czech-Slovak Cabinets Met, But Talks Bring Nothing New (2)

Prague/Bratislava, 31 March (TASR-correspondent) – Czech President Petr Pavel welcomed the resumption of intergovernmental consultations between the Czech and Slovak cabinets, but pointed out that the memorandum signed by the prime ministers of Slovakia and the Czech Republic after Tuesday's meeting contains nothing new, TASR's special correspondent in Prague reported on the same day. Speaking to journalists after meeting Czech Olympians and Paralympians at Prague Castle, Pavel said it was positive that relations between the two countries were returning to normal, including regular government sessions. "I think it is good that relations between our countries return to normal, with governments meeting again. Whether it brings anything beyond what we have done so far, I am not entirely sure. When I read the memorandum, there was nothing completely new that had not already been happening at the level of individuals, organisations or governments. In any case, it is good that governments are meeting," Pavel said, commenting on the resumption of joint cabinet sessions after a hiatus of three years. The last planned intergovernmental consultations, scheduled for late April and early May 2024, did not take place. The then-Czech government of Petr Fiala suspended them, citing disagreement with some steps taken by the Slovak government in foreign policy, particularly regarding Slovakia's stance on the war in Ukraine. Before that, the two governments last met in April 2023 in Trencin. A total of eight such joint sessions have been held so far. Former Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky told the Czech public broadcaster on Tuesday that although joint meetings were suspended during their time in office, it did not mean the countries stopped cooperating on specific agendas. "We cooperated, for example, on an intergovernmental agreement on healthcare cooperation, police cooperation was updated, and the foreign ministries also signed a memorandum. I fully understand Petr Fiala's position that he did not want to face today's statements by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and I support that," Lipavsky said. Earlier in the day, Prime Ministers Robert Fico and Andrej Babis signed a memorandum on enhanced cooperation between the Czech and Slovak governments, as well as another on cooperation in the peaceful use of energy. In addition, Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova and Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlicek signed a memorandum on shared responsibility for gas storage in facilities located in the Czech village of Dolni Bojanovice. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final six paragraphs mf