Slovak President meets Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša

The President of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Gašparovič, met with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša. Their discussion focused mainly on Slovakia’s prospects of joining the Eurozone and Slovenia’s experiences after the adoption of the euro.

Janez Janša said that "Slovakia did the right thing when it decided to join the Eurozone. Slovakia is the first of the V4 Group countries to adopt the euro. This move helps Slovakia to become better known both in Europe and globally, and contributes to increasing its international ratings."

The Slovenian Prime Minister says that the Slovak Republic has chosen the right time for its entry to the Eurozone considering the favourable development trends in the EU’s economy, which makes meeting the Maastricht criteria easier. Janez Janša further said that remaining countries were missing this excellent chance and favourable circumstances for joining the Eurozone. Both top officials agreed that the Eurozone enlargement also has a strategic importance for the enlargement of the European Union generally.

Further, they briefly touched on the issue of the European constitutional treaty. Janez Janša warned that it is important to have clearly defined decision-making rules at EU level because "the more these rules are obscured, the easier it is for large countries to misuse them." Janša and Gašparovič agreed that the adoption of the treaty was important in terms of the global significance of the European Union.

Discussing the issue of the Kosovo status, the Slovenian Prime Minister, employing his detailed knowledge of the region, informed the Slovak President about the Slovenian government’s opinions on the problem.