President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič and his wife Silvia paid an official visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 20 – 22 November 2012. The Slovak head of state was accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Economy Tomáš Malatinský and representatives of Slovak economic, industry and research and development sectors.
Ivan Gašparovič and his wife were welcomed by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in Amsterdam, who had paid an official visit to the Slovak Republic in 2007. Together, they visited an integration centre run by the Oranje Fonds foundation under the auspices of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima with the aim of supporting social cohesion and solidarity. “I wish to appreciate the idea of setting up a community of children of different cultures and races, where they receive musical education and cement their friendships,” the Slovak President said during the visit. Afterwards, President Gašparovič accompanied by Her Majesty the Queen visited restoration workshops in Rijksmuseum – the museum of traditional arts. In his toast delivered at the banquet ceremony in the Royal Palace, the Slovak President emphasised that Queen Beatrix had won dearest regards and deep respect among the people in Slovakia during her 2007 visit. Ivan Gašparovič appreciated “the Netherlands and Slovakia are today members of the joint European and euro-Atlantic family. We share the same ideas and values – democracy, the rule of law, protection of human rights, solidarity, as well as responsibility for the future development of our community.”
The second day of the official agenda began with the President’s visit to the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. After the gong that opened the trading day on the exchange, the Slovak head of state expressed his hope that the economic crisis currently sweeping not only through Europe, but the whole of the world be soon replaced with an economic growth. “I believe it is our duty to seek ways of cooperation in order to overcome the consequences of the crisis,” he said at a meeting with Cees Vermaas, the president of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange board of directors.
The Slovak President met with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mark Rutte and leading representatives of the Dutch parliament in The Hague. During the discussion with Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the two officials agreed that the relationships and values shared by the two countries focused on the cooperation within their membership in the EU and NATO. President Gašparovič appreciated that the bilateral trade exchange had approached a pre-crisis level of EUR 2 billion last year. According to the Slovak President, there are exceptionally good prospects for cooperation in science and research: “We wish to see innovation activities be a true driver of economic growth.” According to Ivan Gašparovič, Slovakia remains keen on seeing a further inflow of Dutch investments into its economy.
They also discussed European agenda - Slovakia and the Netherlands will have an opportunity in 2016 to contribute, jointly, to EU’s achievements, holding their respective presidencies of the EU Council. With respect to the recent developments in the euro area, Ivan Gašparovič noted “at this moment we are paying for the lack of coordination in fiscal policies and the insufficiently set requirements for the control of budgetary discipline. Slovakia endorses the joint efforts of the EU to overcome the crisis and save the euro.”
At a meeting with the Slovak head of state, the President of the Senate of the Dutch parliament, Fred de Graaf, appreciated the excellent relations between Slovakia and the Netherlands, as well as the cooperation between their national parliaments. “Over the past 15 years, we have been making more or less technocratic decisions; therefore, I believe we owe the citizens an explanation of how we will solve the future of the European Union, which will not be easy,” de Graaf said. In Ivan Gašparovič’s opinion, it is necessary that national parliaments do not lose continuity with respect to the work of the European Parliament.
The talks with the President of the House of Representatives Anouchka van Miltenburg primarily focused on the Netherlands’ approach to a new fiscal policy of the European Union. In her opinion, “our task now is to explain to our voters what the EU actually does”. “It is one of the reasons for national parliaments to intensify their mutual communication. A closer cooperation with other national parliaments is one of my key priorities,” van Miltenburg pointed out. Ivan Gašparovič emphasised “it is important for us to be able to assess the impacts of the decisions made by EU senior officials and explain them to our citizens.”
In The Hague, the Slovak President and his delegation participated in the Slovak-Dutch innovation workshop organised by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and the “round-table” organised by the Dutch employers’ federation. Ivan Gašparovič told the federation’s president Bernard Wientjes that pillars of the Slovak economy included automotive, electronics and machine engineering industries, on which a substantial part of the country’s research and development activities also focused. “We believe that we have sound prospects of transforming our economy into a knowledge-based one. We would be happy to cooperate with the Netherlands in this respect, too,” Ivan Gašparovič added. He noted that despite a rather unfavourable European economic situation Slovakia remained posting relatively good economic results. “The Slovak story is a good example of how investing in a new EU member country pays out,” Ivan Gašparovič pointed out. During his visit to the Netherlands, the Slovak President also made a visit to the International Court of Justice in The Hague where he met with its President Peter Tomka. At the end of his official visit, the Slovak President, accompanied by Slovak entrepreneurs and representatives of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, visited two leading Dutch research and development facilities, in Helmond and Eidhoven.