The Slovak President appreciated good results of Slovak-Dutch cooperation in economy and trade, as well as the excellent cooperation of Slovak and Dutch armed forces during their joint operations in the Uruzgan province in the south of Afghanistan. Ivan Gašparovič also noted that further possibilities for cooperation with the Netherlands might come along as part of the upcoming Presidency Trio of the Council of the European Union, consisting of the Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta, starting from 2016.

The two officials also discussed cooperation of national parliaments across the EU. According to the Slovak head of state, enhanced engagement of national parliaments in decision-making processes at the EU level can be an answer to the criticism of a democracy deficit within the Union. Slovakia supports reinforcing powers of national parliaments, and their engagement in EU’s law-making so that they do not lose touch with EU affairs. With respect to the upcoming election for the European Parliament, the Slovak President said that political representatives should make more efforts to explain to the citizens what the EP does, as well as the roles and responsibilities it has. Ankie Broekers-Knol noted that people who are critical of the EU often tend to forget the enormous benefits that the EU has brought, and which they now consider commonplace. President Ivan Gašparovič also highlighted the importance of meetings of national states’ highest officials, adding such meetings were always a positive signal for businesses and investors.