During the talks with the Slovak President, Monti also said that the Italian government had a difficult time explaining Italy’s citizens why it had been necessary to provide financial aid to Greece, even though the share of Italian investments in Greek banks was much smaller than that of Germany or France. “We appreciate that the greatest progress in the economic and monetary union was achieved with respect to the banking union which is one of our priorities. Slovakia endorses the plan for intensifying the economic and monetary union based on the four pillars: the banking union, budgetary union, economic union and the strengthening of democratic legitimacy and responsibility,” Ivan Gašparovič noted and appreciated that the group had been formed under Mario Monti’s leadership. Monti and Gašparovič also discussed the upcoming election to the European Parliament, as well as Slovaks’ attitude to EU affairs.

President Ivan Gašparovič also received minister of foreign affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt Nabil Fahmi. During their meeting, the Slovak head of state appreciated this was the first ever official visit of an Egyptian foreign affairs minister to Slovakia and said he believed the visit would start an era of new, more intensive political relations between Slovakia and Egypt.

Nabil Fahmi also talked with the Slovak President about the upcoming presidential and subsequent parliamentary elections in Egypt. Fahmi considers his participation in the GLOBSEC conference, along with his planned meetings with V4 Group foreign affairs ministers, extraordinary useful. He noted Egypt also wished to intensify economic cooperation. With respect to the “Arab Spring”, Nabil Fahmi said that the West had a too idealistic idea of the event. He explained that Egypt’s public wanted a rule of democracy but that a part of the society was still under Islamists’ influence.