Slovak President Receives Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas

Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič received Petr Nečas, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, during his official visit to Slovakia.

Ivan Gašparovič noted that cooperation with his Czech counterpart Václav Klaus was excellent and expressed his belief that the relations with the Czech Prime Minister would be equally good and friendly.

Gašparovič reiterated the need to strengthen mutual cultural exchange, allowing the Czechs and Slovaks to learn more about each other and preserve language comprehension among the younger generations that came after the split of Czechoslovakia.

The Slovak head of state also touched on the planned reform of university education in the Czech Republic – a move that will affect hundreds of Slovak students attending Czech universities.

Petr Nečas confirmed the plans to introduce “tuition fees” at the Czech universities. However, he added the reform should not make university education less accessible for socially disadvantaged groups of population.

President Ivan Gašparovič and his Czech guest also discussed the situation in the EU in light of the events that have put the stability of the euro area in peril. “Nobody forced us into the EU. We joined it voluntarily and, therefore, we should take a responsible approach towards the principles of solidarity which Europe needs now,” Mr President commented on the recent decision of the new Slovak government to support the European Financial Stability Facility.

Petr Nečas informed the Slovak head of state about the intentions of the new Czech government to consolidate public finance, reduce the country’s debt and accelerate the economy.