Conclusions of the Host Country From the Plenary Session of the 18th Central Europe Summit of Heads of State In Bratislava on 13th June 2013

• All participants agreed that the post-crisis recovery of our region and the restoration of economic growth should be treated so that our citizens will feel the positive effects of the renewed economic growth as soon as possible;

• Many participants supported the opinion of the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, who noted at the opening ceremony, that the countries of our region are inter-related more than we may realize. A significant proof of this had been the recent floods in the Central Europe, which had not recognized borders of states;

• At the EU level various measures to promote growth, employment and further integration of its Member States are being adopted. However, we cannot underestimate the deepening social inequalities in our societies, especially in terms of growing income polarization. To overcome the crisis it is necessary to achieve social consensus, our citizens need to understand what politicians are doing;

• Several participants stressed the need to promote employment, particularly of young people and active policy on the labour market;

• Participants in discussion also called for strengthening Europe's competitiveness through reforms. This also applies to the EU internal market, which is still not complete in several sectors (e.g. energy or digital economy);

• All participants agreed on the need for a dynamic continuation of the EU enlargement process. The European integration should also remain sufficiently attractive for candidate and aspirant countries and their citizens;

• The participants also agreed on the importance of positive results of the Summit in Vilnius in November 2013 in terms of approaching the Eastern Partnership countries to the EU;

• The plenary meeting again confirmed the uniqueness and usefulness of this sole regular forum for the meetings and immediate dialogue of Heads of State from our region – representatives of EU member states, as well as candidate and aspirant countries for the EU membership. We all face similar challenges to which we have to seek answers reflecting genuine internal developments in each country of our region.