The President of the Slovak Republic and the President of the Republic of Poland meet in Tatranská Javorina

The Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič met with the Polish President Lech Kaczynsky in Tatranská Javorina.

The main topics discussed by the two heads of state included entry into the Schengen Space, cross-border cooperation and use of the European Structural Funds to support such cooperation. The two Presidents also discussed common challenges for the four Visegrad countries, concluding that V4 cooperation has grown in quantity and in importance since the entry of these countries into the EU. The current voting power of the V4 countries in the European Council is the same as that of Germany and France together.

Cooperation within the V4 strengthens our chances to achieve goals and increase the significance of our countries in Europe. A consensual proposal was put forward during the discussion, whereby if a Council of Elders is created, or a Group of the Wise, as promoted especially by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the V4 Group countries would have a single joint representative.

The Polish President also supported the cooperation with the Baltic States of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. He is convinced that Slovakia will support the idea of this cooperation. The Presidents also discussed NATO membership, next year’s meeting in Budapest, improvement of cross-border cooperation between Slovakia and Poland and cooperation in tourism, the energy sector and sport.

According to Ivan Gašparovič, Poland is an important business partner for Slovakia. After overtaking Italy, Poland is now Slovakia’s fourth largest trading partner. The Polish President added that both countries should cooperate more intensively as their languages are related and the relationship is not burdened by historical disputes.