Bratislava/Paris – Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár (Smer-SD) met on Tuesday in France with the head of the French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot, as well as with the advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron on European affairs Alexis Dutertre. They also discussed the challenges that France and the Slovak Republic face together in the EU. TASR was informed about this by the communication department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.
Juraj Blanár during the meeting with Jean-Noël Barrot emphasized that Slovakia and France have been strategic partners since 2008, when the agreement was signed on behalf of the Slovak Republic by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD).
“This strategic partnership is fulfilled through so-called five-year action plans, in which we evaluate various areas of cooperation at the national, regional, and municipal levels,” Blanár reminded. According to data from the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France is one of the most significant trading partners of the Slovak Republic within the EU, with an annual foreign trade turnover of 7.8 billion euros.
France and Slovakia face common challenges in the automotive industry and nuclear energy in the EU
The head of Slovak diplomacy stated that both countries must tackle several challenges that the EU faces, including in the automotive industry. “One of the French investments in Slovakia is also the car manufacturing company Stellantis in Trnava, which faces the same problems as other car manufacturers. Slovakia is also addressing these issues at the level of the European Union and we are trying to defend their interests at the same time,” said Blanár.
According to Blanár, the Slovak Republic is the second largest producer of electricity from nuclear power plants after France. He claims that in this area, the Slovak Republic and France can share knowledge, build on beneficial cooperation from the past, and further develop it. This applies, according to him, in the economic and investment areas, as well as in activities within the EU and the North Atlantic Alliance, but also in education.
The ministers also addressed other foreign policy issues during the meeting, such as energy, declining competitiveness of the EU, and the new European budget.
Blanár also met in Paris with Alexis Dutertre, with whom he discussed European topics, the war in Ukraine including the peace initiative of American President Donald Trump, energy, transatlantic relations, as well as defense and security. (October 29)
