A transcript of a press conference given by the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia at Downing Street on 17 November 2009.
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Prime Minister:
Can I say what a pleasure it is to welcome the Prime Minister of Slovakia today, my friend Robert Fico. We have talked on many occasions before. We have discussed the challenges that we all face in Europe together, and he is a very good friend of Britain, and I welcome you to Downing Street today.
Robert Fico:
Thank you very much.
Prime Minister:
We have had very good talks. We have been talking about the European economy and how it can grow over the course of the next year. We have been talking about our responsibilities on climate change and how we progress towards the Copenhagen conference, where we have a coordinated European position. I believe that we can make progress in the next few days as we proceed to Copenhagen. And we have also talked about Afghanistan.
As you know, we are part of a 43-nation coalition. Slovakia is a very important part of that coalition; I thank the Prime Minister for the decisions that he’s made in the past to make sure that there are forces in Afghanistan supporting the NATO effort. I believe that we should thank his forces for the work they do.
But I am also very pleased today that he is announcing that he is doubling the forces he will make available in Afghanistan. This will be part of the NATO mission; it shows the coordinated effort we are all prepared to make to train up the Afghan forces to ensure that they can take control of their own territory and gradually we can see a move towards districts being under the control of the Afghans themselves. For Slovakia to make that decision is something that I applaud the Prime Minister for. To be able to announce it today in London is, I think, important as we prepare for the next stage in Afghanistan.
We are determined to make sure that the British public understand that this is a coalition of many people. There is a great deal of burden-sharing; there are more forces ready to come in from other countries, and I believe that we will be approaching a number of other countries in the next few days, but I’m pleased to announce that the Prime Minister of Slovakia is making this announcement today.
Slovakia is a very important member of the European Union. It has just joined the Euro in the last few months. Its contribution to the European economy will grow over the next few months and the next few years, and our relationships - investment between our two countries, but also the political relationships between our two countries - are going to grow. And I thank Prime Minister Fico for coming here today, and I ask him now to address both the British and the Slovakian press.
Robert Fico:
Thank you. Mr British Prime Minister, thank you very much for this meeting and an interesting discussion. I would like to add to the Prime Minister’s information that we also spoke about economic bilateral cooperation.
I also emphasise that there are no open political issues between our two countries and that we are determined to use these good relationships to boost our economic cooperation. And if we take into account that there are approximately 170,000 students and people working here in the United Kingdom, then I believe that the position of the United Kingdom - ranking only fifth as an investor in Slovakia - does not reflect this situation. And we agreed with the Prime Minister that we will focus on this issue.
I am also pleased that Slovakia, as a full-part member of the European Union, is able to present a common position in the climate-change conference in Copenhagen. And I also believe that the European Union will be a leader during this conference, and will be able to reach the main objective of signing a detailed contract during the conference.
I would also like to confirm that Slovakia supports the Prime Minister’s position in relation to proposals to regulate a financial market. I believe that the Prime Minister’s position is clear and I have to highly appreciate the Prime Minister’s contribution in this field within the whole of the European Union.
Today I reiterated my position, which I presented during the defence ministers’ meeting in Bratislava. I repeat that the Government of the Slovak Republic perceives the principal difference between the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, and therefore we decided right in the beginning of our term to withdraw our soldiers from Iraq.
We consider objectives in Afghanistan as legitimate and therefore Slovakia is interested and keen to contribute to the joint efforts of NATO in Afghanistan. We are prepared to significantly increase the number of Slovak soldiers - currently 250 - and at the same time to change the mandate of our mission to make it possible for our units to operate also in other regions, not only in Kabul and Kandahar.
In this way Slovakia, as a member of the 43-country coalition, wants to contribute to the achievement of legitimate objectives in Afghanistan. And I use this opportunity to express my deep compassion with all the victims of the United Kingdom in Afghanistan.
Ladies and gentlemen, I came to London on a day that is a national holiday in Slovakia. I am pleased that I was able to spend this day in London. The United Kingdom has always been a good friend and partner of the Slovak Republic. I would like to thank the United Kingdom for its support of our entry into the European Union, but at the same time, Prime Minister, I would also like to thank you for your attitude towards our citizens working in the United Kingdom. I believe that our next meeting will be held in a more positive and better economic and general global context. Thank you very much for this meeting.
Prime Minister:
Thank you.
Question:
Prime Minister Brown, do you still back Tony Blair in his bid for presidency of the EU and how hopeful are you that this will succeed? Prime Minister Fico, do you back Prime Minister Brown in this decision?
Prime Minister:
Yes, we do. This will be discussed at the meeting on Thursday, but I must say that today our main discussion was about Afghanistan. I have said that NATO and other allies can bring 5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The announcement by the Slovakian Prime Minister that he is prepared to bring extra troops to Afghanistan is very important. As I said, we will be approaching other countries and I believe that nearly 10 countries will be prepared to give extra support in Afghanistan, including Britain. That has been the basis of our discussions today, not talking about personalities, but policy.
Robert Fico:
I would like to add to the answer of the Prime Minister. I would like to say that, in my view, the President of the Council should not be just a man who simply organises meetings and directs or hosts the discussion. I believe that the position of the European Union is such that, for this position, we need a personality that is respected in Europe as well as all around the world. However, we spend so much energy on institutional issues that it would be really bad if we spent equal amounts of energy on personal issues. I believe that the next meetings of the Council would focus mainly and exclusively on the issues of the global crisis and economic issues. I can also only confirm that today’s meeting focused on these principal topics.
Question:
I would like to raise a question for both Prime Ministers. I would like to know whether you spoke also about the fight against the economic crisis.
Prime Minister:
We did, indeed, and we talked about the problem of unemployment as well as the challenge of restoring economic growth. Slovakia has a record of very high economic growth. The policies that the Prime Minister has been pursuing have been good policies. I believe that his economy will grow next year and that the European Union forecast for next year makes Slovakia one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. We all experienced a financial crisis. We have all had to deal with the problem of unemployment. We are all now having to prepare for a recovery by taking the right decisions. I believe that the decisions taken in Slovakia mean that economic growth will be one of the highest in Europe in the next year.
Robert Fico:
I believe that, throughout the European Union, we share the views that the era of further and further incentives to economic growth has ended. Currently, we have to focus on exit strategies and to consolidate public finances, because public debts grew through many incentives. Our main interest is unemployment - [political reference]. Therefore, I asked the Prime Minister to focus on business and economic issues in Slovakia.
Prime Minister:
We will be very happy to look at how we can increase investment and trade between our two countries. Perhaps we can have a conference to look at how trade and commerce between the two countries can be expanded in the next few years. That, we discussed and that we are prepared to do. Thank you all very much.
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