Security and Migration Take Priority over Brexit

Slovakia's Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday. He is the first Slovak official to attend the forum after a hiatus of 15 years. Referring to the recent speech on Brexit by British Prime Minister Theresa May, he said that after hearing the UK's wishes, the EU would like to hear what it is prepared to invest into their common partnership. "To be honest, though, security, migration, employment and communication with people in our countries are more important for EU citizens than talks on the United Kingdom's leaving the EU," said Lajcak. With respect to EU-Russia relations, Lajcak said that there needs to be a dialogue with Russia, as it is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and one of the key players in the global arena. "We mustn't ignore the fact that Russia is becoming ever more involved in addressing major international crises, like the one in Syria. We believe that a critical dialogue with Russia is better than no dialogue and better than a continued spiral of misunderstandings, failed expectations and stereotypes in the perceptions of each other," said Lajcak.