Lajčák: Slovakia should not go against its interests in V4

Slovakia should not go against its interests in the Visegrad Four Group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), said Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák (a Smer-SD nominee) in an interview with the TASR press agency. "It is no secret that the image of the Visegrad Four within the European Union is not good. It's also our mistake," said Lajčák, adding that the V4 communicates a number of rational opinions in a way that irritates its partners. "For example the Visegrad Four countries' attitude to migration was correct and time has shown that it was rational too. However, the way in which it was communicated, often in a very populist, even vulgar and negativist way, made us a lot of enemies," he said. Lajčák stressed Slovakia's high level of European integration, as the only V4 country in the eurozone. "Slovakia is fully integrated, our economy is absolutely dependent on a healthy and successful EU. The V4 is a regional platform which has been very useful to us all these years but I really don't think we should blindly go against our interests in the name of V4 solidarity," he said.