Slovak leading politicians praise Schengen area

Slovak leading politicians praise Schengen area

The creation of the Schengen free movement area is one of the biggest successes of European integration and a sign of free life within the EU, said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Sunday. He also stressed that it is a priority of his government to stay in the centre of the integration processes; "we are ready to continue in fulfilling commitments towards our partners with the aim of strengthening the security of the Schengen area," he said. According to Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, accepting Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area would provide an opportunity to help protect the outer European border more intensively. The addition of these countries would join Greece to the rest of the European Union, since at present it is like an island, part of the free movement area and yet not bordering with any other Schengen member state. Therefore, Slovakia supports Bulgaria and Romania's entry to this club.

As TASR wrote on Sunday, economic analysts believe that Membership of the Schengen Area is vital for Slovakia. Apart from making travelling for work and tourism easier, it also reduces costs and time in foreign trade, noted Slovenská sporiteľna bank analyst Katarína Muchová. She stressed that as much as 80% of Slovakia's exports go to countries within the Schengen Area, while imports from the zone represent 54% of the total volume. "If it weren't for the Schengen Area, the movement of goods would be slower and limited, affecting the country's competitiveness and economic growth," she said. Sberbank Europe head analyst Vladimír Vaňo pointed out that the importance of the Schengen Area for the movement of goods seems to be underestimated, noting that Slovakia's exports to countries within the zone currently work almost exclusively on the basis of just-in-time deliveries, which would hardly be feasible without open borders. According to Muchová, while labour mobility inside Slovakia is not significant, the number of Slovaks travelling for work across Schengen borders appears to be far more pronounced.

Mojmir Prochazka, Photo: AP/SITA

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