Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic is representing Slovakia at the summit of EU leaders that is being held in Brussels to discuss further co-ordination on the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, security and external relations. The premiers and presidents of the EU 27 were seeking a compromise regarding the EU budget after Hungary and Poland initially threatened to block the agreement if the drawing of funds was conditioned by adherence to the rule of law. Despite the power to block the entire seven-year budget, Slovakia's two neighbours did not use it. Ahead of the summit, the Slovak Prime Minister expressed his positive hopes: "I believe that within the EU family we can come to an agreement and find a common solution as the common budget requires mutual approval."
The Slovak opposition, however, lacks the positive attitude of the Premier calling the government's action a betrayal. In his reaction, former three-times Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Budapest and Warsaw had achieved what they wanted, but Slovakia's diplomacy had suffered a bitter defeat: "The huge success consists in the fact that they can now file a proposal with the Court of Justice of the European Union to declare this decree null and void, with everyone being obliged to wait for the decision," said Fico who wants Slovakia to apologise to Poland and Hungary.
Chief of Slovak diplomacy Ivan Korcok (SaS nominee) calls on opposition Smer-SD to stop insulting Hungary and Poland with respect to a deal concluded on the EU budget, as Korcok views Smer-SD's assessments that the deal is a "victory for Hungary and Poland over some nonsensical rule of law conditions" absurd. On Friday, Korcok reported on a social network that EU leaders arrived at an agreement on the EU budget on Thursday (December 10) that will enable the implementation of the EU's 2021 budget, 7-year budget and the coronavirus recovery fund dubbed EU Next Generation. "The deal is a victory for everyone - mostly the people of Slovakia and the whole EU," noted Korcok.
EU leaders have also come to the agreement upon a new EU emissions reduction target for 2030. This will allow the EU to submit its updated nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change before the end of 2020. Slovak Prime Minister confirmed that Slovakia is ready to accept the compromise to reduce emissions by 50% until 2030 when compared to 1990: "Of course, I advocate the Slovak position of applying the principle of the so called technological neutrality enabling us decide ourselves how to meet this goal."
On 11 December the leaders will also meet for the Euro Summit.
