Slovak Government approved the Programme of the Slovak Presidency

The Programme of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union is based on four priorities: an economically strong Europe, a modern single market, a sustainable migration and asylum policies and a globally engaged Europe. The Slovak Presidency is putting forward a positive agenda and seeks to promote sustainable solutions.

Today (30 June 2016), the Slovak Government approved the Programme of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Slovak Presidency begins at a time when the Union is facing unprecedented challenges: the result of the UK Referendum calls for discussion on the future of the Union, the continuing migration crisis raises questions converning the integrity of the Schengen area, the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels have highlighted weaknesses in the area of internal security and the consequences of the economic and financial crisis are still affecting the economies of the EU Member States.

Despite these challenges and growing uncertainty, the Slovak Presidency is putting forward a positive agenda and seeks to promote sustainable solutions.

Three principles

The themes which will be at the forefront of the Slovak Presidency have three interconnecting principles: achieving tangible results - our aim is to demonstrate to EU citizens that joint European projects have a practical impact on improving their quality of life; overcoming fragmentation - we will seek to achieve results which help connect Member States more closely within the single market; and focusing on the citizen - the ability to deliver specific results and overcome fragmentation is the key to bringing the Union closer to its citizens. The Slovak Presidency aims to restore citizens' confidence in the common European project.

Four priorities

The Programme of the Slovak Presidency focuses on four priority areas: an economically strong Europe, a modern single market, sustainable migration and asylum policies and a globally engaged Europe. Despite some signs of recovery of the European economy, there is a need to give additional impetus to efforts aimed at dealing with the consequences of the economic crisis. We will therefore focus on initiatives that help create an appropriate environment for investment and for the further development of the Union. A favourable environment is a crucial prerequisite for the development and implementation of unifying European projects, which are fundamental elements of the modern single market.

The single market is considered the greatest achievement of the European Union. The vision of the Slovak Presidency is therefore to further develop unifying projects, such as the energy union or the digital single market.

Migration is a long-term historical phenomenon. However, the current migration crisis is putting enormous pressure on the EU's external borders and on the asylum systems of the Member States.The Slovak Presidency therefore seeks to encourage the Union to develop more sustainable migration and asylum policies.

In the fourth area, we aim to strengthen the Union's position in the world.