Cooperation between the European institutions and the Member States of the European Union is key to resolving current crises

Brussels (5 September) - The State Secretary at the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Government Plenipotentiary for the Slovak Presidency i of the Council of the  iEU, Ivan Korčok, presented the Slovak Presidency's priorities in the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) on Monday.

“The presentation to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs today was primarily aimed at calibrating constructively the relations between the Slovak Presidency and the important committee of the European Parliament,” said Mr Korčok. He drew attention to some politically sensitive issues, such as the reform of the electoral system for the European Parliament election and the enhancing of the investigatory powers of the European Parliament, which are part of AFCO’s agenda.

“I wish to voice appreciation for the pragmatic approach of the committee chair, Ms Hübner, towards issues addressed by the committee,” said Mr Korčok. Prior to the presentation, the Slovak official had a working lunch with Ms Hübner and the chief coordinators of the committee’s political groups - Mr Schöpflin for the European People’s Party (EPP), Ms Bresso for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats i (S&D), Ms Ruiz for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and Mr Annemans for the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF).

In his talks with the committee’s members, Mr Korčok also discussed the political ramifications of the decision that the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland had taken in the referendum on the country’s EU membership. Against this backdrop, he pointed to the forthcoming informal meeting of 27 leaders of the European Union’s Member States that is intended to mark the beginning of the ‘Bratislava Process’ in the EU. This represents a series of measures in key areas such as migration, security and the economy, which are intended to restore the trust of citizens in the common European project.

The meeting showed that the complicated situation in which the European Union has found itself requires close and constructive cooperation involving all important stakeholders - the Member States and the European institutions alike.