 | The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, and his wife Barbara Mikliè Türk are on an official visit to the Czech Republic yesterday and today. On the first day of their visit they were received with military honours by the President of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus, and his wife Livia Klausová. Following was a discussion between the presidential couples and talks between the Slovenian and Czech delegations.
The Slovenian President stressed that close relations between the Czech Republic and Slovenia are friendly and based on historical ties, both in the area of political relations as well as in the area of economic and cultural cooperation. According to Dr Türk, trade between the two countries, currently amounting to approximately one billion euros, shows an increasing trend, with very high growth rates over the last few years. The area of cultural cooperation was given new impetus through a cooperation programme adopted last year. In the President’s opinion, there are ample opportunities for cooperation in the future. President Türk and President Klaus shared the view that relations between the two countries are very good and amicable. Both expressed the hope that relations will continue in this vein in the future. The two presidents also exchanged experience and opinions on the European Union, given that the Czech Republic will take on the EU Council Presidency in just a few weeks. They talked about the Lisbon Strategy and agreed that solutions for the future of the European Union should be sought in the principle of equality among sovereign EU Member States; it is therefore important that enough time is allowed in decision-making for careful consideration through democratic processes in individual Member States.
Later in his visit, President Türk met the President of the Senate of the Czech Parliament, Pĝemysl Sobotka; in their talks the two statesmen touched on the recent judgement of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic assessing the conformity of the Lisbon Strategy with national legislation. They also addressed the issue of a stable energy supply and environmental protection. President Türk then held a meeting with the Lord Mayer of Prague, Dr Pavel Bém.
On the second day of his official visit to the Czech Republic, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, met the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr Mirek Topolánek. Their talks focused on bilateral topics and, in particular, economic issues. President Türk and Prime Minister Topolánek also touched upon topical issues on the European Union's agenda, such as the recovery of financial flows, which have been slowing down, and boosting of demand which is essential for attaining Europe's required economic growth. The energy and climate package and further enlargement of the European Union were also discussed.
Following the talks, President Türk held a meeting with Slovenians living in the Czech Republic. He concluded his official visit by delivering a lecture entitled “European Union: an area of globalisation” at the Charles University in Prague. |