1. Home
  2. News
  3. European Affairs
26.03.2024

In Ljubljana a meeting of foreign affairs ministers of the informal C5 Group (C5) initiative was held today (26 March 2024). The invitation by Slovenia's chief diplomat Tanja Fajon was also accepted by Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár who attended the negotiations, along with his counterparts from the Czech Republic (Minister Jan Lipavský), Hungary (Minister Péter Szijjártó) and Austria (Minister Alexander Schallenberg) as well as Slovenia (Minister Tanja Fajon).

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár welcomes the decision by leaders of the European Union member states on opening EU accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina. He emphasized that it is an important step for strengthening stability, economic prosperity and a European perspective for the Western Balkan countries. The Union enlargement with Bosnia and Herzegovina is also in the interest of Slovakia and its integration into the EU is something that the Slovak Republic has long promoted.

19.03.2024

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union (GAC) in Brussels on 19 March 2024. The main topic of the meeting was the preparation of the March European Council, starting this Thursday in Brussels that will have a rich foreign policy agenda.

On Monday, 18 March 2024, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, held a telephone conversation with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova for European Integration Cristina Gherasimova. The main topic of the talks was Moldova's integration into the European Union.

18.03.2024

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár attended the opening of the European Humanitarian Forum and then the March Foreign Affairs Council of the EU in Brussels on 18 March 2024. The main topics of the negotiations among the EU chief diplomats were the ongoing assistance for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and in Belarus.

13.03.2024

The decision to remove Slovak citizen Jozef Hambálek from the European Union's sanctions list enters into force as of Thursday, 14 March 2024. All EU Member States have supported the activities of Slovak diplomacy, which has been working hard to have the Slovak citizen removed from the sanctions list since the new Slovak government took office under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Fico and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanár.

12.03.2024

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Marek Eštok paid a planned working visit to the Czech Republic, Prague, on 11 March 2024. He was received by the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and also held talks with the Sherpa* of the Prime Minister for EU Matters and National Security Advisor to the Government of the Czech Republic, Tomas Poyar, as well as with the Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Eduard Hulicius. They discussed, in particular, topical issues on the EU agenda in preparation for the March European Council.

05.03.2024

Today (5 March 2024) the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok (who also acts as the Slovak prime minister's sherpa*), participated in a meeting between Prime Minister Robert Fico and Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute and the former Prime Minister of Italy. At the meeting, the participants reviewed the main challenges of the European Union's single market and focused on experiences and conditions within the Slovak economy.

04.03.2024 Bulgaria

The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Slovak Republic and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Bratislava organised a gala concert this evening (4 March 2024) in the Mirror Hall of the Primate's Palace in Bratislava, as part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Slovakia's accession to the European Union. The event, which featured "Modern Opera Voices of Bulgaria" and highlighted the mutual Slovak-Bulgarian relations within the framework of the two countries' presence in the European Union, was opened by the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, together with the Bulgarian Ambassador to Slovakia, Vassil Petkov.

State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Marek Eštok represented Slovakia at the negotiations held by the leaders of European foreign affairs ministries today. He attended the session of the General Affairs Council of the EU in Brussels on 20 February 2024.

20.02.2024

State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Marek Eštok attended the session of the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU (FAC) in Brussels on 19 January 2024. Main topics of the talks by EU foreign affairs ministers were the situation in the Middle East, as well as developments in Ukraine and the African Sahel region.

05.02.2024

On 5 February 2024, Marek Eštok, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic and sherpa* of the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, chaired a meeting of the Strategic Commission for European Affairs in Bratislava. The meeting was attended by State Secretaries of all Slovak ministries. Marek Eštok informed them about current European issues that require inter-ministerial cooperation.

03.02.2024

On 2 February 2024, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Marek Eštok attended the third India-Pacific Forum of the European Union in Brussels.

29.01.2024

State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Marek Eštok attended the session of the General Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels on 29 January 2024.

22.01.2024

On 22 January 2024, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, attended a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels. The main topics of the meeting of the EU chief diplomats were the situation in the Middle East and aid to Ukraine.

31.12.2023

On 30 December 2023, the EU Member States unanimously approved the agreement on the partial integration of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen zone. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, welcomed the decision, which will include the two countries into the Schengen open-borders area by air and sea as of March 2024. Negotiations about land borders are set to continue at the European level next year.

22.12.2023 France

On 22 December 2023, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, received Pascal Le Deunff, Ambassador of the French Republic.

12.12.2023

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels on 12 December 2023.

12.12.2023

On 11 December 2023, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, attended a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. In their discussions, the foreign ministers of the EU member states focused primarily on the situation in the Middle East, the Sahel and continued their talks on Ukraine. The ministerial meeting took place ahead of an EU summit, which is due to grant political approval to a number of decisions.

27.11.2023 France

On 27 November 2023, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, held talks with Secretary of State to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Laurence Boone, in Paris.

21.11.2023

Š0n 21 November 2023, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok held a series of bilateral talks with ambassadors, in Bratislava. He separately met with Ambassador Lorea Arribalzaga Ceballos of the Kingdom of Spain, Ambassador Merle Pajula of Estonia, and Ambassador Gautam Rana of the United States. During discussions with Ms. Ceballos, they exchanged views on the current challenges of EU foreign and security policy, as well as on ways to enhance cooperation.

15.11.2023

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, attended the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels on 15 November 2023. The meeting focused on the preparation of the December European Council that also plans to revise the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, discuss the military conflict in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and EU enlargement.

13.11.2023

On 13 November 2023, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, attended his first EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels since taking the office.

09.11.2023

On 9 November 2023 Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár attended a session of the European Affairs Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, where he got his mandate for his first negotiations at the Council of the EU for Foreign Affairs in Brussels.

23.10.2023

On 23 October 2023 Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Wlachovský attended the session of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (EU) in Luxembourg.

10.10.2023

On Tuesday, 10 October 2023, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Miroslav Wlachovský, attended an extraordinary videoconference of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. The emergency meeting of the EU foreign ministers was convened by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

10.10.2023

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Peter Mišík, attended a meeting between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), gathered on the occasion of the 27th Joint Council in Muscat, Oman on 9 and 10 October 2023.

07.10.2023

On 7 October 2023, Miroslav Wlachovský, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, spoke at the GLOBSEC Tatra Summit 2023 international conference held at Štrbské Pleso in the High Tatras mountains.

02.10.2023 Ukraine

On Monday 2 October 2023 Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Wlachovský attended an informal session of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (EU) in Kyiv. This was the first ever meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Ukraine.

28.09.2023

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Peter Mišík, attended the informal General Affairs ministerial meeting in Murcia, Spain. The meeting was held under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU on 27-28 September 2023.