Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico spoke by phone with European Council President António Costa. He appreciated that the new head of the Council is negotiating the draft conclusions of the European Council before its meeting, which is scheduled for 18 - 19 December.

According to Fico, Slovakia supports the preservation of transit gas routes between Ukraine and the member states of the EU: “Preserving transit cannot be just a bilateral matter of the countries neighboring Ukraine, but a matter of the entire EU”.

According to the Prime Minister, Slovakia is also in favor of further EU enlargement to include new members. He claims that Serbia, which plays a decisive role in the fight against illegal migration, deserves special support.

“We urge that the current situation in Georgia be assessed objectively. Any consideration of interfering in Georgia’s internal affairs by imposing sanctions is a red line for us”, - said Fico. As he added, he would raise the issue of double standards in assessing the state of the rule of law in individual EU member states at the meeting.