BRATISLAVA, January 18, (WEBNOVINY) — Finland is the leader in the quality of education and introducing innovations, and Slovakia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mikulas Dzurinda who paid a two-day visit to the country spoke about this issue, too. Dzurinda asked his Finish counterpart Alexander Stubb to lobby at Finish Ministry of Education, as Slovakia would like to cooperate in this area. Education programs will be evaluated in Bratislava in March and an innovation forum will be held in the fall. Dzurinda told SITA news agency that Finland promised cooperation to Slovakia in these two events.
The two partners devoted attention to current European and security topics, as well as to overcoming the economic crisis, the European Financial Stability Facility and protection of the eurozone. Dzurinda claims that they are on the same wavelength with Stubb regarding these topics. “The euro is not a mistake, the problem are we, politicians,” the Slovak minister explained, adding that politicians get countries into debt. “More responsibility and less populism,” the ministers agreed. They also discussed Belarus, the western Balkans, the Middle East, and Eastern Partnership. Within the topic of security, they talked about Slovakia’s involvement in Afghanistan, common European defense policy, and the relation of NATO and the EU.
The head of Slovak diplomacy met with Finish Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinisto. The talks centered around the same topics, but the meeting was very emotive as Dzurinda has known Niinisto since 1996. He assured the head of Finish parliament that Helsinki would always remain in the hearts of Slovaks, as that is where Slovakia received an invitation to the EU in December 1999.
SITA