Slovakia to Maintain Independent Policy Amid EU Pressure - Deputy Speaker

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Slovakia will continue its independent policy and will not yield to the EU pressure, deputy speaker of the Slovak parliament, Tibor Gaspar, told TASS. "Slovakia has always been independent within the European Union and has been pursuing its own independent foreign policy," he stated. "At some moments, we came closer to the positions taken by Hungary and specifically its Prime Minister [Viktor] Orban. And generally, we will continue pursuing our independent foreign policy." "Prime Minister [of Slovakia Robert] Fico expresses his critical views and will continue doing so where he sees that the European Union sometimes makes decisions that go against the interests of Slovakia or are not in the interests of the entire European Union," he said. "Therefore, our position remains unchanged." "We don't know to what extent [Hungary’s] future Prime Minister Peter Magyar will cooperate on these issues," he said when asked if Slovakia feels alone in pursuing an independent course within the EU. "But we would like to see more active cooperation among the so-called Visegrad Group: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary." He drew attention to the ongoing changes in Europe, citing as an example Romania where "the government has fallen because of promoting views the majority of people disagree with and seen by many as harming member states."