BRATISLAVA, October 26, (WEBNOVINY) — Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic and the King of Norway Harald V. praised the Slovak-Norwegian relations at Tuesday’s news conference, calling them very good. The monarch, who arrived with his spouse Queen Sonja in Slovakia on Monday evening, underscored that “Norway and Slovakia are partners in NATO, for instance, but also within European structures, as Norway is an associated country of the European Union.
During their talks, the two state representatives devoted attention to economic, cultural and scientific cooperation, but also spoke about funds that flow to Slovakia and other countries through the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, the so-called Norway Grants. Slovakia will receive about EUR 80 million from these sources in 2010-2014.
Gasparovic and Harald V of Norway also tackled the participation of armed forces in NATO and U.N. missions, relations with countries of the Balkans, migration, and the Roma community. The issue of the Roma community cannot be presented as a specific problem of some county in Europe, Gasparovic told journalists. Each country is trying to seek solutions individually, there will always be some organizations and groups that will complain about violation of human rights, said the Slovak President. He called for a common European policy to prevent such situations.
SITA