Prime Minister Fico Held Talks with Eurozone President Juncker

On Thursday in Lisbon, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and the current president of the Eurozone, Jean-Claude Juncker, where the EU summit is taking place.
Prime Minister Fico stressed at the meeting that Slovakia wants to carry out a responsible fiscal policy so that it is ready to enter the Eurozone in 2009. Mr. Juncker said, with regard to this topic, that adoption of the euro is not a political matter, but a technical one, and that no one wants to prevent Slovakia from accession to the Eurozone. He also stressed that the European Commission is to decide on Slovak preparedness for adoption of the common European currency in spring of 2008. Mr. Juncker advised Slovakia to keep an eye on finances and fiscal discipline on its way toward the euro.