Slovak and Czech Interior Ministers Want to Continue Cooperation

Bratislava, January 25 (TASR) - Interior Minister Roman Mikulec (OLaNO) and his Czech counterpart Vit Rakusan, who is paying a visit to Slovakia on Tuesday, want to continue cooperation between the two countries within their ministries. The two ministers discussed cooperation between the two countries' Police Corps and rescue services. In the event of an escalation of the situation in Ukraine, the Czech minister also offered the help of Czech police officers on Slovakia's eastern border, which is at the same time the external border of the Schengen area. The Slovak minister said that the current agreement on the cooperation between the Slovak and Czech Police Corps will be extended. The ministers also want to address the possibility of joint procurement of equipment for their Police Corps. They also discussed the cooperation between Czech and Slovak fire brigades and mountain rescue services. The two officials also touched the issue of the situation in Ukraine. "We found a common language in this field, too," stated Mikulec, adding they spoke about several scenarios for action at the EU's external border. According to Rakusan, Slovakia and the Czech Republic must take any potential action jointly and any potential measure in synergy. Rakusan also consulted with Mikulec the upcoming Czech Presidency over the Council of the European Union. "We proposed to our Slovak partners that if they want to accent any of their issues during our presidency, we are, naturally, ready to include them in our agenda," stated Rakusan. The ministers also agreed on fine-tuning of joint positions of Slovakia and the Czech Republic before foreign trips. Rakusan talked about "a kind of exclusivity" in this context. ko/mcs