Taraba and Simecka Agree on Danko's Rhetoric in Moscow to Be Dangerous

(TA3, 'V politike', January 19) The rhetoric of SNS leader Andrej Danko in Moscow, in which he accused Western powers of inciting conflicts between nations and creating instability in Central and Eastern Europe, is dangerous, according to Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) and MP and Progressive Slovakia (PS) party leader Michal Simecka, who agreed on the TA3 discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday. Taraba stressed that he has nothing against visits to Moscow and meetings with representatives of the Russian Federation when it comes to defending Slovakia's national interests. "If someone is using this to undermine relations with our allies in the European Union (EU) and NATO, I don’t understand that," he added. The PS leader agrees with this view but considers the statements made by House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD), about the possibility of Slovakia leaving the EU to be an even greater threat. "The premier essentially confirmed these words in his video on social media, where he spoke about the possible collapse of the EU in a way that he himself would desire," Simecka said. According to Simecka, these statements could also have a negative economic impact, such as reluctance from foreign partners to invest in Slovakia. Taraba believes that Gaspar's words were misinterpreted. "No one is planning to leave the EU and NATO, but we must be critical of what isn't working within the Union, and if these issues aren't addressed, it could trigger a process in other countries similar to what happened in the UK, leading to Brexit," he stated. Gaspar, in an interview with STVR on Friday (January 17), commented on the opposition SaS's proposal to enshrine Slovakia's membership in the EU and NATO in the Slovak Constitution. The House Vice-chair noted that Slovakia joined both organisations based on a referendum and the same rule should also apply to a possible withdrawal, which he described as a last-resort solution. lin