Prime Minister Fiala held talks with French President Macron and Slovak Prime Minister Ódor in Bratislava

On 31 May 2023, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala met with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the Globsec international conference in Bratislava. The leaders discussed cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, strategic cooperation, further support for Ukraine and current European issues. Subsequently, Prime Minister Fiala held talks with his Slovak counterpart Ľudovít Ódor. The Prime Ministers discussed bilateral cooperation, especially in the energy and defence sectors, as well as regional cooperation priorities in view of the upcoming Czech Presidency of the Visegrad Group and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

Prime Minister Fiala appreciated the role of France in the so-called Nuclear Alliance, which brings together EU Member States that support the use of nuclear energy as a low-emission resource and a key tool for decarbonising the economy. “One of the common topics of the Czech Republic and France is nuclear energy, because we belong to those like-minded countries that believe in the development of nuclear energy and, most importantly, cannot imagine their energy mix without the development of nuclear energy, also in terms of meeting the climate goals to which Europe and individual countries have committed themselves. France is a strong and important ally for us in this matter,” said Prime Minister Fiala.

Another important topic of the meeting was the situation in Ukraine, where the Prime Minister appealed for continued support for Ukraine and unity not only of the EU but also of the entire democratic world. The leaders also discussed the possibility of France's involvement in the project of high-speed lines in the Czech Republic and the Euro 7 standard. “We are convinced that the current proposal that has been submitted needs to be significantly modified and I am glad that we have a strong ally on the side of the French President in this matter,” added the Prime Minister.

France was the Czech Republic's 4th most important trading partner in imports and 8th in exports last year. The trade balance has increased fourfold in the last twenty years. The majority of Czech exports to France consist of automobiles and automotive components, computer components, telecommunications equipment, buses and appliances.

In the evening, the Czech Prime Minister met with Slovak Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor in Bratislava. This was the first meeting with the newly appointed Prime Minister of the caretaker government. Prime Minister Fiala stressed that relations between our countries are excellent. “Our countries are very close in all areas, we share similar views and face the same challenges, which naturally leads to the search for common solutions,” said Prime Minister Fiala.

The Prime Ministers discussed a wide range of topics – from defence cooperation to regional cooperation, current European issues and energy security. “We have very good cooperation in the area of security and defence cooperation, which is extremely important today. We also mentioned the issue of Ukraine. I can state that our view is the same, we are unequivocally convinced that we must support Ukraine with all available means and we must continue to reject Russian aggression,” said the Czech Prime Minister. The two leaders also discussed further cooperation in the V4 format. In these weeks, Slovakia is completing its presidency of the V4 group, which will then be taken over by the Czech Republic.