Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok praised the Hungarian fight against the coronavirus epidemic, described the Hungarian vaccination campaign as exemplary, criticized and called the spread of fake news dangerous on Tuesday in Melník in central Bohemia.
"Vaccination is a free exit from the pandemic to freedom," stated Ivan Korcok. He asked his fellow citizens: "why do they believe senseless news instead of protecting themselves and their close relatives". Korcok described the fake news about vaccines against the coronavirus as "medieval darkness".
Regarding the vaccination of the population, Slovakia ranks last among the five Central European countries participating in the Melník meeting, noted the Slovak Foreign Minister. He stated: this situation forced the government to tighten border controls from Monday, and on the basis of this, all unvaccinated persons arriving in Slovakia are subject to quarantine.
The only way to defeat the coronavirus epidemic is to ensure that the population is vaccinated as much as possible - the Hungarian, Czech, Austrian, Slovenian and Slovak foreign ministers stated at the meeting.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó emphasized the need for strong and efficient Central European cooperation. "We can get out of the economic crisis faster with joint efforts, " he emphasized. Péter Szijjártó pointed out the importance of vaccination against the coronavirus and the danger of spreading fake news related to it, and the responsibility of the producers of fake news.
"There is complete agreement between us that we can only fight the epidemic with vaccinations," stated the host, Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek.
He announced: as the fourth wave of the epidemic threatens, the participants of the meeting in Melník agreed to create a coordination group for more effective measures and a faster, better exchange of information. "It is important that we are informed of all planned measures in time and do not cause surprises to each other, " explained the head of the Czech diplomacy.
Slovenian Anze Logar and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg supported the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union.
The ministers unanimously described the economic cooperation of the countries of the region as important.
The foreign ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia - the so-called Central European Five (C5) - took part in the meeting, which was carried out on the Czech initiative. The ministers mainly exchanged views on the experience of the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, the promotion of the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union, and the possibilities of deepening the cooperation with the countries of the Eastern Partnership.
MTI
Photo: MTI/Csaba Krizsán
