Fico in Paris discussed nuclear energy, defense and the EU’s competitiveness with Macron
Paris/Bratislava – The Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico (Smer-SD) met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday. According to him, they held a confidential conversation that lasted almost two hours. They discussed nuclear energy, defense, the EU’s competitiveness and Ukraine. The Slovak Prime Minister stated this in a post on a social network, TASR reports.
At the meeting, according to Robert Fico, the closeness of France and Slovakia, based on the strategic partnership agreement, was demonstrated. In connection with cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the Slovak Prime Minister confirmed that he will meet with the top representatives of Électricité de France (EDF) and Framatome. In March, he will also take part in the nuclear summit in Paris.
The leaders also addressed defense in their conversation. “Given the concept of a stronger, more independent and more sovereign EU, which I also support, it was natural that we also paid attention to the opportunities created by the advanced arms industry in France and the dynamically developing Slovak arms industry,” the Prime Minister said.
In the European agenda, competitiveness dominated the discussion. In this context, the Prime Minister asked Emmanuel Macron to consider the initiatives that the Slovak Republic, together with other member states, will present at the informal meeting of the European Council in February with the aim of reducing electricity prices. They also addressed the enlargement of the EU, particularly to the countries of the Western Balkans. The head of the Slovak government emphasized that, in his view, the EU is acting unfairly towards Serbia in this area.
Another topic of the talks was the war in Ukraine. The Slovak Prime Minister stressed that he and the French President have different views on some aspects of the conflict. He presented to Macron his vision of the further development of the war and informed him about the humanitarian aid that the Slovak Republic is providing to Ukraine.
Fico also presented to the French President the priorities of the upcoming Slovak presidency of the Visegrad Four (V4) and emphasized the importance of a possible meeting between the V4 prime ministers and the French President in the second half of 2026.
Macron also commented on the meeting with Fico on the social network X. In a post in Slovak, he writes about a “strategic awakening.” According to him, the purpose of the joint meeting was more unity and solidarity to ensure European independence. “Our European and bilateral agenda must enable us to accelerate progress in what is essential – in the field of energy, competitiveness, defense, but also the protection of our democracies, based on the values of the European Union,” the French President said. (29 January)
“We also paid attention to the opportunities created by the advanced arms industry in France and the dynamically developing Slovak arms industry.” Robert Fico
