- Prime Minister Fico recommends rejecting Slovakia’s invitation to the Peace Council.
- The government will deal with the topic at the next meeting.
- Minister Blanár also rejects the Slovak Republic’s accession due to inconsistency with the law.
According to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), Slovakia should reject the invitation to the Peace Council. “We are not in favor of the creation of some parallel structures about which we do not know everything,” he stated at Tuesday’s press conference. He does not agree with the billion membership or the cancellation of existing international institutions. The government will deal with the topic at Wednesday’s (January 28) meeting.
“I think that, with great thanks, the Slovak Republic should decline this invitation and we should not pursue it any further. Nevertheless, Slovakia will be among the countries that have always called and will call for peace,” declared the Prime Minister.
According to him, existing international institutions such as the UN should be reformed, not abolished. “As Slovakia, we have a huge interest in becoming a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2028-2029 and on all our visits, we ask partners to support our membership,” he recalled.
As he stated, he is also not sure whether the Peace Council should be a general body for several cases, or whether it is only an ad hoc institution with a temporary character to deal with the situation in the Gaza Strip. He also objects to the membership amounting to a billion dollars. “The Government of the Slovak Republic will never spend any membership fees to join a similar institution,” declared Fico.
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanár (Smer-SD) is also against the accession of Slovakia to the Peace Council. He informed that the Department of Diplomacy analyzed the impact of possible membership in the Peace Council on the national legal order, as well as obligations in international organizations.
From the perspective of the Slovak Republic’s obligations to the UN, it sees many elements that are unacceptable for Slovakia. According to him, even a non-permanent membership would, to a certain extent, mean a violation of our rules, especially compliance with international law.
“We are running for a non-permanent member of the Security Council precisely so that we, as the Slovak Republic, can contribute to the discussion that obviously has to come, and that is the reform of the UN. Because we all know that the world will no longer be the same as it was before,” commented Blanár. According to him, violations of international law in recent decades, especially by the great powers, have absolutely eroded international law.
US President Donald Trump introduced the Peace Council last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He invited approximately 60 countries to it, but the exact composition is still unknown. Among others, they include Russia, China, the European Commission, Poland and Australia. For example, France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Slovenia refused to participate.
