Korcok holds talks with Czech, Austrian counterparts

The coronavirus pandemic, the European Union's multiannual financial framework and recovery fund as well as terrorism were high on the agenda of Monday's online meeting between the foreign affairs ministers of Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic under the Slavkov format (S3), Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok has told TASR. Korcok explained that he informed his counterparts, namely Austria's Karoline Edtstadler and the Czech Republic's Tomas Petricek, about the anti-virus measures that Slovakia has recently adopted, adding that when it came to the issue of terrorism, he called for the creation of a security union in the EU. Edtstadler praised Slovakia for sharing its experience from mass testing with her country, saying that even the stable Austrian health-care system could collapse under pressure from Covid-19. Meanwhile, Petricek told the media that the Czech Republic was also interested in mass testing but, following a debate with experts, it had decided to opt for targeted testing of the most vulnerable groups instead.