Hrusovsky: Slovak parliament to approve Euroconstitution in May

The Slovak parliament will ratify the European Union constitutional treaty in May despite reservations raised by the government coalition Christian Democrats, Slovak parliament chairman Pavol Hrusovsky said in Strasbourg Wednesday. "There is no fear that the ratification in the parliament will not be successful, in view of the statements made by political parties so far," Hrusovsky said after a meeting with European Parliament President Josep Borrell. Borrell, who is an advocate of the ratification of the EU constitution, voiced respect towards Hrusovsky's position.

Hrusovsky also handed an official invitation to Borrell to visit the Tatra mountains hit by the devastating winds last November. At a meeting with Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic in Brussels last November, Borrell had said that he wanted to visit the Tatra mountains, and the visit is scheduled for the second half of June.

Hrusovsky also met EC head Jose Barroso, with whom he discussed the new EU economic strategy, which stresses economic growth, employment and education. Though Slovakia is one of the pioneers of the reforms Barroso has called for, its spending on science, research and education are among the lowest in the EU. "We feel this deficit and I assume it will be the most frequent issue in the debates on the application of the Lisbon strategy in Slovak politics," Hrusovsky said. He added that Slovakia will see a struggle for higher science and education spending during the approving of next year's budget.