M: So, if there are no questions, I'm going to ask you to take a piece of paper or open a blank document and... write down the first three thoughts that come to your mind when you hear European Union or EU. (long pause) If you have, who wants to start?

SKFG1_M4: I have it written down: PEACE, HUMAN RIGHTS and then I have... Two things are racing for third place: FREE MOVEMENT/MARKET

M: Thank you, who's next?

SKFG1_F1: So, I have written DIVERSITY, COOPERATION, COMMON RULES and then MOBILITY OF WORK, STUDIES.

M: You mentioned cooperation, can you elaborate on that, please?

SKFG1_F1: Cooperation, cooperation in different areas between, actually such a coordinated action of all countries in different areas, all EU member countries.

M: Mhm, thank you. Next?

SKFG1_F6: I have written down RESTORATION PLAN FOR SLOVAKIA, PROJECT FUNDING and INCREASED BUREAUCRACY.

M: Mhm, thank you.

[Microphone complications]

SKFG1_M2: I wrote down: FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, SECURITY, then LEGAL SYSTEM, LEGAL ISSUES, MOVEMENT OF CAPITAL, WORKFORCE, whatever is related to FREEDOM. THE OPPORTUNITIES TO STUDY ABROAD, THE OPPORTUNITIES TO RECEIVE A PENSION, for example, also abroad, simply the rights of a citizen of the European Union, which I think are important for all of us.

M: Mhm, thank you.

SKFG1_M2: The European Union guarantees us the rights of a citizen of the European Union.

M: Thank you very much. We'll get to some of those questions. Let's finish the round, who's next?

SKFG1_F5: For me it is: a COMMUNITY of countries, just the size, it's quite different when it's a country alone, so some community of several countries, then mutual SUPPORT, COOPERATION, HELP, and actually some SOCIAL SECURITY, cooperation in the social field.

M: Can you elaborate on the social security and cooperation?

SKFG1_F5: Social cooperation or aid and cooperation, it's actually due to the fact that we're increasing the possibilities of people getting involved, it's also in the area of, for example, legislation, so... I think it has an impact in that social area actually on all of us.

M: Mhm, thank you. Thank you very much. <partcipant name> is missing, I think, and anyone else?

SKFG1_M7: COMMON MARKETS, CURRENCY AND FREER MOVEMENT WITHIN EUROPE.

SKFG1_F3: So I would certainly agree with a number of things that have been said here, but then I put from the first one that came to mind, and that was that FREEDOM, PEACE, and then I thought CULTURE, but in the sense of not so much artistic, but like, just the culture of social functioning, right, that just some cultural expression of public elites and, just, social functioning like, like, more cultured. So those are my three things.

M: Mhm, I understand. SKFG1_M2, you want to say something, go ahead.

SKFG1_M2: THE JOINT ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME that we have with other countries, and the BORDELESS STATE and the CUSTOMS UNION.

M: Mhm, thank you, I have another question: Does being a European citizen have any meaning for you? Anyone who wants to start can answer.

SKFG1_F1: Yes, it's important for me in terms of the opportunities it offers especially at the moment in terms of work, so travel and therefore facilitating also all sorts of work permits and so on, so also studying in the past.

M: Mhm, anyone want to add anything? Or do you agree with SKFG1_F1? Go ahead, SKFG1_F3.

SKFG1_F3: I'm also like that, basically all those conveniences in terms of movement, work and so on, but like since we joined the Union, it was like at first it was something abstract for me and I didn't see it... I was more, like, focused on, like, the national level, but just over the years I've come to see this Europe as, like, my space, I don't know if I'm expressing it right, that I just identify with it, yeah? That when you just say I'm a citizen of the European Union, it just has a meaning for me, it's not just like something empty and at the same time I feel that because I'm a member of a bigger whole, I can just contribute to maybe other things. Right? Like the Union is getting into, I don't know, environmental issues or something like that, so I feel like we're able to maybe do more, maybe even as not quite individuals, but maybe some organizations... Just that we can influence, let's say, at that European level and then maybe further on to the international level. So that's what it means to me as well.

SKFG1_F6: Maybe I'll add, for me it's important in terms of travelling within the Schengen area, that really, I still remember the time when we went to Croatia and we waited at the border and now you actually go on holiday or to another country and really, you don't have to stop at the border, so that's definitely a big plus and of course the free movement of goods, people and money... that is really a plus for me as a citizen and from another point of view it is for me because- I work in local government and I work closely with the European Commission as well, so I see a big impact of the decisions of the European Union, in the European Commission, on us as well... In the past we took it more in a negative sense, now it's more and more like the view is so positive and we see the impact in a broader sense than, for example, now in Slovakia the bottle deposit, that it has finally come. That was also, in a way, a directive from the European Union.

M: Mhm, thank you very much for your response.

SKFG1_M2: I also thought that, hmm, it has come to the point that the European Union guarantees us non-discrimination. Although sometimes they looked at us in all sorts of ways, Slovaks, Czechs living abroad and so on. We should have the same rights, or the European Union does guarantee us the same rights as the citizens of the countries we are currently in, whether in the Netherlands, France, Germany, which (short pause) sometimes it was viewed differently, the Slovaks. So, we have gained in value as citizens of the European Union, as people.

M: Mhm. SKFG1_M4 wants to respond.

SKFG1_M4: I would just add my voice and not only include Slovaks but also Roma in this non-discrimination. For example, as a member of a national minority, it means a lot to us, without decisions at European level it would be much worse than it is. Without funding from the European Union, the situation would be much worse than it is. Those projects that are now being evaluated positively would not have been funded from the state budget. The pressure to desegregate schools would also not be there if it were not for the European Union, so... even for a minority it means a lot for us, even practically.

[00:10:05]

M: Mhm, thank you. Does anyone have a completely different... something else to say to the question, EU citizen. SKFG1_F3 reporting.

SKFG1_F3 : Yeah, it's just that when we've gone into it, it's a little bit, like, what is here thanks to the Union and what wouldn't be, so as far as, like, nature protection is concerned, it's (detto?), like... the core things wouldn't be done in Slovakia, as far as nature protection is concerned, if the Union didn't push us into it, so we can be glad that we protect some things thanks to the fact that, like, a little bit of it is coming from the top.

M: Thank you. SKFG1_F5. SKFG1_M7, do you want to respond?

SKFG1_F5: Yes, I just wanted to add, a lot of things have been said here, for me personally the experience is just in that area of travelling, moving around, not only in private but also because of work, especially that it is much easier. Hmmm, but what, what am I simply referring to, I don't know, maybe it will be at some other point, like the pros and cons, but I cannot help but mention that in many areas we cannot agree, agree within the European Union, and right now I am thinking specifically of the pandemic. It was a new situation for all of us, and the chaos that reigned in terms of who closed the borders when, who could go where when... it affected me personally very deeply because I'm a pendler {person crossing the borders every day because of the work} and actually between Slovakia and another EU country, actually, every day and it was just really... like ... I don't know how to put it, but it was horrible that I actually realized that, okay, we're a community of some countries, it's great because we're big, we've got some voice, we've got some power, but in a crisis, it's just everybody pulling their own end, everybody's fighting for themselves, and just a terrible chaos that- I think a lot of people have been affected and influenced by this. And the other thing is, I don't understand the environment that much, so I suppose what I think, SKFG1_F3 was saying, is that yes, we probably wouldn't do a lot of things. But the question is what the enforceability of just those decisions at the European Union level is. Because we know that, although it does not concern Slovakia, it concerns Poland, in fact those mines in Turow, where they are being mined, in fact those underground coal mines, there is already a court decision there and Poland is simply going its own way. It is unenforceable even though there is already a court decision. So, it certainly has its pitfalls, and it just probably would like to improve the functioning in some way in, that simply, that simply the enforceability of the law simply has to be there. If there's some sort of court decision, so...

M: Maybe we'll get to that. I have another question for all of you: how would you describe your overall position, attitude, feeling towards the EU, towards the European Union?

SKFG1_M2: So, I have a positive attitude towards the European Union, I can't say that all people in Slovakia or even in the Czech Republic have a positive attitude towards the European Union, but I remember, as a memorial, what problems Slovakia was in after the split-up, when the exchange rate... it was going up and down and so on, which, of course, worsened the possibilities for trade and some economic development. The other thing was that investors were afraid to invest in Slovakia because our legal system was opaque for them and they were not sure that if they came here with investments that they would not lose those investments, that they would not be dissolved. The fact that Slovakia and the other countries in the EU, the 27, have provided, that basically - the European Court of Justice is the highest judicial authority, so they have certainty, they have legal certainty to do business in Slovakia, and it creates jobs. After the change of circumstances, there was huge unemployment in Slovakia, it was 20%, maybe even more. When I talked to people from statistics, they said that unemployment is what our bosses tell us to report, that is what it will be. [Amusement] So... so they just cleaned up {make up} the state to a certain extent. So, the European Union has helped us tremendously in this, it has pulled us out of certain problems that we had.

M: Mhm, thank you.

SKFG1_M2: So, I see it as a real step forward, where a future has been created, especially for the young generation, who have opportunities that we absolutely could not have dreamed of. It's up to them, to their skill and ability and effort, effort to make it in this world. They have the opportunity, now they do. We had those options cut short.

M: Would anyone like to respond to SKFG1_M2?

(short pause)

SKFG1_F5: Can I? If we are talking about those feelings, I would like to express my feeling. I am definitely in favor of it, and I would simply never vote against the European Union. I am glad that we are here and, exactly as has been mentioned, it opens up wonderful opportunities for the young generation for the future. However, if we want to feel that we are an equal partner in this European Union, I think there are a number of areas that we ourselves - the Slovak Republic - need to change, because I am frankly ashamed of how we are handling European funds. This is simply something, how can we think that we are equal partners when we cannot behave as we should behave towards that common money. So that is what it comes down to, I mean, I am just expressing a feeling.

M: Yes, SKFG1_M2 and SKFG1_M4?

SKFG1_M2: I'd like to respond to that, maybe a little... on the Euro funds: we are a young country, we are moving from one social system to another, to capitalism, and sometimes the handling of those Euro funds reminds me of the actions of African tribal chiefs who, when they get some foreign support, whether in the form of food, medicine or whatever, take it as if it is their business and it is the subject of their trade with those Euro funds. The interesting thing about Slovakia is that those euro funds, which should be used to bring us closer to other countries, and it is taxpayers' money from all over Europe, have been used in the way that they have been used, that we have not, for example, in 30 years, we have not had our infrastructure completed. We have no roads, we have problems, not only for roads but also for railways and airports that neither, nor... We just simply have not made it. That those in power, who could have handled that money or those EU funds, imagined that it was a means for our friends and so on to cross that line and become capitalists, just to enrich themselves at the- It was an opportunity to enrich themselves, and those funds were used for other things, and here again, it is a mistake that the control mechanism of the European Union is not sufficient. In any case, and not only with regard to the Slovaks, but also with regard to other countries, because similar matters occur in all post-Communist countries, whether in the Czech Republic, Hungary or Poland... In Poland, perhaps less so, there are no oligarchs there, because there has not been such privatization as in these countries, but also in Romania and elsewhere. Just like that. Feeling! This is my feeling.

M: Mhm, SKFG1_M4, you wanted to respond.

SKFG1_M4: Yes, yes, I basically wanted to absolutely agree with SKFG1_F5, hey, that this is basically, I'm going to say it ugly, but it's kind of showing the smallness that we are unfortunately - maybe even still experiencing in Slovakia, but at the same time the feeling is that thanks to the European Union we can overcome it in a way, so I would like to kind of express some positive prospects. [Aaand]... that's basically all I wanted to say so far. Respectively, I dropped what I wanted to say. [smiling]

[00:20:11]

M: I have a supplementary question: If someone argued that EU membership is not beneficial, what disadvantages would you list? Tell me.

SKFG1_M4: I would- and maybe I'm wrong, but that's the sentiment I'm hitting on, is that limiting agricultural production in the south of Slovakia. I would, I would say this as a disadvantage and one of the few factors that make one part of the country hard, like, more complicated, and to, like, maybe still support my- [Aa], no! So, this is what I think.

SKFG1_F6: I would react, maybe not directly to SKFG1_M4, but the negative feeling or something negative that goes along with it, and what I encounter is that people say that if I am European, I am one in a hundred million, if I am Slovak, I am one in five million. When I am Slovak, I perceive more and have more information about what is happening in Slovakia. Whereas as, let's say, a Slovak in the European Union, s/he does not have that kind of information about what is going on, either in Parliament or how those mechanisms are set up. So, it is (short pause) it is abstract for us, for people, to perceive that European Union. So, I would perceive that as a negative, I as a citizen don't have that kind of information about what is going on at the level of the European Union, and I don't know how to influence it in some way, much, directly. Whereas in Slovakia, when I look at it locally, I certainly feel that I have more weight in that decision-making. But that may just be a feeling, for example, for me, that's how I perceive it.

M: Mhm, thank you.

SKFG1_F5: May I add. That's one of the things I wanted to talk about as well, that I feel that if someone were to talk about membership not being beneficial, it really can only be on the basis that we have terribly little information here. We know, and we see in the news every day, what our Parliament is doing, what they are arguing about and what they are dealing with, we even know in such detail things that perhaps we might not even be interested in, and, on the other hand, there is terribly little information coming from the European Parliament or from any other European institutions. There is a lack of a platform, I just do not know whether it should be some kind of special European news or something else. Just a person who is just not actively looking for it, but is interested in it, let’s simply deliver it to him. I understand that if somebody really wants to find out something, they Google it, right. But at least people who are quite busy, they don't really have the time to do that and yet they might be interested in it, just to push more information to people through some platform. Then maybe nobody would somehow very- or maybe it would mitigate even the fact that somebody thinks it's not beneficial if people had more information.

M: Thank you. On the one hand I would like to move on, on the other hand my role is also to include everyone in the discussion. SKFG1_M7, SKFG1_F3 do you want to comment on that, do you have any comments on what we've talked about so far? Otherwise, I would move on.

SKFG1_M7: I have nothing to say about that.

M: Okay. SKFG1_F3?

SKFG1_F3: I also probably nothing. Me, firstly, about the negatives... like we can talk about things that could work better in the European Union, but it depends on that degree of what decision-making powers it has, what the whole colossus is like, but it certainly wouldn't- those just aren't negatives for me that I would sort of like, I want to leave the European Union because of that. Yeah, it's just that nothing's perfect, things can be improved, but like the positives largely outweigh that. But what SKFG1_M7 said pretty much hit the nail on the head for me, that there's exactly that sort of agricultural sentiment at work here, just that what our agriculture and the economy in general has been, but I guess we're supposed to be saying what we perceive, not what other people perceive, because as far as the economy is concerned, I think it's also very much a little bit how we set it up at home. That it works there with just the payments to farmers and so on, and the fact that it has been stolen here for years is not the fault of the European Union. That’s all.

M: SKFG1_M2, one last brief remark, please.

SKFG1_M2: I am the last one, I would like to comment on agriculture. When we joined the European Union, we ran into one problem: the issue of quotas. Within the Union, within the EEC back in the day, there were quotas on the production of agricultural products. As a result, for example, the sugar industry in our country has collapsed, and we have two out of 11 sugar mills that produce a fraction of what was produced before we joined. So, it is not just about us, but there are lobby groups working in Brussels, in the European Union, that are pushing for - there is simply an overproduction of certain types of products, and they are pushing for their interest groups - simply, groups that are lobbying. They are simply lobbying. On the other hand, compared with what has sometimes been the case in agriculture, those subsidies and so on are abundantly sufficient in those parts of Slovakia that are productive. Those people, I think, are living at a really good level, but it is worse in Slovakia in those foothill areas where they do not have such opportunities. And I can talk about that... I mean, I'm in the grain business and I can say that's true.

M: Thank you. We have an expert here. However, I would like to change the subject completely: Imagine that a natural disaster breaks out in one of the European countries - a fire, an earthquake or a flood, how should the European Union as an institution behave?

SKFG1_M7: That the European Union could have acted as they did in the fires in Greece, when firefighters from several countries went there and simply helped where they were needed. Because no one state can hold the capacity of those rescue or relief resources that many states or multiple states can.

M: This was an action by one or some member states, does anyone feel that the EU as a whole should take some kind of action?

SKFG1_M4: I think so. I imagine it as a response from the individual Member States, but what the European Union could do, apart from expressing solidarity with the state, is to provide just the communication network that it has in place to ensure faster communication between the individual states or faster assistance, so some kind of coordination assistance, I can imagine that very well.

M: You mentioned solidarity, what do you mean by that, apart from the coordination?

SKFG1_M4: Hmm, for example, an appeal by the representatives, either of the Parliament or of the Commission, to the member states to provide assistance and some increase in sentiment for others... For example, I don't know, we can stay with Greece, so the MEP from Portugal would have that as a topic, so that also on the other side of the continent, well, basically the continent, some kind of togetherness would resonate and so on.

M: Thank you.

SKFG1_F1: So, I'll just follow up and, basically, I also agree with this and I also agree that I would also be in favor of such a coordinated action of the member countries as such [aaaa] so that also... because such natural disasters, we already see that, and maybe they will happen more and more often in the future. And some countries that are geographically disadvantaged by this, so as long as they also contribute to the European Union, as well as everybody else, I don't see why the help to them should not be provided. In short, once it will help them and once it can help us in case of any problems, so that's it. It is, yes, basically on such a European friendship, I would say, so that's how I perceive it.

M: Mhm, thank you.

SKFG1_F5: I don't have much to add to this and I completely agree with everything that has been said. I also think that the European Union should behave in such a way that, basically, the Member States will somehow coordinate this aid and support for the affected areas.

[00:30:03]

M: Does anyone else want to respond? SKFG1_M2.

SKFG1_M2: Well, certainly the principle of solidarity within the European Union is and is one of the values that the European Union, as it were, upholds and promotes and applies. Not only in natural disasters of this kind, but also, say, in pandemics. We have seen that patients have been transported, when they are already emergency patients, to another country, not only in the country from which they are citizens, as it were, but also in neighboring countries, to deal with this problem with them. Not to mention the fact that the European Union has provided us with preventive vaccinations - for everyone and for free. (short pause) From our point of view, of course there was some settlement, that financial settlement perhaps, certainly, but we had those vaccines when, for example, Albanians... I don't know. (Those are not in Europe?). That’s all.

M: And how should the Member States behave here?

SKFG1_F6: Member States, as far as they are able, should step up to the solidarity and actually act in a coordinated way and help as far as they can. Also, as Greece was mentioned, Slovakia sent firefighters, so when we could, we did. But it cannot, of course, be at the expense of the state.

M: It can't be at the expense of the state - can you elaborate?

SKFG1_F6: I think if, for example, fires break out, let's take the fires in Greece and in Slovakia, and we know that we have to extinguish them at home first, so we cannot send firefighters to Greece, or in another situation. So, if it is within the power of that state and it does not need to use those forces, whether military, fire, doctors or some financial collections or something else at home, then, of course, it should share in solidarity.

M: Thank you. Any reaction? If not, should some Member States do more than others in such a case?

SKFG1_F1: So, I think that, hmm, it's basically that in the EU, like basically some countries are actually contributing more to the Union with their membership contributions than they're getting and some countries, which includes us, that we're contributing something but we're getting more. So, I think that maybe, that more effort could be made actually from the countries that are bigger contributors. Perhaps as a sign of some kind of gratitude or something like that country is seen to be trying to harmonize its rules and basically cooperate with other member countries, so maybe that's the way I look at it.

SKFG1_F5: I personally don't think it's clear-cut whether somebody should do more or not, I guess I wouldn't relate it to who gets how much and who takes how much, but rather I think the perspective should be different, it should be: what kind of disaster it is and basically which of those countries has, let´s say, better developed those emergency services. Meaning, if there is a fire to be put out, then perhaps one of the Member States has really high-tech equipment and perhaps better organized people and can help more quickly and more efficiently. Thus, that country, I think, should probably do more than some of the countries that perhaps do not have as much equipment. And vice versa again – that was a case of a fire. And some other country may have rescue forces, I don't know, in a case earthquake, and those teams just searching for people under rubble and so on, again at some more advanced level, better trained, so again that's where it should go... I think that's where that cooperation and coordination of who can help with what should work, I guess, on that principle.

M: Thank you. How should your country behave in such a situation? Slovakia...

SKFG1_F5: Are we still talking about some natural disasters?

SKFG1_M4: I would answer pragmatically. They should react by an immediate crisis meeting of the Minister of Defense, the Minister of the Interior, and the Prime Minister and finding out what spare capacity we have, whether in the army or in the fire brigade or in the police force, and sending all possible adequate forces to the scene without delay. That´s response according to me.

(long pause)

SKFG1_F6: Possibly, material assistance should be provided, too.

M: SKFG1_F1 wanted to say something.

SKFG1_F1: Yes, I'll just add that actually yes, I'm also in favor of a crisis solution from a higher level state level perspective, so that actually Slovakia joins in to solve the problem, so...

M: So, if Slovakia sends a crisis rescue team, who should cover the cost of this support?

(long pause)

SKFG1_F6: If it's an individual action of our state, it probably comes out of the state budget, I think. I mean, there are certainly reserves for such crisis actions as well, so I think it comes out of the state budget. If, again, it is a coordinated action in the European Union, there is probably a contribution from the EU budget, which also has a budget line for this.

M: SKFG1_M7 wanted to say something.

SKFG1_M7: Just to add to the fact that basically every department has a limited budget, and the money is set for our conditions. When we send firefighters to Greece, for example, this activity or this group should be supported financially just from the European Union, because the Greeks cannot pay for it, because they have enough worries themselves, so the money could come from another part of the European Union as such.

M: I understand. Does anyone have a completely different opinion? Do you all agree? Anything you want to add? If not, one last question on this topic: do you feel personally responsible to provide assistance in the event of a natural disaster in another Member State?

SKFG1_M4: I don't know if it's a duty, but yes, when something is going on, I feel I need to help.

M: Why?

SKFG1_M4: Why? I'm supposed to develop this... Well, just because we are, we're supposed to be this one solidary unit that sort of works on the principles of - we've mentioned that solidarity here, so even that, then I wouldn't put a lot of that gratitude in there. Even though I also agree with that partly. SKFG1_F1 talked about that gratitude, that some are contributor, some are beneficiary. While I agree with that in part, I wouldn't go into that realm, but at the same time, I feel that we are a unified space and also that, like I'm supposed to be- I'm supposed to be... I feel in solidarity with other citizens of the Slovak Republic, so I'm starting to feel more and more, maybe I'm starting to feel in solidarity with other members of the European Union, since I'm already a citizen of the European Union, so this is- And of course there's the interpersonal factor, I would probably say the same thing if there was some misfortune happening outside of the European Union as well.

M: Mhm.

(long pause)

SKFG1_F5: I think SKFG1_M4 put it very well. I can't say that I somehow feel it as some kind of my personal strong, just something that I would think about at all, but definitely if I knew that I could somehow just help, then definitely yes, and I probably wouldn't differentiate whether it's Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany or somehow, just if I knew that I could somehow just contribute, be useful, I definitely think that I would definitely help.

(long pause)

M: Anyone else want to follow up?

[00:40:15]

SKFG1_M2: Well, I certainly wouldn't be indifferent and I would help within my means, so I would probably make a financial contribution first.

SKFG1_F6: I would say that, exactly, I can't imagine if somebody asked us as individuals to go and help somewhere, I can't imagine that, because if I have to consider the personal approach, I'm sure that would be problematic. In the form of a financial collection, a material collection, humanitarian aid of a material nature, I can imagine that a large number of people from Slovakia would get involved, I think.

M: Thank you. SKFG1_F3, you gave a thumbs up when SKFG1_M4 was speaking, what was that in response to?

SKFG1_F3: Well, for the fact that if it was basically anybody, not just from the European Union, that the principle of like helping people in need is like some kind of a very elementary… this is- I don't know, they're just human beings, so to just {not} let them moan somewhere, if I have anything that I can do to help, whether it's food or whether it's my job, I'll just do it. I don't know, it's just kind of a... That is something, absolutely, the deepest that I have just felt like this my whole life that I just can't imagine not doing it.

M: Thank you.

SKFG1_M7: Well, if we take the disaster that happened in the Czech Republic, the tornado that wiped out a village there, then it was literally undesirable for individual people to go there and try to help in some way, it should be left to professionals, let them take care of it, like some material help, that's not excluded, but just not to pack up, get in a car and go somewhere to help, that's quite impossible technically.

M: Mhm, thank you, SKFG1_F3. SKFG1_F5, yes, go ahead.

SKFG1_F5: I just want to respond to SKFG1_M7 as a definite yes. That's certainly the case, but so I understood that personal sort of responsibility or just a willingness to help, but to help in the sense that what is desired, what they need. Of course, there are some coordinating emergency services that coordinate all the - all the help, so to help in the way that we can and as is expected or welcomed or required.

M: Thank you. Yes, SKFG1_F3.

SKFG1_F3: I just wanted to react earlier to SKFG1_F5. Of course, it can't be that elemental, that everybody will come and help each other somehow and it's usually always organized. And I just wanted to point out that we are talking about natural disasters, but also basically the refugee crisis was a dimension where there was a need to help, but there was a little bit of a different, kind of some characteristics of ours that showed up, when some other people were supposed to come here. It wasn't just some natural disaster, and we were supposed to, I don't know, take somebody in. So, there was a big problem with that, right, that was a big problem with that... This I perceive that in our- and that's why I thought of that, and I mention that because there were also organizations that were trying to just do collections, whether it was clothes and so on. But there was also… I was involved in, actually. Some people who came here, you could help them. There was a person, and you could helped him to get a foothold in some basic things, that he would function in the society… language and so on, so... And clearly, it was more difficult to coordinate that with the personal life and with these things, just that again it's a smaller group of people doing that, but just that, that this is also just a form of help. I just meant to say that I didn't clearly do it in a way that, hooray, I'm going somewhere, but that it went through some institution basically. I am referring what SKFG1_M7 was saying, that it's not just unorganized, but that it's always organized somehow.

M: Mhm, thank you for the clarification, let's move on so we don't go over the limit too much. If an economic crisis like the 2009 debt crisis happened again, or took place again, and some countries are hit harder than others, how should your country act?

(long pause)

SKFG1_F5: So, I would maybe ask again, which is the question, because the question is what should Slovakia do if another country is more affected than Slovakia or?

M: Yes.

SKFG1_M4: I wouldn't elect a government next time if it was a problem [smiling]. As it really happened, basically when it was dealt with in Greece, our whole government fell because of it and then there was a period of time that somebody could be happy with, somebody couldn't be happy with, so I would definitely do it differently.

M: So that the government doesn't fall.

SKFG1_M4: Right. So not having that kind of economic help, like, a reason to basically give up, like, a vote of no confidence, and that's what happened... I don't want to, I'm looking for terms, but I wouldn't be happy if it was really an excuse for the kind of bickering (disagreement?) that's happened in the past.

SKFG1_F6: Are you referring to “Euroval” when Sulík put down the government?

SKFG1_M4: Yes, yes, I come across it. That I wanted to lighten it up a bit, that it wouldn't have to happen, and I wouldn't even like it to be like that again, like a short answer - a long one. We should decide to help.

SKFG1_F1: So, I'm just joining SKFG1_M4 and I also think we should help and certainly ( ) that within that Euroval ( ) not to operate another, how many years was it? Another several years... How many years was it?

SKFG1_F6: 12.

SKFG1_F1: 12! Yes, thanks. 12 unforgettable years of bad times, so... Well, I guess…

SKFG1_M2: So, we have experienced it when we contributed to “Euroval”, in 2012 the government of Iveta Radičová fell, then there were several electoral periods when Smer governed after this one, after the fall of this government. They even governed alone; they didn't even have to form a coalition. We have experience of that. By being in that - in the Eurozone, that is, the monetary union - we contributed more than the Czechs, who were not so affected. So, there was definitely help from Slovakia. I think it will be again in the future, if there is such a need.

M: And you support it.

SKFG1_M2: Yes. (short pause) Where we are heading on.

M: SKFG1_F3, you wanted some.

SKFG1_F3: That yes, I basically agree with all of them, so I would just add to the situation, that was mentioned, that we should help, but we should have leaders who would communicate simply to the people that why this is important, why we should be in solidarity and not put it in a position of how it impoverishes us. Because that was actually the principle of why some people there were stammering that they were against it, because we were talking about why should we contribute to somebody who was once richer or I don't know what, just that- But the question was never asked, that but why can't we just help when we have the means to do so, just to be a little bit of solidarity, also to be responsible, just to have courageous leaders who just know how to lead people, not just to pander to some egotistical appetites like that.

M: Mhm, thank you.

(long pause)

SKFG1_M2: And I would like to take this opportunity to mention the current situation. There is contribution to some countries from the Reconstruction and Development Fund for their further, further development. That is not our money, and we are getting that money, or I expect we will get that money, that we will meet those conditions. Although it is conditional on reforms, which are very difficult to achieve.

M: Thank you. If your country {Slovakia} is negatively affected by this {economic} crisis, how should other countries react?

(long pause)

[00:50:00]

SKFG1_M4: I hope so, similar to what we answered a moment ago and I think SKFG1_M2 alluded to as well, that we don't know where we're going to end up. I would give as an example. At the moment we're bragging all over the place that we're a production facility and we're setting records for the number of cars produced here. I mean, like, it might change over time, and we might need some help, so that's kind of another pragmatic argument. Even if, by chance, somebody does not feel solidarity, so that they feel that we expect them to reciprocate by helping us when we have helped before.

SKFG1_F6: I would follow up on SKFG1_M4's point that... we are going to get into that crisis because… the education, our health care, other things and the development of innovation is at such a point that the recovery plan that the cabinet around Heger {Eduard Heger, the current prime minister of Slovakia} is actually doing at the moment, with Mrs., I don't know what her name is now, red-haired [amusedly]… that plan is meant to help to get those millions to billions from the European Union recovery plan and to prevent those crises in the future as a precautionary measure. So, this is also, in a way, the solidarity that we are getting from the European Union, because they see that we are the country that really needs to do deep reforms so that in 5, 10 years' we can be somewhere else. Because if we don't do it now, then unfortunately our children will no longer have good jobs, no schools, nothing.

M: Thank you.

SKFG1_F5: If I can just add to that, you were talking about the 2009 crisis at the beginning, I think the 2009 economic crisis, if I heard correctly, definitely affected several countries in different ways and I don't know, I personally think we should distinguish whether it is a crisis that hits, an economic crisis that hits several countries from economic reasons, or some kind of crisis or let's call it something else, that is caused in some country just by wrong, bad decisions of the government and just, I don't know if there is any way that Europe could have prevented that- Because my view on Greece, I probably don't have the full detail of it, but my understanding was that in Greece it was not a crisis caused in the Eurozone by some situations, but just that there were actually a number of mistakes and maybe even disregard of some European rules just, right? And the fact that we may also get into some kind of crisis, I think that is very, very likely. The question is whether it will be an economic crisis caused by economic factors or just by the way our government is functioning, the decisions that are being taken and the way we are functioning in general.

M: Mhm, thank you. SKFG1_M7, you sent the thumbs up, what did you respond to?

SKFG1_M7: I valued positively the opinion that it's not always the fault of an outside influence, it's often the fault of the politicians' decisions, bad ones. And in that case, why should we be saving, let´s say, their ass, when it's their own fault?

M: Mhm.

SKFG1_M7: I guess that's enough from my side.

M: I have another question here on this topic: if your country {Slovakia} received financial support from other countries, would you have to follow certain restrictions or rules related to that?

(long pause)

SKFG1_F1: So, I would definitely say yes, that definitely, when we accept actually some financial aid, so with that aid comes the obligations that we will follow certain rules, so restrictions, so that we can get out of this crisis. So that's how I see it, that we definitely don't continue to do what caused the root of this crisis.

M: Does anyone see it differently? (long pause) SKFG1_F5 gives a thumbs up. SKFG1_M2 still wants to respond.

SKFG1_M2: So, Europe, the European Union, has its institutions. This includes the European Central Bank, which has pumped trillions of euros into the European Union during this pandemic crisis itself, and it is showing in all sorts of ways. Even the recovery plan, and so on, there have been major objections to that from some countries, which have demanded that those countries that receive aid on some scale should return some of that aid. So, we will have to... it obliges us to have to return part of that money. So, simply, it is not free money, but that money has to be used in a sensible way so that what has been invested in this country can be returned to those countries that have helped us in the future.

M: If no one has any further reaction, so- SKFG1_F3.

SKFG1_F3: I will just add that one thing is the rules in the sense of like transparent and so on. But for example, in the case of Poland, Hungary, that like the rule of law. I think this is a very strong (important, difficult?) question. I think it should not be that I'm getting money, and, on the other hand, I'm limiting the rule of law, but it's such... again. I think it should be like that {compliance with the rule of law}. And I feel like in the case of those countries, for example, that- that sometimes I wonder that it's such thin ice. And completely, to hyperbolize it, that, the idea, that they would leave the European Union now, right, because there would be so much pressure on them that- because they don't follow it or that some things would be restricted. Wouldn't that lead to completely drifting off into just like a worse kind of social set-up, right? If I put it in that way. Now in a way, even though it's not ideal there, but that Union is trying to somehow hold them and just push them into some sort of remedies or something like that, even though it's just difficult of course, so... Well, just so that the legal side of it should be followed as well, but that it's just so, so difficult. That there are national authorities and so-

M: I understand that you are concerned that if there is a breach and a Member State leaves the EU, the situation in that Member State could be even worse.

SKFG1_F3: I think that in terms of democracy, it would go down there. Yes.

M: Mhm, thank you. Please take into account that there are inequalities between countries. As well as between people within a country, should the European Union have a common program, a fund, to reduce these social inequalities? (short pause) Why yes, why not?

SKFG1_M4: One answer would be yes, and the other answer would be: doesn't have it yet? In a way, the European Social Fund is minimally similar to that. So yes.

M: Mhm.

(long pause)

SKFG1_F3: I also think it should have, and I think that, however, as the Euro funds are there to just sort of even out those differences in those countries. It is a bit up to us how we can use them in Slovakia and how we can use them for the disadvantaged groups in Slovakia, but I think that the EU gives us the funds for that.

M: Is there anyone who disagrees with that, who says no? No, the European Union should maintain these inequalities. No one? Karolina wanted to respond, sorry.

SKFG1_F1: Yeah, but I don't want to disagree, right? I rather agree and I join in that, for example, so when we see that we have a lot of, we draw a lot regional development funds, so that's like a pretty good example, I guess, of how those differences are being mitigated. Although it's questionable for us, it takes a little bit longer for some projects, but again, like, it works, well. In general.

M: Thank you. Yes, SKFG1_M2, go ahead.

SKFG1_M2: So, we are talking about regional development, Slovakia has one such specificity, which was introduced by Mr. Mečiar, namely that Slovakia is one electoral district. Here, we do not vote by regions, like in, let´s say, the Czech Republic or wherever, but in Slovakia there is one electoral district, so what is elected in Bratislava applies to all the others. And, now, how do those people from Bratislava know those regional problems, let´s say, in the east of the country or wherever? It is a problem, it is a certain problem. We also have here, we have an excluded group, we have a rather large excluded group of Roma in Slovakia, who obviously cannot live without some external help, and that help has been coming, but how has it been used and where... We are still in the same place. These are uneducated people, they don't even have access to drinking water! So... we have problems in Slovakia, there are 700,000 people living below the poverty line, I don't know how... A lot of pensioners who I don't know how they manage to live on 300 euro a month. So (longer pause), it should be equalised in some way, and I hope that the principle that the European Union is applying is that one day there will be equal pay for equal work everywhere. That a baker in Snina gets the same money as a baker in Köln for his work [smiling]. I don't know if that will happen, those are such ideals.

[01:01:22]

SKFG1_F5: So, I would add to that, that definitely yes, those inequalities should be levelled out. The fact that we are going so slowly, as has been mentioned, that it is not going as fast as we would like, I think that is probably the reason that not all the resources are flowing where they should. They should level those disparities. Yeah? And... it might really be a case of not leaving it to the Member States to decide, but maybe having some sort of European body to do that, where the states are represented, to decide there simply, how those resources are then used. That´s it.

M: Thank you. SKFG1_M4, did you want to respond?

SKFG1_M4: I was going to have a footnote that I agree with the disadvantage of having one electoral district, which is a terrible thing, even though I'm from Bratislava, so I think it's terrible. And on the one case- I hope I'm not going to mislead, but I think only 6 countries in the world only have one electoral district, and we're one of them, so that's something that could really be changed, to make the-.

M: Mhm, thank you for the footnote, and the next question is: Should the European Union have a Europe-wide system to deal with unemployment in all countries, funded by all Member States? And thank SKFG1_F3 for the comment that she agrees with one electoral district, that she thinks that's fine. I just want to put that on the record so that it's on the record [she wrote it in the chat]. Now back to the question, do you think the European Union should have a Europe-wide system to deal with unemployment?

SKFG1_F5: If I can start, I think so, and I think if we had some sort of pan-European system, it might be easier to move labor to where it is needed, right. And it is true that many industries and many regions are struggling with labor shortages, and it is just quite difficult, just difficult to move labor simply within countries. So, I think that if there was a headquarters, a system that would do that, it could help, and of course it would condition, for example, the wage differences that SKFG1_M2 mentioned, it could of course come across - wage differences.

M: Mhm.

SKFG1_F6: If I may, I will respond. I do not agree with this so much, I cannot imagine how at the level of the European Union, let´s say from Brussels, unemployment would be solved in Rimavská Sobota or Poltár, where it is the local companies that know what employees they {companies} need and who they lack. As far as I know, there are regional career centers and regional centers for dealing with unemployment governed from VÚC, but perhaps it would be a good idea to have perhaps some kind of global policy to deal with unemployment, not so much a body that would somehow register and deal with employment or unemployment. I think that this - employment - is a local thing mostly and it is linked to education, to schooling, so that actually, that suitable workforce finds that suitable employer afterwards.

SKFG1_F5: I'm just maybe responding [laughing], I was thinking, or I was saying that because I'm talking more about labor mobility, let's call it that, because if we have low labor mobility, you mentioned Poltár or Rimavská Sobota, there are- there are a lot of unemployed there, but somewhere else there are regions that are looking {for people} and can't find {them} and they have vacancies. It is just because of the low mobility of the workforce that we simply cannot compensate it. So, people in Poltár, unless an investor really comes in and sets up a factory with jobs, will simply still be unemployed. So, I can't quite see how some of these smaller territorial units can deal with that, fully. Hmm. It's just about the very low-we have very low labor mobility in Slovakia.

SKFG1_M4: I maybe prospectively, I prospectively think that the Union has to address this, for the future. Some way of compensating for the fact that there will be fewer jobs and other things, so it has to come, and I think it will come from the European level and not from the national level.

SKFG1_F1: I would add to this, that I would also agree with something like that, with the creation of some kind of another instance. Because, at the moment, there is actually EURES within the European Union, which actually, those EURES advisers, in terms of mobility, work and search jobs abroad. They operate within the employment offices, as far as I know, there is just maybe not as much awareness {among people about it} and actually for people of different groups and let's say also in terms of- Yes, one {person} has to be more proficient, one has to be more independent as well, and it would really help in certain cases for such a body or let's say an institution to be created as above, above this. A higher level or something like that, I would call it.

M: Thank you. SKFG1_M2, do you want to respond?

SKFG1_M2: I find it hard to imagine such an institution. It... There's still- There's still a debate about what powers the EU should have and what powers it shouldn't have and what should be left to the nation states and stuff like that. Those respective states should function more in that respect. In our case, it is hardly to be expected that some investor will come to Poltár with I do not know what. We really need to encourage mobility here, but only to the extent that we can create the conditions for those people who have to move to where the workforce is so that they can live there. They must be given an apartment, they must have the basic conditions created for them to be able to function there, in that area. And whether or not, Slovakia will have the money for that... There is talk of building public housing, it has been talked about since this government started functioning now. But it is very difficult. And another thing: a person who would get used to a certain territory would find it difficult to leave it. Let's say a mountainous region, where Poltár lies, and go somewhere to- I don't know where and adapt to those conditions. But definitely that can only be solved by mobility. It's just that those job opportunities don't come where we need them if we think that or- Well, it's just that the work is where it is. Sometimes Slovaks emigrated to America and worked in the mines there. Hard work, and they went there, whole families! I mean... and there weren't the opportunities for mobility that there are now, so unfortunately some regions will be depopulated in a while.

M: That they will have what? I don't understand...

SKFG1_M2: That some areas in Slovakia will be depopulated! They are also depopulating.

M: Yeah. Thank you. SKFG1_F3, did you want to respond?

SKFG1_F3: I just don't quite… I understand the principle of also encouraging people to be mobile. On the other hand, I think, maybe, regionally, I think it makes sense because, really, there's always going to be a large group of people who just aren't going to be willing to just leave that place for certain reasons that we don't need to go into right now, but I see that encouragement more as it should be towards, that- I don't know, I'll give you an example: just two people, speaking of Poltár and the glassworks and that area, two people started doing things around bees and just having a social enterprise, just dealing with things around glass there, making candles, giving work. They're just teaching these local people a new craft and I think like- and two people can do that, yeah? If we can just give support to people like those two, who can pull other people, then we can sort of address that unemployment in a way as well. I mean, well, just somehow - I don't have the mechanism in my head right now, but even that support for local people who can pull that, that can also solve just that unemployment, right? It doesn't have to be an institution which just sends people across the Union where the jobs are now.

[01:11:14]

SKFG1_F6: I totally agree with SKFG1_F3 because I actually think it's more about encouraging entrepreneurship and creativity and actually helping people to either work as sole traders or to start small businesses and actually to- I don't think that anyone would want everyone to move to Bratislava, to Nitra, to Žilina, to Košice and you have a problem with transport in Bratislava, congested roads and so on. It also does not solve the situation that everybody will just move to the bigger cities where there is work, I think working conditions need to be created in the less developed regions as well.

M: I see that SKFG1_M7 responded positively to both SKFG1_F3 and SKFG1_F6. He agreed with them. Last question on this topic: should your country contribute to reducing unemployment in another EU country, even if it would mean additional costs for your country?

(long pause)

SKFG1_M7: I can't see how we could reduce unemployment anywhere in Portugal, even if only by sending them some money. Rather, I think that the European Union should have such a fund to deal with this. Not on an individual national basis, but rather the Union as a whole. And, of course, all the Member States, including us, would contribute to that fund in some way. So, I think that is the only way to deal with this.

M: Does anyone see it differently?

SKFG1_F5: I see it the same way, and it is therefore also related to the previous question that whether the European Union should have some mechanism to deal with unemployment. It's certainly not that we move people out and now move the whole of Poltár somewhere else where the work is. I think it's always going to remain a combination of both, also some local activities and- actually, but certainly the Union should have some mechanism for that, and it should be- really it shouldn't be somehow that one state goes to help the other, but it should be coordinated through some mechanism of the European Union. The mobility support for those people who want to be mobile, yeah. I don't mean literally giving them accommodation or something like that but helping them. If they want to move somewhere else where they can find a job, then just support them in that, and it does not exclude some local activities, of course, but those local activities will not solve those regions where there is a lot of unemployment. It will solve it partially, maybe a few percent will reduce unemployment, but I think that there are perhaps people who would like to travel for work or relocate somewhere and therefore create some conditions for them to do so.

(long pause)

M: Does anyone else want to respond?

SKFG1_M2: So, at this time our state probably doesn't have much opportunity to help other countries with employment. What is happening, the help is provides by private capital from Slovakia abroad, where they buy companies that are owned by rich Slovaks and so on, and that's how they sort of help solve unemployment. But as a country at the moment, at this time, where we are dependent on loans, and where we have a deficit, and there was a surplus state budget in Czechia. We've been running a deficit ever since, right! So, it's a problem.

M: I understand. Today we discussed the European Union and touched on various areas such as social and economic disparities. Are there any other areas that you would say are relevant when we talk about relations and mutual support within the European Union?

SKFG1_F1: So, I would certainly be in favor of more solidarity and coordination in the area of migration, because I think that this area is certainly not - I mean, it is certainly a crisis area for some Member States, but I think that, as in other areas, in this area, which goes beyond many borders, let's say, and really all states do not have the same geographical position in this. So, there could certainly be - this could certainly be - there could be more cooperation and harmony in this, let´s say.

M: Thank you. And you mentioned solidarity, what should solidarity look like in this area?

SKFG1_F1: Well, for example, the particular problematic area that was in the past, that is there- In the past recent, but basically present, so certainly the quasi-problematic quotas, so I don't know. I mean, I think this could have been implemented somehow as well and it could have been approved, like I have no problem with this at all. In fact, it could be a form of aid as well. So, that kind of solidarity is not to divide people according to whether somebody is of this religion or that religion, and we'll accept them accordingly and stuff like that. So certainly, each country has different possibilities in terms of how many of these citizens can actually be accommodated in some way if they are really in a bad situation and they are fleeing actually for political reasons. So that would certainly have to be very much reassessed there as well within each country which has what kind of possibilities, own economic situation, of course, some issues. But so, according to some key, something could actually be done about this.

M: Yeah. (long pause) Does anyone see it differently?

SKFG1_F5: I can still think of the legislative area. It is quite an interesting situation for us now, for example, Poland and Hungary, where the European Union has reservations about certain legal norms which actually these two countries do not want to change or do not want to adapt to European legislation. I think that it will be interesting, at least, to see how this all turns out, whether the European Union has the tools to force these countries if they simply do not want to adapt the legislation or simply do not want to adopt those standards that are actually codified or agreed by the European Union in some way. Then, it is really a question for the future of staying in a community like the European Union if there are countries that don't want to accede to certain things, right so- And it's quite interesting that as, like, close countries within the V4, that actually Slovakia and the Czech Republic, we also already have a different view of those- of that legislation than Hungary and Poland have. That it is actually only between the four of us, who are like the center of Europe, that there is no longer any unity of opinion on this either. So, from my point of view, it will be quite interesting to see how this develops further and whether we will find any compromise at all, just to actually bring those things that are supposed to be unified together in the area of legislation.

SKFG1_M4: I would perhaps also move from legislation to the rule of law, which I think SKFG1_M2 mentioned at the beginning, that what the European Union means to him. If it was anyone, I apologize for not mentioning the name. But the rule of law is a fundamental thing for me. It means the European Union to me as well, and it seems to me that people are now starting to take it very lightly in terms of what it actually means and what the rule of law system means. So, I certainly agree in that area, and I hope that the Union has the means to enforce that adherence to the rule of law, which is really a necessity if one wants to be a member of the European Union.

(long pause)

[01:20:17]

SKFG1_M2: So, we see that Hungary and Poland are invoking the principle of subsidiarity. It means, they know better the conditions in Hungary and Poland, and therefore they have the laws that they have, compared with the European Union. And it is a very complex problem. Certainly, the European Union is not interested in breaking up, in Poland and Hungary leaving. By no means. And another thing, too, our legal system has cracks, and it has flaws. What equality before the law is there in Slovakia? - One general, this one, the prosecutor, will let go because he can, the other one will not because he has no interest in it. What kind of law is that? How to interpret it? Yeah? He can justify it, he'll get a 30-page opinion on it if he has to, right? But we don't feel that we're equal before the law in Slovakia. As long as the legal standards are what they are in our country. We need to basically rewrite the whole legal system. Throw out what doesn't belong there... Maybe, it should be copied from some other country where democracy has been around longer or it's just been tried and tested, but- So we have problems with the judiciary, with the rule of law, with equality, we have problems in Slovakia. We are in development, we are just a young country, surely it will change in time.

M: Thank you. I still saw that SKFG1_M4 wanted to respond.

SKFG1_M4: I just… to copy surely, and we have copied a lot from others within our legal system, but to do it sensibly, because there have been cases when sentences taken out of context, out of another legal system, have been implemented in our country and it hasn't worked at all, so that's all I wanted to say.

M: Yeah, thank you, our time is slowly coming to an end, and I have one last question for all of you to answer one at a time. What would you say in conclusion on this topic? I'm asking each of you for a final comment, an observation, an assessment.

(long pause)

SKFG1_M2: Well, I will be very brief: I am happy to be a citizen of the European Union, I feel safer, and I have guarantees for my offspring that they will live better than we did in the past when we went through that totalitarianism. I am simply glad to be in the European Union.

M: Thank you.

SKFG1_F1: Hmm, well, I am also very happy to be a European citizen and although the European Union certainly has some, how should I put it, some areas where it is limping, but it is still a guarantee of peace and basically this European project has been going on for quite a long time and there will always be some challenges. They will be, basically, that they will be somehow- just challenges for those Member States to somehow think more innovatively and to be able to solve the problem, that is basically- I guess that will be the case, but I am happy with the opportunities that are offered from the EU.

SKFG1_F5: May I continue? I join in, of course, I think it is good that Slovakia is a member of the European Union, I am happy to be in the European Union as a citizen. And I also understand that there are still, simply, there are still a lot of things that can be improved. And I think that the European Union has the potential to work on them and to improve them. Now, I mean, especially, the efficiency of the functioning. The bureaucracy was mentioned, it is basically the same thing, and I think it could work more efficiently, it could work faster, things could be dealt faster. There are certainly areas where improvements can be made.

SKFG1_F6: If may continue. So, I am glad, as I think everyone (here?) is, that we are members of the European Union and that we can draw on those funds and thanks to those funds it will contribute to better… whether it is the level of roads, improvement of education, innovation, support for companies in Slovakia, and the situation will improve for all of us, just thanks to those direct supports and through some of the calls that are organized. And, of course, I am glad that I was able to take part in the debate. So, thank you for inviting me to share my views in this way and perhaps enrich our horizons.

M: Thank you very much. (long pause) Maybe SKFG1_M7, or SKFG1_M4?

SKFG1_M7: So as far as I can say for myself, I think there should be more of these kinds of events, maybe on a broader basis, not just nine people. And then the result, if any of it comes out, is to make the European Union a better place to live within the European Union. That´s it.

M: Mhm. Thank you very much.

SKFG1_M4: I'll join in. I am glad that I was able to attend, I am glad that I was able to hear the views on the European Union from the people who are present here and- There are many things that could be better about what has been said, but I still take it as a huge positive.

M: Mhm.

(long pause)

SKFG1_F3: I see it positively. I don't even know what to say, but I feel like, if I were to summarize my impression of today, that we are such a very evenly mixed group here and it would be very interesting to have a little bit of fun with other opinions, which I think are very much so against the European Union as well. At least, I feel it in my own environment to quite a large extent, that this {the focus group} is just such an island in the sea for me, which is what has happened here now, because it does not happen to me that I meet nine people and that there is such a degree of agreement on these things, as it were, like at all. So, it struck me well, and in terms of what he said as well, it was said that, like, {we need} more of something like that, that I think we need to, like, right, kind of talk about it more, maybe on a society-wide basis and talk about these things, to maybe, maybe shake some of the things that I think are sometimes based on myths, but these things maybe just lead people to perceive things negatively about the European Union. Then, when I talk to them, they actually find out that that's not actually the case, yeah? But by not having that debate, all sorts of myths grow and are not actually debunked, so I think a debate would be necessary. And for example, I also think about the administration, that it is not the work of the European Union, also in terms of funds and so on, that it is- They give us certain frameworks and the fact that we want three trillion papers and everything to be controlled in the framework of the Euro funds, it just came out of that, just that we have a strong corrupt environment here and we try to prevent that just to make it somehow controllable, but, like, they don't need it in that way, in my opinion. I mean, as far as I know, the administration is just like our thing in Slovakia, I think. And then, I would add that it also has to do with, like, some personal responsibility or whatever, that, for example, in terms of participation and so on. We have a little bit of a tendency in Slovakia to have - We have precise rules, that's how we're all going to do it from A to Z, yeah. And it's often the case that there are some frameworks abroad, and, let's say, each municipality is able to manage some of the things according to how they need. A higher degree of more accountability works there, also in terms of public finances and things like that. And that's something that's still a little bit lacking in our culture. So, that's why I think we have so much of that administration and so many strict rules. So, just like that, but it was great like that. Thank you!

M: Thank you very much. I would just like to note for the record that SKFG1_M4, SKFG1_F5 and SKFG1_F6 gave a thumbs up when you said that there is a very corrupt environment in Slovakia, so I guess that means that they agree. I have exhausted all my questions here, and I have skipped some of them because we have run out of time. If none of you have anything further to say in our debate, I would stop the recording, but do not leave yet. Can I stop the recording? Anyone else have anything to say? I'm stopping.