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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2005

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The year 2005 was unique for Slovakia’s foreign policy. It was the first year of a fullfledged membership in the Euro-Atlantic structures. While 2004 was a year of identification of the post-integration foreign policy priorities, the year 2005 can be characterized as the first year of their implementation. The ambition of the Yearbook is – at the appropriate level and with the possibility of identifying perspective trends – to look for the answers to new coherences that, in a broader European context, are most topical for Slovakia. Twelve authors attempted to find the answer to questions how Slovakia implemented its new priorities in the new environment. This edition of the Yearbook focused on five foreign policy issues characterizing the foreign policy development in 2005, such as the EU and NATO membership, Slovakia’s activities within international organizations and concrete implementation of the foreign policy priorities. The first chapter focuses on Slovakia’s membership in the EU. Aneta Világi, the analyst of the European Integration research program at RC SFPA, deals with the topic of discourse on the EU Constitutional Treaty. She concentrates especially on development of the EU Constitutional Treaty ratification process in Slovakia as well as the impact of the unsuccessful ratification in the Netherlands and France on its further development. In conclusion she suggests for the Slovak diplomacy to use the stagnation period to form its own priorities in case the discussion on further development after the unsuccessful ratification is open. Vladimír Bilčík, the Head of the European Integration research program at RC SFPA, examines the official standpoints of Slovakia towards the EU enlargement and focuses on the main points of discussion on further enlargement in 2005, including the issue of absorption capacity. The second chapter is devoted to the security policy. It is open by an article of the analyst of the Center for European and North-Atlantic Affairs Vladimír Tarasovič. He assesses the key events or changes from the point of view of the EU and NATO. Vladimír Tarasovič also analyzed the most significant security policy documents adopted by the Slovak Government in 2005. The reflection of the mentioned document in practice was analyzed by Miroslav Kysel, an analyst from the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. The analysis of Ivo Samson, Head of the International Security research program at RC SFPA, opens the third chapter of the Yearbook. In his analysis, he focuses on the candidacy and preparation of the Slovak Republic for the UN Security Council membership as well as on the fundamentals, principles, priorities and possible dilemmas of Slovakia’s activities in UN SC. Peter Lizák of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic takes a more detailed look at Slovakia’s current performance and the future prospects in OSCE. The issues in Central Europe are analyzed by Tomáš Strážay, Head of the Central and South-eastern Europe research program. He assesses the key points as well as the problematic issues playing a significant role within the Visegrad Four, the Central European Initiative and Regional Partnership. Tomáš Strážay also attempts to determine the fields of cooperation which the individual groupings could realize in the short as well as medium-term perspective. The fourth chapter assesses implementation of the main foreign policy priorities such as Ukraine and the Western Balkans. Alexander Duleba, director of the RC SFPA, focuses on the relations with Ukraine. He considers the years 2004 and 2005 a breakthrough in the approach towards the Ukraine considering the development of Slovak-Ukraine relations. Moreover, he stresses that only in 2005 did the outlines of Slovakia’s post-integration eastern policy meet the interests of Slovakia, which could significantly contribute to the common EU and NATO policies. The contribution of Eliška Sláviková of People in Peril reflects on the base forming the decision to include the Western Balkans into the foreign policy priorities of Slovakia. It also reflects the practical realization of the policy towards the Balkans. She assess Slovak bilateral relations with the individual countries of the Balkans as well as relations at the EU level and attempts to answer the question where Slovakia could see its working space in the Balkans. Slovakia’s Foreign Policy Tools is the name of the last thematic chapter in the Yearbook. Naturally, this chapter begins with the analysis of the Slovak development assistance as the main bilateral tool of Slovakia’s foreign policy. Peter Hulényi of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the SR takes a closer look at the Slovak ODA. He analyzes the 2005 success of the Slovak ODA in more detail and, rather than talking about the failures, he points out the challenges Slovak Aid will face in 2006. Foreign economic policy is reviewed by Tomáš Taraba of Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency. The public opinion on foreign policy issues is traditionally the field which Oľga Gyárfášová of Institute for Public Affairs covers in the Yearbook. Her research outlines that there was a significant positive change in the public opinion on Slovakia’s performance in the field of foreign policy. Besides these analyses, the Yearbook includes a chronology of the most important events in the Slovak foreign policy in 2005 and selects political documents and other information (e.g. the structure and representatives of the MFA SR, a list of diplomatic missions and representatives of SR abroad, the SR diplomatic bodies, army missions abroad etc.). I strongly believe that all those interested in the foreign policy of Slovakia and its development in 2005 will find this publication useful.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2006

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Year 2006 was indeed exceptional for both Slovakia’s foreign policy and the publication itself. In June, after the general elections, the new government was formed. It was the first time since 1998 the complete change of the political power took place at the same time as the change of foreign policy creator took place. It is also the first time the Yearbook of Foreign Policy of the Slovak Republic assesses and reflects Slovak foreign policy issues other than Dzurinda’s government. Nevertheless, the field of foreign policy was perhaps the only one within which continuity was expected. Furthermore, the Government’s Manifesto does not differ that much in terms of values from the previous government’s manifesto and that was further confirmed by the nomination of an experienced diplomat, Ján Kubiš, for the position of foreign minister. However, certain dissonance between the rhetoric and implementation has been provoking the discussion from the very beginning. At the beginning of April 2007, the Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SFPA) attempted for the first time to assess the foreign policy direction of Slovakia after the new government came into power. RC SFPA organized its Annual Review Conference on Foreign Policy named Continuities and Changes in Slovakia’s Foreign Policy. The name of the conference itself, somehow stemming from the post-election discourse, caused quite a vivid discussion. However, the individual presenters constantly substituted and by or in the title. This also might have contributed to our decision to continue with the discussion on the pages of Yearbook of Foreign Policy of the Slovak Republic 2006 in broader scope. The book analyzes the 2006 foreign policy within three main fields – EU, security policy, and regional and bilateral agenda. The first part traditionally focuses on Slovakia’s performance in the EU. It opens with the contribution of Erik Láštic from Comenius University’s Faculty of Arts. In his paper, he analyzes the institutional background of Slovakia in the EU. Since this topic was not discussed in previous editions, the text goes beyond the framework of 2006. The article of RC SFPA’s research fellow Aneta Világi reflects the domestic (non)debate on the issue of the Treaty Establishing the Constitution for Europe. The RC SFPA director and head of its Eastern Europe research program Alexander Duleba, based on his analysis of the EU Eastern Policy, recommends the establishment of two-level strategy and bridging ENP with Russia policy The second part also partially resembles the last year’s structure with its two analyses focusing on the key security policy agendas, i.e. Slovakia’s performance within the UN Security Council and NATO. The former was elaborated by the head of RC SFPA’s International Security research program Ivo Samson. His detailed analysis focuses on the scope of SR’s activities in the UN SC, Slovakia’s participation in creating of resolutions and voting, the presidency itself as well as the key agenda of the security sector reform. The transformation and developments within the NATO are surveyed by Matúš Korba of Center for Security Studies, a Bratislava-based NGO. In his study, included the analysis of Slovakia’s performance in the Alliance, the participation in the crisis management missions or the challenges the SR will face. Unlike previous years, the 2006 Yearbook has a part dealing with regional and bilateral relations, i.e. it focuses on the priorities and tools of Slovakia’s foreign policy. The chapter is opened by the article on Slovak-Hungarian relations which are, according to the author, full of ‘media convenient’ topics. The paper was written by Kálmán Petőcz of Forum Minority Research Institute, a Šamorín-based NGO. Similarly discussed and ‘convenient’ topic was also energy policy and security. Independent analyst, Karel Hirman, focuses his analysis on 2006 Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute, new Russian strategy and its impact on Slovakia. Slovakia’s presidency over the V4 dominated the regional agenda even though the functioning of V4 was to a large extent influenced by the domestic political developments in its member states. This topic was elaborated by Juraj Marušiak of Institute of Political Science of Slovak Academy of Science. Milan Šagát of Bratislavabased Pontis Foundation prepared a contribution on a complex and complicated issue of Slovakia’s policy towards the Western Balkans. In his paper, he stresses the fact that the folowing period will be of crucial importance for Slovakia’s policy and that it needs to be more diversified and better-balanced towards the whole region. Three authors Marián Čaučík, Zuzana Krátka and Ľudmila Pastorová focused on the issue of the most important bilateral foreign policy tool of Slovakia in 2006 – the development assistance. Their contribution deals with the activities of Slovak organizations within sectoral and territorial priorities as well as with the institutional and legislative changes of Slovak ODA. Traditionally, the Yearbook includes annexes such as the chronology of the most important events in the Slovak foreign policy in 2006, selected political documents and other information (e.g. the structure and representatives of the MFA SR, a list of diplomatic missions and representatives of SR abroad, the SR diplomatic bodies, army missions abroad etc.). It is up to the reader to decide whether there is continuity or discontinuity in Slovakia’s foreign policy. However, I strongly believe that all texts will contribute to the debate on further direction of Slovakia’s foreign policy and that the publication will find its readers.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2007

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The Yearbook of Slovakia’s Foreign Policy is a unique project which has for the past nine years been, we hope that successfully, contributing to the development of the tradition of the regular evaluation and analysis of the foreign policy of the Slovak Republic in the given year and supporting the cultivation of the foreign policy debate. This publication represents a significant and at the same time the only book source keeping record of the development of Slovakia’s foreign policy and the discussion on its further direction. The foreign policy of every country needs to build its own traditions especially in the case of a young state such as the Slovak Republic. Should the foreign policy be successful it must have its own form, its own language and its own institutions. In this sense under the term institutions it is necessary to comprehend not only the buildings of state bodies which are occupied by those who are responsible for the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. In a democratic state the public discussion is a part of the formulation of all public policies and foreign policy is not an exception. It is very important that public discussion gains institutional forms which become a tradition because without traditions there is no continuity and the absence of continuity means the repetition of old mistakes and always starting from point zero. In other words tradition is institutionalized memory. New knowledge is impossible without memory and without knowledge there can be no good political decisions. That is why traditions are so important especially in an area such as the foreign policy of a state. In this context it is possible to see the exceptionality of this publication as a ‘tradition’ as well as its specific position in the public debate on Slovakia’s foreign policy. It is a unique forum primarily dedicated to Slovakia’s foreign policy which provides space for those who bear the responsibility for the realization of the foreign policy of this country and those who are not indifferent to Slovakia’s foreign policy. The Yearbook serves for the exchange of opinions, knowledge, experience, positions and arguments with the goal of improving the quality of decisions in the area of foreign policy to best serve the interests of this country. We are convinced that it is very important to regularly evaluate the state of Slovakia’s foreign policy, which crucial events occurred in the past year and what challenges stand before the Slovak Republic in the near future. These were the main goals and intentions of the previous Yearbook editions; we prepared this year’s edition with identical objectives and we believe that we will do the same in the following years. The 2007 Yearbook evaluates the year of our foreign policy in the traditional structure. It analyzes Slovakia’s operation in the international environment, the realization of the priority areas of our foreign policy as well as the effectiveness of the instruments of its implementation. The introductory contribution of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic is however an exception compared to previous years. It summarizes and evaluates the foreign policy of the past 12 months from the viewpoint of the person bearing the responsibility for the formulation and implementation of foreign policy throughout the electoral term. This text thematically corresponds to individual chapters in the Yearbook which gives the reader the unique opportunity of seeing the same issue from two different angles. The expert section of the Yearbook is opened by the contribution of Vladimír Bilčík from the Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association who focuses on the process of the completion of the integration process as well as the challenge of the active contribution to the formation of the future EU which stands before the SR in the upcoming period. Our Permanent Representative to the UN Peter Burian evaluated the goals and conditions of our operation in the UN Security Council, analyzed threats and their solutions and didn’t leave out a thorough analysis of our February presidency. Tomáš Valášek, the Director of Foreign Policy and Defense at the Centre for European Reform in London, concluded the first chapter with his view of the Slovak security policy and our operation in foreign missions. The second section of the Yearbook devoted to the priority areas of our foreign policy is opened by the article of the High Representative of the International Community for Bosnia and Herzegovina and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Miroslav Lajčák. In his contribution on Slovak policy in the Western Balkans he instigates a reflection upon how most of all the EU but also NATO could strengthen our positions and how to maintain our long-term specialization on this agenda. Tomáš Strážay, RC SFPA analyst, focused his attention on the successes and some problematic areas of the cooperation of V4 countries as well as to the resolutions which they were not able to fulfill but which could increase the significance and effectiveness of the V4 in the near future. Alexander Duleba, RC SFPA Director and Head of the East European research program, attempted to evaluate the development of the political and economic agenda of Slovak relations with its eastern partners in the year 2007 including the fulfillment of the new foreign policy priority – the economic dimension of Slovak diplomacy. The contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the SR to external energy security was addressed in the article of Ján Šoth, the Director of the Analyses and Policy Planning Department and the Head of the Standing Work Group on External Energy Security. The concluding part of the expert section which is devoted to the institutional background and foreign policy instruments is opened by the contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Marcel Peško on the modernization of the Slovak Foreign Service and the future character of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. The representatives of the Slovak Non-Governmental Development Platform Eva Havelková and Nora Beňáková focused on the functioning of presumably the most important bilateral instrument of the Slovak foreign policy in the year 2007 – development assistance. The authors offered their view of the institutional and legislative changes in the Slovak ODA and tried to compare the territorial and sector objectives of bilateral projects in the periods before and after the realization of said changes. The expert segment of the Yearbook is closed by the contribution of the Director of the International Economic Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic Jaroslav Chlebo which is devoted to the possibly most frequently cited collocation in this electoral term – the economic dimension of diplomacy. The expert section is traditionally supplemented by annexes such as the chronology of the most important foreign policy events, chosen political documents, a list of international treaties, information on the structure and representatives of state administrative bodies operating in foreign policy, a list of diplomatic missions and representatives of the SR abroad, SR diplomatic bodies, military missions abroad etc. We firmly believe that also this year’s Yearbook edition will find its readers and serve to all those who are interested in the past, present and future of Slovakia as well as its foreign policy. In conclusion we would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the SR for its cooperation in this project and its support as well as for the fact that, also thanks to this institution, we can continue in building this much needed tradition.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2008

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The very first Yearbook of Foreign Policy of the Slovak Republic, published in 2000 and mapping the year 1999, outlined the aim of this unique project as follows: “The demand of society to regularly publish a Yearbook containing opinions and assessments of the state’s foreign policy stemmed from the need to record the development of foreign policy, during a crucial period in the country’s development, in a form accessible to the expert public […] In Slovakia, the requirement to publish the Yearbook is further bolstered by two factors: by an excessive dependency of foreign policy trends upon the current government coalition […], as well as the lack of an official almanac of foreign policy documents. From this perspective, it is a shame that the first issue of the Yearbook is only being published in the eighth year of Slovakia’s existence. We can only take solace in the motto – ‘better late than never’. Probably the best evidence that this aim has been successfully fulfilled is the fact that this year, the Yearbook celebrates its tenth anniversary. During the first decade of its existence, it built and maintained a specific position in public discussion on foreign policy and remained a unique and original source of information, opinions, knowledge, experience, viewpoints, and arguments of the actors themselves, academics, analysts, or journalists with the goal of improving the quality of the decisions made in foreign policy, in order to best serve the interests of this country. We are still convinced that it is necessary to maintain this tradition of regularly evaluating, in book form, where Slovak foreign policy currently is, which important events occurred the preceding year, and what challenges lie ahead of Slovakia in the near future. These were, and still remain, the main goals and objectives of this edition as well and we believe that they will be the same in future ones. In the course of its 10 year life, the Yearbook has undergone a number of changes. It started out as a publication from the foreign policy review conference and then gradually became a publication in its own right, with its own clearly defined structure and base of authors. The Yearbook has had two publishers, three editors, and six different colors on the cover with two graphic motifs. It has been published 10 times in Slovak and 9 times in English. Both language variations came to 3,771 pages, with the contributions of 93 different authors in 139 analyses filling 1,227 pages in the case of the Slovak version and 1,161 pages in the English one. The annexes ‘filled’ 637 or 606 pages respectively. Among the authors were two presidents of the Slovak Republic, four speakers of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, one prime minister of the Slovak Republic, four deputy prime ministers, three ministers of foreign affairs, five ministers of defense and one minister of finance of the Slovak Republic, one high representative and EU special representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one representative of the World Bank, eleven opposition and governing coalition MPs and chairmen of the Committees of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, eight academics, twenty-eight analysts, twenty-seven representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and one of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, and two journalists/publicists, while some appeared in the Yearbook more than once holding different posts. Eight proofreaders, ten reviewers, and fifteen members of the editorial board cooperated on the Slovak version. The English version was compiled by sixteen translators and seven different proofreaders. This year’s Yearbook assesses the year 2008 and Slovak foreign policy in an already established thematic structure. It evaluates our conduct in the international environment, the realization of the priority areas of our foreign policy, as well as the efficacy of its instruments and the institutional framework required for its implementation. Based on positive feedback from readers, this year we have also included the insights of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the introduction. The Minister looked back over the past 12 months from the perspective of the person bearing responsibility for the formulation and implementation of foreign policy in this electoral term. The text evaluates the problems and aspects of Slovakia’s foreign policy, which are analyzed in depth by other authors in the Yearbook. Thus, the reader is given a unique opportunity to peruse the same ‘issue’ from different angles in one publication. The expert section of the Yearbook opens with a contribution by Vladimír Bilčík from the Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SFPA) who provides an overview of the fulfillment of the main political, economic, and institutional priorities of the Slovak Republic as a member state of the EU. He analyzes Slovakia’s international behavior, offering a cross-section analysis of the fundamental political priorities of the Slovak Republic in the EU, and also assesses the ability of the country to formulate and promote its interests within the EU. The security policy aspects of our foreign policy are analyzed by Matúš Korba from the Center for Security Studies. In his analysis, he identifies how Slovakia was able to cope in the first five years of its membership in NATO with the challenges of actively participating in the political activities of the Alliance, the military operations of crisis management and the tasks it is currently fulfilling within a transforming NATO. The section focusing on Slovakia’s performance within the international environment is concluded by the text by Martina Hrvolová from the Human Rights, Council of Europe, OSCE, and Minorities Depart ment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, who analyzes our first chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The second part of the book, devoted to the priorities of our foreign policy, opens with a contribution by the Director General for Economic Cooperation and Official Development Assistance of the Slovak Foreign Ministry, Radomír Boháč. In his analysis, he focuses on the fulfillment of the re-established priority of Slovak foreign policy – the economic dimension of Slovak diplomacy – in the context of the global financial and economic crisis and the challenges stemming from it. Ján Petrovič, Director of the Energy Policy Department of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, concentrates on an area that is crucial to Slovak policy and that of the European Union – energy security. Freelance journalist Július Lőrincz offers a perspective on Slovak activities in the Western Balkans in 2008 in three areas – economic diplomacy, development assistance, and the issue of Kosovo. The analysis of Slovakia’s Central European activities was, as always, written by Tomáš Strážay, analyst of the RC SFPA, who summarizes the priorities of two Visegrad presidencies – the Czech and the Polish, and focuses on the problematic points of the agenda as well as Slovakia’s contributions during both presidencies. The Director and Head of the RC SFPA Eastern Europe research program, Alexander Duleba, offers a ‘picture’ of the key events, in addition to a brief analysis on the development of Slovakia’s relations with three eastern neighbors – Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in 2008. The final expert section of the book is devoted to the institutional framework and foreign policy instruments, and opens with a contribution by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marcel Peško. In his chapter, he looks back at the year the institutional reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was implemented. The expert section of the Yearbook concludes with a contribution by Vladimír Benč and Peter Brezáni from the RC SFPA, who concentrate their attention on the state of the most important bilateral instrument in Slovak foreign policy in 2008 – development assistance. The authors offer their perspective on the institutional and legislative changes, and attempt to provide a summary of the activities concerning Slovak development assistance in 2008. The expert chapters are traditionally supplemented by annexes, such as the chronology of important foreign policy events, selected political documents, a list of international treaties, information on the structure and representatives of the state bodies operating in foreign policy, a list of the diplomatic missions and representatives of the Slovak Republic abroad, the diplomatic corps of the Slovak Republic, information on military missions abroad, and so on. We firmly believe that the tenth edition of the Yearbook will once again find a readership and serve all those who are interested in the past, present, and future of Slovakia and Slovak foreign policy. In conclusion, we would like to express our gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic for its cooperation on this project and its support, and for the fact that thanks to this cooperation we are able to continue building this much needed tradition.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2009

Author(s): Peter Brezáni / Language(s): English

If the foreign policy of any state is to be successful it must have its own form, its own language and be part of public – institutionally framed – discourse. There is, however, no such ‘institutional umbrella’ covering all those responsible for the formulation and implementation of our foreign policy as well as those in Slovakia who are not indifferent to it. Moreover, there is often little will to open such an umbrella ‘over’ our foreign policy. Even the political parties do not pay much attention to foreign policy and thus issues of foreign policy are only occasionally part of the general public discourse. It is, however, the open, coherent and constant exchange of views, opinions, know-how, arguments from experience and/or long-term plans among the groups mentioned that play a crucial role in planning foreign policy. All of these reasons keep convincing us that we need to regularly evaluate where Slovak foreign policy currently is, which important events occurred in the preceding year and what challenges lie ahead of Slovakia in the near future. The Yearbook is in this regard a unique forum primarily focused on Slovakia´s foreign policy. The book provides space for those who make decisions and practically implement them as well as to those who care a lot about the future of foreign policy, such as researchers active in academic circles, think-tanks or non-governmental organizations. The Yearbook is a unique project entering another decade of its existence. It has been contributing for eleven years – and successfully, we are convinced – to the development of a tradition of regular evaluation and analysis of Slovak foreign policy and supporting the cultivation of foreign policy thinking in Slovakia. The publication represents an important, yet at the same time, solitary, and indeed limited, printed book resource keeping record of the development of Slovakia’s foreign policy and the discussion on its further orientation. The Yearbook assesses 2009 as a year rich in events. In 2009, Slovakia celebrated the fifth anniversary of her EU and NATO membership as well as the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. At the same time it was the very first year of entering the Euro Zone. 2009 will also be remembered as a year of important institutional changes within the EU as well as in its practical operation; a year in which we once again elected our representatives to the European Parliament or one in which the Union got its new President and Foreign Minister. Implementation of the Eastern Partnership program was commenced and the integration project in the Balkans continued. In 2009 discussion on NATO’s new Strategic Concept started, while that on Afghanistan still continued. Within the OSCE Slovakia was very actively participating in the organization’s revitalization. It was also a year when debate on mitigation of the impacts of the economic and energy crisis and their associated challenges predominated. A year, then, of another stage in the improvement of the institutional framework of Slovak foreign policy. In the context of all of these events and their impacts on our foreign policy, the second decade of the Yearbook opens with an assessment of our line of action and a presentation of our objectives and interests in the international environment, continues with an analysis of the realization of the priority areas of our foreign policy and is concluded with an assessment of the efficacy of the instruments required for its implementation. The analytical assessment is again supplemented by an evaluation/ presentation of the Foreign Ministry’s representatives. The Yearbook offers all this to the somewhat limited degree characteristic of such publications. The Yearbook opens for the third time with a survey presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. His text evaluates and presents the problems and aspects of Slovakia’s foreign policy that are analyzed in depth by other authors in the Yearbook. Thus the reader is given a unique opportunity to examine the ‘same issue’ from different angles in one publication. The expert section of the Yearbook starts with a text analyzing Slovakia’s performance in an international environment. The first contribution, which by tradition is that of Vladimír Bilčík of the Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SPFA), covers the crucial events of Slovakia’s performance in the EU – the issue of representation and operation of the key EU institutions as well as a reflection on the first five years of Slovakia’s EU membership. It analyzes the positions and tasks of the Slovak Republic before and during the European Parliament elections, and in the creation of the European Commission as well as those connected with the process of adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon. It also offers a brief summary of the key issues important for Slovakia’s successful performance within the EU in the upcoming period. The security aspects of our foreign policy are assessed by Matúš Korba from the Center for Security Studies. In his text he analyzes the growing disproportion between the political ambitions of Slovakia within NATO and our real military capabilities that is connected with the internal crisis of the reform process within the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, which was even further exacerbated in 2009. The OSCE revitalization, the future of the European security debate and Slovakia’s role in it are all evaluated by Marcel Peško, the Permanent Representative and Head of the Permanent Mission to International Organizations in Vienna. The section on Slovakia’s performance in an international environment is concluded by a contribution by Milan Lapin, a prominent Slovak climatologist. In his article attention is mostly paid to the assessment of knowledge and activities that were carried out in 2009 and relate to climate changes and variability, including the Fifth National Communication of the Slovak Republic on Climate Change. The second part of the book, devoted to the priorities of our foreign policy, opens with a text by the Director-General for Economic Cooperation and ODA at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic Radomír Boháč. In his analysis, he focuses on the fulfillment of a re-established priority of our foreign policy – the economic dimension of Slovak diplomacy – in the context of the global financial and economic crisis and the challenges stemming from it. Urban Rusnák, Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic’s project on the External Energy Security of the Slovak Republic, reflects on the gas crisis of January 2009 as well as measures taken in the field of Slovak legislation and infrastructure on the level of national government as well as on the EU level. The analysis of Slovakia’s Central European activities was, as always, written by Tomáš Strážay, an RC SPFA analyst, who reassesses the cooperation principles and mechanisms aimed at rendering cooperation more intensive and more efficient. He also identifies and evaluates the most important challenges faced by the V4 presidency taken up by Slovakia. The key aspects of the Eastern Partnership program, its bilateral and multilateral components, Slovakia’s involvement in it as well as our bilateral activities in relation to the Eastern Partnership states are presented by Juraj Marušiak, a researcher at the Institute of Political Science of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The final expert section devoted to instruments of foreign policy opens with a contribution by Ján Mihálik from Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia (PDCS) and Peter Brezáni from the RC SFPA, who concentrate their attention on the state of one of the most important bilateral instruments in Slovak foreign policy – development cooperation. The authors offer their perspective on practical fulfillment of objectives set within the official ODA documents, attempt to provide a summary of activities relating to Slovak development cooperation in 2009 as well as a set of recommendations intended to increase the quality and efficiency of Slovak ODA. The expert section concludes with a text by Ondrej Gažovič from the Institute of European Studies and International Relations of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at Comenius University in Bratislava, who evaluates the year 2009 as a year that had brought several factors contributing to clarification of this part of the foreign policy concept against the background of conditions in the Slovak Republic as well as to its institutionalization and practical implementation. The expert chapters are traditionally supplemented by annexes such as a chronology of important foreign policy events, a list of international treaties, information on the structure and representatives of state bodies operating in foreign policy, a list of diplomatic missions and representatives of the Slovak Republic abroad, a list of diplomatic corps in the Slovak Republic, information on military missions abroad etc. We firmly believe that the first issue of the Yearbook in the second decade of its existence will once again find a readership and serve all those who are interested in the past, present and future of Slovakia and her foreign policy. In conclusion, we would kindly like to express our gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic for its cooperation on this project and its support as well as for the fact that thanks to this support we are able to continue building on this much needed tradition.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2010

Author(s): / Language(s): English

This is only for the second time in the history of this edition, that the Yearbook assesses a year which saw a complete political power shift and thus an exchange of those who make and decide on foreign policy. It was an election year, a year of foreign policy accent shift, and a year of institutional and personnel changes (not only) at the Foreign Ministry. For the first time, the leader of the strongest coalition party became the Foreign Minister; a person with the real political power to move our foreign policy (and not only in the institutional or financial sense) a step (leap) forward. One can only hope that the current Government will also have the political will to do so. The first few post-election months have, however, already provided some indications. First of all, the integration of the diplomatic service, discussed often since 1993, became reality in 2010 and represents an important milestone in the future realization of our foreign policy. Progress was also achieved in strained neighborhood relations. Despite a complicated bilateral agenda, many open issues and rather different approaches, an open confrontation with Hungary was replaced with an unemotional and calm (sometimes even too calm) dialogue supplemented by European solutions. Slovakia’s new “leadership” also changed its stance toward our only neighbor being in a different international regime. It is very positive that our Government came to the understanding that irrespective of the political leadership, supporting the integration process of Ukraine into the EU is a part of our own policy of overcoming regional disparities within Slovakia and thus it is in our state’s interest. Progress was also made in regional cooperation in the field of natural gas supply security (sadly, once again we only resolved to risk-prevention measures after it had happened, but better late than never). It is a new and positive phenomenon in our cooperation with V4 partners and Austria. From Slovakia’s perspective, regional cooperation in energy mainly solves our problem. The loan to Greece along with the European Financial Stability Mechanism, were important issues before as well as after the elections. As of yet, we do not know the answers to gradually emerging questions, but we know that it is in our interest to have a stable currency and a stable euro zone with satisfied citizens. It is therefore crucial to answer the following question first: “Which decisions will contribute to the long-term stability of our currency, the euro.” A significant improvement was also achieved under the former leadership in relations between NGOs and the Ministry, when the NGDO Platform chair and the Foreign Minister signed a Memorandum of understanding in May 2010. It is only good that continuity is clearly visible in this direction after the elections. A positive signal was sent – not only to Europe, but to the entire world – by the determination of our representatives not to celebrate the anniversaries of totalitarian/ authoritarian regimes which violate basic human rights. We must also appreciate the principal position of our diplomacy on awarding the Nobel Prize to a Chinese dissident, on the release of Myanmar’s political prisoners, and the clear position on the Belarusian regime’s repression of its own citizens. These (and many other) events of the (entire) year 2010 are addressed in what is now the 12th Yearbook – whether in an assessment of our performance and promotion of our goals or interests in the international environment, an analysis of the realization of priority foreign policy goals, or in an evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of instruments for their realization. Obviously, the book only offers an analytical assessment within the natural limits of the publication of this kind, covering not all the fields and regions in which our foreign policy was visible or active. Slovakia’s President is the first to assess the year 2010 in this year’s edition. Even though the Yearbook is primarily meant for analytical assessments, the editorial board considers an opening address and position of the only supreme official to be in office for all of 2010 to be a positive contribution. Traditionally, the views and opinions of the Foreign Minister are present in the Yearbook. In his contribution, he presents and assesses the issues and aspects of Slovakia’s foreign policy, which are thoroughly examined by other authors in the book, as well as his opinions on the future of our foreign policy under the new leadership. Both texts give the reader a unique opportunity of seeing the same issue from different (this time also politically) angles in one publication. The expert section is opened by the evaluation of Slovakia’s operation in the international environment. The contribution of Vladimír Bilčík from the Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SFPA) assessing Slovakia’s performance within the EU is, as always, the introductory text of this section. He addresses issues related to the practical implementation of the Lisbon Treaty and the consequences of the financial and economic crises. He also analyzes how the election campaign prior to the June 2011 parliamentary elections in Slovakia influenced the positions of Slovakia’s politicians in the EU, i.e. the loan to Greece issue, the creation of the European Financial Stability Mechanism, as well as changes in the competences of individual governmental departments. Security and defense policy, or an analysis of our capacities and capabilities to participate on international security respectively, is offered by Ivo Samson, head of the International Security research program at the RC SFPA. He analyzes it through the prism of three key events of 2010: parliamentary elections in Slovakia, the new NATO Strategic Concept, and Slovakia’s strategic review of defense policy process. The ever more serious and urgent issue of climate change is addressed in the text of Juraj Mesík, an independent analyst. He takes a detailed look at developments between the Copenhagen and Cancun summits, including the summit conclusions, and maps the main climate events of 2010 – both in the global perspective and from Slovakia’s point of view – while outlining what the population will have to face in the future. The part focusing on Slovakia’s operation in the international environment concludes with the text of Irina Mattová, from the University of Prešov, characterizing global governance, mapping the agenda of non-formal groups (G8, G20), and indicating the driving forces that will determine the future agenda of these groups in relation to Slovakia. The second part of the Yearbook, focused on the priorities of our foreign policy, is opened by the article of Juraj Marušiak, from the Institute of Political Science of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He analyzes the issue being rich for developments every year – Slovak–Hungarian relations. Relations with Hungary represented a specific problem encompassing both a foreign and a domestic policy dimension. The domestic policy dimension not only concerned ethnical cleavages on Slovakia’s political scene but also relations between “Slovak” and “Hungarian” political parties within Slovakia respectively. Tomáš Strážay, head of the RC SFPA Central and Southeastern Europe research program, analyzes Slovakia’s Central European activities. Due to the Visegrad 2010 jubilees his analysis is split into two parts: an outline of the key factors that characterized Visegrad cooperation throughout the years and an analysis of V4 priorities in 2010 with an emphasis on the preparation and realization of Slovakia’s V4 Presidency. Director and head of the RC SFPA Eastern Europe research program, Alexander Duleba, gives an analytical “picture” of Slovakia’s relations with both, EU Eastern Partnership countries and Russia, while comparing the policies toward individual countries under the governments of Robert Fico and Iveta Radičová. Slovak activities in the Western Balkans which still belong to the regional priorities of Slovakia’s foreign policy and being a region where Slovakia has a good reputation and trustworthy political positions, were assessed by an independent journalist, Július Lőrincz. The third part of the book, devoted to the foreign policy instruments, is opened by a text from Nora Beňáková, Chairman of the NGDO Platform, Ján Mihálik, from PDCS, and Peter Brezáni, from RC SFPA, who focus their attention on the functioning of our most visible bilateral foreign policy tool – development cooperation. The authors evaluate the practical fulfillment of goals set in documents and attempt to provide an overview of Slovakia’s development assistance activities in 2010. The article offers a set of proposals and recommendations to improve the ODA quality and efficiency. The section dedicated to foreign policy instruments closes with a text by Ondrej Gažovič, from the Institute of European Studies and International Relations of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the Comenius University in Bratislava, who assesses the changes in Slovakia’s public diplomacy in 2010. He also offers an overview of the practical activities of this policy, the opportunities that were seized and squandered, and a reflection on the future perspective of public diplomacy in the context of Slovakia’s foreign policy. The expert section is concluded with another new thing, the regularly irregular section: The history of Slovak foreign policy. Its inclusion will be conditioned by the commemoration of a significant anniversary related either to an important person or event in Slovak foreign policy. Since 2010 we commemorated the 130th anniversary of the birth of a prominent Slovak diplomat – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, we decided to begin with a study on his diplomatic and strategic successes written by the experienced diplomat and historian, Miroslav Musil. The expert section is traditionally supplemented by annexes, such as the chronology of the most important foreign policy events, a list of international treaties, information on the structure and representatives of state administrative bodies operating in foreign policy, a list of diplomatic missions and representatives of the SR abroad, the diplomatic corps of the SR, information on military missions abroad etc. We firmly believe that this Yearbook will once again find its readers and serve all those who are interested in the past, present, and future of Slovakia and her foreign policy. In conclusion, we would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic for its cooperation in this project and its support, and for the fact that thanks to this cooperation we are able to continue building this much needed tradition.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2016

Author(s): / Language(s): English

A year ago I wrote in the foreword to the 2015 Yearbook that with respect to international affairs (and hence Slovak foreign policy), 2016 would not be any easier than 2015, and might be even more difficult. This has proven to be not far from the truth, in various aspects of foreign policy. Within the European Union we once again witnessed the sight of terrorism costing many lives. Internationally, ongoing wars – both far from and near to the EU neighborhood – brought more tension and instability to international relations. The EU itself faced its own internal struggles and challenges. Certainly the most consequential issue was the United Kingdom referendum, and their “yes” on the “Leave” vote. This is an unprecedented situation, whose end is still open and uncertain. Disagreements and misunderstandings among member states as to how to deal with the migration crisis continued, not to mention the ongoing ambiguity regarding the reform of EU institutions, the requests of Germany and France for a multispeed Europe, and the situation in Turkey, as well as an increase in general support among populations for populist leaders – for politicians without solutions that could actually work, or any clear agenda; politicians who, in the case of the UK, were so surprised at their success that they left almost immediately in order not to be held responsible for further developments. For Slovakia, 2016 was an extraordinary year. Not due to the fact that parliamentary elections took place in March, as their impact on Slovakia’s foreign and European policy was negligible. It was extraordinary because the Slovak Republic held its very first Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Slovakia presided during turbulent times, having to deal with issues (and even better with their impact) which no Presidency country has ever had to deal with. One must not forget this context when evaluating our Presidency. The year 2016 has shown us again that we must move fast and be constructive in searching for solutions to the EU’s problems. The EU’s political leaders, as well as its civil society, businesses, and academia – all of them must put an end to competing for the most politically beautiful, and pursue instead expert answers to current issues and problems. All of these matters, and perhaps more, are addressed here in what is now our 18th Yearbook – whether it’s an assessment of our performance in the promotion of our goals and interests in the international environment, an analysis of the actions taken in pursuit of our priority foreign policy goals, or an evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of one of the instruments of their implementation. Obviously, the book can only offer its analytical assessments within the natural limits (capacities and financial resources) of a publication of this kind, not able to cover every field and region in which our foreign policy was visible or active. We offer here what we consider the most crucial. As per tradition, the views and opinions of the Foreign Minister are presented first in the Yearbook. In his contribution he presents and assesses various issues and aspects of Slovakia’s foreign policy – which are thoroughly examined by other authors in the book – as well as his opinions on the future of our foreign policy after the Presidency. His piece offers the reader a unique opportunity to see various issues from the angle of the person responsible for implementing foreign policy, as well as from the angle of experts who do not have to take party politics into consideration when writing. As our goal is constructive critical debate and the search for real answers to current challenges, in the following selection of authors you will find mainly experts from NGOs/think-tanks and academia, since we (the editorial board) assume that their distance from the practical implementation of foreign policy (with all the direct and indirect influences involved) might bring a certain added value to their perspective. The expert section of the book opens with an evaluation of Slovakia’s performance in the international environment. The contribution of Zuzana Gabrižová, editor in chief of Euractiv.sk, assessing Slovakia’s performance in 2016 within the EU, serves – as always – as the introductory text for this section. Her piece traces the sequence and milestones that defined those developments relevant both to the Slovak–EU debate and to Slovak actions vis-a-vis the EU. Martin Vlachynský, senior analyst at the Institute of Economic and Social Studies, in his economic analysis of 2016, defines the economic tone of the year as being one played by well-known instruments. The Eurozone financial system, the deficits, quantitative easing, and, of course, the Greek crisis, remained topics of the day. Pavol Szalai, senior editor at Euractiv.sk, focuses on Slovakia’s energy policy, which in 2016 faced a different challenge: to preserve its role as a gas transit country, and resume its role as an electricity exporter. The section focusing on the international environment concludes with an analysis of Slovakia’s security and defense policy in 2016, written by the Slovak Foreign Policy Association’s two security policy analysts, Samuel Goda and Dušan Fischer. The second part of the Yearbook, focused on the priorities of our foreign policy, opens with an article by Tomáš Strážay, head of SFPA’s Central and Southeastern Europe research program. He analyzes Slovakia’s Central European activities during what was the 25th anniversary year of Visegrad cooperation, while focusing also on the future role of the V4 in the EU after Brexit, and on the future of the V4 as such. Slovak involvement in what might be characterized as a turbulent year in the Western Balkans, with its progress shifting from positive hope to negative development, was discussed, as traditionally, by the independent expert Július Lőrincz. The bilateral and multilateral context of our Eastern policy was the main subject of the analysis of Juraj Marušiak from the Institute of Political Science, Slovak Academy of Sciences. He argues that our policy towards the Eastern Europe was largely determined by two things in 2016 – our Council of the EU Presidency and Minister Lajčák’s effort to become the next UN Secretary-General. The third part of the book, devoted to foreign policy instruments, deals with the functioning of our most visible bilateral foreign policy tool – development cooperation. Maroš Čaučík, director of Dobrá novina – the Development Cooperation Program of eRko – an experienced expert as well as practitioner, provides an analysis of the practical fulfillment of our set goals, in his overview of Slovakia’s development assistance activities in 2016. His piece also offers a set of proposals and recommendations for improving the quality and efficiency of Slovak ODA. As usual the expert section is supplemented by appendices, such as a chronology of the most important foreign policy events, a list of international treaties, information on the structure and representatives of state administrative bodies operating within foreign policy, a list of diplomatic missions and representatives of the SR abroad, the diplomatic corps of the SR, information on military missions abroad, etc. I firmly believe that this Yearbook will once again find its readers, and serve all those who are interested in the past, present, and future of Slovakia and her foreign policy. In conclusion, I would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic for its cooperation in this project and its support, and for the fact that thanks to this cooperation we are able to continue in building this much needed tradition.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2017

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. As an old Latin adage has it, times change, and we change with them. The year 2017 was no different in that regard, and change continued to be the buzz word in the realm of international relations. Political trends became unpredictable and complex, sometimes even tectonic. It does not come easy to me to say that the world did not become a more stable and safer place last year. We saw turmoil and regional tensions, with the international community starting to lose consensus on some key issues previously understood as common interests. These changes are no longer situational. They are early warnings of new, long-term tendencies, stemming from protracted conflicts, social inequality, isolationism and lack of trust. Changing constants have placed new demands on our foreign policy, and on us as diplomats.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2018

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Now that we live in an age dominated by slogans, rather than arguments, it would be fitting to begin this Yearbook introduction with a short motto. However, it is impossible to characterize a whole year in international affairs in one word. Or even in one sentence. Especially a year such as 2018 was.In Slovakia 2018 was a year of anniversaries that reminded us of the roots of our statehood as well as the events that undermined it in the course of the twentieth century.But it was also a year in which a terrible crime reminded us about the strange power of the fateful “8” in our nation’s history and led to civic mobilization. Many important questions about our society were raised. In international affairs one could describe 2018 as a year in which we went one step forward and two steps backwards. As if a strange uneasiness permeated the whole system of international affairs, dominated by a lack of trust not only in each other, but also in the rules and institutions that we have jointly created to govern international affairs. Most of us know and understand, or at least instinctively feel, that in an increasingly interconnected world we need to work together to resolve common problems. Yet, we have seen more and more tendencies towards unilateralism, separatism or nationalism.

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Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2019

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Thirty years ago, when the Iron Curtain came down and the region was swept up in euphoria, the Slovaks and Czechs, along with many in the free world, expected progress would be linear and positive, bringing enduring stability and prosperity. The events of recent years have proved us wrong and 2019 was no exception in this regard. Political, economic and technological change led to tectonic shifts in foreign and security policy across the world. The global order is being transformed. We are still in the middle of this process and it is difficult to define its parameters. We cannot say with any certainty when and how it will end. We do not know what the human and material costs will ultimately be. But we know that it is happening. We know that we are in the middle of a geopolitical and geoeconomic transformation. And we all find navigating these shifts difficult. Slovak foreign policy has stood up to these challenges by engaging, by being responsible and by having a clear strategy. As a result, we have no enemies and no significant unresolved issues with any country in the world. Slovak foreign policy has remained consistent and defended its principles. In an unpredictable world, Slovakia has remained a predictable and reliable partner.

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Series:Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy