We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
After three years of EU membership, we may see Slovakia as a careful member state, which, with a few exceptions, defers rather than acts. The explanation lies not only in the change of the government in 2006, but also in worthlessness, lack of willingness and inability to create and enforce a sustainable integration strategy of the country.
More...
In the past few years, the issue of EU institutional reform has been somehow connected with the document called The Treaty for Establishing a Constitution for Europe1. As for this document, it can be said that 2005 was a year of ratification while 2006 was a year of reflection. However, the ratification did not proceed smoothly. The Constitutional Treaty was turned down by the citizens of the two member states in referenda. However, the reflection period did not mark any progress either – new ideas did not appear and no acceptable solution to the ‘constitutional crises’ was developed. Thus even in 2007, the European Union rolls its institutional ‘boulder’.
More...
Both Finland and Germany are countries with traditional interest in developing relations with East European neighbors. Thanks to their coordinated effort during the consequent EU presidencies in 2006 – 2007, including close interaction with the Commission, they managed to advance the strategic framework for the EU policy towards Eastern Europe. First of all, the Finnish and German presidencies made the first real steps towards addressing the main deficit of the existing strategic framework for the EU’s policy on Eastern Europe.
More...
The shifts in the global security environment and new security threats have brought a deepening of intergovernmental cooperation within the existing integration groups. Besides the reform of NATO, they have also brought about the strengthening of the security and defense dimension of the European Union. On the grounds of their experiences from Bosnia and Herzegovina (from 1995), Kosovo (from 1999), and Afghanistan (from 2003) and under the pressure of the current security threats, the member states of NATO are gradually coming to terms with the fact that the deployment of military instruments of crisis management represents the most effective means in the case of extensive future crises and high-intensity conflicts, if diplomatic efforts were to fail. Appropriate attention is also dedicated to civil instruments of crisis management considering that their coordinated deployment along with military instruments represents the most effective means of prevention and elimination of security crises and conflicts. The Slovak Republic began to materialize these current trends which were taking place in NATO after its accession. NATO and the EU have become the most important platforms for the realization of Slovakia’s foreign, security and defense policies as well as instruments for the implementation of Slovakia’s interests and goals. In these terms, it is the prime interest of the Slovak Republic to contribute to the effective distribution of work between both organizations and prevent their mutual competition and subsequent weakening. From Slovakia’s point of view the rivalry between individual member states of NATO and the EU, which could lead to the paralysis of their operability and a loss of credibility of both organizations, represents the greatest threat.
More...
The foreign policy of the Slovak Republic (SR) towards the Western Balkans in 2006 did not differ in its orientation from the previous year. Not even early parliamentary elections in June 2006 caused a drift in the direction of foreign policy towards the Western Balkans and the region, despite certain vagueness in the document Aims of foreign policy of the SR in 2006, remained one of the strategic priorities of foreign policy and Slovak development assistance. On the other hand, the year 2006 was a special period for foreign policy towards the region and Slovak diplomacy achieved a number of successes, the process of a declaration of independence by Montenegro, directed and controlled by Slovak diplomats, being the most significant of them.
More...
The co-shared responsibility of developed countries for global development makes countries like Slovakia consider the Official Development Assistance (ODA), an official component of its foreign policy. The issue of fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals became the agenda of the international community once again after the September 2005 UN summit in New York. The highest officials of Slovakia expressed their commitment to these goals at the summit. Thus as a member of the donor community, Slovakia is willing to contribute to solving the global issues i.e. to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to achieve the universal primary education, to promote gender equality and empower women, to reduce child mortality, to improve maternal health, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, to ensure environmental sustainability and to develop a global partnership for development.
More...
Although history of European integration has known discussions about the final direction of the European Union, the so-called finalité, for as long as since the 1950’s, the text entitled “constitution”, for many federalists a sign of hope that European integration will move towards a federal state, emerged only recently. The modern history of constitution in Europe can be surveyed back to year 2000 when the German Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer, on the ground of Humboldt University, gave his breakthrough speech in which he retrieved the idea of drafting the European Constitution. In the following months, other important figures of European politics joined in debates about the necessity, advantages and disadvantages of such a step. Following the unsatisfying results of negotiations about the Treaty of Nice (December 2000) and following the call of the Laeken Declaration (December 2001), the task to draw up the Constitution for the EU was finally taken over by the European Convention, which appointed itself into this role. The final text of the Treaty elaborated based on negotiations of this Convention – and as many critics claim, originating mainly from the quills of Valéry Giscard d’Estaigne – was first submitted to the European Council in December 2003. The representatives of EU member states did not reach an agreement on the final draft of the text of the Constitutional Treaty (CT) and, therefore, after negotiations and adjustments, the document was resubmitted to the European Council in June 2004 when it finally gained a general approval. The representatives of all EU member states signed the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe in October 2004 in Rome. The year of 2005 became very crucial for CT as it was the year of its ratification.
More...
Even though the Slovak Republic officially supports the policy of further enlargement of the European Union, this support has its limits. In view of the main aspects of Slovakia’s involvement in the EU during the year 2005, the then Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda stated in front of the members of the Committee on European Affairs of the National Council of the SR that a year and a half after joining the Union, it has become apparent that Slovakia is not only a consumer but also a creator of EU policies. While submitting the comprehensive report on the first year of Slovakia’s membership in the EU, from 1 May 2004 to 30 April 2005 M. Dzurinda highlighted the contribution of Slovakia especially to the opening of accession negotiations with Croatia. Considering the strategic decisions on the political arrangement of the EU, it would seem that Slovakia’s representatives are mainly adopting a supranational approach, according to which the Union is an autonomous unit “primarily designed for finding policy solutions in the interest of a common European good”.
More...
Active participation of Slovak Armed Forces (AF SR) in international peace missions for peacekeeping, preserving security, crisis management and fighting against terrorism is one of the main components of the foreign and security policy of the Slovak Republic since her formation in 1993. The number of active members of the AF SR in peace missions as well as the international organization in charge reflected the current foreign policy ambitions and interests of Slovakia. In the first years of its existence as a sovereign state, Slovakia’s peace missions under UN command dominated foreign participation of the AF SR. The ambitions of Slovakia to become a member of the European union, but especially NATO, called for a need of participation in missions under the command of the Alliance. After the 1998 parliamentary elections, an increase in the number of armed forces members in peace missions was ordered as well as the successive re-evaluation of the activities in individual operations and missions, with primary emphasis on operations under NATO command. Active participation in operations under its command was to serve as a demonstration of Slovakia’s preparedness to become a full member of the Alliance. In accordance with its capacities, Slovakia participated in observing and monitoring missions under EU command and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) respectively. The alteration of the security environment due to the events after 11 September 2001 and particularly the accession of Slovakia into NATO and the EU raised a need to prepare and accept new security policy documents to replace the Security Strategy of the Slovak Republic 2001, Defense Strategy of the Slovak Republic 2001 and Military Strategy of the Slovak Republic 2001. The new security policy (strategic security) documents, the Security Strategy of the Slovak Republic and Defense Strategy of the Slovak Republic, were enacted in 20051 . Both are linked to the NATO Strategic Concept and the European Security Strategy by content as well as by method.
More...
For the first time since its foundation in 1993, the Slovak Republic has gained an opportunity to become a (non-permanent) member of the Security Council of the Organization of the United Nations (UN SC) for the years 2006-2007, which was confirmed during the year of 2005. The relative confidence that SR will win this prestigious seat was predicted as early as 2004 when the 22-member Eastern European Regional Group (EERG) which occupies one seat in the UN SC approved of the SR candidacy for this position on 30 November 2006, which made Slovakia the only candidate. The whole process within EERG was formally accomplished by sending the letter from EERG Chairman to the UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan and to Chairmen of other regional groups. The election in the General Assembly of the UN for the UN SC took place on 10 October 2005. SR was elected non-permanent member of the UN SC by 185 votes out of the total of 191 UN member countries. Only six countries abstained.
More...
Slovakia considers the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to be one of the key organizations in security architecture. It is unique in its consensual decision-making and variety of its participating states. Democratic conditions and stability of internal and external security of a country are, unfortunately, unreachable by one or a series of decisions guaranteeing achievement of this surely desired result. Retention of security and democracy must be strived for with the aim to reach the ideal that is hardly reachable or even precisely defined. At the same time, it must be kept in mind that prospective care negligence of the two basic assumptions of modern prospering society might not show up immediately, but rather in several months’ or, even, in several years’ time. As a permanent protector of the two key values, the OSCE has thus an important place in the foreign policy of the Slovak Republic.
More...
2005 was the first year of Slovakia’s implementing its post-integration foreign policy priorities. In March 2004, the Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda, in his speech at the Foreign Policy Review Conference, emphasised that Ukraine and the Western Balkans are of primary importance to the Slovak foreign policy after the EU and NATO accession. In his opinion, Slovakia has the ambition to become a supporter of Ukraine and the countries of the Western Balkans in the EU and NATO as well as to assist them in their reforms and civil society development. The first steps towards the Ukraine were made by the Slovak government in 2004.
More...
Taking a closer look at Slovakia’s activities in the region of the Western Balkans in 2005, one must admit that the Slovak Republic attempted to fulfil its aim to influence the whole region more consistently. It also activated its leverage in those countries of the region where it had been more or less absent until quite recently. Although the paper reflects changes that occurred recently in relations to Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Macedonia and Albania, the Slovak attention remains focused on Serbia and Montenegro and, partly, on Croatia. Aware of the motivation potential of the European Union, the SR became one of the loudest and most persistent advocates of the integration of the Western Balkans countries into the EU and of enforcing particular mechanisms for materialization of such an event. Despite this fact, there are only very few visible initiatives developed at the bilateral level which would more significantly contribute to democratization and transformation of the region (except for Serbia and Montenegro and, eventually, Croatia). The recommendations offered at the end of the article are based on the belief that Slovakia definitely possesses the internal capacity and, at the same time, the duty, given its historical experience, to influence positive processes in all countries of this region. The EU initiatives as well as a great variety of initiatives in the countries of the Western Balkans also leave space for Slovak performance. A precondition for successful fulfilling of our foreign political commitments in the region still remains to be better knowledge of the internal situation and processes in each of the countries in the region as well as the existence of aimed strategies for individual societies based on this knowledge about the internal situation and processes with the common denominator of eventual integration of all Western Balkan countries into the EU.
More...