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Slovakia has the ambition to become a member
state of the EU along with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Recently, it
has been invited by the EU assembly in Helsinki to the pre-accession
negotiations. The accession could take place as soon as 2004 according to the
Minister responsible for the Expansion of the EU, Mr. Guenther Verheugen. We
believe that Slovakia has a lot to offer:
- multicultural heritage, outstanding cultural
monuments, UNESCO sites...
- political culture of high moral standards
(e.g. Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Alexander Dubček...)
- tradition of calm and peaceful problem-solving
(the separation of the Czech and Slovak nations)
- attractive investment environment (Volkswagen
Bratislava, Assi Domän Štúrovo, Nestlé Prievidza)
- own high quality products (paper products by
SCP Ružomberok (www.scprbk.sk); machinery by SES Tlmače (www.ses.sk);
oils, gasoline and lubricants by Slovnaft...)
- scientific achievements (e.g. Prof. Dr. Mikuláš
Popovič - virology, prof. Dr. Milan Praslička - cosmic biology, Prof. Dr.
Daniel C. Gajdusek - American virologist who shared a 1976 Nobel Prize for
research on the origin and spread of infectious diseases such as
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and whose father came to the USA from Slovakia,
Prof. Dr. Štefan Korpeľ - forestry, Prof. Dr. Dionýz Ilkovič -
co-founder of polarography)
- recreational opportunities
- exceptionally well-preserved natural
environment having the potential of serving as an excellent open-air
ecological study
- friendly and outgoing people
Therefore, we believe that Slovakia will
certainly be able to play an important role in the unified Europe and contribute
to a higher quality of life in Europe and worldwide.
Even though it currently faces numerous problems
related to the process of transition from a state controlled to free market
economy - the chances stand good that it will recover stronger than ever before.
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