Slovakia´s Response on the Regular Report from the European Commission on Progress towards Accession. ZEI Discussion Papers: 1999, C 57

Slivková, Eva (1999) Slovakia´s Response on the Regular Report from the European Commission on Progress towards Accession. ZEI Discussion Papers: 1999, C 57. [Discussion Paper]

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Abstract

[Introduction]. Looking at today’s Slovakia one can get the feeling of being in the Phoenix fairy-tale. It seems as if Slovakia needed to go through a purifying fire in order to shine in the full beauty of the Phoenix. The result of the last four years is a country, where the lie was a working method, human dignity was trampled, and citizens played only a minor role in issues that influenced their lives. Constantly-repeated statements about freedom, human rights, democracy and a flourishing economy became untrustworthy and empty phrases. Nevertheless, it was the voter who drew up a bill to such an administration of public issues in the last Parliamentary elections in September 1998. Change was the decisive factor in the elections. Slovakia at that time found hope again. Slogans from November 1989 became again relevant. An over 84 % turnout speaks very clear about a desire for change in policy orientation and style among the citizens of Slovakia. The high turnout in these elections showed a clear commitment of the Slovak electorate to the democratic process. The electorate ended Slovakia’s way into isolation and unambiguously decided in favour of democracy and EU-integration. Since the time of the elections in September 1998, the situation in Slovakia has developed very quickly. Changes implemented since this time Eva Slivkova could not be considered in the Regular Report from the Commission on Slovakia’s progress towards accession due to objective reasons. The new Slovak government is very much interested in a positive quotation in the conclusions from the coming Cologne European Council meeting, which could facilitate the shift of Slovakia into the first group of applicant countries. The government’s plan is to present a new image of Slovakia at the European Council summit in Cologne in June 1999. These thoughts are an endeavour to outline an actual picture of Slovakia, which is more positive than the one offered in the Regular Report of the Commission, an it is an attempt to contribute to the information campaign about recent steps in internal reforms and progress in the adoption of European legislature. Every day, every week means further steps for Slovakia in fulfilling the conditions for launching the negotiations between Slovakia and the European Union. As these lines were written, the government of the Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda was balancing its first hundred days in office.

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