The new twelve

Twelve countries have recently joined the EU. Of these, ten are part of the great enlargement of 2004 (Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary) while the remaining two, Romania and Bulgaria, joined the common household in 2007. SirEurope begins a journey through the new member states, beginning with Slovakia. To better understand the social, political, and economic reforms that have been introduced in Bratislava following Slovakia’s entry in the Union, we interviewed Milos Koterec, member of the Commission for Regional Development of the European Parliament, and Peter Benc, director of the agency for development Euroforward, which offers advice and consulting in community programs, program financing and international partnerships.Slovakia has been an EU member for four years. In your view, how has this influenced the social and economic reality of your country?Peter Benc: “Slovakia’s access to EU institutions has opened up new avenues of financing for the private and public sectors: the Structural Fund and the Cohesion Fund among others. Firstly, this aid has made possible the construction of infrastructure – roads and motorways – now in full expansion. Furthermore, there have been remarkable levels of foreign investment in areas that were, until recently, unknown or even neglected. The positive economic outlook has helped local growth and the creation of more and better jobs, which cater for real needs: quality occupation helps strengthen the family, as workers do not need to look abroad for interesting job opportunities. There has also been an increase in internet access and availability. This improvement in skills and knowledge encourages a broader understanding of the outside world, while greater economic growth favours social cohesion, better education and a better quality of life in general”. What other improvements do you expect in domestic development?Peter Benc : “First, the East-West motorway will be of great benefit to the transport and infrastructure sectors. Secondly, rural and urban regional development, the information society, occupation, the environment, education, research and development and support for small and medium-sized enterprises are all set to benefit. Then we have tourism, whose task it is to improve the country’s image abroad; Slovakia’s rich Christian heritage makes it a significant tourist destination. Finally, this year the process of introducing the single currency to Slovakia will be nearing completion”. Does Slovakia’s full involvement in the community’s decision-making process help to represent its citizen’s interests?Milos Koterec : “After overcoming some difficulties (regarding the exclusion of Slovakia from the negotiating table during the Meciars era), Slovakia is now a full-fledged member of the EU. The Slovak people are part of the European arena, where we are committed to facing and solving problems together with other member states in the fields of regional development, the opening up of the service sectors, and our entry in the Eurozone among others. Our citizens’ voice can now be heard on a global scale in all areas were the EU is involved. As a stable European country, Slovakia is a reliable partner for the international and political community as a whole”. Country profileSlovakia was founded, on Jan 1st, 1993 following the break-up of Czechoslovakia, and joined the EU in 2004 after a seven-year negotiation. The country’s capital is Bratislava. Population is over 5.3 million, of which about 85% are ethnically Slovak, 10% Hungarian, 1.7% Roma and 1% Czech. Of the 84% of Slovaks who consider themselves religious, the majority (68.9%) are Roman Catholics, 6.9% are Lutheran, 4.1% are Greek Catholic and 2% Calvinist. Slovakia and the eight administrative regions will benefit from 11.6 billion euros in Structural Funds for the period 2007-2013; the stated objective is to reach 60% of EU average GDP and raise occupation levels to 63.4% of the workforce in the next six years.