Give us our chance

Date: 11/12/1997

As EU leaders gather in Luxembourg for crucial talks on Union expansion, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Zdenka Kramplová explains why she believes the European Commission was wrong to recommend excluding her country from the first round of negotiations

MEMBERSHIP of the European Union is a long-standing strategic goal for Slovakia. My country sees it not only as a gateway to a stable political and economic environment, but also as a return to its natural place within the European family.

We in Slovakia appreciate the positive impact of the EU on the overall development of Europe and are convinced that its enlargement to central and eastern Europe will contribute to the mutually beneficial spread of political, economic and social stability on our continent.

After signing the association agreement in 1993, Slovakia accelerated the complex process of meeting the political, economic, legislative and institutional criteria for EU accession. The structures for all aspects of pre-accession negotiations were established and preparations began for this demanding task.

We were therefore disappointed with the European Commission's avis (opinion) on Slovakia.

The Slovak government cannot agree with the opinion's evaluation of political life in Slovakia. We believe the Commission overvalued the importance of some partial political problems related to our transformation process.

These issues should not cast doubts over the existence of a pluralist democratic political environment in Slovakia. Our constitutional system provides the necessary conditions for further development of democracy and the rule of law. The government is convinced that in the field of observation and fulfilment of political criteria, Slovakia could be easily compared with other candidates for EU accession.

Despite its objections to the Commission's opinion, the government has maintained its European course, reconfirmed its EU orientation and proceeded with Slovakia's preparation for Union membership even more energetically.

Readiness to find solutions to open political questions was affirmed and translated into several positive steps, including the October declaration, almost unanimously agreed by the Slovak parliament, supporting the country's integration into the EU.

This declaration stated that the national council of the Slovak Republic would adopt measures to resolve outstanding issues in accordance with the recommendations of the Slovak-EU joint parliamentary committee before the Luxembourg summit.

We also consider as very important the common declaration made by President Michal Kovác and Prime Minister Vladimír Meciar, which stressed that our integration into the EU was an unchangeable priority for Slovakia and acknowledged the need to strengthen the stability of constitutional institutions and democracy.

There have been positive developments in relations between the government coalition and the opposition in parliament, as well.

Following the conclusion of round-table discussions, the opposition representative became a member of the supervisory board of the National Property Fund, opposition party members were elected to the parliamentary control bodies for supervision of the Slovak Intelligence Service and Military Reporting, and an independent MP became a vice-speaker of the parliament.

The democratic development of Slovakia is quite obvious. It will continue and it will grow stronger. But the strengthening of democracy and a successful integration policy cannot, due to its complexity, be achieved by the government and its supporting parties alone. It requires effort and goodwill from across the political spectrum.

Besides political criteria, Slovakia is focusing closely on advancing preparatory work in a whole range of integration issues.

This work is coordinated by a well-functioning institutional base where the pivotal role is played by the governmental council for European integration. As an advisory body of the Slovak government, it directs concrete activities aimed at Slovak admission to the EU and is currently concentrating on preparing the Slovak state administration for future accession negotiations. The 31 working groups which have already been established are engaged in a process of acquis-screening and working out negotiating positions.

We are receiving a great deal of help with this from some EU member states, primarily Denmark and Sweden, and for that we are very grateful to them.

An important part of preparing for Union membership is the ability to withstand the economic pressures of the internal European market. In this respect, Slovakia has made substantial progress in recent years.

The macroeconomic situation has developed positively. In 1995, gross domestic product growth reached 6.8&percent;, in 1996 it was 6.9&percent; and in the first half of 1997 it amounted to 6&percent;. We predict that between now and the year 2000, GDP growth should stabilise at a level of 5.8&percent;, thus avoiding any overheating of the economy.

We also expect that purchasing power parity in Slovakia will this year reach approximately 7,304 ecu per head - 43&percent; of the EU average.

Moreover, economic growth has been accompanied by a drop in the unemployment rate. Although it reached 13.8&percent; in 1995, it fell to 12.6&percent; in 1996 and stood at 12.3&percent; in the first half of 1997.

Another key economic indicator is inflation, which now and in the future should oscillate around 6&percent;.

Positive macroeconomic indicators are a natural consequence of robust private sector development. Its share of GDP is continually increasing and now represents 83&percent;.

Good economic performance, low inflation and the stability of the Slovak crown has made Slovakia increasingly attractive to foreign investors, with foreign direct investment rising by 35&percent; over the past year.

In this area, the government focuses not only on investments volume but also on its quality, drawing a lesson from those associated countries where preoccupation with investments volume was translated into stagnation or very moderate growth.

Slovakia is looking more for strategic partners able to bring in high technology and long-term prospects rather than short-term speculative operations.

Foreign investors seem to accept this approach and, as a result, the volume of foreign capital input in 1997 reached 900 million ecu. The government is interested in increasing investments further and it is currently preparing measures for preferential taxes and tax holidays for foreign investors.

Slovakia is an export-oriented country and foreign trade is one of the main sources of its economic growth. In recent years we have developed fruitful trade contacts with EU, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA) countries.

Foreign trade with the Union accounted for 39&percent; of the Slovak Republic's total trade turnover in 1996 and reached almost 42&percent; in the first half of 1997.

We see Slovakia's entry to the EU as our chance for dynamic economic growth and the modernisation of our industrial structure. It is important for an open economy like ours to have access to a market of 300 million people which has the prospect of becoming even larger.

For the Slovak Republic, this is much more important than the possible help provided from EU structural and cohesion funds. The Slovak economy and low proportion of employment in agriculture are factors which will make our entry into the Union more financially feasible than some other countries.

The Slovak Republic is also an active player in regional cooperation, and is sometimes described as an engine of CEFTA. In CEFTA, we see an important tool for preparing associated countries for a free market and barrier-less economic environment.

A very important part of our preparations for EU membership, and the basis for pre-accession negotiations, is successful approximation and harmonisation of the Slovak legal system with the Union acquis.

The Slovak government has adopted a national programme for transposing EU legislation into national law.

In this area too, Slovakia can be proud of the overall results. By the middle of this year, 15-18&percent; of the acquis communautaire regulating the internal market had been transposed into Slovak law. We expect this to rise to 30-38&percent; by the end of 1997.

Appreciation of positive progress in this field was expressed by the EU at the September meeting of the association committee in Bratislava, where the Union stated that the Slovak Republic was among the leading associated countries in this very complex area.

Besides these political, economic and legislative efforts, Slovakia is also paying attention to the development of human resources.

A special European Studies chair has been founded at the University in Banská Bystrica where future Slovak Eurocrats and Euro-specialists are trained in European affairs and law, and foreign languages.

We have also decided to beef up our diplomatic presence in Brussels.

Plans to move our mission into the heart of the city's Euro-centre are under way and we are expanding our diplomatic staff so that they can focus on maintaining closer contacts with their European counterparts.

For Slovakia, EU membership means not only a chance to improve our well-being but, above all, the fulfilment of a 1,000-year-long dream of becoming an equal member of the European family.

This feeling contributes to the strong support and enthusiasm for the Union among the Slovak population, which we hope the Luxembourg summit will enable us to bring in very soon.