| Series Title | European Voice |
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| Series Details | Vol.10, No.14, 22.4.04 |
| Publication Date | 22/04/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 22/04/04 SLOVAKIA'S president-elect Ivan Gasparovic has to shoulder some of the blame for past strains in its relationship with the EU, the country's deputy prime minister said this week. Gasparovic emerged victorious over embattled ex-premier Vladimir Meciar in the second round of the presidential election last weekend (17 April). However, the victor was number two to Meciar in the 1990s, when the latter's autocratic style and antipathy to the West meant the EU stalled for several years on opening talks on Bratislava's membership bid. Gasparovic has since split from Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). Speaking to ,European Voice, deputy premier Pàl Csàky said: “As prime minister in 1994-98, Mr Meciar was fully responsible for the political troubles in Slovakia during that period. “But because Mr Gasparovic was second to Mr Meciar, he is also responsible for the troubles of that period.” Csàky acknowledged that the strong performance of Meciar was “generally not good for the image of Slovakia” on the international stage. And he said he accepted the recent prediction made by the Economist Intelligence Unit that it will take Slovakia in the region of four decades to bridge the gap in wealth between it and the current EU member states. Slovakia is accustomed to being economically disadvantaged, as this was the case when it belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary and then to Czechoslovakia, he added. But he argued that it has been adept in attracting foreign investors, particularly large car and electronics firms recently. This has been attributed to its across-the-board rate of 19% for both corporate and income tax. Therefore, Slovakia is against tax harmonization in the EU. “Tax is a very important element for an effective economic policy and we think it would be better to make it an area of national competence,” he said. Csàky also dismissed claims by Roma representatives that Bratislava is not doing enough to address the bias against gypsies found in everything from access to drinking water to education and training. He claims that a new anti-discrimination law currently before the Slovak parliament, “may be one of the best in Europe” as it incorporates EU equality legislation not yet placed on the statute books of many current member states. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Countries / Regions | Slovakia |
