Slovak lessons

On May 2004, Slovakia joined the European Union. Unanimously, this experience was a success. Should Europe rely on the Slovak example to plan out its neighborhood policy with South Mediterranean countries?

The success of the integration of Central European countries in the European Union seems to have inspired the new European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), a policy that the EU is suggesting to other Mediterranean and Eastern European countries, with the aim of strengthening the Barcelona process. Could the Slovak case be cited as a reference model in this regard?

Challenges
In a relatively short period of time, Slovakia must have exerted lots of efforts to include the concept of “Communitarian Acquis” in its national legislation, this concept being the common ground of rights and obligations that connects all member states to the Union. That was a huge challenge for Slovakia and other Central European countries. Important administrative and institutional reforms were necessary to achieve the implementation of this communitarian legislation. Slovakia succeeded in this challenge.

It is difficult to establish a detailed account of losses and profits for such reforms or to pinpoint whether one sector was favored over another. Some people might also come to say that adapting health and retirement plans to the market’s needs seems to have a negative effect on the most deprived individuals. The fear of neglecting rural zones at the detriment of urban spaces was not justified. In fact, the objective of the Union’s policy was to reduce disparities between urban and rural zones, if any. That is certainly the case for new member states from Central Europe.

Foreign investment
The adoption of the “EU acquis”, the process of adherence by itself, the creation of a favorable fiscal and legislative climate, along with the existence of a qualified labor force have all resulted in a remarkable growth of foreign investments in Slovakia. These investments have reached 2,080 US dollars per capita in 2003, and during the period of 2000-2004, they totaled around 11.2 billion US dollars. Small and medium enterprises seem to have suffered more than big businesses from the adaptation to a new competitive economic environment. However, specific programs funded by the European Union allowed the majority of enterprises to profit from this adherence. It was not an easy process and it is not over yet. Just like emergent countries, Slovak entrepreneurs are guided to permanently adapt to international evolution.

Barbara Daoud
Economist
(Excerpts from Cahiers Euromed, 2005)