AUTHOR:
Iryna Butуrskaya
ABSTRACT:
The way of the Slovak Republic (SK) towards democracy and market economy appeared to be very hard. Starting position for implementation of reforms objectively was less favorable in comparison with the neighboring countries. The fundamental law of the SK guaranteed political pluralism, civil rights and liberties for citizens. In 2004 the state became a full member of the EU and NATO. In 2005 main macroeconomic indices of the state reached a threshold level, established by the Maastricht Treaties, and as to the rate of GDP increase and direct foreign investment Slovakia joined the EU leaders. Along with the achievements in the political life of the country there are also serious continuous problems. Among them are: irredentist attitudes among the Hungarian minority which fuel conflict potential in the Slovak-Hungarian relationship; hardships of social integration of the Roma population. An acute problem is corruption, the level of which is higher than in other Visegrad countries. Aiming at formation of conditions for stable continuous growth Slovakia carries out a “reset” of the economic policy. Large-scale reforms of the social system and social policy in SK have been implemented.
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