Considering Slovakia's late entry into the EU integration process, how would you qualify the progress made by your country towards the adoption of the Acquis Communautaire as compared to neighbouring countries?
Among the four countries of the Visegrad group, three are members of NATO. Slovakia still has to join. The main reason Slovakia was not accepted during the last round of elections was: first, the deficit of democracy and the minority problems that our Government solved very fast afterwards. We passed new laws, we changed our constitution for electing the President directly, which was not possible before. I think we made significant steps in that direction, even if the results of the reforms engaged take time to concretize. One reason would be the relative late start from the coalition, which I helped to create. A left wing party that participates in this coalition didn't want to speed up the reform and today we are heading towards the elections and there is not enough time left to finish everything, and this coalition may loose the elections. It is very important that this coalition continues, probably with a few new parties, but I hope that this direction we got started after the last elections will not change. But I am sure that in December 2001, for the summit of NATO in Prague the door will be open for Slovakia, and in 2004 we will get the membership in the EU. It wasn't easy for the Government to repay the borrowed money, as we were not member of the OECD. So, today Slovakia is in a much better position, since we got the OECD membership in 2000. The last time the NATO representatives arrived, they said everything was all right.
Now we need to reach 60% support from the citizens. There is a possibility of the HZDS political party changing their mind, especially Mr. Meciar, whom I talked to many times. Today, I am the President of the whole country and of every citizen, including Mr. Meciar. A lot of People support his party and without this support it would be difficult to reach those 60%. We surely have different points of view, which have also evolved since 1998. In 1998, we could criticize Mr. Meciar and his Government, especially on issues such as the democratic deficit, the minorities problem.
Now, the current Government is criticized constantly, but every Government is criticized when in power, especially the ones that have to take unpopular decisions. And that is what we had to do reach the OECD membership in a first stage. Now, new legislative elections are looming ahead and further unpopular measures must be thought carefully before being introduced. This raises the issue of whether one should continue the reform process or take the steps to win the elections. The current coalition can win, but not with the undergoing reform process. So far, I am satisfied with the way the reform process has been handled as well as for the cooperation that has prevailed between the Parliament, the government and the presidency. We coordinated our steps and for this reason we got good results. Regarding internal politics, there is a little difference. I have to see the life of this country not through the Parliament nor through the Government, but through the people. We have a parliamentary system, not a presidential system, but I can make choices although I am not fully understood all the time. My speech in the Parliament in June 2001 created like a revolution. I was too critical towards the Government and the Prime Minister. That doesn't mean that I am against them. Some specialists, not involved in the political life, told me it was a strong criticism and that I could use different words. Anyway, my main message was in the end directed to the people, as I want them to enter NATO and the EU.
How does the foreign business community feel about the way Slovakia is opening to the market economy?
What foreign investors think is very important. If you look at our neighbors, for example Hungary, the Czech Republic or Poland, investors come there and feel safer than in Slovakia. We are already a member of the OECD, and on the way to join NATO and the EU. Foreign businessmen are of course wondering what will be the outcome of the next legislative elections and what will be the new laws implemented. I think the direction that has been taken by the current government will not change even if Mr. Meciar comes back to power. Our goal is to be a member of NATO and be among the developed countries of the world. We already behave as a member of NATO after the terrorist attack on the USA. I am glad that the Polish President, Mr. Kwasniewski, organized the summit in Warsaw but we now need to move from words to action. We have to be careful about the terrorists; you can see the danger in a mass of refugees crossing the border. We have to cooperate. Slovakia has also a border with the Czech Republic and Austria. After the attack on the USA, we reinforced our, but it is still not as safe as it should be. Our borders are more than 1500 km long so you can imagine how expensive that can be. |
Some of the recent major foreign investments in Slovakia came from the USA, such as US Steel. To what extent do you intend to develop your business links with the USA?
US Steel is a perfect example of a good partner, and we would like to welcome more such partners to increase competition. We know that many other American groups are looking at the Slovak market as a potential investment destination, especially within the banking industry. If we become member of NATO next year, there may be a significant flow of US businessmen. We have changed the conditions, we have passed many new laws to support them and are prepared to take substantial steps in this direction. We prepared a good base for the foreign investors and I must admit I would certainly prefer to have them here instead of Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland. We create conditions so they come and stay here, not just to come and leave. I recently received a large group of US businessmen and I was very interested in what they found positive or negative. We are glad to have some US businesses already set up but competition needs to be increased. Regarding the outcome of the legislative elections, I am sure that there will be a broader coalition, maybe more parties. Today there are 11 or 12 parties in this coalition and that is very difficult to understand in a democratic country. But in 1998 I created a party, which was very helpful to win the important 3/5 in the Parliament.
You seem very optimistic as far as joining NATO and the EU is concerned. But, do you believe that Slovak citizens are prepared enough?
You are right, it is a problem. Like everywhere, people here would also like to have an economic reform, which can be finished overnight. But people's minds change; they see that without the reforms we cannot be successful in meeting the EU and NATO requirements that would enable us to solve the unemployment problem. That is why these reforms have to be done. I am a strong supporter of the reforms, which have to be continued after the elections. In October 2001 we created a new Government and in November is the NATO summit. It is necessary to be well prepared to enter NATO. Today everybody wants Slovakia to achieve better results, but the coalition is torn because of the parties' own interests. Every party will try to have proofs of what they did for NATO membership. For example, when the Prime Minister speaks, he speaks for his party in the election campaign. He is the Prime Minister connected to his party. I have some political experience to see over the top of the hill and not every politician makes the effort to look over the top of the hill and see what is behind. I think it is better to be prepared rather than to be surprised later. If I am criticized from both the coalition and the opposition, I am glad for that. If one side favored me too much, it could be dangerous. I never do anything against the people or against the country. The President who comes out of a coalition must be a strong supporter of this coalition.
As President of the Slovak Republic, what has been your most rewarding achievement over the past three years?
The most important so far has been the new direction taken by the current government since 1998. Slovakia's new position towards NATO is an important step. Regarding the economic reforms, we may be a little bit late, but we have to be firm and fast in order to catch up. EU and NATO are confident about the good results that should be achieved soon. I am sure that the elections will not change anything, and we can have a good feeling about NATO summit in Prague in December 2002. Concerning our possible entry into the EU in 2004, we are also very confident as we have managed to catch up with the other countries of the Visegrad group and have almost 20 closed chapters out of 29. We are very happy about the way we collaborated with the Visegrad group to achieve those results. President Kwasniewski explained to President Bush during his visit to Poland that Slovakia could be a fine NATO candidate. We believe it too.
Note: World Investment News Ltd cannot be held responsible for the content of unedited transcriptions. |
V.I.P. INTERVIEWS 
