F. Moiseyeva, docent of Donetsk National University of Economy and Trade named after Mykhaylo Tugan – Baranovsky, Ukraine

graduate student of Donetsk National University of Economy and Trade named after Mykhaylo Tugan – Baranovsky, Ukraine

Slovakian experience of euro-Atlantic integration: а brief guide

Slovak Republic has joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2004. It sought to join NATO since 1997, as evidenced by the 1997 referendum on joining the Alliance. However, the referendum was voted down because of a number of reasons: firstly, it was the tough political struggle between president and parliament, and secondly because of poor appearance, which amounted to 6-7%. Moreover, a referendum was purposeless because at that time Slovakia has not yet been granted with an official invitation to join NATO.

After the failure of the referendum one could analyze blunders made in the process of informing the publicity on joining the Alliance. Poor appearance shows that Slovaks had exceedingly poor backing on the necessity of Euro-Atlantic course. Despite the negative result of the referendum, the second attempt was made to hold a similar action, and in this case every mistake was studied, as well as more serious preparatory work in informing the public about NATO was done [1].

The first point was the preparatory activity to make publicity be ensured of membership necessity, and creation of a civil initiative associations like ‘Towards Euro-Atlantic Society’ etc. Slovakian people have changed their government since 1998: the state returned a democratic path of development, democratic mechanisms were totally replaced with new ones, Euro-Atlantic integration has acquired more concrete forms. Slovakia has turned the company on increasing the number of supporters of NATO membership as well as deflation of the myth that the Alliance is an aggressive unit, membership in which will result in too heavy financial burden for Slovakia.

The program on managing relations with the publicity was to provide information about specific aspects of the entry, security issues, and explanation that NATO was not exclusively a military organization. These arguments for gaining membership included the assertion that a synonym of NATO is ‘security’, the Alliance is a kind of springboard for entry into the European Union. Membership in the Alliance positively affects the economic sphere, increasing investment attractiveness of the member. It is also worth saying that newly accepted states have a unique opportunity of possessing access to new military technologies of the members. There was a powerful military-industrial complex in Slovakia, but most of the weapons were manufactured under Soviet licenses, except of the artillery and small arms. After the collapse of the Warsaw Pact the process of reducing armaments started, and some technologies were lost, the market had a huge amount of weapons that were sold from ammunition dumps at bargain prices. For example, T-72 tank could be bought for 10% of its initial cost and after joining NATO there was a chance to develop military-industrial complex based on Slovak technologies. So, new artillery systems began to be worked out within Alliance programs of partnership.

Informing the publicity was conducted in several forms: short data tags on television, contests, briefings on morning television programs about NATO's journalism in examples from the life of neighboring countries, performances of famous people, debates, lectures, festivals, conferences etc [2] [3].

Quite an urgent issue at the time of entry of Slovak Republic was the question of how country benefits from membership in the Alliance. It is worth saying that the most important argument for the Euro-Atlantic course is ensuring peace and stability. The next argument testifies on behalf of important economic benefits, which consist in possibility of using modern productive technologies through the interchange between member-states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [4].

The information campaign aimed improving the positive image of membership in the Alliance. It was a summit in Prague when Slovak Republic has received a formal invitation to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On December 9^th negotiations on access have started in Brussels. At the same time military conditions of Slovakian accession to NATO's collective defense system and issues of military reform in the state were considered. It was supposed to complete negotiations in March 2003.

After a series of planned activities in 2003, Slovakia was invited to join the Alliance. But before officially access North Atlantic Treaty Organization, it has gone through several stages.  In accordance with various national constitutional requirements Slovakia had also ratify the protocol of accession. After completing these procedures, Slovakia deposited ‘instruments of accession’ to the storage of the U.S. government, acting as the Depositary State. Following a planned series of events, a number of reforms necessary for joining the Alliance, Slovak Republic in March 2004 officially became a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

1. Democratic Initiatives Foundation: Why Slovakia wants in NATO. Publication 17.10.07. [Electronic resource]. - Mode of access <http://maidan.org.ua/static/mai/1189153550.html>.

2. The expansion of Euro-Atlantic Area (NATO tasks and its partner states) - Bureau of Information and Press of NATO, Brussels, 2001.

3. Nicholas Shiruko, interview with the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Ukraine. Urban Rusnak, newspaper "The Day» № 86, from 31 May 2007. [Electronic resource]. - Mode of access: < http://www.day.kiev.ua/182234>.

4. Sergey Gerasimchuk, an interview with the ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Ukraine Urban Rusnak. [Electronic resource]. - Mode of access: < http://www.gsbs.org.ua/index.php?nma=catalog&fla=stat&cat_id=12&page=1&nums=255>.

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