Address by His Excellency President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič

Your Excellency Apostolic Nuncio,
Distinguished Minister,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

A few days ago we all exchanged the best wishes of peace, happiness, understanding and love. Looking back at the past year, it seems to me that these were the values which our domestic and foreign policy missed the most. It was a difficult year, scarred with crises, natural disasters, concerns about social security, about the future of European cooperation, about the peace in the world.
It was not an easy year, not even for Slovakia. Despite complicated external conditions, our economy has retained a relatively good performance. Our foreign trade exchange has remained in the black; our banking system is healthy as well. These circumstances combined, with great social patience of the Slovak public, have created good conditions to retain the economic At the time when the country should have stood firmly united and done its best to retain living standards, employment and reforms, and to preserve the functioning of the European Union and the Eurozone, the Government fell. The Government broke up on the issue of support to the European Financial Stability Mechanism which should have been the tool that would restore confidence when solving the debt crisis in the Eurozone. This reflects the immaturity of that part of political elites in Slovakia which have failed to understand the principle of integrity and solidarity in the European Union, as well as the geopolitical context and Slovakia’s interests. Those who opposed the stabilisation mechanism did not offer any sensible alternative solutions for the good of Europe.
When I ask myself today whether Slovakia was a reliable partner and ally to its friends in the European Union last year, I cannot give an unequivocal answer. We were sending off controversial signals. Positive news from Slovakia included, for example, the adoption of a constitutional act on a debt brake, supported by all relevant political parties, and the approval of the state budget for 2012. However, I wish to emphasise that the important and positive thing in our current situation is that we are able to resolve our domestic political crisis by holding an early general election in a democratic manner and in accordance with our constitution.
Scheduled for March, the Slovak parliamentary election will also be of crucial importance with respect to defining a clear vision of how we wish to operate within the Union, and to seeking solutions for the Eurozone to exit the crisis.
I firmly believe that the interests of the unified Europe, the interests and achievements of the Eurozone are absolutely identical with the utmost interests of the Slovak Republic.


The election must give rise to a new government with a strong Europe-oriented mandate. All of my efforts will also be aimed at ensuring that a new Slovak government be Europe-oriented, foreseeable, reliable and respectable. Slovakia must definitely keep its ambition to be a permanent part of a committed group of European Union Member States.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The world is trying to overcome a second wave of the debt and financial crisis in the past three years. I have intentionally highlighted its global character, because we are so deeply intertwined that Europe’s failure would be fatal to global prosperity. Yet we remain unsure about what are the actual causes of the crisis, what is the exact diagnosis of our problems, what remedies may be effective or what lessons we should learn.
Many say, and I am much inclined to their opinion, that this is a general crisis of moral principles and spirituality, a crisis of confidence in political elites, resulting from the lack of responsibility for decisions with negative impacts on future generations. The alienation and the lack of human approach in managing economic affairs are most evident in the financial sector. How else to explain that profits of financial corporations have been based on virtual financial schemes and products that have nothing in common with the actual production of new assets and resources? Yet this sector has an enormous impact on global policy making.
Going to great lengths to feverishly seek makeshift solutions to cutting public debts, perform domestic structural reforms, pursue fiscal discipline, coordinate economic policies of Member States and seek a new agreement for the euro area leaves no room for us to think about a fairer model for the functioning of the global economy. I understand that our day-to-day struggle with the crisis is important but I am not sure whether the measures taken so far will protect us from the recurrence of similar large debt crises in the future.
But I do not want my address to sound too pessimistic. I believe that the European project has not lost its good repute, despite all of the existing problems. I note with satisfaction that the two of our neighbours, Hungary and Poland, successfully completed their Presidencies of the Council of the European Union last year. We are pleased that the enlargement process continues, that we have signed an accession agreement with Croatia, and that Serbia and Montenegro are getting closer to the commencement of their accession talks with the EU. It is in our interest that the whole of the Balkans and Eastern Europe be part of a united zone of prosperity in the future. I expect that this year’s Danish and Cypriot Presidencies of the Council of the EU will pursue the same course.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good neighbourly relations and regional stability remain among the objectives invariably pursued by Slovak foreign policy. We are committed to the success and prosperity of all of our neighbours. We are well aware that economic or political problems of any of them may affect the entire region. We support such solutions to internal problems of the countries of our region which follow the principles of democracy and the contemporary developments, and respect the European rules, interests and dignity of their neighbours. Visegrad cooperation also facilitated the mutual understanding in the region. It has stood the test of two decades and we also count on it for the future. Slovakia plans to organise a Presidential Summit of the V4 countries in June 2012.
The world’s and Europe’s security depends on how the international community will manage to seek answers to the most outstanding crisis of our time - the debt and financial crisis, the energy crisis, the food crisis, and the consequences of the climate change. These issues are interconnected and have the potential to upset the global balance. It will now be the responsibility of political leaders to seek solutions in a mutual dialogue to help maintain that balance and contribute to a fairer distribution of global wealth.
Our understanding of the current global movements remains insufficient. The European Union pursues a strong “Mediterranean policy”, but we failed to judge the extent and scope of processes of the so-called Arab Spring in time. It is the most significant political event of the last year which holds further political potential.
The unrests resulted from social discontent of a large population of young people who, with the help of new means of communication, are now able to tell whose rule benefits them and whose rule does harm to them. In order to ensure secure development in the region and world-wide, it will be necessary to assist selflessly new political leaders of these countries to build new democratic institutions and learn to rule in a transparent and responsible manner, while respecting cultural and religious specifics of their countries.
Slovakia’s national security is based on its membership in the North Atlantic Alliance and on its strong allied bonds with key foreign partners - the United States of America, Germany and other partners in NATO and the EU. Slovakia will continue acting as a reliable and committed ally, as a staunch supporter of the NATO’s open door policy. Our concrete contributions to UN and NATO-led security operations - the most notable in Afghanistan - are well known to you. At this point I wish to emphasise that Slovakia still considers the United Nations Organization the key political platform with respect to the global security since only the UN can provide the international law basis for global actions.
Good neighbourly relations between Slovakia and its eastern neighbours, Ukraine and Russia in particular, are also important for our stable security environment. I think that no global security or political concept can get by without recognising the role of the so-called BRICS countries and other leading emerging Asian economies. On that account Slovakia will also intensify dialogue and cooperation with this group of countries which is the driving force of the global economic growth to a considerable extent.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
I appreciate your work and know that you not only keep a sharp eye and ear on the developments in Slovakia but you also give momentum to the intensification of our bilateral and multilateral cooperation. May ask you, keep the people of this country in your favour. Over the many years of this country’s eventful history, its people have always stood up to all ordeals with their diligence, endurance and modesty. They are the qualities and values that will help us overcome these hard times as well.
To the people of your countries and to their leaders, to you personally and to your families, I wish good health and a successful and peaceful year 2012.