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Article: Slovakia Heads West.(Slovakia's changing political and economic environment attracts foreign investment and leads to potential membership in NATO and EU)
- Article from:
- Europe
- Article date:
- May 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Delegation of the European Commission. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In April, ten US Air Force F-16s screamed into western Slovakia for two weeks of training and joint maneuvers with the Slovak Air Force. It was the first of several exercises under a friendship agreement with the United States that the Slovaks see as a first step toward NATO membership. Its NATO application has been endorsed by Secretary-General George Robertson, and Slovakia's deputy prime minister Pavol Hamzik says Slovakia will be ready to join the Western alliance in 2001.
Similarly, urged on by the once standoffish European Union, Slovakia is trying to catch up with its fast-track neighbors--Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary--to be in the first wave of EU ...