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The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava, its area measures s49,000 square kilometres, the population is made up of 5,379,161 inhabitants, the gross domestic product is 28.85 billion Euros. The inflation is 7.7%, its unemployment rate is 18.2%, the deficit is –3.9%, and its National debt is 44.2%. Slovakia became an indipendent Republic in 1992, after the solving of Czechoslovakia into two beings: the Slovakian Republic and the Czech Republic. The Slovakian constitution was adopted in 1992 and it provides for a parliamentery form of government, with a mono-cameral Parliament made up of the National Council. It has 150 members elected every 4 years by a proportional system with a blocking clause fixed at the 5% of the votes. The President of Republic is directly elected by people every 5 years and he can be removed frome his office by a plebiscite called by the President of the National Council, after a majority decision taken by 3/5 of the Assembly. Since the 15th June 2004 the new President of Republic is Ivan Gasparovic. Due to the general elections held in September 2002, Slovakia is governed by centre-rightist coalition, made up of the Christian-Democratic Union and three more parties: the Christian Democratic Movement, the Hungarian coalition Party, the New Citizen’s Alliance. Mikulas Dzurinda, leader of the Christian-Democratic Union, was confirmed as Prime Minister. Slovakia, like the other new-adhesion countries, joined the European Union the 1st May 2004. The adhesion referendum took place in May 2003 and it recorded a partecipation of the 52% of the voting people, with a wide percentage of “yes” (92%). Slovakian Republic owns 14 deputies within the new Parliament. The European elections were held in June 2004 and 8 party-lists were present. The Christian-Democratic Union and the Christian Democratic Movement gained 3 seats each; their deputies joined the European Popular Party. The Hungarian minority Coalition achieved an excellent result, 2 seats; the Social-Democratics gained 3 seats and joined the Socialist group, while the Movement for Democracy, leaded by the former Premier Vladimir Meciar, achieved a meaningful result- 3 seats- its deputies didn’t join any parliamentary group. The main feature of the elections in Slovakia was the high rate of abstention that touched the percentage of 83%. Just the 17% of the citizens went to the polls. The Slovakian commissary within the European Union is Jan Figel, responsible for Education, Culture and Multilinguism.
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