Tagged: Slovakia

According to Petsinclude, the government of Slovakia is a parliamentary republic, with the President serving as the head of state and the Prime Minister as the head of government. The President is elected by direct, popular vote to serve a five-year term and appoints the Prime Minister and Cabinet members. The legislative branch consists of the National Council which is composed of 150 members who are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The judiciary in Slovakia is based on civil law and is administered by the Supreme Court and other lower courts. Judges are appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Council. Slovakia has a multi-party system and holds elections for both national and local offices at regular intervals. Political parties must be approved by the Central Election Commission before they can participate in elections, however, parties cannot be formed on religious or ethnic lines. Slovakia’s economy is largely driven by its services sector which accounts for over 60% of its GDP, followed closely by manufacturing at around 25%. Other major industries include agriculture, mining and tourism with services being one of its largest sources of foreign revenue. Slovakia also relies on foreign investment from countries such as Germany in order to support economic growth initiatives such as infrastructure development projects. Slovakia is a small country located in Central Europe and has a population of 5.4 million people. Since gaining independence from the former Czechoslovakia in 1993, Slovakia has become increasingly active on the international stage. Slovakia is a member of the United Nations, NATO, and the European Union, among other organizations. In its foreign relations, Slovakia works to promote regional stability and economic development in Central Europe. It is particularly active in its bilateral relations with neighboring countries such as Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine. Slovakia places great importance on developing strong ties with its neighbors and is an active participant in regional cooperation initiatives such as the Visegrad Group (V4) and the Three Seas Initiative (TSI). Slovakia also seeks to strengthen its ties with major global players such as China, India, Japan, Russia and the United States. In recent years it has made efforts to improve diplomatic relations with Russia despite disagreements over issues like Ukraine’s sovereignty. The two countries have signed agreements on energy cooperation as well as political dialogue aimed at resolving conflicts in Ukraine. Slovakia also works closely with its EU partners on a variety of issues including security and defense policy. Slovakia participates in joint military exercises through NATO’s Partnership for Peace program to increase interoperability between armed forces from different countries. Additionally, Slovakia contributes to EU missions abroad aimed at promoting peace and stability such as Operation Atalanta which combats piracy off the coast of Somalia. See relationshipsplus for Slovakia defense and foreign policy.