A common Europe pulls our country upward both socially and economically, claims the Secretary General of APZD

23.05.2024 12:15

The European Union (EU) means for Slovakia membership in a democratic, secure and stable community of countries. This is significantly reflected in the quality of the business environment and the rule of law, which is a source of economic stability in which business can develop predictably and securely.

Simplified movement of goods and services

This is how the Secretary General of the Association of Industrial Unions and Transport (APZD) Andrej Lasz reacted to the 20th anniversary of Slovakia's accession to the European Union.

"A common Europe pulls our country upward both socially and economically. As a full-fledged partner, Slovakia participates in decision-making on serious matters that influence developments not only in the EU, but also in the whole world,"

he emphasised.

Our membership and accession to the Schengen area simplified the movement of goods and services, brought new resources to the economy in the form of EU funds and foreign investments, and was an impulse for unprecedented economic growth.

An industrial state

Slovakia is an industrial state with a significantly open and export-oriented economy. According to Lasz, access to the single market brought the opening of borders and reduced costs of doing business in the form of the removal of trade barriers.

"For many Slovak companies it is also cooperation with European companies in penetrating non-European markets, pressure for modernisation and the free movement of the workforce. The euro removed exchange-rate risks, reduced transaction costs, as well as the costs of maintaining several accounts in different currencies,"

he continued.

Construction of road infrastructure

After Slovakia's accession to the EU, the construction of road infrastructure also became significantly more dynamic thanks to extensive subsidy instruments from the union's structural funds.

"However, we were not able to use all the funds effectively. Slovakia lacks a thoughtful and elaborate long-term plan that would be adhered to,"

Lasz pointed out. According to him, we have created a very complicated and inefficient legislative framework for the permitting of constructions.

Bad situation on the railways

"Individual ministers changed the priorities of their predecessors, made personnel changes among managers as well as expert staff in investor organisations. This caused a loss of the dynamics and continuity of project preparation,"

he warned.

The situation is bad especially on the railways. The Railways of the Slovak Republic manage the railway infrastructure with a significantly lower budget compared to the Czech Railway Administration, even though both states joined the EU at the same time.

The full article at www.sita.sk.