Back to normal: Slovak European policy in 2017
Back to normal: Slovak European policy in 2017

Author(s): Vladimír Bilčík
Subject(s): Politics, International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SFPA)
Keywords: Slovakia; foreign policy; European policy; 2017; EU;
Summary/Abstract: Slovakia’s European policy in 2017 was about a return to normal operation after the country’s first ever EU Council Presidency in the latter half of 2016. Political attention to Europe and resources and public attention devoted to EU issues all diminished compared to the hype of the Council Presidency. Slovakia’s key interest was to represent itself in the EU rather than to represent the collective voice of member states in the EU. This proved to be a challenging task since the dynamics of the EU project were elevated to a new level with discussions on the nature and consequences of Brexit, presentation of new visions for the EU following the presidential election in France, continued tension between the western and eastern halves of the Union and new integration initiatives in the area of defense hitherto reserved as an exclusive domain of member states. Slovakia’s practical experience with the EU’s agenda in 2017 shows the relevance of domestic political constraints for the country’s performance in the EU. While these constraints could be sidelined and bypassed in part thanks to the help of the Commission during the execution of the EU interest at the helm of the EU Council, they became more apparent once Slovakia was one of the regular 28 member states again.

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