Slovakia: membership application and partnership, 27 June 1995

The committee adopted the report by Jan WIERSMA (PES, NL) which stated that Slovakia had made significant progress in restructuring its industrial and financial sector, thereby adapting itself to meet the requirements of the single market, and had also made some progress in the areas of public administration reform. The committee went on to encourage the government to develop national approaches to the problem of minorities and noted a gap between policy formulation and its practical implementation. All levels of government should tackle this issue, particularly the ongoing discrimination against the Roma. The committee welcomed progress in the area of the internal market but noted that there were certain weaknesses in such areas as financial control, agriculture, environment and justice and home affairs. It welcomed steps taken to tackle these problems by significantly strengthening staffing in the relevant ministries. Other issues taken up in the report included the environment, in particular the ongoing problem of the nuclear plants at Bohunice and Mochovce, and the need to tackle corruption and crime. �