Slovakia – Europe on a Small Scale was a project, implemented in 2004, focused on the presentation of Slovakia in EU Countries. The main goal was to introduce Slovakia as an open, attractive, and communicative country and at the same time to enhance the interest of other EU countries in Slovakia.
The presentation took place step-by-step in the capital cities of selected European Union countries. The project was directly involved in the foreign policy direction that Slovakia was taking at the time, and its EU ascension. As a young country, we were at that time at the stage where the creation of our image – our characteristics as a country – in terms of international political European structures, was essential. From the beginning, the main aim was to support mutual acquaintance and to search for common ground. Slovakia was gradually presented as an open, attractive country, but also a country safe for cooperation.
The project commenced in May, 2004 and was set to continue throughout the capital cities in the form of concert and economic forum. Concert program, made up of works by Georg Philipp Telemann, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Peter Zagar and Haydn artistically realized by Bratislava Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Anton Popovič and concert master Peter Krajniak. Solists were Slovak soprano Ľubica Vargicová, French oboist François Leleux and German trumpeter Joachim Schäfer with his Trumpet Ensemble. The concert dramaturgy was prepared by musicologist Adrian Rajter.
Among the presenters in Brussels was also Didier Malherbe, Director of Communications of the Federation of Belgian companies, Ivan Korčok, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ivan Štefanec, President of the Business Alliance of Slovakia.
The presentation took place in Paris in May. Part of the Economic Forum presentations included contributions by Agnes Gabor, Director of UBIFRANCE and Ivan Mikloš, Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic. Among other topics, the discussion involved whether to invest in Slovakia and how French companies, which were already established in Slovakia, perceived the issue.
In late September, the project continued in Berlin. This time, the main topic was the development of Slovak – German economic and political relations and the experience of foreign investors in Slovakia. At the end of the year, the Forum took place in Vienna. Among covered topics were Slovakia and Austria – neighbors and partners, or Opportunities for Foreign Investment in Slovakia. Also Konstantin Bekos, Austrian Commercial Counsellor in Slovakia, and Delia Meth-Cohn, senior consultant of the Economist Group, gave presentations.
