NEWS

The German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Transatlantic Democracy Working Group hosted a virtual discussion with Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic to discuss Slovakia’s democracy agenda and how his government intends to further its commitments to restore trust in democratic institutions and build deeper transatlantic cooperation and coordination to […]

Beata Balogová, editor-in-chief of SME, a major daily and news site in Slovakia, delivered the 2021 Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 17, 2021. Her lecture, presented virtually from Bratislava due to covid-19 travel restrictions, was entitled “How Journalists Survived Backsliding and State Capture.” Her talk combined a history of threats to press freedoms during the Mečiar and Fico years in Slovakia, a personal account of her decision to become a journalist, and a warning that democratic institutions are again under attack in Central Europe.

Friends of Slovakia co-sponsored a webinar in collaboration with the Slovak American Society of Washington DC (SASW) featuring Professors Kevin Deegan-Krause and Tim Haughton who discussed their recently published co-authored book, The New Party Challenge: Changing Cycles of Party Birth and Death in Central Europe in which they examined the emergence of new parties and […]

The 2019 election of Zuzana Čaputová as the first female president of Slovakia brought increased visibility to the country, especially in the realm of foreign policy. While there is still room for greater participation, a growing number of women in Slovakia now occupy senior positions in influencing, planning, and conducting Slovakia’s foreign relations. Friends of […]

A webinar to examine Slovakia’s post-election shifts in party relations in both the government and opposition, the role of President Zuzana Čaputová, the influence of extremist and anti-system parties, and the impact of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic

The German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Embassy of Slovakia to the United States hosted a conversation with Karen Donfried, President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and Ivan Korčok, foreign minister of the Republic of Slovakia, on Slovakia’s emerging leading voice in Europe, including in the European Union […]

Dr. Tomáš Cihlář, an internationally recognized Czech biochemist, delivered the Annual Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 18, 2020. His lecture was entitled “The Role of Czech and International Scientists in the Fight Against the Pandemic” and focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and global efforts to combat it.

Ivan Korčok, recently the Slovak Ambassador to the U.S., has been appointed Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic in the cabinet of the new Slovak government led by Prime Minister Igor Matovič. The February 29 parliamentary elections saw the rise of Matovič’s OLaNO party, which was able to form a new governing coalition with three other parties. In the course of selecting positions in the cabinet, the SAS party headed by Richard Sulík, chose Amb. Korčok as Foreign Minister, even though he is not a member of SAS. He will serve as an independent member of the cabinet.

The recent Slovak parliamentary election results and prospects for Igor Matovic’s new government were examined in an April 28 webinar co-sponsored by FOS and the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), “Slovakia: New Government, New Challenges.” Jonathan Katz, Senior Fellow with GMF, moderated the panel. Summary Dr. Kevin Deegan-Krause of Wayne State University […]

“In our self-absorption over contemporary assaults on our freedom — political and medical — we in the United States seem to have entirely overlooked this seminal event which continues to shape our lives today. We should never forget the core lessons from that time — the importance of allies who share our values and the […]