On 27 June 1995, Vladimír Meciar, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, submits Slovakia’s official application for accession to the European Union.

On 29 March 1999, Pierre Moscovici, French Minister for European Affairs, grants an interview to the Slovak daily newspaper Pravda in which he comments on the implications of the enlargement of the European Union to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs).

On 24 July 1999, in an address given at Charles University in Prague, Mikulás Dzurinda, Slovak Prime Minister, reviews his Government’s European policy.

On 25 November 1999, Eduard Kukan, Slovak Foreign Minister, delivers an address at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Brussels on the process for Slovakia’s accession to the European Union.

On 15 February 2000, the Slovak Government defines its position on the Slovak Republic’s negotiations for accession to the European Union.

On 20 March 2000, in Bratislava, at the ninth meeting of the EU-Slovak Republic Joint Parliamentary Committee, Dirk Meganck, the European Commission’s Chief Negotiator for the accession of Slovakia, outlines the state of the negotiations for the accession of the Slovak Republic to the European Union.

On 19 October 2000, at the Economist Conference in Bratislava, Walter Rochel, Head of the European Commission’s Delegation to Slovakia, delivers an address in which he considers the Slovak Republic’s negotiations for accession to the European Union and emphasises the country’s efforts to comply with the accession criteria.

On 21 February 2001, Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enlargement, delivers an address at the Technical University of Košice in which he outlines the implications of the enlargement of the European Union (EU) and considers the progress made by Slovakia so that it is in a position to accede to the EU.

On 28 May 2001, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro outlines the twin objectives of Slovakia: accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and to the European Union.

In the run-up to the parliamentary elections due to be held on 20 and 21 September 2002 in Slovakia, posters published by the Slovakian party Direction — Social Democracy (Smer) are displayed, as here in Bratislava, calling on voters to remain vigilant regarding the conditions for the country’s accession to the European Union.

On 16 April 2003, in Athens, the President of Slovakia, Rudolf Schuster, and his Prime Minister, Mikuláš Dzurinda, sign the Treaty of Accession of the Slovak Republic to the European Union.

On 13 May 2003, in the run-up to the referendum due to be held on 16 and 17 May on the Slovak Republic’s accession to the European Union, the leaders of the main Slovak political parties take to the streets of Bratislava to demonstrate in favour of the country’s accession to the EU. From left to right: Dušan Caplovic, Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Mikuláš Dzurinda, Prime Minister, Rudolf Schuster, President of the Slovak Republic, Bela Bugar, leader of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK), Pavol Hrušovský, leader of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Pavol Rusko, leader of the Alliance of the New Citizen (ANO), and Vladimír Meciar, leader of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia.

On 16 May 2003, the results of the referendum on accession to the European Union held in Slovakia show that the Slovakian people are overwhelmingly (93 %) in favour of acceding as from 1 May 2004. Voter turnout for the referendum is 52 %.