The Eurozone is often described as an example of economic areas that are held back by monetary policy, but in this region somebody received a positive rating from feared agencies (A stable by Standard & Poor’s, A + stable by Fitch Ratings, Moody’s A2 with stable Inverstor Service). Slovakia adopted the euro on January 1st, 2009: today this is the fastest growing country among those who share the European currency.
Of course, Slovak entrepreneurs that are looking for economic partnerships in Italy and in the rest of the continent put the emphasis on facts that can be instantly transformed into savings for investors (such as the tax on business income, which in 2014 will go down from 23 to 22 percent and that in the minds of many – even in the government of Bratislava – could fall further, to 19 percent).
Education and infrastructure should not be ignored and have been the focus of debate on January 31st at the Slovak Embassy in Rome, at the meeting “Business Friendly Slovakia. Get to know Slovakia as your investment destination”, promoted by the central european country’s representation and by ” Greenway Operator Spa” and attended by Peter Badík, managing partner of Greenway, and by Fabio Massimo Fractal Mascioli, who directs the Campus of Sustainable Mobility in Cisterna di Latina (“Pomos”).
An advantage stems from language skills: a significant part of the Slovak population speaks English, German or French, but the portion of those familiar with Russian, Spanish, Italian is also relevant . Slovakia’s strategic perspective – explained by Andrej Ferenczy, director of the department of strategic investments of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Slovak Republic, and by Branislav Safarik, general manager of the National Agency for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises – is organized around the nodes of the construction of a framework empowering socio-economic growth, the strengthening of R & D and the development of new educational resources.
Many companies have relocated to Slovakia from all over the world. The heads of the Ministry and of the Agency for small and medium-sized enterprises emphasize that within a thousand kilometers there are three hundred million potential customers and that state capitals like Vienna and Budapest are right next door.
In Europe there is a clear interest in countries whose relative geographical position gained relevance by virtue of the rapid growth of neighbors as Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria. Slovakia has 5.44 million inhabitants and an area of approximately 49.035 square kilometers: the capital, Bratislava, has 427,000 inhabitants, while the other major cities are Košice, which has 248,000 inhabitants, Prešov, which has 96,000, Nitra (94,000 inhabitants), Banská Bystrica (80,000), Trnava (67,000), Trencin (67,000).
“The European Union is helping to restart economic growth and employment – Ministry and Agency managers say – infrastructure, internet technologies, electronics, make Slovakia one of the top countries in innovation.” Universities and formative centers are among the main pillars on which a system (that already has a lot of filling stations for electric cars and a thriving domestic market in the Central European country, when it comes to transport of last generation) rests.
The Eurozone is often described as an example of economic areas that are held back by monetary policy, but in this region somebody received a positive rating from feared agencies (A stable by Standard & Poor’s, A + stable by Fitch Ratings, Moody’s A2 with stable Inverstor Service). Slovakia adopted the euro on January 1st, 2009: today this is the fastest growing country among those who share the European currency.
