IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 165

Expressing United States policy toward the Slovak Republic.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 29, 1999

Mr. MICA (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr.

KNOLLENBURG, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) submitted the following

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing United States policy toward the Slovak Republic.

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring),

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds the following:

5 (1) Elections held in May 1999 brought the

6 first ever popularly elected President of the Slovak

7 Republic to office and demonstrated the commitment

8 of the Slovak people to full economic reforms, demo9 cratic government, and western ideals.

10 (2) The parliamentary elections held in Sep11 tember 1998 brought to office a coalition govern-
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1 ment in the Slovak Republic which has shown its

2 commitment to economic reforms through economic

3 austerity measures approved in May 1999, increased

4 foreign investments through privatization of markets

5 that were formerly state controlled, and discipline in

6 government and currency policies.

7 (3) The Government of the Slovak Republic

8 formed after the elections of September 1998 has re9 newed efforts to ensure the proper treatment of its

10 citizens, regardless of ethnic background, including

11 those of ethnic Hungarian background through the

12 placement of three ethnic Hungarians in the cabinet

13 of the Government (including the Deputy Premier

14 for Human and Minority Rights), and through the

15 passage of the Minority Language Use Act on July

16 10, 1999, in accordance with European Union guide17 lines, which will take effect on September 1, 1999,

18 to protect the rights of all citizens.

19 (4) The Government of the Slovak Republic has

20 made Slovakia’s integration into pan-European and

21 trans-Atlantic institutions, including the European

22 Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

23 (NATO), the highest foreign policy priority, and

24 through active participation with the Visegrad Four,
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1 the Slovak Republic has undertaken efforts to pro2 mote stability in the region.

3 (5) The Government of the Slovak Republic has

4 stated its continuing support for the mission of

5 NATO in supporting democratization and stability

6 across Europe, and the Government demonstrated

7 its commitment to these principles by fully cooper8 ating with NATO during the recent conflict in

9 Kosovo, allowing NATO full access to Slovak air10 space, highways, and railways.

11 (6) The Slovak Republic subsequently provided

12 military engineers to assist the peacekeeping force of

13 NATO in Kosovo (KFOR), approved a $2,000,000

14 humanitarian aid package for Kosovo, and housed

15 over 100 refugees from the conflict.

16 (7) The Government of the Slovak Republic has

17 continually worked to retain civilian control of its

18 military through participation with NATO forces

19 and has been an active participant in the Partner20 ship-for-Peace program.

21 (8) The Slovak Republic has provided military

22 personnel for participation in and support of multi23 national peacekeeping operations such as the United

24 Nations operations in Rwanda and Liberia.
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1 SEC. 2. POLICY TOWARD THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC.

2 It is the policy of the United States—

3 (1) to promote the development in the Slovak

4 Republic of a market-based economy and a demo5 cratic government that respects the rights of all of

6 its citizens, regardless of ethnic background; and

7 (2) to support the eventual integration of the

8 Slovak Republic into pan-European and trans-Atlan9 tic economic and security institutions.

10 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

11 It is the sense of the Congress that—

12 (1) the Government of the Slovak Republic

13 formed after the elections of September 1998 is to

14 be commended—

15 (A) for its efforts to address the issue of

16 proper treatment of its citizens, regardless of

17 ethnic background, particularly those of ethnic

18 Hungarian background;

19 (B) for its efforts to improve the economic

20 situation in the Slovak Republic and for its ef21 forts to accelerate the privatization of state22 owned enterprises in a fair and transparent

23 process; and

24 (C) for its support for the North Atlantic

25 Treaty Organization (NATO) in the recent con26 flict in Kosovo;
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1 (2) the Government of the Slovak Republic

2 should continue to implement programs that may

3 qualify the Slovak Republic for entrance into the

4 European Union and NATO and is to be com5 mended for its continued support of the NATO ef6 fort to ensure stability and democratization across

7 Europe; and

8 (3) the United States should support efforts for

9 the eventual integration of the Slovak Republic into

10 pan-European and trans-Atlantic institutions and

11 should view such integration as an important factor

12 in consolidating democratic government and eco13 nomic stability in the Slovak Republic.

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