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one tenth of the population located at one twenty-fifth of country is above country’s
average. Long-term trends [Chart 12, Chart 13] suggest the parameters of economic
environment in Slovak Republic, ceteris praibus, don’t help to solve the growth of
disparities; even on the contrary, polarization has evident tendency to grow and
eventually further support economic migration which shall make the overall
polarization still even more harsh. This economic inequality is evident from the point
of view of foreign direct investment out of which 71,2% in year 2002 ended in the
region Bratislavský kraj. As the third of the rest 28,8% ended in the region Košický
kraj; this way the whole region Prešovský kraj for example accounted for 1,8% of the
whole foreign direct investments entering Slovak Republic in year 2002. 20
Conclusions
Economic conditions which come into existence in Slovakia – on the long term
basis supporting lagging of approximately 9 /10 of citizens inhabiting approximately
19/20 of the country behind either the country’s average or the distant antipole [Chart
12], can’t be considered not contradictory to the efforts of sustainable development of
the whole country. These problems – long-term growing disparities and neglecting
the country’s responsibility of arising socio-economic problems although are not
exactly opposing the recent Lisbon Strategy for Slovakia which focuses on
implementation of structural reforms, in fact are directly opposing the efforts of
European Union defined in its Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Employment which
actually is considering the most of problems so minutely describing the development
trends in Slovak Republic as being most serious barriers of sustainable development –
either economic or social. Both mentioned Lisbon strategies – though their goals are
similar, represent two different strategies not only different in structure, but also
different in standpoints and consequences21.
Most generally, from the long-term perspective of the full period of economic
transformation of Slovak Republic the core of problems essentially determining real
20 SAV: Regióny Slovenska. ISBN 80-224-0817-4. Bratislava: VEDA, vydavateľstvo Slovenskej akadémie vied, 2004,
p.74.
21 MRMUS, Anton: Limity realizácie stratégie trvalo udržateľného rozvoja SR. Bratislava: FM UK, 2006. p.96-98