The euro already appears to be giving Slovakia an edge in attracting foreign investment. In April, when the German automaker Volkswagen was deciding where to invest US$436 million to manufacture a new low-cost family car, Up, for the global market, it chose Slovakia over the Czech Republic. The venture is expected to create 1,500 jobs.
Andreas Tostmann, chief executive of Volkswagen’s Slovakia unit, said the country’s adoption of the euro had helped swing the decision in its favor.
“Because it eliminated foreign exchange fluctuation,” he said, “it brings stability and it makes it easier to do business.”
Some economists in the Czech Republic said Slovakia’s embrace of the euro had also given it a political maturity sorely lacking in their own country, whose government recently imploded midway through its EU presidency.
“The Slovaks have become a proud nation, and they deserve it, while we Czechs have become the grumps of Europe,” said Tomas Sedlacek, an economic adviser to former Czech president Vaclav Havel. “The Czechs were the model, but the Slovaks have turned this around.”
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