The Slovak Atlantic Commission (SAC,
Slovak: ''Slovenská atlantická komisia'') is a
Slovak independent
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
, active in the area of domestic and international policy and security.
The Slovak Atlantic Commission was founded in 1993 by Slovak diplomats to support accession of the
Slovak Republic
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
into
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and
EU. At the same time became observer and associate member of the multinational non-governmental organisation
Atlantic Treaty Association
The Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) is an umbrella organization which draws together political leaders, academics, military officials, and diplomats to support the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The ATA is an independent organization ...
(ATA). In 2004 the Slovak Atlantic Commission became a full-fledged member of ATA.
In the early 2000s the organization was inactive and without budget. It was revived in the early 2000s by Róbert Vas
who later founded the
Globsec, GLOBSEC conference and acted as Secretary General of SAC. Currently, Róbert Vass is the CEO and Executive Vice-President of the
Central European Strategy Council, the umbrella organisation for SAC and its partner organisations – the
Centre for European Affairs (CEA) and the Central European Policy Institute (CEPI).
An important role in SAC´s history was played by one of its founders,
Rastislav Káčer
Rastislav Káčer (born 9 July 1965 in Nová Baňa) is a Slovak diplomat, former ambassador of Slovakia to USA, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Since September 2022, Káčer serves as the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia.
...
, an experienced Slovak diplomat who has served as Slovakia's ambassador to
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
as well as the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs.
In 2008, he became the Chairman of the Slovak Atlantic Commission. The Managing Director of SAC is Milan Solár who is also the Programme Director of GLOBSEC.
The Slovak Atlantic Commission’s most important activity is the GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum, which was founded in 2005 by a group of students around Róbert Vass. The conference grew from humble beginnings to become one of the top conferences of its kind in the world.
SAC has built three distinct pillars representing its core activities:
Strategic Forums – its flagship project is the world-class GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum, complemented by the Château Béla Central European Strategic Forum.
Transfer of Know How focuses on handing over Central Europe’s recent experience with Euro-Atlantic integration to countries in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa.
Youth Leadership Programme - underlines SAC’s long-term commitment to supporting young professionals. Its key project is the annually held GLOBSEC Young Leaders’ Forum (GYLF).
References
{{Reflist
External links
Slovak Atlantic Commission website(Slovak, English)
GLOBSEC website(English)
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...