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On January 1, 1993, as a result of the breakup of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republics, a new state was created on the political map of Europe: the Slovak Republic. The article deals with the foreign policy determinants of this state at the threshold of its establishment. An analysis is made of those determinants that had a key impact on the shape of foreign policy: the geographical environment, historical factors, the population factor, foreign service and diplomacy, and external conditions. Of greatest importance were historical factors, especially in the context of relations with Hungary, the deficit in foreign service and diplomatic personnel, which was of great significance in the context of creating foreign policy from scratch, and the multinational nature of the country. The article uses a comparative method and factor analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the popularity of electric vehicles has grown significantly. Today, there is a wide range of electric vehicles available, from small city cars to sports cars and large sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Each new generation increases the total energy of the battery, thereby extending the range of electric vehicles. Modern electric vehicles often achieve a range of more than 400 km on a single charge. However, as their popularity grows, there have been increasing reports of higher life cycle emissions compared to conventional vehicles. These higher life cycle emissions are often associated with the ever-increasing size of the battery. This study aims to point out the main sources of emissions in the life cycle of an electric vehicle and compare them with conventional vehicles with internal combustion engines. Furthermore, our objective is to determine the ecological viability of electric vehicles in the Czech Republic compared to the other Visegrad Four countries. Based on extensive research, it has been calculated that electric vehicles have the potential to reduce emissions by 29%–69% (46% in the Czech Republic) compared to their petrol equivalents and by 19%–60% compared to their diesel equivalents (39% in the Czech Republic). Even in the worst-case scenario (Poland), an electric vehicle with a 64 kWh battery is more environmentally friendly than a petrol vehicle after driving 48,343 km. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the analysis of the policy of the Slovak Republic government towards the Hungarian minority in 1993-1998. This is the period of the first five years of the country's existence on the political map of Europe. During this period, Vladimír Mečiar (twice) and Jozef Moravčík served as prime ministers. The study is based on the assumption that in the analyzed period the policy of the Slovak authorities towards the Hungarian minority affected the tense relations between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Hungary. In addition, it had a decisive impact on slowing down the process of Slovakia's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union. The method of decision analysis found its application in the study, which allowed the presentation of situations and processes that are the culmination of decisions taken by representatives of the Slovak authorities. The institutional and legal method allowed to analyze multilateral and bilateral agreements to which the Slovak Republic was a party, and legal acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]