Slovakia's Historical and Political Identity on the Verge of its Integration into the EU

The entry of Slovakia together with other candidate countries into the European Union gives rise to frequent questions about political and cultural identity of new members, and about how these identities will influence new members' behaviour in the club. There is a real multitude of these questions: What notion do the Slovaks have about Europe, what is the mental map of Europe, and indeed of the world, in the socio-political-geographic environment of Slovak society and its elites? How did historical events sediment into wider consciousness of the Slovak society and the Slovak political and societal elites? What possibilities are there not only to maintain, but also to develop Slovak national identity? With what notions, plans or conceptions are the Slovaks entering into the EU? Do they have any at all?