The Slovak Atlantic Commission (SAC,
Slovak: ''Slovenská atlantická komisia'') is a
Slovak independent
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
, active in the area of domestic and international policy and security.
The Slovak Atlantic Commission was founded in 1993 by Slovak diplomats to support the accession of the
Slovak Republic
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's ...
into
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
and
EU. At the same time became an observer and associate member of the multinational non-governmental organisation
Atlantic Treaty Association (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, an experienced Slovak diplomat who has served as Slovakia's ambassador to
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...
and
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
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
External links
* {{usurped,
Slovak Atlantic Commission website} (Slovak, English)
GLOBSEC website(English)
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...