In the east of the European Union on the borders of Ukraine with its Gothic cathedral reputed to be one situation the “furthest east in Europe”, Slovakia is truly a part of the history and geography of European integration. Being part of Hungary from the 10th century it was reunited with Bohemia and Moravia to form Czechoslovakia in 1919, a union that was maintained after the Second World War. In 1989 the Slovaks rejected communism during the Velvet Revolution and in 1993 they separated amicably from the Czech Republic. The authoritarian nature of Vladimir Meciar’s government prevented Slovakia from joining the EU immediately but it finally joined in 2004 and adopted the euro in 2009.