Slovakia (officially the Slovak Republic) is a landlocked country, described as being either on the eastern edge of Western Europe or on the western edge of Eastern Europe. This dichotomy reflects the state's recent history of frequent political unrest in the region. The land that is now Slovakia was an integral Part of Hungary">Hungary for almost 900 years, but became independent when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dismantled after World War I. Almost immediately, Slovakia became a part of Hungary.
Almost immediately, Slovakia aligned with Bohemia and Moravia (now the Czech Republic), Silesia and Carpathian Ruthenia to form Czechoslovakia. This union lasted until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Since 1993, the Slovak and Czech Republics have remained cordially independent.
Since the dissolution of the Eastern bloc and Slovakia's separation from its western neighbour, the Czech Republic, Slovakia has adopted its European status.
It joined the European Union and NATO in 2004, the Schengen area in 2007 and the Eurozone in 2009. It is now one of the fastest growing economies in the OECD, and its once troubled wine sector is showing signs of recovery. Although early attempts to privatise the sector failed, New wine laws and the continued growth in global wine consumption have revived the country's wine producers. The majority of Slovak wines are still sold on the domestic market or in neighbouring Poland and Ukraine, but a small number of producers are ready to develop international export markets.
