The process of the integration of the Slovak Republic towards the European Union fundamentally influences the status, the competences and powers of several public authorities at the central as well the local level.

The position of the president of the Slovak republic with regard to the European Community and the European Union institutions is essentially determined by his constitutional status based on the representative form of the government. Albeit the Constitution of the Slovak Republic does not govern the special powers of the president in relation with the European Communities and the European Union, the president might play an important role in the political dialogue in the fulfilment of the articles of the Association Agreement. He might also be involved in the process of establishment of certain bodies of the European Union.

Since the very beginning of Slovakia’s accession process the institutions of the European Union started to require fundamental changes in the judiciary. Mainly in connection to the fulfillment of Copenhagen criteria, which also emphasize the area of judiciary and represent one of the fundamental political prerequisites for the accession of the candidate country into the European Union, it is necessary to strengthen substantially the independence and the self-governing functions of the judiciary and to thoroughly prepare courts for the unified implementation of acquis communautaire.

The position of the territorial self-governing units in relation to the integration aspirations of the Slovak Republic ought to be viewed from the perspective whether the acquis communautaire is legally binding for them. They should be viewed also from the perspective of the jurisdiction of the territorial units in the implementation of law of the European Union and concerns about the well-balanced regional development of particular regions of the European Union.

After the accession of the Slovak Republic into the European Union the new institution embedded into the constitutional system of the Slovak Republic – the ombudsman (the public protector of rights) shall participate in the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed to natural and legal persons in the various sources of the European law. This implies that if norms of the implemented acquis communautaire were breached by the action, the decision-making or the inactivity of public authorities, authorised subjects would be allowed to file a complaint before the ombudsman.

In the field of the strengthening of the public funds control, including the financial assistance from the EU, it was necessary to reinforce the independence of the Supreme Audit Office and to harmonize its powers with the standards of the audit activities in the European Union. At present, the Supreme Audit Office already has the competence to control the administration of the EU funds provided for financing the projects in the Slovak Republic. After the accession into the European Union, the Supreme Audit Office will audit the management of the funds from the EU budget in collaboration with the European Court of Auditors.

The harmonisation of legislation of the Slovak Republic with the law of the European Communities and the European Union also required amendment of the status and authority of the National Bank of Slovakia. A noticeable strengthening of the independence of the central bank took place mainly in the institutional and staffing field as well as in the financial field.