Slovakia
The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic went their separate ways after 1 January 1993, an event sometimes called the Velvet Divorce. Slovakia has remained a close partner with the Czech Republic. Both countries co-operate with Hungary and Poland in the Visegrád Group. Slovakia became a member of NATO on 29 March 2004 and of the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 1 January 2009, Slovakia adopted the Euro as its national currency.
History of the euro
To assist the process of conversion to the euro, on 1 April 2008, the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) announced their plan for withdrawal of the Slovak koruna notes and coins. A few days later, on 5 April 2008, Slovakia officially applied to enter the eurozone. On 7 May 2008, the European Commission approved the application and asked member states to endorse the bid during the EU finance ministers' meeting in July 2008.